la navarrica: "I've never been so happy in my entire life!"

(If anyone gets that reference, I love you.)

There are few things I love more than the ocean, and when you mix the ocean with beautiful architecture, a thousand years of history, good food, sailboats, and lots of rocky cliffs and mountains, I am one happy camper.

Two years ago, I planned a trip to Santander, the capital of Cantabria, for my last weekend in Spain. The flight was maybe 5 euros, and I picked Santander solely because it was the cheapest flight I could find. I never made it to Santander though, after sleeping through about three alarms (in what was the biggest travel-fiasco filled weekend of my life, and resulted in me stuck in Galicia and almost missing my flight back to the States). But long story short, Cantabria was on my must-visit list after years spent wondering what I missed when I slept through that flight.

Cantabria was beautiful. So beautiful that I couldn't believe it was real. So beautiful that a picture is worth so much more than a thousand words (and still doesn´t do it justice).

Walks along the harbor and beaches, exploring the Magdalena park and palace, beers and paella at a beach bar, a boat tour of the Santander harbor, drinks and pinchos in Cañadio Plaza, a trip to Castro Urdiales, a little beach town with a breathtaking medieval church, bridge, and castle turned light house, so much seafood, and a surprise afternoon in Bilbao while we waited for our train home: here are some of the highlights of my trip to the Cantabria Coast.