Palacio de Magdalena Santander, Spain Nov 28, 2012

Beloved had told me about this castle in the northern Magdalena Peninsula in the Cantabria province of Northern Spain.

Magdalena was built in the early 1900s as a playground for Spanish royalty. It was built initially for royal family use, but has since been turned into a resort destination for Europeans. It was a beautiful magical place.

We first stopped in Santander, which was mostly memorable for its insane traffic. While most downtown city centers have lovely plazas and pedestrian walkways, there was really not much we witnessed in Santander. Cute city, some charming little buildings, but the only thing we readily recall is the traffic.

So we chose to drive North to the Palace much sooner than we had originally planned on. And I am so very glad we did.

Magdalena was precious. It had a warmth and a charm to it, with its reconstructed old galleons, mermaid statues and manicured lawns it was a nice reprieve from the hustle of Santander.

It was what EuroDisney wished it could be, without the safety railings and replete with numerous death falls :).

Tank is in "The Zone"...

Santander through the front door 

Aw nothing like a Lawn Jockey to make me want to start buying things

Ooh La la...

Infinity Pool 

First view of the Palace 

Beautiful beaches. 

Much rather prefer the Northern Spanish coastline than the South. The waves are much more fierce and intimidating...

Entering into the Palace. Admission was free. :) 

Santander Crest :) 

The seaside tourist attraction involved a meandering paved walkway (fully fenced) with the omnipresent risk of getting completely soaked. 

There's your first warning. 

There's your second warning.

Oh Look! Penguins! 

Beloved checking out the adorable flightless birds. Later he asked "Aren't there penguins that are so much taller?" Prompted a discussion as to whether or not there were penguins alive that were taller than Tank. 

Kids making a dash between waves to run past the seal pools. 

Beautiful cerulean skies and green teal seas. The colors are just not to be captured on print. 

There is no third warning. This picture was taken prior to the crest of the wave as it rose another 4-5 ft in height and promptly swallowed my children.
(On an aside---check out Beloved. Completely oblivious to the coming water affront and taking in the seals. Love this picture.) 

Soaked to the bone. Look at his sisters and his dad. Mark was such a good sport though, and was laughing throughout. 

It was quite cold. Poor guy :( 

Bumpo does the sisterly thing and offers him her dry jacket. Doe would have done the same but she was standing in front of her brother and the back of her jacket was completely soaked.  Beloved took the two younger ones back to the car to get dry shorts and another jacket for Bump.

By the way...park services came and closed the walkway entrance after Mark's soaking. Apparently they determined it was no longer a wise idea to let visitors walk on that section of the park ;). Made the experience all the more memorable. :) 

Santander shoreline

While the younger ones with their Dad changing, Doe and I checked out the boats. 

Fisherman

He wore a reflective orange safety vest and never stopped whistling. 

Still whistling...

Magdalena Palace. It is used as a hotel and as a meeting and conference hall. 

Love this. Sort of has a Maxfield Parrish feel to it. 

Lighthouse. 

Shipping barge 

There's my boy 

Tall palm trees 

Where the Wild Things Are 

 Southside of the Peninsula. The children and Beloved had wanted to go for one more dip in the ocean before we returned home, but after Tank and Doe's dunking near the seal pools, they decided to wait until the Holiday Inn.

Pier 

Cool idea.

 For being the last road trip outside of Bilbao to our hotel tomorrow, Santander did not disappoint. The Palace was a lovely experience with breathtaking views and some truly gorgeous scenery. We could only imagine what this place looks like in the summer months with nailing heat, clear blue skies and no clouds. I think the Northern Coast of Spain is truly one of the most beautiful places on Earth and I consider myself blessed beyond measure to have been to experience so much of it.

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