What does a blind person actually see?!

My girlfriend is blind but used to be able to see. I asked her this since she would better understand what she is "seeing".

First of all, it depends, not all blind people see the same thing. The ones who have been blind since birth don't know what they're seeing since they have never had a point of reference. (Meaning they have no idea what "green" looks like.)

Since my girlfriend has seen before, she says she can see blurs of color, the colors she sees depends on the lighting but they can vary.

Again this isn't true for all blind people, this is just what she sees. Most blind people are open to talk about it, feel free to ask.

A person who has been blind from birth sees exactly the same thing you would see out of your elbow........nothing. Not "black" or "dark" or anything else. Just nothing.

One blinded later in life would have visual references of objects, colors and concepts stored in memory and would recall the object, color or concept when handled/mentioned/heard/felt.

One must also keep in mind that only around 15% of those who meet the legal definition of "blind" have no sight at all. The other 85% do have some visual perception, although it does vary from person to person. Being "blind' is not a one-size-fits-all cookie cutter type of issue; it is a totally individual experience which differs from one person to another.

Husband of blind woman, who does have some light perception. We have friends who range from totally blind to just meeting the legal definition.

A completely blind person cannot "see". As you said, no shapes, no color.It is black only. This is usually blindness where the nerve elements are all gone and nothing can be picked and sent to the brain optical centers.
There are blind individuals whose disease is in the front part of the eye (cornea, lense, fluid). They vary in visibility loss but many can tell if it is dark or light around them or they may see vague ghosts-like things of objects.

If they were born blind then they see mostly black but if they went blind some report seeing blast of color (like a comet exploding).