How long it has been since my last post! I am truly sorry for the delay for those of you on the edge of your seat :)
My trip to Spain started at the Barcelona airport in the early hours of the mroning. We bought bus tickets from Barcelona to Madrid and back (8 hours each way, and let me say, it is not worth however much you save by not flying), so without seeing any of Barcelona we first made our way inward Spain to visit the capital. One of my first experiences in Spain, while at a stop for food during the bus ride to Madrid, was pretty comical. I have very, very minimal knowledge of Spanish and knew that in this middle-of-nowhere-bus stop, they probably would not speak any English. I still figured I would try and asked if they spoke English but only got a confused look for a response. The only reason I needed to talk to them was to see if they took debit/credit cards because I didn’t have any cash. So, naturally, I proceeded to take out my credit card, made a swiping motion with it, and asked, “Si??” Luckily, she understood and said in Spanish I had to spend at least 5 and I was pretty proud of myself for understanding. I feel like my trip to Spain really pushed me the farthest out of my comfort zone because of the fact that there was very little to no English, French, or Italian spoken, so getting by on my own was very difficult, for once.
Madrid was really something. We had a good experience overall with our hostel and the food we ate, people we met, and places we went were all together phenomenal. Between all of us travelling together (three of my friends from Santa Clara and three others from Louisiana, Alabama, and Illinois) we knew some people either studying or travelling in Spain at the same time, so we were able to meet up with them and have them show us the best places to visit.
The first night we found a nice place to eat authentic Spanish food. There was a nice looking tapas place that we ended up trying and the food, although kind of expensive with smaller portions, was extremely tasty. Tapas, if you don’t know, are just little appetizer-like dishes that can range from bread with salami or coppa to an assortment of cheese. Everywhere you go, if you get glass of wine or a beer or a soda or anything, you will also be served tapas with your drink. It’s a pleasant surprise and was very well received by yours truly. The first night I had the best ‘maple-brazed’ chorizo I have ever tasted. After the first night we searched for more affordable places, though, and luckily found a very fun place that was always packed. They were called 100 Montanditos and served 100 different little tapas sandwhiches with a variety of things in it and each one was only one euro. A pint of Sangria, a very authentic Spanish drink, was only one euro as well. Needless to say, we returned to that place often for cheap but very good meals. We did do more than just eat in Madrid, though, as surprising as this may sound. There was definitely a lot to see. We took a free tour during the day we had there and learned a ton about the city. We started our tour in the central plaza which is in the dead center of the city. It is in that plaza where they hold their large celebrations and hold protests as well. We learned that the world’s largest protest was held in that plaza some years back and that the city itself is known for having many outspoken protestors. Also on our tour, we learned a lot about the royalty from many years ago and how the different government buildings came to be. It was an interesting history but I did question our tour guide’s knowledge at some points… she was a nice tour guide from Florida (originally Connecticut), surprisingly, but some of the things she said were somewhat questionable. The final straw was when she was describing a queen that married her cousin and described it as “modern day Alabama or Louisiana,” and of course, as I mentioned, I was with two friends from Louisiana and Alabama. She lost a bit of credibility there. It was still a fun tour and afterward we headed to an indoor market that we heard a lot of good things about. We were so glad we went because this place had everything; chocolate dipped churros, all sorts of meats and cheeses, tapas of all kinds, cheese croquettes and much, much more. The market was packed with locals enjoying lunch before siesta. We continued to ask each other why we didn’t have places like this at home! Everything you could buy was one or two euros so you could buy an assortment of things for five or six euros and be set. Afterward we went to a Renoir art museum followed by another trip to 100 Montanditos.
We took a night bus back to Barcelona from Madrid and I will take this time to try and convince everyone and anyone who is reading this that an 8+ hour night bus is really, really not worth it even if it is free. I will never put myself through so much misery ever again. I was drooled on, I was awake the entire time, I was yelled at in Spanish because the seat in front of me would not lock in the reclined position (apparently it was my fault), and worst of all, I was stuck on a bus without any of my friends. Because of how we booked our tickets, all of my friends made it on the first bus whereas I was on the second (both buses were running from Madrid to Barcelona at the same time, though). Never, ever again.
Luckily, we made it to Barcelona and found our hostel first thing. We had quite the fun hostel with bunk beds that were probably 15 feet high so we had to climb large ladders to get to our ‘bungalows’, as we called them. We had a little bit of a hiccup when we got there because my friend’s folder with her passport and other information was left on the bus. She was very lucky to have been able to get a new passport that day but went through several, several hurdles to get it. We were told about the many pick-pocketers in Barcelona (and Spain in general) so we were very cautious, but even more so after that ordeal.
One of the first things we did was get food (naturally) and to my surprise, one of the first things I saw was a Viennetta ice cream cake! When I was very little my family used to visit my great grandma and other family in Florida, where my parents grew up, and we would always eat these vanilla and chocolate ice cream cakes. I loved them more than anything. I craved them many years after I had even had one and looked for them desperately on the web, including eBay. They were nowhere to be found in any store near where I live or even online and I figured the company no longer sold them. So when I saw that Viennetta cake, I grabbed it immediately and ate almost an entire cake to myself. Of course, after not having eaten for about 15 hours, it wasn’t my best idea… but it still tasted just like I remembered it. Anyway, Barcelona, right.
I wish I could have spent more time in Barcelona because there was even more to see there than in Madrid; incredible architecture, gorgeous coastline, and endless nightlife. One of the first places we visited was the Bacelona Cascada del Parque de la Ciudadela. I will have to let my pictures speak for themselves but will say that they, like all of my pictures everywhere I have been able to go, do not even do this place justice. It was gigantic. I loved this place. Before finding it, though, we walked along the coast and I was surprised by how many huge sailboats and yachts there were. It was definitely a change of scenery for me being on a beach that was surrounded by a very urban and populated city. We also went to a museum that was featuring Pablo Picasso’s very famous “Guernica” painting which was both bizarre and appealing at the same time. Sorry to say they would not allow us to take pictures. I actually liked a lot of the Picasso paintings that I saw at the museum. Plus it was free for students! There was too much for us to see before we had to go, but we still fit in a lot during the time we were there.
Barcelona was definitely a fun place to be for Halloween and I was so glad I was able to celebrate it there! Most of Europe sees Halloween as a very American celebration that they do not find entertaining. Some places will throw parties but trick-or-treating is pretty unheard of. If there was one city that went all out with costume and parties, however, it was Barcelona! People were dressed in costumes on the streets throughout the day and night. Unfortunately, the clubs did not play any fun Halloween music to dance to nor did any of them have nearly as scary decorations as the Diemer household back in Washington. Still, our night on Halloween was a blast and we all dressed in black with hats that we found that had bull horns, ears, and eyes, so that together we were all running of the bulls! One of our friends led us as the matador with a big flag of Spain. My night ended with good friends on a sandy beach before I had to leave to catch my plane back to Lille. I had a phenomenal time overall and really wish I would have had another couple days to see everything I wanted to see. Something tells me that I will definitely be going back to Spain, though.
Pictures will come soon!
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