JamieOConnor

I arrived in Seville at about 2pm. After finding my hostel with the help of a fellow hostel goer who was staying there and saw me looking thoroughly confused as I was where I thought the hostel should have been... I had to go down a small alley to find it. First of all I went out to the Placa de Espanya. If any of you have ever seen the Star Wars...then you know the Naboo scene with that spectacular semicircular square (yes I know that is an oxymoron...) that was based on the placa de Espanya. It was really impressive, and the surrounding park was also ncie to walk in and sit on a bench reading. I went back into town and saw the outside of the Cathedral and the Fortress. They both cost 8 ... read more

OK today I was going to the Alhambra. I was able to enter the complex from 2pm, but couldn´t enter the Nazrid palaces until 2:30. On my way to the Alhambra I passed a couple of traditionally dressed Spanish horsemen. I followed them as they were going the way I needed to go. They led me to a massive procession with hundreds of horsemen, highly decorated carriages, drummers, flutists, flag bearers, a huge silver carriage pulled by massive bulls and a crowd of singers and dancers. It was extremely impressive. After this I went up to the Alhambra and straight into the Nazrid palaces as I could only go in at my specified time. They were quite impressive, however I felt that to get the best out of them you were meant to rent an audioguide ... read more

There is almost nothing to actually report today. I arrived in Grenada at about 5. I then went to the hostel. As I was checking in the skies opened and torrential rain started falling. This lasted until about half 7. I then went for an hours wonder around the arabic part of the city before headin back to the hostel for a seafood paella with green salad. All very nice, only cost 5 euros. I booked my ticket for the Alhambra via reception. That is all for today... I was travelling for most of it... read more

Today after a lazy start curing my hangover I went to the oldest chocolate shop in Madrid. The Choclateria San Gines. A Spanish delicacy is Chocolate con Churros. This is thick hot chocolate served with pastry tubes that you dip into the hot chocolate. It was very nice indeed. After eating it as I was queuing up to pay I saw the people who I had been on the tour with yesterday. We chatted for a bit before all heading out to a park on the other side of town. However before we went there we stopped off at a bar and tried the drink of Madrid. This is a strawberry liqueur that is served in true Mediterranean style in a chocolate shot glass. This is a shot glass made out of chocolate and covered in ... read more

I met up with a few people who are staying in the same hostel as me this morning and we went on a free walking tour run by NewEurope Tours. It was really interesting. After the tour I went to the royal palace which is the largest in western Europe. It is free on wednesdays to EU citizens. However, it was shut due to formal events. Annoying. Oh well. After that I just went for a bit of a wonder around the city back towards puerta del sol. This is the official centre of Spain. There is even a plaque marking the centre of the city. Unfortunately I couldn´t see it due to the students protesting. At one point there were 30 thousand students in the square. At 11:45 I went on a pub crawl. It ... read more

OK, I arrived in Madrid around 6 o´clock after catching a coach from Valencia. After I checked into the hostel I went for a walk into the centre of the city for a bit. The main thing I saw today was the Placa Mayor. This is a beautiful walled square which is wonderful to lounge about in reading. I the headed onwards and found a very nice indoor market. I then headed back to the hostel as I was planning on going on a taps tour later and couldn´t remember what time it left, but had a feeling it was either 7 or half 7. I was wrong, it was at 9. Oh well I just sat in the courtyard garden of the hostel until 9. The tapas tour was nice. We tried a tapas from ... read more

OK, today I went to the mercado centrale to begin with and found some nice lunch items. After this I went to the beach. Unfortunately it was nowhere near as warm today as it was yesterday and by the time I got to the beach it was overcast. I stayed there for a few hours before it started raining and then I headed back to the city to go for another wonder in the small alleys in the north of the city. That was about it for today. Unfortunately at no point was it warm enough to go for a swim in the sea as this is my last stop on the Mediterranean before heading inland. I am therefore slightly disappointed that I never actually went for a swim in the Mediterranean. It just never seemed ... read more

OK I got on the train at ten o´clock this morning OK. Arrived in Valencia around 1ish. I found the hostel OK, it is very central. I saw the mercado centrale today (unfortunately it was shut). Even though I couldn´t go in I was still very imperssed with the outside. After checking into my hostel I went for a walk around the city. I saw where the students are protesting. All very interesting. I then went for a wonder around the narrow streets in the north of the city, which are so wonderful for just getting lost in. I spent a couple of hours doing that before heading back to my hostel. My plan for tomorrow is to go to the beach.... read more

First of all today I went to the second part of Montjuic. I took the funicular railway up the hill and then got a cable car up to montjuic castle (annoyingly the castle was only about 15-20 minutes walk away from the cable car station, so it wasn´t really worth the 10 euros it cost). Oh well. I had a look around the castle and admired the views. I then sat in the sun and read until about 7 o´clock, at which point I left and went down the hill back to La Rambla where I bought a Barcelona FC flag from a tourist shop for an outrageously priced 25 euros. The reason I bought this was twofold, I wanted to show my support for Barcelona tonight but also I didn´t want to be mistaken as ... read more

First of all today I went for an explore in the district of the city called Eixample. This is where all the best nightlife and clubs are. I didn´t go to any of them, but it is an interesting area anyway to go for a walk in, lots of small streets perfect for getting lost in. After that I went to Barcelona´s second bullring which has now been converted into a shopping centre by the same artist who designed the pomidou centre. After that I went to Montjuic (this is a park that starts off from the bullring and ascends to a museum of catalan arts at the top). I went for a walk up to the museum and then sat in the sun eating my lunch (it was a very late lunch...about half past 5) ... read more