Spain

Saw so much of Spain... and absolutely loved it! Such an amazing country.

Barcelona- Traveled with Mum and Grandma to Barcelona by train from France. Saw the usual sights- La Familia Sagrada and other Gaudi buildings, La Rambla and also Montjuïc. Really loved this city, so much to see and the buzz was amazing. Caught up with my dear friend Naomi as well, which was fun as always. Didn't really appreciate having to wait 3 hours at the train station to get tickets to Madrid!!! Ugh. Then had to say goodbye to Mum and Grandma as they were traveling elsewhere... sad times.

Madrid- Caught the AVE to Madrid... the train went 300km/hr!!! Wow! Surprisingly the scenerey was still visible from the windows. lol Madrid is another city that I absolutely loved... so much to see and a great buzz (if you ignore the thieves at Puerta del Sol, although the Police presence was impressive.) Kydi and Adrian met me there, where we were started our week long adventure together. Stayed at a lovely hotel, right near Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol, so was able to see a lot of the city- Museo del Prado, Parque del Buen Retiro, El Rastro market, amongst many other sights. Saw a Flamenco show- which was just amazing, I think passionate is really the only word to describe it. Also saw a bull fight, which I, surprisingly, absolutely loved. Sure it was cruel for the bull, but the technique and spectacle was just so fascinating- we were cheering the matadors, and almost cried when one (Mario) got injured by a bull.

Granada- Hired a manual car, a gutless Citroen C3, and drove to Granada. Now, with hindsight and wisdom, I can honestly say that it was pretty silly to do such. Trying to drive on the other side of the road is ok, trying to drive a manual on the wrong side of the road is silly, trying to do all that on Spanish roads with a car that almost goes into reverse when going up hills and shakes when over 100km/hr is not the brightest idea! But we survived. I also tried to teach Adrian how to drive a manual, which was such fun, and he was just starting to get the hang of it on some deserted back road, when we got pulled over by the Police- I don't think they quite understood why a girl was teaching a guy to drive when he had a licence! But somehow my broken Spanish got us out of that situation. Granada is an interesting city, very Moorish and the Alhambra was just breathtaking... but my god its hot!

Sevilla- Arrived to Sevilla and had the joy (not) of driving through its amazingly narrow streets... nerve wracking! Thankfully the only good thing about the Citroen C3 is that its a small car. Went to the Toro museum at the bullring... which was a fascinating insight into bullfights, matadors and the history of it all, and made us appreciate the bullfight we saw in Madrid even more. Learnt why the Spanish have Siestas... it was impossible to do anything in the heat of Sevilla, so we'd get up early, sleep during the day and then go back out in the evening. Saw another Flamenco show- passionate! ;)

Marbella- Drove through Ronda to get to the beachside town or Marbella. Ronda was beautiful, with an amazing old bridge and the oldest Bullring in Spain. The drive to Marbella was gorgeous, drove down the mountain to the beach. Was nice to just relax on the beach.

Madrid, part 2- Said my goodbyes to Kydi and Adrian, and flew back to Madrid, into the loving arms of my Aunty Karin and Uncle Alfonso. Saw lots of the surrounding areas- San Martin de la Vega, Aranjuez and also went to Parque Warner- Superman ride is awesome!!! Did a day trip to Toledo, another old city which was just beautiful. Was great to catch up with my cousin Natasha and her partner Nico as well, its been so long since I'd seen Tash! (15 years or so.)

Valencia- Caught a train, which went through so many orange orchids, which was a nice change from the arid, dusty views of other parts of Spain. And into the loving arms of my Uncle Miguel and my Yaya. Was so mindblowing to meet them both for the first time. The language barrier was really hard, thankfully Miguel understood some of my broken spanish and when in doubt I'd point, smile or nod. Valencia is just stunning- the old city is beautiful, but the new area and the beach are just stunning. Was really, really sad to say goodbye to them both... hopefully soon I'll see them again (and hopefully my grasp of the Spanish language will be better.)

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Part of trip: Europe holiday 2008

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