Blogs from Spain, Europe - page 1371

The bus ride from Valencia to Madrid was not the most comfortable; it was full and I was squeezed in between a guy named Frosty (as bizarre a guy as his name would suggest) and a big Kiwi guy named Clayton. The Kiwi girls and I were expecting to hate a hot, crowded Madrid, but the minute I got there, I knew I'd like it. The buildings were much prettier than I expected, the streets more spacious, many more statues and parks and fountains. Barcelona has really unfairly turned me off all big Spanish cities! We had to walk uphill to get to Hostel Metropol, uphill and through the Red Light District with hookers all around to suit every whim or fancy. When we arrived in the hostel we saw a bunch of people we've met ... read more

Picking up from where we left off last episode: Our dinner party grew to 9 and we had a great tapas dinner. Tapas originated not too long ago, when bartenders started putting plates on tops of drinks to keep bugs out. Later, they began to put small snacks on the plates. Now, it has evolved into a sort of buffet style dining where they count your toothpick to charge you. It was a lot of fun. The next day, we went to the train station to book my ticket to Madrid and then met the group for Sunday dinner (lunch). I can´t remember the name of the dish, but it is a VERY large pan with rice and typically seafood. I ate of lot of seafood that meal! We then had another siesta (it´s the only ... read more

Ahoy, and welcome back people. What a huge weekend this was, I don't even really know where to begin.... Friday was indeed an eventfull day. Much like the Jeffersons, Armando and I 'moved on up' in every way imaginable. Our new digs is sweet, sweet nectar indeed, exceeding our expectations vastly. Upon arrival we were greeted warmly, offered refreshing beverages and some tasty chicken salad, and allowed to lounge on our house mother's lavish leather couches whilst watching satellite beamed spanish films on a flat-panel plasma display. Despite not being paid to take care of us on Friday, Elly allowed us to stay, enjoy a fine meal and even let Armando sleep on the sofa in the air conditioned living room. (There were not enough beds as one of the students were not scheduled to leave ... read more

what a lovely summer this has been. now i am in salamanca, and it has been nice being away from the big city of madrid. i spent the afternoon laying out by the pool, and tonight by pure chance we found out that thievery corporation was playing in this small town. i just got back from the show, which was pretty sweet. good music, great vibes. i have been in such a relaxed mood here, i don't even have pictures of salamanca. so check out this postcard shot from avila. now this, i think, is what every summer should be like. okay, so it's a little hot. but nonetheless. que magnifico!... read more

We got into San Sebastian yesterday, after a long couple of hours in Pamplona. We left Madrid on the 13th and went north to Pamplona. We got into Pamplona around 6pm with no where to stay. So we put all of our bags in a locker and left the train station for the main square. On the bus ride to the center of town, we drove around the entire city and every single person (tourists and locals) was dressed in the white shirt, white pants, red sash and a red bandana tied around their necks. It was incredible. Little babies and 90 year old men were even dressed up. So the three of us forked over 20 euros for the entire get-up and got in the spirit. Seeing as how we didnt have a hotel/hostel booked, ... read more