Ola!
After a great weekend in Freiburg we were on our own again, this time, in the Spanish capital of Europe...Spain! Hellooo Sangria.
Our first stop was Barcelona, a city full of eye-candy for architecture lovers of all kinds. We were constantly craning our necks to see structure after structure. From buildings with giant eye-ball looking globes attached, to over-sized cartoon lobsters-the streets of Barcelona are anything but boring.
We wondered up and down the tourist-filled streets, relished in the sun beaming down in the grassy parks, and admired the wonderful and playful works of Gaudi. We got a good taste of his art by touring Guell Park and then walking around the Sacred Familia Church. Everything has a cartoon-ish feel to it, but it's nothing short of magnificent. The church is especially unique and breath-taking.
We took a day to tour around the National Art Museum and Olympic Stadium area. We could just imagine what the atmosphere would be like during the games-the sweat, blood, and tears-amazing!
We seen even more strange and intriguing art, deciding we needed more eyes to really take everything in.
Evenings were spent sipping on sangria in the many sidewalk restaurants and walking through the city, marveling at the lit up fountains and buildings.
Spain really comes alive at night. The culture's way of having a siesta in the afternoon is seriously necessary if you want to keep up once that sun goes down!
After getting our fill of Barcelona ,we decided to head south to Granada. What a good decision...we loved Granada! Cozy, laid-back, and beautiful. The best part? Free Tapas!! Every restaurant in Granada serves free finger food with every drink-whether it be beer, sangria, or just a cola. Andrew was flabbergasted.
Our hostel was in an area full of Arabic-type shops, Tapa Bars, and little streets to get lost in.
We took advantage of the quiet mornings by running in the parks around the Alhambra.
We met an extremely sweet couple, Josh and Erica, staying in our dorm. We spent the evening swapping stories with these two, both from Pennsylvania. We had dinner at the hostel and then walked around the lit up streets of Granada, making our way up to the San Nicolas for a fantastic view of the city.
Andrew had decided one of the things he wanted to do while in Spain was see a real, traditional Spanish bull fight. For anyone as dense as I...a bull fight is not two bulls fighting each other. Classic mix-up...right? Anyways, we made it a priority!
During the day we toured around the Alhambra Gardens and Palaces. Once evening came we hopped on the city bus to the Bull Ring! Talk about local experience at it's finest. The streets were lined with cars, and flooded with people. Vendors were selling white flags, cushions, and various "torro" paraphernalia. We've been told that this is the last year that Spain will be having the bull fights; I can't confirm that as being entirely true, but there were crowds of protesters outside of the arena. It is definitely cruel on the animals side of things, even if the Spanish do eat the meat. Although, it's hard for me to construct an opinion on a tradition that has been in the Spanish culture for years and years. Andrew compared the atmosphere to that of a play-off hockey game. It was funny, because during their intermission, EVERYONE pulled out beers or bottles of wine, plastic cups, and sandwiches. Literally, in unison. We may have been the only weirdos without a tinfoil-covered sandwich and beverage. Next time we'll google what to bring ;)
With four nights left, we decided to make our way to Spain's capital, Madrid.
Two minutes walk from the Plaza del Sol sat our pleasant little gem of a hostel. More of a hotel, we had our own cozy room, with just enough room for the bed and a couple chairs. But, we were smitten. One wall was made out of old brick, looking as if it used to be the outside of the building. We had our own little balcony-barely fitting our two chairs, but lovely none-the-less. We sat and listened to the sounds of Madrid.
This city isn't a place that you are going to find that one big "wonder". The fact that it is so full of life makes it a go-to. Madrid didn't need a coliseum, Eiffel tower, or some huge poplar cathedral. It was full of street art, fashion, parks, and busy squares. Good restaurants, live music and markets. We really just enjoyed getting up, going for a run in the parks, sitting outside a cafe for a drawn out coffee, and then exploring and people watching through Plaza del Sol and Plaza Mayor. I introduced Andrew to the Spanish delight, churros & chocolate. I first tried it while in Peru. Love at first sight. You can't beat the fresh, crispy-yet soft-churro, dipped into a cup of rich liquid chocolate.
We took a half-day trip to Toledo. A small, mysterious-looking historical city, only a 33 minute train ride from Madrid. It's narrow streets are hidden behind old castle walls that perch high atop the hills. We were lucky with the lack of big tour groups, as I've heard the small streets become quite crowded in high season. We got more of a "ghost town" experience out of Toledo.
After making our way back to Madrid, we packed up again to catch our flight to Paris! I was a wee bit excited. I'll post on our quick two nights with our friend Camille soon.
Love to all,
A&C
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