Madrid

I love Madrid. I wasn't sure what to expect, since I had heard mixed things about it... but I was definitely pleasantly surprised. The city was bustling with people and I loved that. It was prettier than I had expected too.

Standing in the very center of España!

We arrived in Madrid in the evening, and hopped on the metro to find our hostel, called Way Hostel. This was my favorite hostel mostly because of the location, the French reception guy, our enormous room (& proximity to the bathroom), and the kitchen where we had our first "homecooked" dinner! First thing we did once we had arrived: grocery shop. I think we went a little nuts (by this time in our trip, we were pretty fruit & veggie deprived). We made a huge stir fry dinner (with too much broccoli, my bad, hehe). We then met our roommate, Dave. He was a weird one. Nice I guess... but did not get the hint at all that we didn't want to hang out with him. In the end, we basically had to tell him we wanted a "girls night out" so he would leave us alone and not tag along. hahaaha, sorry MP for having to be the bearer of bad news.

But we did have a fun girls night out! We walked over to Calle Huertas, only a few blocks from our hostel, which was crackin' at night! Tons of bars and things open late, with recruiters who kept trying to get us to go with them to their respective bars/clubs. We then realized that we were being a bit too close-minded and that, honestly, we didn't want to spend money. So, we gave in, with one catch--we wanted free drinks! This is when we met the funniest guy I think we met all trip: Manuel. I don't think I can accurately describe him here. Should've taken a video. But needless to say, we got free drinks! And met another cute bartender and DJ. Oh Madrid, how you treated us well.

Free sangria! Thats whats up.

The next day was VERY full. We went to the Royal Palace, El Reina Sofia museum, and El Prado museum. We also took our lovely "homemade" sandwiches to the park to have lunch. The park was gorgeous. Filled with runners, bikers, kids, and picnic-ers. The weather was absolutely flawless too. After the Barcelona humidity, and the heat in southern Spain, Madrid was perfect. Felt like bay area weather.

Royal Palace, Reina Sofia & El Prado Museums

We made sure to have a nice last meal in Spain at El Caldero, where we had amazing and legit Paella, and were entertained by 3 older Italian men who kept making funny comments to us, had us take a picture with their paella, and take a shot of that end-of-the-dinner sweet dark thick liquor thing with them. Funny times. And can't forget our waiter who would walk by singing Beautiful Girls by Sean Kingston. LOL.

We went out that night, for our last night in Spain. We returned to Sunset bar and later ended up at Kapital, a big club, with 2 new Chilean friends who we decided to go with on their hostel's pub crawl. Funny and fun night is all I have to say. I love meeting people from different parts of the world. I must go to Chile now! They taught us some Chilean Spanish, which is too inappropriate to write in this blog. hahaha. :)

I can't tell you how sad I was to leave Spain. Leaving Barcelona was one thing, but leaving Spain was... a bit terrifying. I came to be so comfortable there, with the culture, people, way of life. And of course, speaking Spanish! I went from being very capable and comfortable getting around, to being plunked down in France, with absolutely no knowledge of French. Scary. Guess I got a bit spoiled... but a day and a half in Madrid was FAR too short. Definitely on my list of places to return to! <3

Sevilla.

We arrived in Sevilla at the Prado Station after a 4 hour bus ride from Granada. We made our way to our hostel, called The Garden Backpacker hostel, via the bus. Again, I regretfully forgot to take pictures of our hostel. It comes in close second to my favorite hostel though... the staff was amazing--SO friendly. There was a nice kitchen with marble countertops, and a patio outside where you could eat. There was also a garden on the roof, which we foolishly never went to see... We stayed in a room on the second floor with 4 beds (seemed to be all Ikea furniture, even the light!). Our fourth roommate was a korean girl who was not friendly at all. Barely said two words to us the whole time! Then she has the nerve to hog the toaster with a zillion pieces of toast the next day. Rude.

Anyway, we had very little time to spend in Sevilla (about 24 hrs).. So our first day, after dropping our things off at our hostel, we went immediately to the Alcázar palace. But of course, we had to get lunch first, and ended up getting bocadillos from a little store with the nicest woman who owned the place. Seriously, she was the friendliest woman (her mom hung out at the store too, sitting in a little chair by the door)! MP and I spoke to her in Spanish and she made us fresh bocadillos! Needless to say, we returned to get bocadillos the next day before leaving for Madrid :)

The Alcázar was amazing. We followed yet another one of Rick Steve's self-guided tours of the palace (which is still in use as a royal palace!). It was so confusing. We got lost several times but eventually got through it. While I was standing in front of the central courtyard, I thought it looked awfully familiar.. And then I found out why in Rick Steve's book: King Pedro had hired Muslim workers from Granada to "recreate the romance of the Alhambra" in Sevilla's Alcázar! And we were just there the day before! I realized then what an adventurous and fast-paced trip we were having. One day, Granada's Alhambra, the next day, Sevilla's Alcázar. Crazy.

My favorite parts were all the ornate details in the walls and the garden.

Later, we struggled to find a restaurant to eat dinner at (so many places were closed! I think because it was August and prettty early to have dinner on Spanish standards). We eventually found a place and Stella tried paella for the first time. Disappointing experience...sry Stells!

After dinner, we rushed back to the hostel to get ready to go to a Flamenco show! It was an unforgettable experience. The dancers' outfits were gorgeous and fun, the music was played/sung live, and the dancers were just incredible. I don't know how they move their legs that fast. I remember in my 3rd year of high school, we learned the Sevillana, a type of Flamenco dance, and had to perform it on stage (my group won!). So it was especially special when we the dancers did the Sevillana! MP and I were thrilled :) Of course, there were a couple of really good looking dancers who definitely caught our eyes. hahaha. always. Got some good pics of them too!

In the morning, we went to see the cathedral (3rd largest in Europe, and largest Gothic church anywhere!) and the Giralda bell tower. Christopher Columbus is buried there! Very cool. After looking around (with the help of Rick Steves. Again), we climbed the bell tower to the very top! It seemed like a never ending spiral of stairs. You just keep going up and up and hope that the top is getting near. But the view was spectacular.

We rushed to grab out stuff from the hostel, get some snacks, our bocadillos for lunch, and head to the Plaza de las Armas bus station and catch our Socibus to Madrid! Sevilla, check :)

Granada

The second I set foot in Granada, I fell in the love with the city. It's such a beautiful, quaint place with gorgeous buildings. We settled into our hostel, called Funky Backpacker's Hostel, once we arrived Monday morning. First hostel experience! I should've taken pictures but unfortunately I forgot to... We had a nice private, four bed room with our own bathroom too!

That day, Mu-Ping and I followed Rick Steve's Old Town self-guided tour. I swear by Rick Steves now. If you don't know, Rick Steves is the author of a series of guide books, and is AMAZING. He tells you all the good spots to hit up, yummy restaurants to go to, etc. We now refer to him as "our friend Rick" =)

MP & I exploring the city!

We met Stella later that afternoon at La Alhambra, the main tourist attraction and big site in Granada. It lived up to all the hype. Beautiful.


Charles V.

MP and me in front of Charles V palace

Me inside Charles V palace! I look tiny huh?

Nasrid Palace.

La Generalife gardens.

Afterwards, we walked to the Albaicín district, the ancient Moorish quarter of the city to see the spectacular view of La Alhambra.

It's a shame we only had one day and one night to spend in Granada. We were really sad when we had to leave already the next day.. I would have to say that Granada is definitely one of my favorite cities in Spain! But we were off to the next leg of our trip--Sevilla!

Mi corazón siempre estará en Barcelona

I truly was not ready to leave Barcelona after a short month there.. Barcelona deserves much more time than that. Anyway, that last week there I had a lot of time to reflect and think about some of the things I love most about the city, and about Spain in general.

Here are a handful of the many things I love about Spain:

• The people - I LOVE the old people who fill the city, the parks, the benches. There are always old couples just sitting on benches, chatting with their friends, walking their dogs. I also love that there are families everywhere with babies and small children saying "vale." I remember this little boy whining to his dad saying "quiero jugo! jugo!!" (I want juice!!) Cute.
  

Left: A couple of cute old women I saw while walking home from La Sagrada.
Right: I took this while waiting for Mu-Ping.. it was in a park where I saw 2 older couples sitting and chatting while these boys were totally content playing soccer with just the cement and a ball. They were amazing at fútbol!

• The dogs - there are dogs EVERYWHERE in Spain! I love it. Lots of yorkshire terriers, I don't know why... my señora had 2 yorkies :)

• The language - now that I'm not in Spain anymore I miss speaking and hearing Spanish SO much. I finally learned what it means to really immerse yourself in a culture and to pick up a language just by being there, speaking, listening, observing.. it was also interesting to hear the Catalan and to learn a few Catalan words while being in the city. Catalan is such a beautiful language (it's a mix between Spanish and French!). I'm so fortunate that while in Barcelona, I was exposed not just to Castillano but to Catalan as well. Two languages for the price of one!
  

This billboard was everywhere in Spain after the world cup. It says "It's our year. It will be our era." Love it.

• The lifestyle & pride - Spaniards live a much more relaxed lifestyle and it really puts another perspective on what's really important. Life seems to be revolved more around family and friends and less around work. One example is how it's pretty rare to "eat on the go" as we often do in the U.S. (I'm definitely guilty of this) as people view eating as an opportunity to sit and chat with family and friends and to actually enjoy the food.

Enjoying a traditional Spanish meal with Toni, Montse, and friends in Parlava. There was no real occasion but they still went all out and we had a nice chance to sit, chat, and enjoy each other's presence =)

An example of the pride that Catalunyans have.. I must say that after living in Barcelona, I do have a certain loyalty to Catalunya <3

• The buildings and balconies - Gorgeous. I loved the mixture of old and new and especially the balconies, always filled with potted plants, flowers, and the occasional clothesline. Ah, how I miss the clotheslines...

I miss Spain so much I can't even describe it. Hopefully I'll be able to return very, very soon. Until then, I have many fond memories to keep me company. Hasta pronto, Barcelona. <3>

Hasta pronto

Last week in BCN.

I love this city. As I write this entry (on a train to Chichester actually), I ache for Barcelona. I really had no idea what to expect from my time there—what the city would be like, how the people are, what the lifestyle would be like… but every day I was pleasantly surprised and grew to adore Barcelona more and more.

I spent my last week trying to soak up as much as I could and also finally do the “touristy” stuff I never got around to doing. Monday night, I went to see the Opening Ceremony of the European Athletic Championships! Barcelona hosted the 20th opening ceremony for the first time at Montjuic, one of my favorite places in Barcelona. The ceremony was really cool and interesting with women bungee-ing off the walls, and dancers dancing on the stage that was built literally on top of the magic fountain. I can't believe how lucky I've been to be in Barcelona during both the world cup championships and now this!

This was the crowd outside at Montjuic, waiting to get into the opening ceremony!

On Tuesday, I went to see La Sagrada Familia: a church that Gaudí started working on in 1882 but died before he could finish, and now it is STILL under construction with hopes of being completed around 2026. It’s incredible how huge La Sagrada is… I don’t really like how it looks on the outside but the inside is beautiful. I can’t believe how long it’s taking to complete… Mu-Ping and I also got the infamous chocolate churros that day =)

La Sagrada.

Wednesday night we had our farewell dinner with the program and said bye to our site director, Rich and the rest of the students. It’s funny how quickly cliques were formed… I wish I had had more time to get to know everyone but I’m fortunate for the friends I made =)

Thursday night was our last night out in celebration of Noah’s last night and we hit our favorite spots for the last time: Espit Chupitos and George Payne. It’s funny how comfortable I grew to feel in George Payne, the Irish pub where we celebrated the 4th of July and bonded together for the first time. Our favorite bartender was working at Espit Chupitos too. She makes me want to be one ;) We also went to Razzmatazz, what we thought was a 7 story club. Turns out there was just one floor in a giant warehouse, somewhere high up (maybe the 7th floor?). Um, yeah. Kinda sketch and weird. We managed to have our own fun though, as always heheh.

Friday and Saturday were spent revisiting el barrio gótico and el borne, two of my favorite districts in Barcelona, and hitting up the remaining tourist spots like Parque Guell, the Olympic stadium, and Arc de Triomf. We walked through Parque de la Ciutadella, which is huge but really peaceful and nice. We also went back to La Champagnería, where they have glasses of pink cava (champagne) for 1 euro, bottles of champagne for 2 and small but YUMMY hamburgers, called montaditos, with things like chorizo (sausage), and morcilla (this rice-like thing which according to google is pig's blood sausage?! oh well I liked it).

Parque Guell



MP, Stella and me at the Arc de Triomf!


Taken at the olympic stadium, where the European Athletic Championships were being held!

Gotta go, but promise to write more asap! I plan on blogging about all my backpacking adventures very soon, now that I have more time in Chichester.. (I'm currently staying with my Aunty Carol and cousin Rebecca at their home in Chichester, a lovely small town in the UK). AND we're going to Berlin in a week to visit my other cousin Jonathan! Can't wait. Cheers!