Euro Trip: Spain pt. II

Thursday, December 19, 2013

It was another early rise for traveling, this time to Barcelona. We packed up our stuff, ate a quick breakfast left out for us by the hostel staff (so nice), and wheeled our luggage down the cobbled street in the morning darkness. We took the bus to the airport and waited in the tiny terminal. When we boarded, I was thrilled to find our seats on an exit row. That was a luxury I had never experienced before! The flight was short to Barcelona, only was an hour and a half. We landed and took the metro to our airbnb place located a few miles from the city center. Silva, our airbnb host, showed us around our place. It was a nice, modern apartment with a few bedrooms, kitchen, living area, and a small terrace. It was nice to have the place to ourselves.

We were tired from staying up late and waking early, so we took a quick nap after eating shwarma. Since we were only in Barcelona for a couple days, we visited the a few Antoni Gaudi designed buildings, starting with Sagrada Familia first. This was a huge, oddly constructed church that got many of its design aspects from the shapes of nature, plants, animals, etc. It is notoriously unfinished, with construction occurring even as we visited. After that, we strolled through the rain to Casa Bastllo, another Gaudi building. This time, we took an audio tour of the building. I thought I wouldn't really like his style which had no straight lines and symmetry, but I found his nature-inspired ideas to be not only be appealing but also functional. He thought out of the box, especially for his time.  We made a quick stop by our apt and then went out for tapas at a restaurant recommended by Silvia. It was packed, but the food was just alright. Strangely, steak fries are really common here as tapas. I'm not really a fan (esp. the topping of mayonnaise...gross). We strolled back to our apt and got ready for bed. Travel days are always long and tiring.

Friday, December 20, 2013

We (actually, just me) were tired of eating out every meal, so we made toast and tea for breakfast. Our day starting with a short visit to the Picasso Meuseum. It was interesting to see the progression of his style throughout his life. We then walked down La Rambla, the main street of Barcelona that leads to the peer. It was touristy, but still very different than home. Barcelona had the most European/Western style to it, more than Madrid and Granada. The peer was huge, and even had an entire mall on it. We sat on the huge deck and watched to bustling activity. People watching in foreign places is so interesting. There was also a massive spire with a Colombus statue on it. I have a feeling that would not fly in America. We walked back down La Rambla and stopped at a street side place for lunch. The food was decent and fairly priced, but the Tinto de Verano was disgusting and coated as much ad our entire meal. We were totally tourist-scammed. We stopped again to get a Nutella crêpe which was absolutely delicious. We walked the streets more. I was nice to have clear weather.

We took the metro to Park Güell, yet another site designed by Gaudi. I accidentally took us through the back entrance with trails. It ended up working put because the front entrance recently started making you pay. We didn't get access to the Gaudi part, but the park was still nice. Spain is bascislly broke, so they try and find and excuse to charge money for anything.

I wasn't really in the mood to eat tapas again, so we bought ingredient to make a salad. Finally, a meal that wasn't all carbs. We also made our own tinto de verano that was wayyy better. Since our apt wasn't situated any city sites, we just walked around the streets which was fun. The little shops are so tiny but jammed packed with items. Our stay in Barcelona was short, but I feel like I experienced the city well.

Euro trip: Spain pt. I

Friday, December 13, 2013

My final exams have ended for the semester, and I am in need of a break. Julie and I have been saving and planning for this trip for a long time. I'm so thrilled to go to Europe. I've never been before, though I consider myself to be fairly traveled. Julie has actually traveled many more countries than I have.

We caught our noon flight from Memphis to Atlanta, but then had a 5 hour layover. We sat in the international terminal people-watching and killing time. We finally boarded our 7pm flight bound for Madrid, Spain. The flight was long and uncomfortable. Typically drinks were served, with complimentary wine and beer (surprise), and a wide array of personal movies were offered via the personal screen on the seat-back in front of me. The 7 hour flight was exhausting. 

Saturday, December 14, 2013

When we arrived in Madrid, the sun was was coming through the fog across the airport runway. We saw one day end and another begin wihout any sleep. We gathered our things and made our way across the airport to the metro. Via the directions of the Terrell's, we found our way to their apartment. It was nice to see a friendly face, and I could tell they were thankful for seeing old friends from back home (Olivia and Andrew work for Mission to the World, they live in Spain, and they are currently on year 1 of a 3 year commitment). We settled in at their apartment in the guest room.

With Olivia and Andrew as our guide, and meandered through the old city streets, got a quick meal of tortilla de patata, and visited the city plazas decorated in Christmas fair. We ate a small lunch at El Corte Ingles, and my lack of sleep caught up with me as we sat in the sun. The city was unusually crowded, even to the surprise of the Terrells. That night, Julie and I explored the city by ourselves and wondered to a huge palace lit up amongst the fountains and cityscape. We found our way to a street known for its tappas bars, but the shear amount of people out, even at 8pm (which is very early for the Spaniards), was shocking. We got a quick drink and made our way back to the apartment. The Terrell's had a few visitors over the might for church, so we when to bed. I fell asleep faster than I can remember, and we never heard a peep for the party hosted by the Terrell's at their apartment. 

Sunday, December 15, 2013

The next day in Madrid, our first full day, we ate breakfast at the Terrell's apartment and explored the city a bit. We did a bit of shopping, and then walked to a beautiful park with a small lake with paddle boats. The weather was amazing with blue skies. We ate at a small German burger place (I know...not Spanish), but the food was quite different than anything in the state. All the native food here is straight carbs with no veggies or fresh ingredients. The coffee however is delicious... café con leche. That night, Julie and I hard a nicer dinner at Olé Lola, a great tappas bar. We couldn't communicate well with our server, but our meal was delicious. Back at the Terrell's apartment, we stayed up late talking and laughing.

Monday, December 16, 2013

The next morning, we walked to a small cafe for breakfast: pan con tomate, fresh OJ, coffee, and a muffin. Afterward, we strolled to Olivia's jewelry workshop and saw how she makes her stuff. It was really fascinating. We were catching a bus to Granada that afternoon, so we back up our things and said our goodbyes. Staying with the Terrells was a real treat, and we had a great time seeing the city from a " local's" perspective. We got on the metro and quickly realized that we were cutting it very close to the bus station. We were those people running through the station trying to figure out where to go. However, our attempt to make the 2:00pm bus failed, and the next available ride was 5:30 that evening. We stowed our luggage in a locker and explored the streets around the bus station. We stopped for pizza, which ended up being a language lesson trying to read the menu. The server was so helpful and nice.
While walking back to the car, we saw a guy peeing by the sidewalk next to his car. Maybe that's a Europe thing, but I seriously doubt it.

We boarded the bus and left Barcelona as the sun was setting. I listened to music and read while Julie watched a movie and slept. It was actually a fairly comfortable bus ride, far more than the flight over from the US. We made a quick stop about half way through the 5 hour trip. We arrived in Granada at 10:30pm, and finally made it to Casa Bimbo after some difficulty. A couple from the bus was helpful in giving directions. We rolled our luggage up the steep cobblestoned streets. Casa Bombo, a relatively newer hostel, was situated in the older part of the city. It had the classic Spanish look and seemed ancient, yet clean. The view across the valley of the Alhambra was breathtaking. We were shown our room, grabbed a shwarma from down the street for dinner, and went to bed.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

For some reason, I was wide awake at 6:00am. Julie slept while I checked various school things on my tablet. By 8, we both went upstairs to the lounge for a hostel breakfast of coffee, cereal, and toast. I got to see my first daylight view of the Alhambra across the valley which was beautiful. At 10am, we walked up through the city streets to the Alhambra for a walking tour. The gardens were beautiful, even in winter. The Alhambra itself was massive, and it seemed like a great place to live in ancient days. The view from above looking down to the city below was spectacular. Granada is a beautiful city with lots of charm. The Sierra Nevada Mountains could be seen to the east with their gradual snowy peaks.

After the Alhambra, we walked the streets to Julie's school when she studied aboard. We even ran into on of her teachers! We stopped at the Restaurant Europa where I had a cerveza and not so great sandwich. We walked the plazas, stopped in stores, and experienced the city. After stopping by a "Chino" for cheap wine and lemon Fanta (to make tinto de verano), we hiked up to a higher point in there city to watch the sunset. It was spectacular with a view of the Alhambra, the mountains, and the entire city below. Later that night we ate Spanish tapas at a small bar called La Bella y La Bestia, and then we went to a flamenco show. It was in a tiny shotgun style venue/cave, and the music was classic Spanish. I was so tired that I dosed off during the first slow songs, but when the dancer came out and the music picked up, it was a great show. We met a guy from Munich who offered some advice on NYE, so I emailed him later that night. We left during intermission because we were exhauated (and we couldnt understand anything). We slept well that night.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

I woke up early again, around 6am, for no reason. I let Julie rest while I drank coffee and ate breakfast overlooking the Alhambra. When Julie got ready, we walked downtown through Granada and walked through El Corte Ingles, the European (or Spanish) of a superstore. We walked through the city for a while, saw the shops, the trinket stores, etc. We got a salad at La Bella y La Bestia for lunch, then went back to the hostel for a bit to rest.

That afternoon, we went to the Arab bathes. The hostel accidentally messed up the reservations, so the bathes only had three people! It ended up working out for us though. The bathes were so tranquil and warm, such a relaxing environment. They were located in a cave-like structure with multiple room with different temperature pools. Delicious hot was served in the rooms as well. I checked out the steam room for a bit, but those things are just hot and miserable. Another room had a massage, which took up about 20 minutes of the 1.5 hour bath time. It was my first massage too. It was good, but it kinda felt weird too. We left the bathes, got a little lost, and ended up back at the lookout to watch the sunset. We shower and went out for tapas that night at Pöe. The bartender was England, so we had some good conversation with him for a while. It was a long day, so we when to bed early since we needed to get up early.