Madrid, Sevilla (Seville), and Barcelona
So far, Spain has been my favorite place. The culture is so much more laid back and relaxed. No one rushes around or are in a hurry to do anything, which is such a nice change of pace. Even the people walk slower. Many restaurants don't let you take food away because they want you to sit and enjoy your meal. Another great thing about Spain is all the dogs. People took them into restaurants, stores, shops, anything. They would run around without leashes and wouldn't bother anyone. Being a dog person, this was one of my favorite aspects about Spain :)
Carnival started out by myself, Angelina, and Marisa going to Kate's house in Luxembourg City because our shuttle to the Brussels airport left at 4am. Her host dad offered to drive us to the Luxembourg train station to catch our shuttle, so her host mom cooked us dinner and introduced us to the strange but delicious combination of Coke and wine. After dinner, we spent a good hour watching a video montage of Josh Peck's vines and listening to One Direction's new album. Then, the four of us plus Jordan and Kate and Jordan's host dad ended up hitting up Scott's, a bar and dance club in Lux City. After we had some Strongbow and danced to The Backstreet Boys, we went back to the house and grabbed our luggage before heading back to train station to catch our shuttle. And that's where the adventure begins.
February 15th, 2014 (Saturday) - Madrid
Our flight to Madrid was supposed to leave at 9am, so we took the 4am shuttle to Brussels to have a solid three hours before our plane actually left. However...we still missed the flight. There was a huge accident between a bus and a car that we hit about thirty minutes into our bus ride, and we ended up sitting in traffic for over six hours. We ended up having to drive back to Luxembourg train station and get on a different shuttle that finally took us successfully to the Brussels airport, where we had to buy an entirely new plane ticket since RyanAir had absolutely no customer service and were not willing to give us any type of refund or exchange. I don't even want to think about how much extra money I had to spend. We didn't get into Madrid until like 11:00 that night, and we were too tired to go out, so we grabbed dinner at a tapas bar (four beers and four huge plates of food for 10 euro made us a little happier). So we didn't really do a whole lot on Friday besides sit on a bus, sit in an airport, and mourn the loss of an entire day in Madrid as well as several hundred Euro (it makes me sick to think of how many US dollars were lost).
February 16th, 2014 (Sunday) - Madrid & Seville
On Saturday morning, we woke up super early so we could at least do a little sightseeing since Friday was supposed to be our main time in Madrid. We met up with one of Marisa's friends who was studying there and she took us to as many places as she could before we had to catch our train for Seville. We walked through Puerto del Sol and Plaza Mayor, two huge squares full of cool buildings, shops, and markets. We also went inside Madrid's cathedral and saw the Crystal Palace, a huge all-glass building in Parque Retiro. On our way to lunch, we ran into a protest against the Spanish banks and government, but we felt a lot safer than we did during the protest in Cologne since this one wasn't anti-American. We got lunch at a place with mini sandwiches and this wonderful local wine called tinto de verano, a sparkling red wine that was very sweet and fruity. We got chocolate and churros for dessert and then headed off for the train station.
Carnival started out by myself, Angelina, and Marisa going to Kate's house in Luxembourg City because our shuttle to the Brussels airport left at 4am. Her host dad offered to drive us to the Luxembourg train station to catch our shuttle, so her host mom cooked us dinner and introduced us to the strange but delicious combination of Coke and wine. After dinner, we spent a good hour watching a video montage of Josh Peck's vines and listening to One Direction's new album. Then, the four of us plus Jordan and Kate and Jordan's host dad ended up hitting up Scott's, a bar and dance club in Lux City. After we had some Strongbow and danced to The Backstreet Boys, we went back to the house and grabbed our luggage before heading back to train station to catch our shuttle. And that's where the adventure begins.
February 15th, 2014 (Saturday) - Madrid
Our flight to Madrid was supposed to leave at 9am, so we took the 4am shuttle to Brussels to have a solid three hours before our plane actually left. However...we still missed the flight. There was a huge accident between a bus and a car that we hit about thirty minutes into our bus ride, and we ended up sitting in traffic for over six hours. We ended up having to drive back to Luxembourg train station and get on a different shuttle that finally took us successfully to the Brussels airport, where we had to buy an entirely new plane ticket since RyanAir had absolutely no customer service and were not willing to give us any type of refund or exchange. I don't even want to think about how much extra money I had to spend. We didn't get into Madrid until like 11:00 that night, and we were too tired to go out, so we grabbed dinner at a tapas bar (four beers and four huge plates of food for 10 euro made us a little happier). So we didn't really do a whole lot on Friday besides sit on a bus, sit in an airport, and mourn the loss of an entire day in Madrid as well as several hundred Euro (it makes me sick to think of how many US dollars were lost).
February 16th, 2014 (Sunday) - Madrid & Seville
On Saturday morning, we woke up super early so we could at least do a little sightseeing since Friday was supposed to be our main time in Madrid. We met up with one of Marisa's friends who was studying there and she took us to as many places as she could before we had to catch our train for Seville. We walked through Puerto del Sol and Plaza Mayor, two huge squares full of cool buildings, shops, and markets. We also went inside Madrid's cathedral and saw the Crystal Palace, a huge all-glass building in Parque Retiro. On our way to lunch, we ran into a protest against the Spanish banks and government, but we felt a lot safer than we did during the protest in Cologne since this one wasn't anti-American. We got lunch at a place with mini sandwiches and this wonderful local wine called tinto de verano, a sparkling red wine that was very sweet and fruity. We got chocolate and churros for dessert and then headed off for the train station.
The train ride to Seville was beautiful. Besides playing music from the Harry Potter soundtrack, the Spanish countrysides the train passed were absolutely stunning. We got a little lost trying to find our way to our hostel, but I was able to use my limited Spanish to successfully ask for directions, and we made it eventually. The hostel was SO cool. It was run by a group of really hot British guys, and our room was huge and the bathroom was like twice the size of my bathroom at home, which was a pleasant surprise. We met up with Kate's friend, Daniela, who was studying in Seville, to go to a futbol game against Valencia! We bought scarves down at the stadium and then grabbed dinner at a street vendor before getting to our sixth row seats! The futbol game was a lot of fun, it was so much different than any American soccer game I'd ever been to. The crowd was so into it, and I wish I would have known the chants that they sang. The game ended in a tie, 0-0, so it was really intense especially at the end. On our way back to the hotel, Angelina, Marisa, and I decided that we wanted to try an orange from one of the hundreds of orange trees dotted around the city, although we had been warned that they were rather bitter. Bitter was a bit of an understatement; it was more sour than any lemon I've ever had. But hey, all part of the experience.
February 17th, 2014 (Monday) - Seville
We had breakfast at the hostel and then went on a free walking tour that turned out to be super informative. The tour guide talked a lot about Seville's past and how they were affected by WWII. One interesting landmark we passed was a building that was only half finished, and was never completed because the finished side represented Seville's wealth before WWII and the unfinished side represented how Seville became poor. He also told us that the word "sangria" represents how the people would bleed. The tour finished up in Plaza de Espana, a huge square with all kinds of fountains and fancy architecture. After taking a ton of pictures in the plaza, we had tapas and wine for lunch. We wanted to go to the cathedral and climb to the top, but it was already closed for the day. Instead, we walked around and went to some shops and explored a garden. We also saw a very drunk man wandering the streets calling everyone a "puta," so that was fun. We had some ice cream (I had cheesecake, Kinder Surprise, and white chocolate Nutella) before heading to The Mushrooms, these huge modern architecture things that you could take an elevator to the top of and see the whole city. They also gave you a free glass of tinto de verano when you got to the top, but we kind of had to rush because at 9:00, our hostel had what they called a "family dinner," a big meal on the top of the hostel where all the people staying there could eat together. We met people from Brazil, France, London, and Australia.
We had breakfast at the hostel and then went on a free walking tour that turned out to be super informative. The tour guide talked a lot about Seville's past and how they were affected by WWII. One interesting landmark we passed was a building that was only half finished, and was never completed because the finished side represented Seville's wealth before WWII and the unfinished side represented how Seville became poor. He also told us that the word "sangria" represents how the people would bleed. The tour finished up in Plaza de Espana, a huge square with all kinds of fountains and fancy architecture. After taking a ton of pictures in the plaza, we had tapas and wine for lunch. We wanted to go to the cathedral and climb to the top, but it was already closed for the day. Instead, we walked around and went to some shops and explored a garden. We also saw a very drunk man wandering the streets calling everyone a "puta," so that was fun. We had some ice cream (I had cheesecake, Kinder Surprise, and white chocolate Nutella) before heading to The Mushrooms, these huge modern architecture things that you could take an elevator to the top of and see the whole city. They also gave you a free glass of tinto de verano when you got to the top, but we kind of had to rush because at 9:00, our hostel had what they called a "family dinner," a big meal on the top of the hostel where all the people staying there could eat together. We met people from Brazil, France, London, and Australia.
February 18th, 2014 (Tuesday) - Barcelona
Our train to Barcelona left Seville pretty early, so we grabbed a taxi and checked into our hostel in Barcelona around 3pm. We ate at a pizza place because it was the only thing we could find that was open during siesta. After that, we did some quick sightseeing since Marisa had to leave that night to go to London for her study tour. We saw the Barcelona Cathedral and its historical archive and did a little bit of shopping for souvenirs. After that, we got some paellas, traditional Spanish rice dishes, along with some sangria. It was so weird walking around Barcelona at night, because random people would come up to you and try to get you to come to their bar or night club. There were also random men on street corners selling individual cans of beer, which was really strange. I never felt uncomfortable because I was with a group and we mainly stayed on main streets, but it was definitely something you would never see back in the US. It took us a while to walk to it, but we eventually made it to the Dow Jones Bar, a bar whose drink prices are based off their popularity. So, the more people are ordering a drink, the more expensive it is. I had a tequila sunrise because it was one of the cheaper things on the menu. Afterwards, we went to a shots bar one of the girls in our hostel told us about called Espit Chupitos. They had all kinds of shots for only 2 euro. I had one called a Green Goblin that was even set on fire! After spending some time there, we got back to the hostel around 3am and had to walk Marisa to the bus stop so she could take a shuttle to the airport.
Our train to Barcelona left Seville pretty early, so we grabbed a taxi and checked into our hostel in Barcelona around 3pm. We ate at a pizza place because it was the only thing we could find that was open during siesta. After that, we did some quick sightseeing since Marisa had to leave that night to go to London for her study tour. We saw the Barcelona Cathedral and its historical archive and did a little bit of shopping for souvenirs. After that, we got some paellas, traditional Spanish rice dishes, along with some sangria. It was so weird walking around Barcelona at night, because random people would come up to you and try to get you to come to their bar or night club. There were also random men on street corners selling individual cans of beer, which was really strange. I never felt uncomfortable because I was with a group and we mainly stayed on main streets, but it was definitely something you would never see back in the US. It took us a while to walk to it, but we eventually made it to the Dow Jones Bar, a bar whose drink prices are based off their popularity. So, the more people are ordering a drink, the more expensive it is. I had a tequila sunrise because it was one of the cheaper things on the menu. Afterwards, we went to a shots bar one of the girls in our hostel told us about called Espit Chupitos. They had all kinds of shots for only 2 euro. I had one called a Green Goblin that was even set on fire! After spending some time there, we got back to the hostel around 3am and had to walk Marisa to the bus stop so she could take a shuttle to the airport.
February 19th, 2014 (Wednesday) - Barcelona
We met some girls in our hostel from Ohio the next morning at breakfast, so we decided to go do some more sightseeing with them. The first thing we saw was Park Güell, a massive park that looked like some sort of fantasy land or like something out of Willy Wonka. We did a lot of walking around and taking pictures of the park before the other girls headed for the beach, and Kate went back to the hostel because she wasn't feeling great. Angelina and I decided to set out to find Sagrada Familia, a huge cathedral built by the same guy who constructed Park Güell. The cathedral was under a lot of construction, since it isn't expected to be finished for another twenty years. It was honestly the most beautiful building I've ever seen. Gaudi, the architect, was really into nature and constructed the inside of the church to represent a forest. Once we finished touring the inside of the church, Angelina and I met Kate back up at the hostel and decided to immerse ourselves further into the Spanish culture by taking a traditional Spanish siesta. When we woke up several hours later, we grabbed tapas (appetizers) for dinner before meeting back up with the girls from our hostel to go out. We went to Marsella, a bar from the 1800s that hadn't been redone since it's construction, and we tried absinthe, a really strong drink that's been outlawed in parts of the US. It was really disgusting and I never want to do it ever again. Once we forced ourselves to finish our drunks, we headed to Sala Apolo for dancing. Clubbing in Spain is so different than in the US. Not only did they play Spanish music (with the exception of a few random songs such as Twist and Shout and Rockin' Robin), but the dancing is just more fun, because everyone is dancing with each other. We returned home late that night extremely tired and excited to sleep in until really late on Thursday.
We met some girls in our hostel from Ohio the next morning at breakfast, so we decided to go do some more sightseeing with them. The first thing we saw was Park Güell, a massive park that looked like some sort of fantasy land or like something out of Willy Wonka. We did a lot of walking around and taking pictures of the park before the other girls headed for the beach, and Kate went back to the hostel because she wasn't feeling great. Angelina and I decided to set out to find Sagrada Familia, a huge cathedral built by the same guy who constructed Park Güell. The cathedral was under a lot of construction, since it isn't expected to be finished for another twenty years. It was honestly the most beautiful building I've ever seen. Gaudi, the architect, was really into nature and constructed the inside of the church to represent a forest. Once we finished touring the inside of the church, Angelina and I met Kate back up at the hostel and decided to immerse ourselves further into the Spanish culture by taking a traditional Spanish siesta. When we woke up several hours later, we grabbed tapas (appetizers) for dinner before meeting back up with the girls from our hostel to go out. We went to Marsella, a bar from the 1800s that hadn't been redone since it's construction, and we tried absinthe, a really strong drink that's been outlawed in parts of the US. It was really disgusting and I never want to do it ever again. Once we forced ourselves to finish our drunks, we headed to Sala Apolo for dancing. Clubbing in Spain is so different than in the US. Not only did they play Spanish music (with the exception of a few random songs such as Twist and Shout and Rockin' Robin), but the dancing is just more fun, because everyone is dancing with each other. We returned home late that night extremely tired and excited to sleep in until really late on Thursday.
February 20th, 2014 (Thursday) - Barcelona
Our last day in Barcelona was one we wanted to be super relaxing. We woke up at around noon and grabbed lunch at an outdoor sreet market on our way to the beach. The water was actually really cold, so we just dipped our feet in for a split second to say we've been in the Mediterranean Sea. We sat out on a ledge for over an hour and just watched the waves. There were a lot of people sitting in the sand, but because the water was so cold, the only people in it were a group of drunk American frat boys. We ended up running into three guys in our program who were in Barcelona for their study tour the following week, and we made plans to get dinner and go out with them later that night. We did some more walking along the shore and went out on some rocks and watched the sunset, which was breathtaking. We met up with the other guys and got paella at a really nice restaurant and had paella again. Afterward, we walked through the Gothic District and then went back to Espit Chupitos, the shots bar, until really late. Then, the three of us walked back to the hostel and packed up our things because Angelina and I had to catch a bus at 4am to get to the Barcelona airport. We were extremely tired and wanted nothing more than to sleep, but our Barcelona experience was totally worth being tired the whole next day.
Our last day in Barcelona was one we wanted to be super relaxing. We woke up at around noon and grabbed lunch at an outdoor sreet market on our way to the beach. The water was actually really cold, so we just dipped our feet in for a split second to say we've been in the Mediterranean Sea. We sat out on a ledge for over an hour and just watched the waves. There were a lot of people sitting in the sand, but because the water was so cold, the only people in it were a group of drunk American frat boys. We ended up running into three guys in our program who were in Barcelona for their study tour the following week, and we made plans to get dinner and go out with them later that night. We did some more walking along the shore and went out on some rocks and watched the sunset, which was breathtaking. We met up with the other guys and got paella at a really nice restaurant and had paella again. Afterward, we walked through the Gothic District and then went back to Espit Chupitos, the shots bar, until really late. Then, the three of us walked back to the hostel and packed up our things because Angelina and I had to catch a bus at 4am to get to the Barcelona airport. We were extremely tired and wanted nothing more than to sleep, but our Barcelona experience was totally worth being tired the whole next day.