My train arrived around 7:30 in the morning. An arrival which I almost slept through. Originally I thought Barcelona was the last stop on the train. I woke up to find the train stopped, almost empty, at a station with NO CLEAR indication that it was Barcelona Sants. After sitting there for 5 minutes I began to feel anxious, so I double checked my ticket, and sure enough, my arrival time was 7:36. I asked the women next to me (in perfect Spanish I might add) if we were at the Barcelona Sants station. When she responded yes I grabbed my backpack and ran off the train. She was probably quite amused. Oh well, crisis averted, I did NOT miss the Barcelona station (the train departed as I walked down the platform).
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No Pasa Nada
30 OctTime for some long overdue posts about my adventures in Spain! On Friday afternoon we met up with Emily at the Parque del Retiro, the largest park in Madrid. It was a relaxing day, the weather was perfect, and we sat around taking in the view before we explored the park. Sites we saw included the Cristal Palace (unfortunately not open but nice to look at nonetheless) and an art exhibit in one of the buildings. (free admission, hooray!)
Caminando en Madrid
20 OctI cannot begin to describe how happy I am to be back in Spain! The culture, the architecture, the people, the SPANISH, everything is just wonderful. Today has been a long day…woke up at 5, took a train out to Gatwick airport, flew to Madrid, then took the metro system to my hostel. No major issues with traveling (aside from my epic failure of a quest to print my boarding pass for the return trip). Luckily I’m staying at the same hotel as three of my friends from AU, so one of them met me at the metro station and took me to our hostel. This was completely necessary, as the hostel is hidden…it’s on the third (and fourth) floor of a building and there is no sign near the entrance to mark it. Nothing. But despite being hidden, the hostel is extremely nice, much better than the one I stayed at in Paris.
Viva Espana!
29 JunWe ended our trip full circle, back in Madrid for the final afternoon/night, and it was quite the experience! Spain was playing Germany in the final round of the Eurocup. We all went out and bought Espana soccer jerseys so we could celebrate like true Spaniards. We started out watching the game at a sports bar, but when Spain was winning at half-time we decided to migrate over to Plaza de Colon in the center of Madrid to watch the second half! It was crazy! The whole square was packed and we had to go through security to get in. People were singing and chanting, and purple smoke/fire shot off into the sky. There were two giant TV screens to watch the game on. I’ve never been a huge sports fan, but I got so into the game feeding off the energy from the crowd! When Spain finally won, the whole city went crazy. Everyone jumped into the fountains to celebrate!
Flamenco!
28 JunTonight we went to a Flamenco show, and ate dinner while we watched the show. I loved the dancers’ dresses. At times it seemed like the dresses were dancing on their own.
Catedral de Sevilla
28 JunNext we visited la Cetadral de Seville. It was HUGE! It’s actually the largest gothic cathedral in the world! The view from the top of the Cathedral tower was incredible. We could see out over all of Seville, and the city seemed to stretch on forever!
Alcazar
28 JunNext up we toured the Alcazar, a royal palace that was originally a Moorish fort. I loved the archways in the center!
Plaza de Espana
28 JunFirst stop on the tour today was the Plaza de Espana. It was built in the early 1900s and it’s home to some of Spain’s government buildings.
Hola, Sevilla!
27 JunWe left Cordoba and continued on our way to Sevilla. The city is slightly larger than Cordoba, but not as modern or as vast as Madrid. We had lots of time today to walk around and shop. We tried to check out la Plaza de Torros, the Bull-Fighting ring, but it was closed today 😦
My Life as a World Traveler 