Spain

I'm back from Barcelona and Madrid! I got back about an hour ago but I need to write this blog tonight because I think I'm getting sick. I've been sniffling for the last couple hours and I'm exhausted and starting to feel sick so I'm going to write this then go to bed!

So it all started Thursday afternoon. I was on the bus on my way to the airport in Edinburgh when I got a phone call from Alex. He asked if I had gotten his voice mail, which luckily I hadn't, and he explained what had happened. He'd gone to his gate without getting his boarding pass stamped with a visa and he didn't realize he had to until right before his plane was about to board. He had to run back out to the desk but everyone said he wouldn't make it back through security to his gate on time. Plus Ryanair closes the desk and stops printing boarding passes 40 minutes before the flight leaves so it was a big mess. Luckily Alex decided to go for it anyway, and he got really lucky that the guy at security let him through when technically he shouldn't have. So he ran to the gate and got there, which is when he called me. I listened to the message after I talked to him and I'm soooo glad I didn't get it earlier because it basically said that he missed his flight and wouldn't be able to get in that night. But he made the flight, crisis averted.

Then came my problems. I got to the airport and the gate and everything fine (after getting my boarding pass stamped of course), and found out that my flight was delayed half an hour. No big deal. So we all got on buses and got out to the plane, sat down, settled in, then the pilot came on the intercom. He was kind of hard to understand because he had a thick accent and kept switching between languages, but I thought I heard him say "Because of a strike in France, I can't start the engines for another 2 hours and 20 minutes". Turns out that's exactly what he said. So we sat on the tarmac for 2 hours and 20 minutes. Then he came on again and said we'd have to wait another hour and a half. Then after that it was another 40 minutes. Then another 40 minutes. People were getting really, really restless. Luckily I bought 3 books last weekend so I had one of those and my iPod, so I was perfectly happy. The lady next to me didn't have anything and she looked like she was going a little crazy.

Finally we were allowed to leave. I guess what happened was air traffic controllers in France went on strike so only a couple planes were allowed to go over their air space every hour. The flight was 2 hours and 20 minutes long, then I took an hour long bus ride into Barcelona (I flew into Girona on Ryanair). I got off the bus at 4 in the morning! Luckily I had done plenty of research so I knew how to get to my hostel, but it was about a 15 minute walk with a couple unpleasant occurrences of guys whistling at me and stuff. So that was rough, but I got to the hostel, checked in (thank goodness for 24 hour check in; I'm never going to book a hostel that doesn't have it), and went straight to the bathroom to get ready for bed and organize my stuff so I wouldn't make any noise when I went into my room. I got to my room, an 8 person mixed dorm, and didn't bother to put sheets on my bed because it was too late and dark and I was exhausted. It took me over an hour to fall asleep though. I didn't know how I would find Alex the next morning, or even if he had made it to the hostel. I was worried that he was worried about where I was, but I was relieved that he hadn't waited up for me because it was really late.

I got about 2 hours of sleep, maybe less. People started getting up at 7 and so I just got up even though I had set my alarm for 8:30 because I couldn't fall back to sleep. I showered and got all ready to go, then went downstairs to the computer room where I hoped to run into Alex. I didn't so I went up to the reception desk to check if he had checked in. He had, and had apparently asked if I had checked in, so I was about to go knock on his door when he came out. His flight had been delayed about an hour and half so he had considered waiting for me at the airport (he didn't know my flight was delayed), but luckily he didn't. Then he considered staying up until I got there because he didn't want me walking around Barcelona by myself in the middle of the night but there was just no way for him to know when or if I got in so luckily he went to bed. So long story short, what could have turned into really horrible travel disasters worked out. I didn't mind getting in late because all it meant was less sleep, which I can deal with, and not less sightseeing, which I would have been upset about.

We started the morning off by finding an ATM, then going back to the hostel for Alex's camera, and by the time we really got going it was about 9 am so that was perfect. We headed towards Placa de Catalunya, a big plaza at the top of La Rambla, a famous, wide boulevard with lots of trees, street vendors, and performers. We stopped for a quick breakfast of a muffin and water each. When we came out of the cafe we turned off La Rambla onto La Canuda to see some Roman tombs that had been uncovered and left open (the area, not the actual tombs...) for people to see.

Roman tombs:

Then we went back to La Rambla, enjoying the gorgeous, perfect weather (70s, sunny, and beautiful), and looking at the little shops. We went into a huge market called La Boqueria which was really cool. Basically your stereotypical awesome street bazaar.

A stall at La Boqueria:

Then we went to the end of La Rambla, which ends at the harbor. So beautiful. We walked over a bridge that crossed the harbor, looked at the boats, and looped back around to the end of La Rambla again. There's a tall tower with a statue of Columbus on top, called Mirador de Colon, and you can go to the top for a good view for only 2 euro, but we couldn't figure out how to get in! We gave up on that and started back up La Rambla.

Mirador de Colon:

The Harbor:

On our trip up La Rambla we turned off into Placa Reial, a cool, typical plaza. Then we went back to La Rambla and turned off again at Carrer de Ferran. This brought us to Placa de Sant Jaume, where the Palau de la Generalitat (Catalon's seat of government) is. Just north of that we came to the cathedral, which we were fairly unimpressed by. Apparently that's a rather common sentiment, according to our guide book.

Inside the cathedral:

After that we wandered around in circles trying to find the Museu d'Historia de la Ciutat. Supposedly it was also in the Placa del Rei, where the cathedral was, but we couldn't find it! Turns out it was a building we kept passing because we thought it was part of the cathedral. Oops. But we saw some cool places in our wanderings.

We went into the museum but all the descriptions were only in Spanish and Catalon, so we didn't learn much. The bottom floor of the museum is part of the excavated old city of Barcelona and you could walk through it, so that was pretty cool.

After the museum we got some lunch at a sandwich shop and sat by a window that overlooked Placa de Sant Jaume. That provided us with some entertainment, for example when a naked man rode through on a bicycle.

After lunch we saw another cool market called Mercat de Santa Caterina on our way to another church, Esglesia de Santa Maria del Mar. We thought it looked a lot like the cathedral.

After that we wandered over to the Parc de la Ciutadella, a big, cool park. Lots of people were out enjoying the weather so there was a cool atmosphere. There was a sweet fountain and lots of palm trees. We spent a while there, it was lovely.

Fountain in the Parc de la Ciutadella:

After the park we walked over to the beach and just sat on the beach and got sunburned for over 2 hours. I think I can safely say that we both thought that was the highlight of Barcelona. We really, really enjoyed sitting on a beach in beautiful weather after spending a few months in UK dreariness. We left when a naked guy kept walking up and down the beach...

The beach:

We still had some time left in the day so we wandered over to the Picasso Museum which was actually really cool. I learned a lot. I had no idea that his paintings were so varied. Like if you take different paintings from different periods in his life they look 100% different. It was amazing. He was really talented and incredibly creative.

After that we walked over to La Sagrada Familia, probably Barcelona's most famous landmark. It's a crazy, crazy church designed by Gaudi, a really famous architect in Barcelona. He died before it was finished, and it's still under construction. Such a crazy building, only pictures can explain. We decided not to pay 11 euro to go in, especially since it's still under construction.

La Sagrada Familia:

We wandered around that area looking for a magnet for me (I collect magnets as souvenirs) and I had a ridiculously hard time deciding on one. Eventually we found ourselves in the back room of a souvenir shop haggling over the price of a magnet. I got 1.50 euro knocked off the original price. Go me.

It took us a while to find a place for dinner but eventually we did. We both ordered bocadillo chorizos (sausage sandwiches), and a plate of croquetas.

After dinner we took the metro over to Montjuic, a big hill/mountain thing on the west side. There's an incredible series of fountains leading up the hill, and one giant fountain called the Magic Fountain. On weekend nights there are "fountain performances" where there's a fountain show (see below). I couldn't get good pictures of the area so here are some I got off the internet:

The art museum and fountains:

View of the Magic Fountain and city from the art museum:

The water jets of the Magic Fountain are timed to music and colored, here are some videos of parts of a couple different songs:

It was really cool and we had a great time there, then we headed back to the hostel. We used the computers for a while then went back to our rooms. I met one of my dorm mates and she was really nice. She's from Romania and she was watching 30 Rock on her laptop so we were instant friends. I put sheets on my bed, got ready for bed, then went to bed.

I slept pretty well that night. In the morning we took the metro to Montjuic, the hill/mountain thing, a funicular from there to part way up Montjuic, then a cable car to the top! That was pretty cool.

In a cable car going up Montjuic:

View of the city from the cable car:

At the top is a castle. It's a museum now but that was closed, but the castle itself and the grounds were open so we walked around and it was pretty cool. We got breakfast at the cafe first, which consisted of fruit and pastries filled with a sweet cream.

Unfortunately the weather wasn't as good as the day before; it was cloudy and kind of rainy, so the views weren't quite as pretty.

Side of the castle:

After we explored the castle we took the cable car back down the mountain a little ways, then got off and walked around. We saw the Olympic stadium which you can walk into so that was neat.

Olympic Stadium:

Then we saw a ton of little girls and their moms (and one dad with a son) going to see Disney Princesses on Ice. That was pretty adorable. But anyway...

There were lots of fountains in that area and a little botanical garden and some good views so we just walked around up there for a while. Then we went to the art museum, which was at the top of the fountains.

Looking towards the Olympic Stadium:

We sat outside for a while deciding what to do next, then tried to go into the museum, but we didn't want to pay for it, so we walked to the bottom of the hill and got on the metro to the beach. Even in grey weather, I still love it. It felt more like Michigan than Spain because of the weather (I mean it was like 60 degrees but grey...), but then I would turn around and there would be palm trees.

We sat on the beach for like 2 hours (I think we got a little more burnt), then decided to walk back to La Rambla. Here's a video of walking along the beach:

Somehow the way we walked didn't take us to La Rambla and we ended up in a different part of the city that we hadn't seen before so that was cool.

By then it was time to grab some food before catching our bus to the airport. We stopped at a nice restaurant called Qu Qu (I think). I had chicken parrilla, which is just like really thinly sliced grilled chicken.

We went back to our hostel to grab our bags after that, then walked to the bus station. The bus ride was uneventful, but it was cool seeing the scenery (it was dark when I arrived). We didn't have any problems at the airport, thank goodness, and the flight was on time and everything.

After a quick and turbulent 1 hour and 10 minute flight we arrived in Madrid. We metroed to our hostel and didn't have any problems with that, arriving at about 10:30 pm. The staff was changing shifts when we arrived at our hostel so we couldn't check in right away. We left our bags in the office and went downstairs to the bar. I was feeling kind of sick (I think just from the turbulent plane ride) so I didn't get anything but Alex got sangria and a plate of paella which are both very Spanish, so he was happy.

The hostel was really nice. It was huge, and had a really cool atmosphere. Here are pictures of a hang out area, a big courtyard in the middle:

Part of the hostel in Madrid:

I slept pretty well, and got up at 7:45 to meet Alex at 8:30. We grabbed free breakfast at the hostel (I had orange juice, milk, and a croissant), then we headed out.

First we walked to Plaza Mayor. It's a famous plaza where stuff like bullfights and executions have taken place. There was a collector's market setting up but there weren't many people there yet because it was early on a Sunday morning.

Plaza Mayor before Madrid was awake:

We left the plaza and went to Mercado de San Miguel, but it wasn't open yet either. Then we went looking for a church but we couldn't find it. We were off to a rough start.

Mercado de San Miguel:

So we just went over to the main cathedral, the Catedral de la Almudena. It was free to go in and pretty neat. It was more colorful than other European cathedrals I've seen.

Main cathedral in Madrid:

After that we went to the palace, the Palacio Real. That was awesome. We got the student rate so it was cheap to get in and we really enjoyed it.

Palacio Real:

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside so here are a few I got off the internet:

The dining room in the palace:

The throne room in the palace:

After the palace we went to Chocolateria San Gines. Chocolate con churros (fried sticks of dough dipped in chocolate) are a big thing here, so we had to try them. The guide book and my friend Andrea suggested this place, and it was delicious!

Chocolate con churros:

We walked back through Plaza Mayor after that so we got to see the collector's market and everyone out enjoying their Sunday morning.

By that time it was time to meet Andrea (she worked in the same biology lab as me at Wash U; she lives in Madrid and offered to show us around). Her boyfriend Antonio joined us and they were both awesome. First we went through El Rastro, a big flea market. It was really crowded but cool. Then we walked to a place for tapas. Along the way they told us about the buildings we were passing and history stuff which was really great.

At the first restaurant we went to we got bread, papas arrugas con mojo something, morcilla artesana (blood pudding), croquettas, and wine (chato tinto) and mosto tinto. It was all delicious and Andrea paid for it which was really, really nice of her. It was so great having them to pick restaurants and dishes and talk to the waiters and stuff. That would have been really overwhelming for Alex and I to do by ourselves.

After that we walked around for a while and got a tour of the city from Andrea and Antonio. It was so awesome getting a tour from locals. We went into the market that we tried to go to that morning (it was closed earlier) and it was packed but very cool.

Then we went to another restaurant where we got bread, calamari, a platter of 4 different kinds of cheese, and a plate of 2 different kinds of ham. All delicious. We had a real Spanish experience with the waiter. We asked for the check like four times and it never came, then we saw him sit down to have lunch and a smoke... Hmm.... So we asked someone else and finally got the bill. Apparently that is a fairly common occurrence in Spain.

After that Antonio and Andrea walked with us to El Retiro, a giant park, then we separated. Alex and I are so grateful to them; that afternoon was definitely the highlight of Madrid.

So then we walked around the park which was awesome. It was a really really beautiful day so we spent a lot of time there.

Fountain/monument in El Retiro:

Next we went to the Prado. We were there for about 2 hours and saw a ton of famous artwork, but we didn't really care enough about art to stay longer...

The Prado:

After the Prado we bought souvenirs, then went to Starbucks... We had a couple hours to kill before bed and nothing was open, and we weren't hungry after our massive tapas lunch so we just sat and drank American hot chocolate for a while.

We got back to our hostel around 10. We checked our emails and stuff then tried to go to bed, but my bed had been taken over my someone else. The bed I slept in the night before wasn't the bed I was assigned because someone else was in that bed, so I went to the front desk to try to figure that out but on the way I ran into Ava, a girl who's on the Wash U Equestrian Team with me. She's studying in London this semester and was in Madrid for the weekend. Turns out her friend was the one sleeping in the bed that I was assigned because someone was sleeping in her assigned bed, so we figured out which bed wasn't being used and I moved into that bed. The problem was that that bed was actually being used by someone so we changed the sheets on another bed and she moved into that one... There were some really annoying, really loud, really inconsiderate French girls in our room and they're the ones that messed up the whole bed situation.

I slept pretty well, and met Alex at 8:30 again the next morning, which was this morning. We walked to Puerta del Sol, the center of Madrid, to find a bookstore that Andrea recommended. It didn't open til 10 (it was 9:15) so we went back to Chocolateria San Gines for more churros but that didn't open til 10 either, so we walked to the palace and sat in the gardens til 10. Then we went back to Chocolateria San Gines and ordered porras con chocolate. Porras are like churros except thicker and shorter. Then we went back to del Sol for the bookstore, Alex bought a book, then we went to the Reina Soffia for the rest of the time we had left.

The Reina Soffia:

That was pretty interesting, and we got lunch in the museum cafe before getting on the metro to go to the airport.

Alex's flight left 3 hours after mine so he waited with me until my flight, which luckily left almost on time (I guess the strike in France is over). We were worried that we might get stuck in Madrid if the strike continued but I got back to my flat with no problems. I just got a call from Alex and he made it back to London too, so success. Pictures are on facebook!

It was a great trip! I'm absolutely exhausted now, and I have class tomorrow so I need to get to bed. I think I'm getting a cold, which will hopefully go away by this weekend since my mom and sister are coming to visit me on Friday!