Madrid - August 2011

We both didn't have many expectations about Madrid - we ended up loving the Spanish capital, it is definitely one of the most underrated cities.

We arrived Sunday evening and decided to go out for some tapas and drinks at several bars and a local market before going out to see some live music. We found a local bar that had a blues band performing. We also decided to head out to a club that was supposed to be massive, but it turned out to be closed.

On our first full day in Madrid we went on a walking tour and learned a lot about the city's geography and history. We then went to the Reina Sophia museum where we saw some notable works by Pablo Picasso, including the amazing Gurnica, and Salvador Dali. That evening we went for dinner to the restaurant called El Sobrino de Botin. This restaurant is famous for two main reasons. Firstly it claims to be the world's oldest restaurant (which it proves with its certificate from the Guinness book of world records) and secondly, the American novelist Ernest Hemingway counted this as one of his favorite haunts. We since learnt that the guy pretty much drank everywhere in the city anyway, buy it was still very cool.

On our last day in Madrid (and Europe) we went to the city's main park (Parc de Retiro) and spent the day lying in the sun playing guitar and relaxing. We had a 5am check in for our flight to new York, so we decided not to sleep for the night so as to sleep well on the flight. To pass the time until then we went and saw Midnight in Paris for the second time on the trip! After some famous churros and packing our bags we were off to the airport. It was really sad actually to say goodbye to Europe despite the obvious excitement for new York!

Location:Madrid, Spain

Valencia - August 2011

Our time in Valencia was brief, but we had a chance to relax on it's beautiful long beach and to also see a bit of the old town area.

We arrived around midday on Friday and went to the beach for the afternoon. We hired lounge chairs and a big umbrella so we were able to endure the 40 degree heat.

That evening we went for dinner to the best paella restaurant in town. As Valencia is the birthplace of this traditional Spanish dish (that is similar to risotto), we ordered the Valencian special that contains chicken, rabbit and beans. It was absolutely delicious!

The following day we hired bikes in the morning and rode to the Art and Science building area of Valencia. These are amazing modern buildings that were designed by a world renowned Spanish architect. For the afternoon we went off to the beach again. The beach this time though looked completely different as there were many more people, and the ocean itself Was no longer flat but quite choppy with lots of waves. We then walked around the old town, admirif it's old buildings and cool street art, before finding some dinner (more paella!).






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Location:Valencia, Spain

Barcelona - August 2011

We had a week in Barcelona, which went by so quickly!

We arrived on Friday night (19 August) and began our evening with a drink and some tapas in the old town area. The tapas included Patatas Bravas (potato chips with a spicy tomato cream sauce- delicious!) and olives. Afterwards we met up with Laura Noonan and her cousin Anne for more tapas and sangria, who had arrived in Barcelona the previous day. The tapas this time consisted of a few of more of the traditional dishes, such as Pa amb tomaquet (bread with tomato), a plate of different types of hams and cheeses, nachos with guacamole (a bit of Mexican influence!), and calamari. It was so nice to catch up and to talk about our travel experiences since Prague.

On Saturday we met up with the girls again on a bike tour of the city. We had a great guide who showed us some of Barcelona's most significant landmarks, including the Old Town and the Barcelona Cathedral, some work of Barcelona's most famous and loved architect, Gaudi, such as La Sagrada Familia (see photo below), the city park and the main beach, where we stopped for a late lunch and sangria.

In the afternoon we went back to the beach with Laura and Anne. It was packed with people and unfortunately wasn't as nice as the beaches in Nice. While it was a sand beach it is actually man-made, and the sand is imported from Egypt. This meant that it was quite dusty and the water wasn't as clear or pleasant to swim in. That evening we had more sangria and tapas at several bars around the town.

On Sunday Luke and I went to to Picasso Museum, which we really enjoyed. We then had some paella for lunch before meeting up with the girls again at Barcelona's weekly bull fight. Bull fighting has actually been banned in this region but they say that they are finishing up this season. Apparently this happened 8 years ago also so who knows of it'll actually finish. I knew what to expect so I wasn't that disturbed by it (although I do not condone it), but it was a cultural experience that I was glad to have. I agree with Luke that it doesn't seem to have that much longer in it anyway as the crowd was minimal and consisted mainly of tourists.



After the bull fight we farewelled both Laura and Anne who were leaving Barcelona the following day. We then went to a flamenco show, followed by more tapas and sangria. The show was amazing; the band and the dancers were exceptional.



On Monday we took a day trip to a seaside town south of Barcelona to enjoy a real beach! This was beautiful and so relaxing. We even spoiled ourselves and hired out a couple of lounges and a big umbrella for the day!

On Tuesday we walked around the Old Town and looked in a few shops, inclduing a couple pf record stores, before going to the cinema to see the Woody Allen film 'Midnight in Paris', which we had been hoping to see since our time in Paris. We loved it, particularly how a lot of the themes and characters had become significant on our trip so far. Afterwards, we walked further afield to the Plaza de España and the palace that is situated high upon one of Barcelona's hills, so we were able to enjoy some great views of the city.

We went on a Gaudi walking tour on Wednesday that covered a few of his most notable buildings, including Sagrada Familia. This building is actually still incomplete and is predicted to take another 30 years of work. In the afternoon we took the metro to Park Guell, a park that Gaudi was involved in making into a housing estate, although it never kicked off.


















In the evening we went to the area of Barcelona called Sants, which is where a summer festival/street party was taking place all week. Each street in the area had been decorated according to a theme, such as 'Under the Sea' or The Beatles. We had a ball watching musicians play in the street, from a jamming session of Spanish folk songs, to a big drum band, and even to a Spanish Blues band!









On Thursday, our last full day in Barcelona we visited the Barcelona Cathedral and did some last minute shopping and sight seeing throughout the old town. That evening we went to see a live music performance in the Catalonian musical theatre, which is a magnificent and beautiful building. Afterwards, we went for a delicious tapas dinner.