Seville and Barcelona

Spain was my favorite place I've visited thus far, despite the fact that for the whole of my trip I had a fever and a cold. The people were friendly, the weather was beautiful, and the scenery was breathtaking...and packed with history.

Our trip started out on Wednesday morning. After are last travel-related debacle (missing our flight to Paris) we made sure to leave extra early for Luton Airport. Getting there was simple. The flight to Barcelona was about an hour and a half- we arrived around 5 at night. None of us could control our elation after leaving the airport and realizing how WARM it was! And a blue sky! And the sun! I didn't realize how much I missed the sun until I was in Spain. It was a hard transition to make coming back to grey and cold London. We took a bus into Barcelona from the airport, which ended up taking an hour or so. By the time we found our hostel it was pretty dark. The one thing on our mind, as it tends to be, was DINNER. The American working at the desk told us to go to a small tapas place near the hostel that had its own taps built in to the table. The food was pretty good. Thank god they had menus in English! The biggest hit that night was the potatoes in a spicy sauce. They were so good we had to return to this restaurant the next day. After eating we decided to go straight to bed. I had a fever so I took some tylenol and conked out.

The next day we woke up and make our way to the more central area of Barcelona. We took a free walking tour around the city for a few hours- this tour was not as good as others we have taken in the past. We did not really get to see the main sights of Barcelona, but we were sternly warned about the high chances of being pickpocketed in the city. (Little did we know that two of our own traveling group would have their wallets stolen!) One of the fun things we had to do on the tour was find someone you didnt know and be their "walking buddy," that is, tell that person your name, favorite drink, where you are from, and walk with them for a short while. I met a guy name Jean from Australia. His favorite drink was Cooper's Pale Ale, and he was traveling in Europe for 6 months. In Australia he is dives for pearls...at least I think that was what he said...(?) After the tour we went to a small restaurant for lunch. A note on the dining habits of Spain: Lunch is the largest meal of the day, after which most restaurants close for siesta and do not open until wayyyy later in the evening. Dinner consists mostly of smaller portions of tapas. We learned certainly learned of the "big lunch" concept at the restaurant. For 8 euros we got a three course meal! Spanish olives, bread, wine, vegetable lasagna, paella, dessert. Needless to say after this meal I felt like taking my own mini-siesta. But before I did, four of my friends decided to get ear piercings! It took all of my strength not to get one, myself. There was something exhilarating about seeing my friends do something so spontaneous in Barcelona. After this, I went back to the hostel and crashed. I was too sick to go out that night, but my friends went to a few clubs on the beaches. They said it was fun.

On Friday, Taylor, Sanam and I were planning on going on a hike on a mountain an hour away from Barcelona. I have realized that even more than the amazing museums and architecture, the thing that really enthralls me is being in nature. I have been CRAVING the outdoors lately, and all I wanted to do was hike in the woods. Unfortunately, Simon (the obnoxious know-it-all hostel worker) decided to cancel the tour due to the impending rain. I was very disappointed, but the day turned out to be amazing, just the same.


Michal, Sanam, Taylor and I went to the Picasso Museum. It was really interesting to see Picasso's progression as an artist. He went from doing traditional portraits to Toulouse-Lautrec inspired sketches, to his more traditional cubist works. Next to the final paintings the museum included several studies which showed how much planning was done/how many changes were made before Picasso's finished pieces. Very cool. After the museum we went back to the hostel to pick up the other girls. We split up for the afternoon- Taylor and I went to the Boqueria, which was one of the most wonderful places I visited...I know...I love food too much. In this open air market I was able to see HUGE lobsters, cod, prawns, chickens with their heads still attached, cow tongue, fresh fruit, bread, candy, nuts, vegetables...the list goes on. I cannot imagine how wonderful it must be to have fresh FRESH fruit and vegetables year round. Taylor and I both agreed that the Boqueria was as good as any museum we had been to. In the market we got fresh fruit juice...mine was mango and pineapple, and Taylor got raspberry and pineapple. We also got some chocolate covered cashews that were amazing. After the market we made our way to Montjuic where we were going to meet the rest of the girls. At first I thought what we were climbing was a tiny hill of sorts. Soon after I realized it was a legit mountain with a city built into it! As we continued to walk up the path we saw the swimming pool from the 1992 Olympics! It was built right onto the side of the mountain and overlooked all of Barcelona. As we kept walking, the view of Barcelona/the mountains/ocean got even better. We thought we were supposed to meet Michal, Ellie, and Sanam at the Castle, so thats where we went. As we kept climbing we were struck by the number of stray cats wandering around! And though I was still feverish, I felt exhilarated by the walk and the view. We finally reached the top of the mountain/hillthing and found ourselves looking at an old castle. The views from the top were extraordinary. (We didn't have our cameras with us, as we were advised to lock them up so they wouldn't be stolen.) I know I will never forget my experience at the Castille.

After Taylor and I got back to the hostel, we quickly got ready and went to the cooking class we signed up for. The class was held at a quaint little restaurant near Las Ramblas. We were a rowdy crew made up of Australians, Germans, Brazilians, and Americans. Our "instructor" was the head chef and owner of the restaurant. He showed us how to make our own Sangria and tapas. The Sangria was only okay, as it was made with boxed wine...The tapas were good, as the chef bought the ingredients at the market earlier that day. To make the tapas we had to take a slice of bread and rub/squeeze a slice of tomato and a slice of garlic on it. Then we could top the bread with slices of spanish chorizo or salami, cheese, and/or an omletteish thing with potatoes in it. After the tapas, the chef showed us how to make a traditional paella. The paella had real saffron in it, which was delicious. It also had fresh fish and prawns (the prawns freaked me out because they still had their heads on...). The food was delicious. I will definitely try to make paella at home someday.

The next day we headed for Seville. Seville is probably my favorite city I have been in so far. The weather was sunny and warm, and there were several groups of old couples and children walking around. On the bus to our hostel we met a remarkable young boy and his sister who struck up a conversation with us. (The boy was about 7, the girl was 5ish.) These two kids were American/German/World Travelers, and have been to more places than I have...including Missouri. After meeting these two children I realized that in my travels I have not seen young children walking around in the cities! Other than the small school located across from my flat, I dont see children anywhere! Weird.

We got to our hostel around 3. It was AMAZING! It was called Samay Hostel, and it won Best Hostel in Spain in 2009. It felt more like a hotel than a hostel. There was a rooftop deck with plenty of seating and a spectacular view of the city. After sitting down in a chair on the roof, I was afraid I wasnt going to be able to get back up. At 4 we decided to go on a free walking tour, which was amazing. The tourguide provided us with a lot of history surrounding the Jewish Quarter/Inquisition, the city's Moorish/Roman roots, and the history of Christopher Columbus. After the tour, our guide recommended a place for us to go to see amazing Flamenco dancing. We had some tapas for dinner and then went to a small art studioish looking place called la casa memorial. Inside was a really small but beautiful room with a small stage. There we heard some amazing Spanish guitar and singing, and saw some incredible flamenco dancing. I was completely taken aback by the amount of passion with which they danced. It was truly art.

Our last day in Seville was spent mainly on the rooftop deck in the sun. We also walked around a bit more in the city and got some souvenirs. Oh, and churros. And Ice Cream.. And more Tapas... Oh my!

Now I am back in good ol' London. Even though I love where I am, I cannot help but daydream about the blue skies, orange trees, and spanish guitar back in Seville. This is one city to which I must return.