I have FINALLY made it to Barcelona, and boy has it been heck of trip. Starting in Madrid with both of my parents {who just so happened to leave me at the airport after they arrived} and taking on the role of “tourist” so that I wouldn't regret leaving Madrid without doing the necessary things… I had the time of my life with my family {and Nick took work off again} and NOW I have the chance to move to a new region of Spain and call it HOME!!
My parents arrived in Madrid when I still had a couple of finals left, so my attention was more on my studies than them; however, once I was done with classes at Carlos III, it was time to begin a new chapter of my life. Having lived in Madrid, I think I took advantage of it. I would complain about our house basically breaking every week {lights blowing up, water heater not working, washing machine not opening when clothes are soaked, etc…}. I did not process how LUCKY I actually was to have a fresh start in a new country, with new friends and new memories to be made. That being said, I am going to to soak in EVERYTHING during my time in Barcelona.
Madrid: I FINALLY went to the Prado, and BOY was it HUGEEE!! Personally, I am not a museum girl; however, with the Prado being one of the infamous museums in Spain, I figured it was a necessity to mark that off my ‘to do list.’ We lasted {maybe} about two hours {give or take} and even then we still had over half more to see. Yes, the works of art were amazing and yes, I recommend it to people who are visiting Madrid; but, it can also be overwhelming to an extent. Also, we went on this thing called the Telefonico of Madrid: a gondola type ride with a sound system that explains a ton of the main attractions within Madrid. Just from my twelve minute round trip on that, I realize that there were SOOO many more thing that I could have {and should have} done, but I guess that gives me a reason to come back. Which brings me to us going to the Temple of Dubod. The temple is one of the attractions that Megan and I continuously told ourselves we were going to visit to watch the sunset while drinking wine. And however my parents and I didn't do that {because we ended up having din at TenConTen instead}, I finally got to see where it was actually located and witness the view firsthand. Lastly, I just HAD to show my dad Retiro: one of the only places in Madrid that managed to keep me sane at times. I’ve cried there, I ran there during the week, I adventured there… It is one of the places I tell people they NEED to go to when visiting Madrid.
Seville: Then came our train ride to Seville, one of my FAVORITE places in Spain, which I managed to know like the back of my hand {odd considering I had only been there for two days}. Once we arrived, we rented a car, managed to live through a car drive that my dad was navigating, and then checked into our hotel. We arrived with just enough time to grab a quick bite of food and watch the sunset along the river. We were also all SO exhausted from the traveling that within minutes of us getting back to our hotel, we were sound asleep {well sound of snoring that is thanks to my dad}. The next morning, I managed to wake my booty up SUPER early and go on a two mile run and return to my room before my mama was even awake. Within a couple of hours we were exploring Seville, making our first stop the Plaza de Espana for a carriage ride {where I had to play the role of translator}. Once we had finished our ride and long day of walking around, we got changed into some nicer clothing, headed to some waffle building to look at a view of the city, went to get drinks at a rooftop bar {that Linda and Bri had taken me to the first time I visited} causing Kimmy to get a little drunk, and then we ended our night at a yummy restaurant along the busy streets. With one day left, and us wanting to sleep in a little bit, we packed up and got ready for one more day of Seville’s heat. We didn't manage to last THAT long before the “menopause heat” kicked in, so we only walked around for a little bit and then took a tour of the bull ring which was actually quite interesting {but extremely sad at the same time}. It’s sad to think that people can be so cruel to harmless animals and inflict so much pain on them just for the joy of an audience. Anyways though, following that we took naps and then went to an Italian restaurant {Maccheroni} which was AMAZING!! Bomb pasta and EVEN BETTER frozen lemon dessert.
Andaluza: Nick FINALLY made his way to join the fambam, as we picked him up from the Marbella airport on our way to our hotel {which personally I LOVED} even though it seemed much like a family fun resort. After driving about eight hours and stopping at some gas station type place for lunch, it was EXTREMELY nice to finally reach a final destination. We proceeded to check in, take all of our luggage to our condo, and then walk to ANOTHER Italian restaurant… If you couldn't tell by now, us Doder’s just REALLY LOVE carbs. By the time we finished, there was still slightly enough light out to explore a little bit, so we walked to a different report to check it out and then walked along the beach to get back to our place {also allowing me to wake up the next morning with about twenty eight bug bites}. We woke up with enough time to get to the breakfast buffet and then head out to a place named Ronda about an hour or two out of Andaluza. Although I’m in no rush to go back to the place, it was interesting to see and learn all the history. A bridge that is lifted hundreds of feet above the ground, with no fence or anything to block people from jumping, Arabian baths, a quaint little palace that was turned into an extravagant garden. The place was neat and I am happy I got to see it, it was even my dad’s favorite place we had been to during our road trip, but I don't recommend going to it for over one to two days because it is so secluded from everything else.
Gibraltar: Because there was not MUCH to do in Andaluza, other than the beach {and it was kinda windy and chilled when we were there}, I told my parents we HAD to do a pitstop at Gibraltar on our way to Salamanca and before enduring another long while in a car. OHHH ALSO my dad got cheated out of twenty euros upon our arrival by some scummy {but clearly smart} hobo that told my dad that we had to pay HIM for parking… LITERALLY seconds before pulling up to a pay machine. That being said, eyes open ladies and gentlemen for scammers… They PREY on Americans!! Fast forward to us actually making it into the region though, we immediately bought tickets to enable us to go on a little bus tour of the region. Although I did not have any monkeys on me this time, I think going back a second time was really cool because I was able to rally off information to my parents on all of the things I learned when I had gone there, prior to Morocco. We went to what I call the “rave cave,” to a couple beautiful lookout points along the driving region, to a tunnel that was built during war, etc… My mama even said that she was upset that she didn't have a monkey climbing on her after we had left, which is quite comical considering she had brought me lice remover after I first visited and was FREAKING OUT on me.
Salamanca: after yet another long drive as a family, where Nick and I slept the majority of the way, we arrived late at night to one of the Spanish cities with the most history embedded in it. We only had time to get drinks that night but the next morning, we went to La Plaza Mayor which was beautiful {but not as extravagant as the one in Madrid}, and we hung out there for a little bit. After getting a quick bite to eat, we went to the main church because after much research {on my mama’s part}, there was apparently known to be two hidden carvings within the infrastructure. After about an hour of walking around the entirety of the place a couple of times, WE FINALLY FOUND THEM!! The gargoyle eating ice cream and then the small astronaut {which is trippy considering nobody had been to the moon at the time the church was established}. We walked around the place a little more to take in everything that once happened there, including the Roman Bridge; however, once my mom and I got attacked by HUGE ants, we decided it was time to go and we were going to meet Nick and dad back at the hotel.
San Sebastian: After Salamanca, we were on our way to one of the more well known “beachy” cities of Spain, but on our way we decided to make a pitstop in Bilbao {just to find out that the main reason for going there {aka the Guggenheim Museum} was CLOSED}. That being said, we didn't stay in Bilbao that long; we were only there long enough to check out the outside of the museum, go grab some food, and trudge back to the car in the pouring rain. Eventually, we did manage to make it to San Sebastian, and I have got to say that it is one of my favorite places. The beach was beautiful, there were surfers, people were riding bikes, etc… I was ultimately in my element. When we were there we rode bikes a couple of times, went on the telefonico of San Sebastian that provided us with a beautiful panoramic view of the city, AND I even got to play with a cute little owl {and yes it was trained}.
Barcelona: UPDATES COMING YOUR WAY!!
xoxo V
