Our last two cities in Spain were probably our busiest and most exciting days. First was Madrid. When we got there, we were very thankful that we were able to understand the metro system and get to our hostel quickly. It was a really great hostel with friendly people. We had the whole afternoon ahead of us, but weren't really sure where to go so we wandered around for a bit until we found the castle. It was great but...we were really hungry so we searched for something to eat. Zach and I have discovered that kebabs/doners/shawarmas are our new favourite things. Madrid was a front runner for the best one we had tasted!
It was VERY hot in Madrid. After walking around for the whole afternoon, the sun had definitely worn us out but we had a really good time walking down Madrid's most famous street: Paseo del Prado. It was filled with shopping (which of course I had to completely ignore due to my lack of space and...finances), parliament buildings and of course...a Starbucks (that I also resisted!). I even found the theatre that was debuting Les Miserables! I would've seen it, but it was a little too expensive for my backpacking budget!
While we were walking back to our hostel we discovered a massive protest in the main square: Puerta del Sol. There is a lot of political unrest in all of Spain, and after a recent election, Madrid has become the central location for demonstrations protesting the ethics of the government. There were protest signs everywhere, people sleeping in tents or on cardboard and a LOT of people gathered in groups with megaphones speaking very passionately about something I couldn't understand because it was all in Spanish. The square had been occupied for a week by the time we got there. Here are a few photos...
Basically, it was crazy. Our tour guide the following day told us that the square had been the location for many protests throughout Spain's history. During our time in Madrid, we were constantly asked to join groups of people protesting something or another. (Don't worry Mom and Dad, we declined each time).
Our next day was very, very busy! It started off with a walking tour in the morning that lasted about four hours in the blazing sun! Harriet was our tour guide-originally from London, but had been living in Madrid for a few years. She had a lot of great information for us and showed us all the major sights!
The day wasn't over yet, we still had two more museums to see! Thanks to Rick Steeves, we discovered that both the Picasso Museum and the Reina Sofia Museum were free after 6:00 PM, so after a quick siesta we went to both! Needless to say, we were both fell asleep quickly that night. Next day, we were headed to Barcelona-our final stop in Spain!
I would like to say that our travel day to Barcelona went smoothly but unfortunately we had a few bumps in the road. I can't remember all of them exactly, but I remember being VERY grateful once we finally found our hostel. We were in a great location-right on Pasa de Gracia, the major shopping street in Barcelona and right by a metro stop. Our first night was spent exploring what we could of the city and resting up because the next day we had a lot of stuff to see!
One of the things I was most looking forward to in Barcelona was all the work I would get to see by the famous architect, Antoni Gaudi. I had heard from my parents that I should try and see everything I could by him because his work his unlike anything else-and they were definitely correct! Our firs stop of the day was Gaudi park. It was AMAZING! There were mosaics everywhere and the coolest shapes I had seen before! But I will let the pictures do the talking...
After the Gaudi park, we headed to the very famous church also designed (and partly built) by Gaudi, himself: The Sagrada Familia. Gaudi worked on the church from 1883 to 1926. Today it is only half finished and is not expected to be completed for another quarter-century. I didn't really know what to expect, but I can honestly say that this building was one of the most impressive sights I have seen all over Europe. Just being inside the church gave me goosebumps! Pictures don't really do it justice, but here is a little peek at what we got to see!
IT WAS AMAZING!!! I am so glad I got to go there-it was definitely a highlight for me. The night was still young-we still had the magic fountain to see! The magic fountain is a free event where there is a fountain show with music and lights every night in the heart of downtown Barcelona. It was a great way to spend the evening!
The following day, Zach and I went to the beach, but it wasn't the greatest weather. We didn't stay too long because we thought it might rain so we walked along the famous "La Rambla" street where Zach almost got scammed. We also started to see a lot of people walking around in Barcelona soccer jerseys. We thought there might be a game that night, but didn't find out until later that it was the league championship game and Barcelona was playing that night! Zach always said that he wanted to watch a game in a European bar if we were able to, so after going back to the hostel we went on the search for a bar playing the game. But before that, we saw these kids playing with pigeons and watched them for...a half hour.
Anyway, after our pigeon watching adventure we headed out! We eventually found a bar that was so packed we didn't think there was any way to get in! All the bars had security guards outside of them because apparently this game was so huge that people were paying just to watch it in a bar. However, we found a guy who seemed nice, and let us in five minutes later! We were the last people to get in the bar and didn't have to pay anything so that was awesome. It was jam packed with people and there wasn't a place to sit, but it was an incredible experience! I don't even watch soccer that much, but it was awesome cheering with the Barca fans and celebrating their big win! However, I wasn't able to stay up for all the celebrating but I definitely heard it through my hostel windows until the wee hours of the morning...It was crazy. When Zach and I headed back to the hostel there was constant honking, people climbing up street lamps waving their flags, crowded streets and overall madness. Of course, neither of us had our camera. So...Zach went back to take some later! He said it was one of the most incredible, scariest things he's ever done! He said there were flares, fireworks, mobs of people and overall madness. Here are just a FEW of the great pictures he took!
Needless to say, it was a great way to end our time in Spain! I hope this pictures give you a little taste of my time there! It was fantastic, I loved it-but France is calling my name!!
Love to you all!
A
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