Better late than never. I’m finally getting around to posting a recap of my trip to Spain. For Christmas, my boyfriend bought us tickets to Spain for 10 much needed days in the Spring. I was super excited to go because it was one European country that I hadn’t been to yet. We flew into Barcelona and out of Madrid via British Airways. Now, I’m not sure how much media coverage this got in the U.S. but BA was going on this little thing called a “Strike” right around when we were about to leave DC. Luckily, we were able to fly out of Dulles through London into Barcelona, no problem. The problem came about 6 days later.
Barcelona- My favorite city
Barcelona was like a DC or a San Diego with a beach. Very metropolitan with a laid back lifestyle. I thoroughly enjoyed the 3 days we spent in Barcelona. Spain passed a new law that required bars to close at 2 AM, as opposed to the previous law of 5 AM. Well Spaniards don’t eat dinner until about 10 pm, which means you’re already going to have a late night. Our first night there, we go to this Irish pub, which is usually a safe bet in Europe, and found out about this law. The Aussie bartender was nice enough to inform us of this “local” hangout that opens til 5 am or later. Turns out that this local hang out was some guys apartment that he converted into a “club.” It was actually really cool and there were very few tourists. It was like a hidden gem. We only went there once during our 3 nights in Barcelona but that doesn’t mean the other two nights weren’t as cool.
During the day we did the typical tourist routine. Saw the sites, ate the food, and basically just walked around. We went to this really cool park that overlooked the city and saw a cathedral that was a 100 years in the making, but would probably take another 100 years to finish. I never actually realized how long it took to build a cathedral that is on the same scale as some of the French and Italian ones I’ve seen. Really pretty and really makes you appreciate detail.
On our second night in Barcelona, we decide to try this other Irish Pub. We’ll I made a friend who was actually an Englishman who lived in Spain for most of his adult life. He was probably in his late 50s. We talked soccer and then got on the dreaded subject of American politics and entitlement reform. Most of friends know better than to talk politics with me, so this old man was in for a beating. In short, his argument was that he was OKAY with expecting the government to pay for his retirement. This is obviously a huge fundamental issue with me. Politics aside, anyone my age who thinks social security is going to be around when we’re 65 is a moron. It’s expected to run out by 2017 so you better have a back up plan in place. I suggest a savings account, Roth IRA, or some other form of privatizing your own income for the future. Anyway, the old man and I get into a mildly heated debate…at a bar…over entitlement reform. Luis had to tell me to “take it easy” because I was being “that” person at the bar. I think I won the argument but I’m sure Luis would disagree.
I don’t actually remember our third night but that’s probably because we didn’t do anything. We had an early morning flying from Barcelona to Granada and shenannigans just weren’t part of the plan.
Granada- On the cusp of the Sierra Nevada
For those of you who drink Sierra Nevada beer, fun fact: the Sierra Nevada’s are located in Spain. Maybe you knew that, but I didn’t. Granada is actually quite a suburban town until you get into the city center. Then it’s like every other old European city. We walked the Alhambra, which is really pretty. If you don’t know the history then google it. We had kebobs for lunch and tried the local cuisine at night. We had a trendy looking hotel that overlooked a bustling square. It was a slower pace than Barcelona and much appreciated.
Sevilla- My second favorite city
We spent 2 days in Sevilla, including St. Patrick’s Day. It’s quite the college town and we came across several study abroad American groups while at the local Irish pub. Sevilla has a very European city center with narrow streets and Gothic style buildings. Sevilla is actually known for it’s Bullfighting ring, which sadly, was under construction when we arrived because they were anticipating the King in a few weeks. Yes, Spain still has a king. Google it. We climbed to the top of the Cathedral and again, experienced amazing views. The city reminded me very much of my time in Siena. There was a lot of culture present even though there was, what seemed, to be an abundance of foreigners at times.
Madrid- Final stop
I wasn’t super impressed with Madrid. We went to the Picasso museum, which was pretty cool, and basically walked the entire city. (My dogs were barking hardcore by the time we left.) Real Madrid is the best soccer team in Spain, (Yes, even over FC Barcelona.) and several of the shops sold their swag. One of the highlights for me was Plaza Mayor. It’s a huge square that had a comedy act, different Disney characters walking around, and different types of “illusionists” that really played well for tourists. It was also really pretty at night. I had the fortunate experience of having my debt card number stolen while we were in Madrid. Bank of America basically told me to withdraw money while I was on the phone with them or be left with nothing. Luckily nothing was taken from my account but it was really obnoxious carry around large amounts of Euros. Madrid was our final stop before heading home. Or so we thought.
The British Airways Strike
Of course, BA decides to strike the weekend we are to fly back to DC. They canceled our flight from Madrid to London leaving us to either “hope for a refund” or try to rebook while still trying to make our connection from London to DC. One phone call to my mother and she quickly handled the situation and got us on an Iberia flight to London that gave us enough time to make our connection. We get to the Madrid airport and find out our flight is delayed an hour. We only had a 90 min layover in London, which meant we were dangerously close to missing out flight back home. Luckily, we got to London with just enough time and even managed to grab some food before getting on our 7 hour flight back home. BA stressed that their in flight service was going to be limited since the strike left people who weren’t flight attendants by trade, doing all the hard work. We actually had a pilot acting as a flight attendant just to get the in flight service done. The flight was also completely full because the earlier flight to DC was canceled so I was left to sit in a middle seat. For 7 hours. 3 stamps in my passport later and I’m back at home.
Overall, it was a great trip. I was itching to go abroad and it was at the perfect time. Some minor hiccups along the way but that was to be expected. I’ve uploaded pictures on my facebook page so if you’re friends with me then you’ve probably already seen them.
