Viva la Spain!
After returning to Madrid city from the camp, I found a hostel with two of the other "anglo's" and we headed out for a night on the town for a well earned drink after being completely sober for a whole week. I'm fairly sure I was one the only people over 18 so we headed to a district where the doormen were not to strict with the enforcement of the rules. One of the Spanish kids who became my homie lined up lots of free drinks so things got pretty messy pretty quickly... for me anyway. The night is a bit of a blur but I remember at one point walking down the street with no shirt on (because someone borrowed it) thinking I should really go home. The next day we parted ways and I'm pretty sure I'll never see any of those people ever again.
For the next few days I stayed with the guy I couchsurfed with before the camp and basically recuperated and did routine stuff like washing, updating the blog, planning etc. I got out a bit to see a bit of Madrid like the awesome Reina Sofia Museum and the great Parque del Retiro which is packed with people drumming and partying on Sundays (I'm pissed I didn't have my camera) and also go to the Madrid Zoo/Aquarium which is never a bad day but basically I wasn't feeling Madrid. Maybe it was because it summertime when many people go on vacation elsewhere or because I was staying in a guys house and not meeting other travellers but for whatever reason I was glad to leave.
Then it was off to Barcelona which is a place I've wanted to go for a long time. I got situated in a hostel and walked around to soak in the incredible atmosphere. The main road Las Rambla is packed with crazy buskers and street performers day and night. After being blown away in Madrid by seeing Picasso's great works like Guernica I had to check out the little Picasso Museum which was cool but mostly contained his early works and left over pieces not quite his best ones.
The next morning I was extremely pleasantly suprised by the appearance of my favourite Sydney girls Eve & Briony whose visit happened to coordinate with mine. For the next few days we checked out Gaudi's various works including the completely mind blowing La Sagrada Familia, went to the beach, went to bars, hit up the biggest nightclub (was so so) and had a nice tapas dinner before I took off. It was great to have a few more very enjoyable days with the ladies since our time in Sarajevo was so short; I really look forward to our rendevous in Bolivia.
After being a little dissapointed by Madrid, Barcelona definately more than lived up to my expectations and totally redeemed Spain for me. It was definately my favourite place in Europe so far. I love all the great buildings and Gaudi architecture, especially around the Gothic quarter, there is a real vibe of creativity and fun in the air which is very contagious. I'll definately come back to this great city any time I come to Spain.
For the next few days I stayed with the guy I couchsurfed with before the camp and basically recuperated and did routine stuff like washing, updating the blog, planning etc. I got out a bit to see a bit of Madrid like the awesome Reina Sofia Museum and the great Parque del Retiro which is packed with people drumming and partying on Sundays (I'm pissed I didn't have my camera) and also go to the Madrid Zoo/Aquarium which is never a bad day but basically I wasn't feeling Madrid. Maybe it was because it summertime when many people go on vacation elsewhere or because I was staying in a guys house and not meeting other travellers but for whatever reason I was glad to leave.
Then it was off to Barcelona which is a place I've wanted to go for a long time. I got situated in a hostel and walked around to soak in the incredible atmosphere. The main road Las Rambla is packed with crazy buskers and street performers day and night. After being blown away in Madrid by seeing Picasso's great works like Guernica I had to check out the little Picasso Museum which was cool but mostly contained his early works and left over pieces not quite his best ones.
The next morning I was extremely pleasantly suprised by the appearance of my favourite Sydney girls Eve & Briony whose visit happened to coordinate with mine. For the next few days we checked out Gaudi's various works including the completely mind blowing La Sagrada Familia, went to the beach, went to bars, hit up the biggest nightclub (was so so) and had a nice tapas dinner before I took off. It was great to have a few more very enjoyable days with the ladies since our time in Sarajevo was so short; I really look forward to our rendevous in Bolivia.
After being a little dissapointed by Madrid, Barcelona definately more than lived up to my expectations and totally redeemed Spain for me. It was definately my favourite place in Europe so far. I love all the great buildings and Gaudi architecture, especially around the Gothic quarter, there is a real vibe of creativity and fun in the air which is very contagious. I'll definately come back to this great city any time I come to Spain.
posted by Dave Tran at 8:33 AM
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