Spring Break Part 1:Barcelona and Madrid

Spring break started off chaotic. We had to take a train from the station near our house to the bus station which is closer to the main station. That day winds in Florence were up to 40 km/hour. Which is strong, therefore the trains were delayed hours, even the ones to the main station which usually takes five minutes. Jul and I are money savvy so we wanted to take he cheapest way, of course it was about 15 minutes before our bus left for the Pisa Airport, where our flight was flying out of, and we had to take a last minute cab. It worked out because our bus was fifteen minutes late anyways. But it was a stressful way to start off the trip. 

The flight from Pisa to Barcelona was super easy. Once we arrived me made our way to our Air B and B apartment which was conveniently located near Las Ramblas. Las Ramblas is a bunch of street with great shopping. We quickly figured out the metro system which was really easy. On Friday, we walked around Las Ramblas, had a mediocre dinner and then met up with our friends at their hostel to go out. Another bump in the road: they were staying at a hostel called San Jordi, turns out there are five San jordis in Barcelona, so of course, we went to the wrong one, but eventually made it to the right one. From there we joined their hostel's bar crawl. It was fun, we got into the bar free and met new people from Australia and Maryland.  Apparently there was this guy there named Rory and he was a pro snowboarder on his way to Switzerland. He looked drugged out so I avoided talking to him. But the girls from Australia said he was nice. After the bar we went to this club that was two floors, an American floor and a Spanish floor. Different music, it was fun but I am not a club person. Being packed like sardines into a club with gross people sweating all over and drunk people dancing isn't my scene. But I still had a lot of fun! 

On Saturday we wandered to the beach and met our friends for lunch and enjoyed the beach for a little bit. 

We visited Sagrada Famiglia which means Sacred Family. This church was cool because it looked like a forest. It has been under construction for 175 years. 

Then we headed back and met our other friends for dinner. Gloria and I split this amazing Payaya and then we went to this bar called Chupitos where they offer over 200 shots for 2 Euro each. 

The shots were so different. We ordered a Harry Potter shot, a campfire shot and a Monika Lewinsky  shot. The Harry Potter and campfire shot included the bartender lighting the bar on fire which was awesome!! The Monika Lewinsky was a crazy shot, but I'll leave that to your imagination. 

After that bar we ventured to meet up with Gloria again at this bar where you can pour your own drinks! I poured this kiwi drink which was very strong and Yummy. 

Barcelona is a non stop party. Everyone goes to clubs and dances until 6 am. Crazy!! We had a lot of fun at night. On Sunday we went to Parc Güell in the morning. This was Gaudis backyard basically. It was beautiful and you can oversee the city of Barcelona. 

This whole morning I was thinking about my Pop-Pop. His funeral was this day and I had to opportunity to live stream it online. As I was gazing upon the city of Barcelona, I thought about everything he loved. He especially loved traveling, it was a passion of his.  I loved my pop pop more than words can describe, it was so hard not being there with my family at the funeral but I was grateful for where I was because that's where Pop-Pop would want me to be. 

After the funeral Jul and Alex returned to the apartment with ice cream for me :). They rock. That night we went to get tacos with a bunch of our other friends. The next morning we departed for Madrid. 

The flight to Madrid was interesting. We boarded a bus to transfer us to the plane from the airport, it circled a couple times and then dropped us off at the arrivals section. Turned out there was a technical problem with the airplane so we had to wait and check in again which was inconvinient but not terrible. We met this girl named Jordan while waiting which made me think of my sister Jordyn. I miss her. Once we boarded the plane, within an hour we were in Madrid. We took the train to Chueça which is the gay area. We had an amazing apartment located close to give different metro stations making it so easy to get around. We dropped our bags off and went to get lunch at this amazing market. We are fresh fruit and a chicken sandwich. 

After lunch we went to a park and rented a boat to row in this lake. It was so much fun! I had to reminisce back to my camp days where we would boat and row all the time. I forgot how much arm strength you need! We ran into a couple friends studying abroad in Madrid in the pond! What a coincidence. 

I could've stayed on that lake all day. We met these people from South America and England hat performed a magic show on their boat. So of course we stayed and watched while he did his corny magic tricks.

We stayed on this beautiful lake for a couple hours and then headed back to our apartment to get ready for dinner. We met A couple more friends for dinner at this awesome place, I ordered fajitas and they were so good!! I know, I should be eating more authentic Spanish food, but I missed Mexican, so I ordered fajitas!! 

The thing to do on Monday nights in Madrid is go to a bar to pregame called Boulevarts and then go to this club called Independence. Three tequila shots later (I know who am I?) we headed over to Independence. It was packed, and everyone from Syracuse was there which made it fun. Three mixed drinks later I was still standing and having a great time. Fortunately, I didn't throw up. Luckily for me Jaime got me home and bought me pizza! She's a good friend. When they told me they partied until 6 am I believe it. You can't tell what time it is when you're in the club. We were home by 3:30 but some of our friends were out til 6.  

Me and Jaime. 

The next day we visited the Royal Palace. We walked through rooms that reminded me of my Grandy and Grandfather's old house in Devon. There was beautiful wallpaper and ceilings where the Kings would live. 

After the palace we were starving so we met some friends at the local market called San Miguel. This was a place with all different kinds of food, from a Mozzarella bar to a burger bar. 

This place was amazing. I tasted a mozzarella contraption with jelly, mozzarella, rocket lettuce, and crunchy things. It was amazing!! 

 I also tasted a burger. It was a burger which you could pick it out raw and then they cook it right in front of you. It was such an interesting burger with Parm cheese. But very Yummy! 

That night we went to the Real Mardird VS Schalke. This is a German team. The stadium was huge and the energy was high. We got to see Cristiano Ronaldo play which was incredible. He is so good looking and a great soccer player! Unfortunately, they lost the game but still went on in the Champion League. 

All in all, the first half of my spring break was so amazing. I had the best time in Spain. It was such a different culture compared to Italy. I loved both cities but Madrid was more relaxing and fun. Stay tuned for Part 2 where I travel to Lisbon and Dublin!