I have been contemplating what to post for this blog entry and I just don't think there are any words or pictures that can accurately describe our trip to Spain and how wonderfully fantastic and amazing it was!
We flew in to Barcelona and stayed there for 3 days and toured around the city as much as we could and we also went on a wine tour to a local vineyard. We were lucky because it ended up being a private tour of the vineyard with lunch and wine tasting. We also had the chance to take part in the cava (champagne) making experience which was a lot of fun. We also visited the Sagrada Familia which is an amazing cathedral that is still under construction after 100 years. Needless to say, it is impressive.
We left Barcelona on a train to Girona which is just north and inland from Barcelona. We spent the day there and then took a bus to Sant Feliu which was a small coastal town where we ended up renting a car and exploring the coast north all the way up to Cadaques which was one of my favorite tiny towns we visited.
From Sant Feliu we took the bus back to Barcelona and then a train from Barcelona to Valencia City. Valencia was really beautiful and full of things to see. They have this amazing complex where there is a Science Museum, Solarium, and Aquarium. We didn't spend too much time here but the time we spent, was absolutely fantastic.
From Valencia we rented another car and headed south along the coast. This was great because our schedule wasn't dictated by bus or train schedules anymore. We could go wherever we wanted to go and stay as little or as long as we wanted. We stopped in Altea, Alicante, and landed in Totona for the night. Just a small town along the way...nothing special except for a really decent hotel for cheap. We had been staying in hostels everywhere else, so to come across this place with a king size bed, free Internet in the room, and a flat screen TV for hardly anything, we couldn't pass it up.
We woke up early the next morning and headed to San Jose which is a tiny coastal town that we feel in love with. This stop was roughly half way so we took a couple days to just relax and read our books on the beach and enjoy some R & R. San Jose provided virtually private beaches with insane views. We didn't want to leave.
After San Jose, we headed to Granada where we visited the Alhambra. Granada is beautiful and full of so much culture...like most everywhere we visited.
From Granada we headed to Seville which was probably my favorite place we visited. Her we saw the Alcazar which was even more impressive than the Alhambra (which I didn't think was even possible).
From Seville we headed North to Madrid where we spent our last 3 days. Madrid is a massive city full of things to do and see. To only have 3 days there is crazy. We decided to hit all the places we could starting with The Prado which is one of the world's most famous art museums. I was blown away by this place. We spent over 3 hours here and that is a quick tour of the place. The pieces in this museum are incredible. We also visited the Royal Palace which has over 2,000 rooms which we only visited 20 of...and the 20 we saw blew us away with their elegance and detail!
That is a very brief summary of our 18 day trip. I could right forever if I gave all the details. We really enjoyed our time in Spain and are so fortunate we had the opportunity to go and spend the amount of time we did there. There were many firsts for me on this trip...my first time in a hostel, my first time in Spain, my first time in the Mediterranean, and the list continues. Jay is an amazing travel partner who made this trip so wonderful for me. His eagerness to see everything, his excitement to explore the unknown, his ability to speak Spanish, his patience with me, and so many other things, made this trip what it was...AMAZING!
Here is a link to some of the pictures from our trip. Enjoy :)
http://picasaweb.google.com/rhtravis15/RachaelJaySTripToSpain2008?authkey=4iOXe9IYUu0#
I love and miss everyone bunches! Hope all is well with everyone :)
