Her View 

Spain - Caywood's perspective

 

Madrid

Madrid, Spain: possibly now tied (with Amsterdam) for my favorite city we’ve visited so far. I loved the French architecture, and the Spanish architecture tops it. We arrived in Madrid around 5pm and went to the place we were staying to get rid of our bags. In Madrid we used Air B&B for the first time to book our lodging. Rather than a hotel or a hostel, Air B&B lets individuals rent out a room in their home. David was a very gracious host, and for the night we had our very own room on the forth floor of an adorable Spanish flat. For dinner we chose to try a local pintxos restaurant that was off the beaten path. Tribuetxe had great reviews (and low prices) on TripAdvisor, and I assumed a small plates place would have a decent selection. Although the majority of the pintxos were seafood, I still cannot get over the great experience we had here. It was near impossible to read the menu, and hard as well to order, but it was such an awesome place and atmosphere. The very small restaurant had maybe six standing tables and a couple of seats at a bar. The kitchen was equally small. The place was full of locals and I can guarantee we were the only tourists in there. The person who took our order and served our drinks was the owner. I tried crab here, and even ate almost half of an eggplant dish. Oh, and each round of drinks you ordered came with a small plate for free. In total, we shared two beers, two glasses of wine, and four small plates - all for only 15 euros.

 

After a good night’s sleep we were ready the next day to explore Madrid. We walked around the city all day admiring the beautiful architecture, the unique street views, and array of fountains. Some of the things on our list were Circulo de Bellas Artes, Puerta de Alcala, the Metropolis, and the Palacio de Comunicaciones. We took some pictures with the well-known statue El Oso y El Madrono (the bear and the strawberry tree) in the Plaza del Sol area. We visited the Plaza del Sol area once in the morning and again in late afternoon. This place was amazing. Full of life and festivities, we saw some of the neatest street performers we’ve ever seen and saw more restaurants than I could eat in every day for a year. Another of my favorite place we visited was the Plaza de Espana. This area was also full of cafes and restaurants, and even a Sunday market. There were beautiful fountains, lots of pigeons, and a few neat statues to look at. Plaza Mayor was another cool square where we got a round of drinks (a beer and a glass of wine) for only 1.70 euros. We like the prices in Spain!

 

Overall, I really loved Madrid. And I definitely want to come back. Everyone was very nice to us, and apparently we fit in because a lot of locals spoke to us in Spanish. I could reply some but only un poquito (very little). Every street we walked down was beautiful, and there was just a great vibe in the air. I can’t put my finger on a specific thing, but I really, really loved it in Madrid.

 

 

Barcelona

Barcelona, AKA my new favorite place on earth. I loved every second of it there, and we were blessed with beautiful, sunny weather. We got to Barcelona after dark so we immediately went to our hostel. On the way there we got to see a beautiful fountain, which we saw again first thing in the morning to get the contrast of day and night. Between Madrid and Barcelona, I quickly fell in love with Spanish architecture. The first thing on our list in Barcelona was some modern architecture of Antoni Gaudi. We saw three of his works: Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, and La Pedrera. Unfortunately since we are traveling during the off season, a lot of buildings are being worked on. Therefore, we weren’t able to see La Pedrera. The Sagrada Familia building was spectacular though! This was maybe the most unique building I’ve seen thus far.

 

The streets of Barcelona were filled with colorful houses, the smells of good food, and pretty nice people. I couldn’t get over how gorgeous it was. We were really excited about Park Guell, and it certainly did not disappoint. There are a couple of parts in the park that you must pay for (to get up close and personal with the monuments), so we stuck to the free area of the park. It was fabulous. Park Guell allowed for beautiful overview sights of the entire city of Barcelona, including the harbor. From here we could see all of the colorful houses, a castle, a themepark, the waterfront, and so much more. And the structures and architecture in the park were so unique. Walking around this park was one of my highlights for Barcelona. 

 

Also in Barcelona we walked around a local neighborhood, Garcia, which was voted the best neighborhood by the city’s residents. It was fun to see all of the local shops and get a local’s perspective. Next on our agenda was Parc de la Ciutadella. I didn’t know anything about this park, and was so pleasantly surprised. Here I found my favorite sight in Barcelona, the most beautiful fountain I have ever seen. There were also a lot of neat sculptures, and even a pond that you could rent paddle boats. Next we took a stroll along the harbor - lots of sailboats - and even saw two sailboats that were in a race around the world. Along the harbor we stopped for some tapas. Feliks got a calamari sandwich and some salmon/eel tapa, and I got a chicken salad, tomato bread, and a spanish omelet. Everything here was seriously good. I love the food in Spain, even if most of it is seafood! Thanks to a friend’s recommendation, we also checked out the Christopher Columbus statue. 

 

One of our last stops in Barcelona was their local market, Mercado de La Boqueria. This might be the biggest market I’ve ever been to. They had everything from entire skinned animals, fish heads, pig intestines, fruits of all varieties, salamis, cheeses, chocolates, pastries… You name it, I’m sure they’ve got it. We had a field day in here.