My adventures around Europe : Spain: Madrid, Toledo, Barcelona

Week 11: Trip to Spain!

Madrid

After Therin and I packed up our rooms, we were ready to make our journey to Spain! Both of our checked bags were overweight so it was quite a challenge getting them from Olomouc to Prague. We were constantly trying to lift them on trams, buses, trains, and up and down many stairs. When we finally made it to Prague, we left them there and we were ready to head to Madrid! Spain blew me away!! Madrid was absolutely perfect. We spent lots of time just roaming around the streets enjoying the Spanish culture. We devoured delicious meals at some great restaurants. On Monday we went on a great walking tour of the city, which was very interesting to learn about the history. Next we found the best food markets in the world. Here we had some of the best fruit ever, some tapas, and of course we had to have sangria! Later, we made our way through the city admiring the great Spanish architecture and found the big, beautiful gardens! That evening we did a tapas tour, where we had lots and lots of sangria and ate some great tapas like croquettes, ham, cheese, olives, potatoes, and more! It was just amazing! That night Therin and I went to the pub-crawl and had a lot of great sangria. While in Madrid, we also made our way to the famous chocolate churros place! I was in heaven enjoying some great churros, dipping them in a cup full of hot chocolate syrup. It was everything I have ever dream of.

The beautiful gardens

The oldest restaurant in the world!

The delicious food markets that Therin and I found!

Tapas!

SANGRIA and it's recipe!

We found a cafe named Nebraska!! We were wondering what it was doing in Madrid.

A typical vendor in Europe.

Toledo

Tuesday morning, after missing our train and having to get a new ticket, we made our way to Toledo. TOLEDO WAS AMAZING! This city was just so cute and magical. The views were breathtaking and we spent a lot of time just sitting around and looking at the beautiful scenery around us. We enjoyed some great food here and spent a lot of time trying not to get lost through all of the little tiny streets curving every direction. When we finally found the cathedral, we were blown away! This church was enormous and full of some much beauty. I was amazed by just large the cathedral actually was. Every detail inside it was absolutely perfect. Later, we also found our way to the beautiful castle that over looked the city. That evening we made our way back to Madrid and called it an early night. The next morning we were off to Barcelona to finally meet up with my sister and the two Sams!

Toledo was just beautiful!

This cathedral was so incredibly amazing!

The beautiful streets of Toledo!

Barcelona

While roaming the streets of Barcelona looking for our hostel, we all of a sudden ran into Amber, Sami, and Sam! I was so happy to see them, and excited to start traveling everywhere with them! Our first day adventures included a free walking tour, roaming around the streets, finding a delicious market, and somehow making it to a Migos concert! It was a blast! Our second day in Barcelona we enjoyed many of Gaudi's amazing works. We saw a couple of his great houses that he designed. We all were in awe when we made it to his grand work, the Sagrada Familia. This church was just amazing!! Every single detail was just absolutely perfect. The light shining in through the stain glass was magnificent. We all fell in love with this church. Next, after a long walk, we made our way to Gaudi's other masterpiece, Park Guell. What a place that was!! The tiles all around were just beautiful! The staircase, lizard, museums, and paths were all so unique in every way. Also, the flowers, trees, and landscape were all so pretty and vibrant. I love Gaudi's great architecture and his own personal style and label that he has put on all of his "groovy" works. Our last day in Barcelona was spent enjoying the beach! We had a great time being lazy, playing in the water, and just enjoying the view. We might have got a little too sunburnt, but it was all worth it in the end. That evening we enjoyed a great dinner and then called it an early night, and then the next morning we were on our way to Paris! The memories we made in Barcelona were ones that I will always remember!