06/30/08; the stress of travel and my ultimate departure

Yesterday was just one of thoughs days where everything goes wrong. I got off the bus a stop early, then I got off the train a stop early, carrying a pack over sunburn is not a good idea, and I found out that Lisbon (where I depart) was about ten hours journey from Sevilla, where I am now. To make matters worse I hadn't had a good lunch and I was very tired of traveling every other day.
When I was just about at my wits end because of the dysfunctional way Spain deals with travel reservations I called dad and every thing started to get better.

First, Dad was able to change my flight so that I will leave from Madrid, it's only two hours from here so that is incredibly convenient and i get to stay in Sevilla an extra day. Second, when I changed the dates of my accommodation at this hostel they added an extra day by mistake, hence that extra day i get to stay here was already taken care of. Third, upon arrival I immediately started to make friends and at the same time was rejoined by a girl i had met in Barcelona and another I'd met in Granada. Together with the new people we'd met we enjoyed the company of a very fun and rather large group.

06/28/08- 06/29/08; Tarifa the real windy city

The train ride here was very beautiful, many of of the pictures below are from the trip not the location. Tarifa is the place to learn wind surfing or take a ferry to Marrocco Africa, which i intend to do tomorrow. This is by far the friendliest place i have been so far. Everyone talks to everyone as if they've known them forever even if they've just met.

I must have made 12 new friends immediately on my first night in Tarifa. It was funny, I would be hanging out with a couple of them and they would go to bed and I would go back out; I usually wouldn't make it half way down the street before someone else from the hostel would call to me to come join them. I never made it to morrocco, but I have seen africa and was perfectly happy to just enjoy the little beach town with my new friends rather than spend $100 to stay in Morocco for half a day.

06/26/08-06/27/08; time in Granada

Granada was nice, the people were friendly and the city was filled with amazing views of Alhambra, a famous Arabic style palace. the wonderful thing about Granada is the friendly people. I had many different groups to hang out with and go exploring with immediately. I saw a City Museum depicting the history of Granada, another museum showing the local low income housing which turned out to be plastered caves, and I got a hair cut from a very nice Swedish girl who ran her own hair styling shop. I had a great time drinking and exploring the city with Addita, Eve, Christine, Tarra, Becca, and Kate. Hopefully they will be emailing me some of the pictures they took of us soon so i will have more to add.

06/25/08; My brothers depart

It's quiet now; quiet and calm. traveling alone opposed to with my brothers defiantly has it's benefits, but I prefer the company.

Yesterday my brothers and I explored most of Madrid by foot. Theirs not alot here to speak of. It's much like every major city I've seen and to be honest I'm very tired of them. I look forward to arriving in Granada tomorrow. The rest of my trip will consist of Granada, Gibraltar (if i can fit it in), Sevilla, and Lisbon. I think these cities may top thoughs I have seen so far in spain. It will be a shame that we couldnt make it there as a group like we first tried to do if it turns out that way though.




Lisbon Portugual will be a short visit, but it should be interesting as i have decided to try this couch surfing thing once before I leave and will be doing it in Lisbon.

06/20/08-06/24/08; day's with out wifi or a hostel

Valencia is defiantly my favorite city that my brothers have been able to see with me, It’s calm and beautiful here. Unfortunately after the first night we were thrown out of the hostel and were forced to spend the remainder of our time here in a three bed hotel room for about the same price. The up side is security and comfort, but personally I prefer the hostel because you meet new people and learn more.

The first day we had here we spent doing the history thing, after finding the hotel room of course). We saw some cool cathedrals and walked along the river bed park until we came to the aquarium and art buildings. The river bed was ok, but the architecture used in the aquarium, arts museum, science museum, and buildings nearby was amazing. We went and saw the Aquarium while we were their, it is supposed to be the largest in Europe (or so Im told). Generally it was a aquarium; fish behind glass and sharks around a tube. The dolphin show made it all worth while. I had no idea that Dolphins were that smart. Some of the things I saw them do seemed impossible to communicate to another human with out speaking the same language, much less an entirely different species.

The second day we were there we were there we went to a little town outside of Valencia called Bunol where I had heard there was some great hiking and a crater lake. Well that little bed and breakfast had lied to me because there was absolutely no lake to be found. This was a true test because honestly no one in Bunol spoke any English. Luckily my Spanish seems to work ok, it’s seriously lacking sometimes. But usually people understand what I’m asking even if I can’t completely understand their reply. After a great snack at a local bar, we left in search of our mysterious lake. And even though we never found the lake, we did do some pretty challenging mountain climbing while looking for it.

The last day we went to the city beach, which was shallow and crowded. I missed the open rough waters of South Carolina, but we got some sun and enjoyed ourselves anyways. We have had high hopes of talking to the locals this entire time, but unfortunately it seems that while my Spanish is adequate for business situations, personal conversation seems nearly impossible with out using English. Some how the famous night life seems to elude us here; with out the help of more experienced hostel mates it seems we may never figure out what people actually do at night here. The only time we ever seem to find them is when their all obviously heading home.

Today we’ve arrived in Madrid, sadly the last stop on my brothers tour of Europe. I feel like they’ve enjoyed themselves though, especially the mountain climbing. I’m sure they have many stories for everyone at home.

6/19/08; We arrive in Valencia

This is by far may favorite city since my brothers have arrived. It is beautiful, the people seem nice and the night life is supposed to be great. Best of all I feel quite safe here. We'll wait and see, but I have high expectations for this place.

06/16/08 -06/18/08; A bit of Barcelona

We did alot in Barcelona. We visited the beach, which was fun but less exciting than expected. We went to the maritime museum and then experienced the famous night life (walking home alone was not an experience I'll soon forget though). We had a very good personal pub crawl on the last night, this was particularly fun because we got to sample many of the different social atmospheres in the city and meet many different people. We also explored two creations of the famous Barcelonian Architect Gaudi. We saw one of his houses and his garden. While the structural design of the house may have been genius, the rest of the house leaves one wanting to escape from a scene similar to the elaborate drawings in a doctor suess book. His work on the garden was awesome though and I personally believe he would have made a quite successful landscaper. All in all Im not very happy with Barcelona though. Their are far to many tourists here and illigal street activity's such as theft, drugs, and prostitution are blatant. Honestly I was stressed almost the entire time I was here because much like Camden town i simply didn't feel safe.