I have never been so excited to do laundry!!!

I am in Madrid now after a few nights in Seville.  I am completely out of under-roos (sorry for the To Much Info) so have given in to doing my laundry and am waiting for my clothes so I have a quick minute to update y'all!

Granada was awesome, I completely loved it there and it is my favorite city in Spain by far!!  I had a LONG first day.  After 12.5 hrs on the bus through the night then following 2 walking tours which equaled about 7 hrs walking in total I was pretty exhausted but really enjoyed myself!  It's crazy because the "free" walking tours were lead by other traveling foreigners who came to Granada and just never left.  They were free-lance tour guides and it was cool to see Granada sort of through the backdoor.  :-)  Granada is at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains and is spread across a valley which yielded beautiful views from every angle.  Granada is known for it's great tapas which was fabulous for the budget backpacker!  You could get a snack with your drink for about 2 dollars.  Three of these and you were set!!!
I think what I found most fascinating about Granada was that at one time it consisted of three different religions co-existing in peace: Muslamic, Jewish and Christian prior to the Inquisition of Isabelle and Ferdinand.  This was also a very monumental point in history. In 1492 Isabelle and Ferdinand conquered Granada which was the last muslim community in Europe to be over-thrown.  If you weren't a Christian you had three choices, convert, live in exile or to be killed.  Once a city was conquered the mosques were either destroyed or converted into cathedrals except for the Alhambra.  It was such a beautiful palace that Isabelle and Ferdinand decided to live in it as their own (after making some minor modifications). Another important thing that happened in 1492 was that the Americas were discovered by Columbus.  He went to the Alhambra to ask for financial support for his voyage from Isabelle and Ferdinand making this a very monumental point in Western civilization as we know it today!   There is a saying according to my guide book that if you haven't seen the Alhambra then you aren't really living and I can honestly say that it was pretty incredible.  By far the most impressive and elaborate palace I have seen so far.  In addition to taking in the amazement of the Alhambra I met two pairs of travelers on the hike up the hill to the entrance.  One German couple and two french boys.  We grouped up for the day and it was so much fun!  They were all funny and very sweet, which really added to the whole experience! 

The Alambra from the Generalife Gardens

From Granada I did a 1 night stay in Nerja which was a beautiful beach town.  It was quiet and very pretty.  The hostel manager was Argentinian and he was very generous and hospitable.  When he closed the front desk we met on the roof terrace and enjoyed some Tinto de Verano (summer wine which is chilled red wine, ice and lemon soda.  Very refreshing!).  He had set up a little table with clothe and all, two wine glasses and a plate of bread, cheese and ham.  The only thing the lovely little display was missing was some candles!  :-)  But we just sat in the warm night under the stars talking about places we have been, places we want to go and about ourselves.  Very cool evening.  Once we were done with the wine he took me for a mid-night tour of his town.  We went to a hole in the wall Flamenco bar that only the locals know of and I heard some amazing guitar!!  Then he took me to some pretty look out spots along the coast of the beach where there was plankton lighting up the waves as they crashed along the shore, wow!  I really wanted to stay another night but I am running out of time and really wanted to get to Seville and Madrid with enough time to see them!

A view of Nerja

Seville was fun!  I did another "free" walking tour provided by the hostel which was very informational.  Seville is another very cool city.  After the tour 5 other girls and I went to get some tapas.  We were pretty much inseparable after that moment!!  We nick-named ourselves the Sisterhood of the Eternally Lost!!!  After tapas we walked through the shopping center, I broke down and did a little shopping but honestly I am so tired of my clothes by now so my wardrope needed a little refreshing!!  Then later we went out in search for a Reggae club.  Funny funny night, we got lost for like 2 hrs and were walking, walking and walking but thoroughly enjoying ourselves and shared lots of laughs.  The next day we were all feeling pretty rough and we didn't accomplish much other than food, more shopping and basically just wandering around the city.  They were so much fun, 2 of the girls were from Australia (but traveling separately) and 2 girls from Malta on a 2 wk holiday.  Very sweet girls and lots of fun!!

Now in Madrid, got here late last night.  Walked around for 2 hrs trying to find hostel.  Finally broke down and paid for a cab.  Disappointed in myself for giving into this luxury/cost but was getting so frustrated I wanted to cry or kill someone, it was getting late, my back and shoulders were aching, I was exhausted and I just had nothing left in me!  O'well.

Ok, laundry is done.  Hope you all are enjoying the good stuff!!!

From top to bottom in 12.5 hrs!!!

I am currently in Granada, Spain.  I left San Sebastian yesterday at 6:00pm and arrived in Granada at 6:30am this morning!!  It was a long bus ride but one's got to do what one can to save $$  and the buses are cheaper than the trains and I figured that by taking a night bus I also save on accommodations for the night too!!  Yes, it was a long ride but not as bad as I had dreaded it would be.

I spent 2 nights in San Sebastian, northern Spain is absolutely beautiful with the Pyrenees on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other!!  I didn't do much there other than deflate on the beach.  :-)  I met up with my friend Lee from England and we were camping.  He and a group of friends are camping in the south of France for 3 wks. at a little surfing town and so we decided to head back up to France (only about an hour and a half drive from San Sebastian) and join their crew!

I stayed longer in France that I had originally intended but it was so nice to just relax and camp out after all the city touring I have been doing the past several weeks.  The campsite was very pretty, set among the forest and only a short walk through the woods and over a sand dune to the beach.  The beaches were VERY nice!!  The beach line stretched out 100 miles along the coast and the weather was perfect and there were wild bunnies at the campground that you could practically hand feed, lots of red squirrels and birds who were eager to eat bread crumbs!  I had a great time meeting up with Lee's friends from England and I even tried surfing a few times but really it was more of me flopping and splashing in the water with a surf board, lots of laughter and a little screaming, hahaha!!!

Now, because I stayed in France longer than I intended I will have to shorten my stay in Granada, Seville and Madrid but only by a couple of days.  The hostel I am staying at offers a free walking tour and a free street art tour.  I plan to do both today.  :)

That's all for now :-)

Barcelona!!!

I have made it to Spain safe and sound!  My trip started off eventful...  My flight didn't get in until 2am and I really didn't want to be wandering around Barcelona in the middle of the night trying to find my hostel and didn't want to pay for a cab so I opted to sleep in the airport.  (I am trying to be a real hardcore backpacker but at heart I am only a barbie backpacker, lol!)  I got about 5 hrs of sleep using my day pack as a pillow, my towel as a sheet and spooned my big bag.  I was right along with some other travelers and a few homeless I think.  It wasn't so bad but I was exhausted the next day!! 

Barcelona has been growing on me.  The hostel is nice but not down a very nice street.  It's a little creepy at during the day and down right uncomfortable to walk through at night so it has thrown me off a little.  I basically just walk down the street looking straight ahead or at the ground with a pissed off look on my face and you pretty much get left alone but I never go out alone at night!  If I make it through Barcelona without getting pick pocketed I will feel accomplished!  I made it through Rome so I am hopeful but there are so many people at the hostel that have been pick pocketed and one girl had her purse strap sliced off of her!!

Ok but here are the fun things that I have done:  laid on the beach drinking beer and working on my tan, wandered through the Gothic section of the city (so many amazing buildings!) looking for a tapas bar and stumbled across a delicious Cuban restaurant and ate there instead, drank wine at the beach at night with friends and went for a swim, had a relaxing day wandering through the city park that had a nice little lake and a beautiful fountain, went to the Picasso Museum, found a hole in the wall burger joint at 4 am (literally you had to knock on the steel garage door and someone would open a small door that you practically crawled through that had the best drunk food, everything shuts at 3 am so pretty sure it was illegal), went to Monjuic and enjoyed walking through the lush park and taking in all the amazing sights from atop the castle, went to the Gauidi park and cathedral.

Barcelona has been fun and once I adjusted I have really enjoyed myself.  It is a major party town and I have had a lot of fun and met a lot of cool people traveling!  We even got harassed by the local residents loudly wandering down the wrong street one night looking for a pub.  They don't like it if you are loud and will throw buckets of water down on you from their balconies and empty beer cans, crazy!! 

Lake Garda in Italy was absolutely amazing!!  I loved it and it was one of the more beautiful things I have seen on this trip thus far!!  I fell in love with Italy and Spain has some big shoes to fill!!

San Sebastian tomorrow, hoping to catch up on some rest while laying on the beach and give a go at surfing!

Limone on Lake Garda!!

Florence and Venice

Ok, so I have a lot to write!!  I am SO tired and I have an early morning but I am determined to update you all on what I've been up to!  I LOVE ITALY!!!!!!!!

I had an amazing first day in Florence.  My hostel provided a free 2hr walking tour and so it was a no brainer!  I really enjoyed the tour and learning more about the city and it's history.  I also had the pleasure of tasting some authentic Florentine Gelato!!  While on the tour I met two other girls from the hostel and at the end of the tour we decided to pal up and go see some sights on our own.  It was all our first day in Florence!!  One girl, Maddy, is Australian and the other girl is Mary from Canada (Montreal).  We went to the Palitini Galleria which had so many amazing paintings!!  I am learning slowly more and more about art and art history along my travels.  We then went to the top of the Duomo in St. Peter's Cathedral.  Another hot treck to the top but well worth the amazing views of Florence!!  Then we strolled through the market and I had a mini splurge on a beautiful leather jacket! As Maddy said, when in Rome or two hours from Rome!  lol  Then we enjoyed making our own picnic in the Michealangelo Plazza for the sunset.  All in all I think that we were out walking around and taking it all in for about 11 hrs!!  It was so spontaneous and super fun!!

The next day Maddy and I took the train to Sienna.  What a lovely town!!  It is very chill and filled with many beautiful builings and an amazing cathedral!!  We got a huge sandwhich from one of the deli's and then walked through a park to take in the lovely views of Tuscany.

The following day the three of us girls went to Cinque Terre which roughly translates to the 5 earths.  Cinque Terre is basically 5 small towns set in on the cliffside and you can hike through all 5 towns alon the coast with amazing views!!  It was a fairly long train ride (3hrs) but well worth it!!  We got dropped off at the southern most town and it took us about 5 hrs to get to the last town where we then rewarded ourselves by taking a swim in the Ludriatic Sea.  The water was the perfect temperature, refreshing but not too cold.  On the train leaving Florence we met another Australian, Chris and he joined our group.  Very fun people!

Then on my way to Venice I met Chris at the train station and we took the train together and have been spending the past two days in Venice together.  Nice to have a companion.  Marry (from the hostel in Florence) and 4 Swedes that I met in the Berlin hostel all met me here as well.  It is so much fun to meet people along the way and then coordinate to meet up with them later!!  Maddy is going to school in the Netherlands and so I am planning on meeting up with her when I go there in October!!

Venice is lovely.  There are many shops all of which are a tease to my wallet!!  There is also a lot of glass items in lots of the shops.  The glass is made in Murano which is an island in the lagoons just outside of Venice.  It is crazy how this city is literally built on water!!  There are so many gothic and baroque style buildings that really are candy to the eye!!  Today we got lost which was fabulous because we saw so many pretty things!  Mary and I sent Chris along his way and then took a ferry to Lido where we rented bikes and rode around and got some dinner.  A very fun day!! 

Tomorrow we plan on going to Lake Gardo early and then hopefully we can pop through Verona on our way back for some dinner!! Very excited!!  It's my last full day in Italy so I am planning on making the most of it!!

That's all for now :-)