'Habla Ingles' (do you speak english) became our catchcry whilst in Spain. Luckily for us, the locals were fairly sympathetic towards tourists speaking bad spanish, so Gez and I fared pretty well. Spain was a delight- warm, relaxed, beautiful and cheap! Finally a place where it didn't cost thirty pounds ($85) to have dinner. We flew off to Madrid to start our trip, staying in a cheery, though loud, hostel in the heart of Madrid. We shared a room with two young Germans who had a habt of speaking quite loud german at 3am, and then getting up early and beating us to breakfast. This got better when they left and a lovely, quiet Danish couple took their place.
Madrid was surprisingly relaxed and quiet for a capital city (rather like Canberra- except better). The art galleries were outstanding- especially the Prado. We ate most of our meals in these great bar/restaurant places where you stood and ate at the bar, after being served by a very efficient, all male wait staff in funny red waistcoats. The ceiling was covered in hanging hams (hence its name 'musee de jamon'- house of ham!). The food was great and cheap, as long as you love meat (or ham).
Onto Seville next via a very fast train, where it was warmer and even more gorgeous. Seville is a very attractive place, even the locals seem better looking. The highlight was seeing a live flamenco performance by the attractive locals (although the bloke definitely looked like a bull) in a Moorish courtyard. We stayed in a lovely, cool pension, run by a father and his constantly cleaning daughter. It was very comfortable and quiet, so we were able to turn native and indulge in siestas- a fantastic spanish invention.
After a few days in Seville, we took the train to Barcelona via Madrid, (with a sense of deja vu) and arrived late at night on Saturday in the heart of Barcelona. Both being tired and cross after a whole day on the train, it was not the best welcome to this great city as we had to make our way to the hostel through crowds of pissed students on the main streets of Barcelona. It was definitely a party city. After Gez flew back the next morning, muttering something about lack of funds and Spain not living up to his expectations (!), I carried on the dream.
What a city! Lively, vibrant, great shops and lovely food- it had it all and more, (except for the pissed students). The Gaudi creations did get a bit much after a while, especially when I found myself taking photos of curved windows and mosaics that weren't actually Gaudi's. The Sagrada familia was truly amazing though- a 'once in a lifetime sight' as the guidebook promised. Stayed in another lovely, family-owned pension in Barcelona, run by a miniature Spanish mama and papa who were very helpful (though they kept speaking spanish to me despite my constant 'habla ingles?'). Got the train back to London (yes, it took all day) where it was cold, grey and wet and immediately wished I was back in Spain.
