This series will go country by country through my two-year trip. I plan on sharing some photos, thoughts, and experiences in those countries.
Country by Country 02: Spain
I arrived in Spain early in the morning. My ride dropped me off at the main train station in Madrid. I was actually a day earlier than I expected and my Airbnb wasn't ready until the next day. I found a hotel room for the night.
I fell in love with Madrid pretty quickly. Everything seemed so much more lively and vibrant compared to Germany. I decided that I wanted to stay in Madrid for a few weeks, so I enrolled in a Spanish class to give me something to do. The Spanish class worked out pretty well because they offered housing for a very reasonable price, and it was very easy to make friends in class.
Madrid probably isn't a place you'd want to spend weeks in for tourism, but there was something about the vibe that I really liked. Besides the vibe, another reason why I wanted to stay in Madrid was because they had a Taco Bell there. Talk shit about Taco Bell all you want, but after spending 8 years outside of America, Taco Bell was like a little slice of heaven to me. They also served cheap beer.
Here are some of my photos from Madrid.
Three beers and nachos for 3 Euro? Count me in!
Part of the "vibe" I was talking about. People just hang out at the park and other people sell beer from coolers.
The view from my Airbnb.
A church.
A park that I walked through everyday to and from class.
People with a big vagina thing.
After Madrid, I went all the way south to Tarifa. Tarifa was a nice change of pace from Madrid. Tarifa is a beach town famous for its kite surfing. The atmosphere seemed very relaxed. I like quieter places like this, but it probably doesn't have a whole lot to offer your average tourist. Though it is a good place to visit if you plan on traveling onward to Morocco.
An old fort and the mountains of Africa in the background.
A weird house on a hill.
The beach.
After Tarifa, I went to Malaga. I hated Malaga the first time I visited, and I didn't like it much more the second time around. Malaga kind of reminds me of Las Vegas. It seems like a place manufactured for tourists, as opposed to being a normal place that tourists discovered. Everything seemed fake and perfumed there. The old town is actually kind of nice and I ate at a sushi place with some very unique kinds of sushi. Besides that, I can't really recommend this city. I stayed one night, which was one night too many.
The view from where I stayed in Malaga.
After Malaga, I went to Granada. Granada is awesome and totally worth visiting. Besides being a cool looking city, Granada is a place that takes their tapas seriously. In Madrid, you might get some ham on bread or some olives with your beer, in Granada you almost get a whole meal with your beer. One place had all kinds of Thai food to choose from. You just order a beer and say what you want from the tapas menu, and you get free food with your beer. Excellent!
Granada is also home to Alhambra, an old Islamic fort. Alhambra is definitely worth the price of admission. I don't think the audio walking guide was worth the price, but the place itself is a sight to see.
A church in Granada.
The view from Alhambra.
A courtyard inside Alhambra.
After Granada, I went to Calpe. I was trying to find smaller towns to visit and someone on Reddit recommended Calpe. It's not much of a small town, but it is a vacation destination and it was more relaxed than most of the cities. There were a TON of old people there and the city isn't very charming, but I had a great time there.
A big rock that I climbed with a girl who was a roommate at my hostel.
There were lots of seagulls on the rock. Luckily it wasn't the mating season. My friend said the birds attack hikers when they have eggs in their nests.
My roommate taking a photo.
There was also a family of cats at the top of the rock.
From Calpe, I went to Barcelona as my final destination in Spain. Everyone's going to hate me for this, but Barcelona sucked. The place was so crowded with tourists that it was hard to walk down the streets, let alone see an attraction. The only thing really special about Barcelona is a big ugly church that looks like it melted in the sun.
On a positive note, Diplo played at a venue a few blocks from my hostel. I went to that show and had a blast!
A cool looking building in Barcelona.
A street in Barcelona.
So that concludes my tour of Spain. I'd have to say that Spain is my favorite country in Europe. It's got an energy that makes a country like Germany or America feel as exciting as a funeral parlor. Barcelona is probably pretty cool too, but I wasn't feelin' it.
Stay tuned for the next country, France.