Remember when I said that I wanted to travel and decided to start saying yes to things rather than no?
Well, I'm in Spain.
I can blame this trip on that desire. Completely. But it's definitely a good thing...
I booked at ticket on the fifth, left on the eighth, and am now sitting in Vitoria, Spain with my head spinning.
Yesterday I flew into Madrid after a CRAZY early flight from Amman to Cairo. My friend met me at the airport (having flew in two hours before me) and we took the train into Madrid. Before I packed to come he warned me that I probably wanted a backpack, so I asked around my family members in Amman until I found one. It has a couple holes, but I did my best to patch it up before I came. I'm so happy I did - we ended up walking around Madrid for at least five hours, taking in all the sites. We hit the major places, the Plaza Mayor, Sol, the large park (I have no idea what it's called) - the entire time feeling like I was in some sort of movie. At one point we walked by a complete Egyptian temple that was given to Spain by Egypt after some sort of political assistance was given between the two. The irony of having been in Cairo for three hours that morning and walking by an Egyptian temple in Spain was mildly overwhelming. A last minute ticket combined with two hours of sleep and a complete change of scenery left me floored and prone to such comparisons.
Pablo (my friend) did an excellent job acting as a tour guide. He is from the Basque region of Spain, so he's very familiar with Madrid, though only as the capital. He has a bunch of friends living there, however, so after walking most of the city (it felt like), we went to his friend's apartment just long enough to put down our backpacks before we headed back out for pintxos (pronounced pinchos, similar to tapas) and beer. After a few bites I was tuckered out, so we headed back. I don't even think I said goodnight before I crawled into bed - next time I'll remember to be more polite before falling into a coma-like sleep.
Today we headed out of Madrid to Vitora, taking a bus. Pablo really likes trains and would have liked that better, but the new high-speed train from Madrid to Vitora is €50. The bus, however, was only about €25 - much more reasonable. Along the way he gave me a brief history of the Basque region (I'm too tired to explain it all here, just google Basque if you're interested). Something to note though is the fact that Vitoria was named Europe's greenest city for the year. Very cool.
His mom met us at the bus station, as I'll be staying with them for the next three days (four? I can't remember). She doesn't speak a lot of English, and my Spanish is rusty to say the least, but we were able to bond over the fact that we think Pablo should cut his dreadlocks (called rastas in Spain - so cool!). We walked through Vitora (once again, thank God for that backpack) and ended up in a lovely square where Pablo's parents (Ignacio y Yolanda) live. I totally feel like I'm intruding, but Pablo has assured me that they're used to hosting various friends. Honestly, I'm so lucky that I met someone who's willing to act a tour guide to Spain and find places for me to stay... There's a reason why I knew I should take advantage of the opportunity while I could!
Well, we just had dinner and I think I'm going to go on a 'promenade' (I love the English that they speak). I'm completely exhausted out of my mind (sorry if this blog post makes little or no sense... and for all the parentheses), but I don't want to miss out on anything!
Cheers!
Well, I'm in Spain.
I can blame this trip on that desire. Completely. But it's definitely a good thing...
I booked at ticket on the fifth, left on the eighth, and am now sitting in Vitoria, Spain with my head spinning.
Yesterday I flew into Madrid after a CRAZY early flight from Amman to Cairo. My friend met me at the airport (having flew in two hours before me) and we took the train into Madrid. Before I packed to come he warned me that I probably wanted a backpack, so I asked around my family members in Amman until I found one. It has a couple holes, but I did my best to patch it up before I came. I'm so happy I did - we ended up walking around Madrid for at least five hours, taking in all the sites. We hit the major places, the Plaza Mayor, Sol, the large park (I have no idea what it's called) - the entire time feeling like I was in some sort of movie. At one point we walked by a complete Egyptian temple that was given to Spain by Egypt after some sort of political assistance was given between the two. The irony of having been in Cairo for three hours that morning and walking by an Egyptian temple in Spain was mildly overwhelming. A last minute ticket combined with two hours of sleep and a complete change of scenery left me floored and prone to such comparisons.
Pablo (my friend) did an excellent job acting as a tour guide. He is from the Basque region of Spain, so he's very familiar with Madrid, though only as the capital. He has a bunch of friends living there, however, so after walking most of the city (it felt like), we went to his friend's apartment just long enough to put down our backpacks before we headed back out for pintxos (pronounced pinchos, similar to tapas) and beer. After a few bites I was tuckered out, so we headed back. I don't even think I said goodnight before I crawled into bed - next time I'll remember to be more polite before falling into a coma-like sleep.
Today we headed out of Madrid to Vitora, taking a bus. Pablo really likes trains and would have liked that better, but the new high-speed train from Madrid to Vitora is €50. The bus, however, was only about €25 - much more reasonable. Along the way he gave me a brief history of the Basque region (I'm too tired to explain it all here, just google Basque if you're interested). Something to note though is the fact that Vitoria was named Europe's greenest city for the year. Very cool.
His mom met us at the bus station, as I'll be staying with them for the next three days (four? I can't remember). She doesn't speak a lot of English, and my Spanish is rusty to say the least, but we were able to bond over the fact that we think Pablo should cut his dreadlocks (called rastas in Spain - so cool!). We walked through Vitora (once again, thank God for that backpack) and ended up in a lovely square where Pablo's parents (Ignacio y Yolanda) live. I totally feel like I'm intruding, but Pablo has assured me that they're used to hosting various friends. Honestly, I'm so lucky that I met someone who's willing to act a tour guide to Spain and find places for me to stay... There's a reason why I knew I should take advantage of the opportunity while I could!
Well, we just had dinner and I think I'm going to go on a 'promenade' (I love the English that they speak). I'm completely exhausted out of my mind (sorry if this blog post makes little or no sense... and for all the parentheses), but I don't want to miss out on anything!
Cheers!
having flown in two hours before…??? Good to hear you.
ReplyDelete