Spectacular Spain with the Swedish Senoritas!

For as long as I can remember I´ve dreamt of exploring Spain. It´s been calling to me for most of my life. My nana thinks its because some of our ancestors are from the border of France and Spain , and therefore I´m likely to have some Spanish blood. Maybe it was simply the exotic unknown-tapas, sangria,beautiful lilting language and flamenco. Whatever the reason, Spain was a must on my ´travel to-dos´ and I was desperate to discover it for real. And lets just say, if I thought I was smitten with the place before....now I am head over heels in love!



Exactly one year ago, I was sitting in a pub in Broome, soaking up the sun and having a few Sunday drinks. Our group of friends at this stage , was an eclectic mix from Australia, New Zealand and Sweden. I was dreaming of travel (as usual) and was lusting after going to Spain ( as usual!) At this point my Swedish friend, Sara proposed a plan. She suggested that in a years time, her and I meet up and travel to Spain together. Of course it sounded wonderful, but then so do most ideas, when they´re formed through a combination of Sunday sun, sand and wine. So despite loving the concept , I never truly knew if it´d happen or not. But... a year later, we made it happen. Which brings me to.....



After much wrestling with bags, waiting around in airports and language barriers, i arrived at Barcelona airport- it was finally happening!!

About an hour later, Sara arrived, fresh from Sweden and as giggly and incredulous as I was to be there.We managed to negotiate our way to our hotel, and despite being exhausted, made our way to the top floor , where we had a few celebratory wines, whilst overlooking the city night lights of the big B.C!
The next morning, we were up early, as excited as kids on Christmas morning, ready to explore. We managed to start to make sense of the Metro public transport system and before we knew it, we were drinking Spanish wine out of a cask ( only 2 dollars a pop!) and sunbaking on the beach surround by the locals and laughing at our good fortune! Over the next few days, we had alot more picnics, soaked up alot more Spainsh sun and became quite at home on La Rambla - the city centre of Barcelona. I even reduced myself to buying an- i heart Barcelona singlet- what? I do!!!
One night , it started to rain, that delicious steamy, fat rain, that feels so tropical, it´s almost like taking a bath. We sought refuge in an amazing little treasure trove of a place and found ourselves surrounded by passionate locals drinking giant jugs of Sangria. so..when in spain! We too, drank our share of the delecious concoction and then sampled some of the amazing food too ( already my photos look like the collection of a food critic , i´m just loving the presentation, and the taste and the exotic nature of the cuisine here- yummo!)
The next night we stumbled across a mini street festival , which we enjoyed while sampling some more Spanish cask wine and the local hummus and bread, fresh from the corner shop.
Then more sun, more stumbly spainsh talk and before we knew it we had been there for a week- oops!
Sara´s friends were arriving the next day, so we figured we may as well stay too.
We met them at a giant hostel in the heart of the city and before we knew it, we´d gotten so excited we had changed our plans for the coming week completley. Instead of going south to Valencia and Andalucia( good name!) we decided it was way to much fun in our little possey, so decided to travel north with them instead. The beauty of travel! 5 Swedes and an Aussie, on our way!
As luck would have it, one of the girls, is actually a tour guide, and 3 of the girls speak fluent spanish,so they are the perfect travel companions. That night we discoverd a Champanerie- an amazingly crowded hot, local bar. You can barely move,drinks are constantly being spilled, giant slabs of meat hang from the roof, next to rows and rows of Cava ( Spanish champagne) and you have to sample little plates of cheese if you want a drink. It´s wonderful and feels so very spanish! We theN explored 3 more local bars, each as exciting and exotic as the last, before falling into bed in the wee hours, while the city partied on. The next day-more beach bliss, then to a new part of town, where we found another fantastic local haunt, with plenty more sangria , tomato bread ( one of my favourites, thick crusty bread smeared with fresh tomato, good european oil and lashings of garlic ), homemade babbaganoush, tomato and mozarella salad, and all round deliciousness. Then we managed to find ourselves amonst a street festival, which revolved around , looking after the environment. So every 200 metres there was a new fairytale cave to explore , filled with decorations made from recycled bottles and plastic and serving traditional Spanish spirits and live music. The next day we travelled by train to Girona, to another bustling , bright hostel, where we had pre dinks of Cava in our room , then ventured out for tapas at 11:30 pm.
In the morning, we were off again to Figueres, to see the Dali exhibition, which was typically awe inspiring and spectacular. I found it really strange, that we were allowed to take photos of the exhibition, but we were, so we did ( keep posted on Facebook, for heaps of photos, I´m, having trouble uploading them on these exotic Spanish computers!)
Then more train-ing and wrestling with my damn bag ( it has to be noted that at this stage, I´d gottten rid of my big backpackers pack, and replaced it for one with wheels, so much easier, or so I thought... Now though, it´s fallen apart and lost all its wheels, so I´m about to buy my third pack for the trip- good quality luggage!)
We finally arrived at Llanca, our favourite place yet, and stayed in this fantastic little, whitewashed hotel, with a view of the mountains on one side and the ocean on the other. It had a giant green, sprawling front yard with a hammock and a big trestle table and it felt like home. Instantly we decided to settle here for 3 nights.
After exploring the beach, we wandered along the seaside markets before finaly sampling some local seafood paella, which was truly mouth watering.
The next day we trekked to discover a less popular beach, surrounded by cliffs and covered in smooth pebbles, where the water was totally clear. Yum. That night we utilised our sprawling front yard and got all dressed up and cooked ourselves a dinner party, complete with plenty of Cava,home made tomato bread, seafood pasta and fresh goats cheese salad. Mmmmm.
In the morning we woke to a long, hot bus ride to Caraques. Here ,it felt so Mediterreanean, the crystal clear water was surrounded with mountains dotted with little white houses with blue roofs, and we soaked up the sun, ate fresh gelato and discoved hidden cobblestone alleyways with friendly locals.
Then we said goodbye to one of our crew and headed back to Barcelona, which was a stopover for our next destination. Loving the city as we do , we couldn´t resist making the most of it. We then proceeded to sample the finery of a recommended tapas bar- local red wine, more goats cheese, more Champaneria and then to anothe bar for freshly made strawberry daquiris and music. Home to the dodgy hostel( someone else was in one of our beds!), 2 and a half hours sleep and then back at the train station at 6 30 am for a big train ride to San Sebastian.
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We are still here now and its yet another seaside paradise. I love it. Last night we sampled some local tapas. It´s different here, more elaborate- capsicum stuffed with tuna and homemade fritattas and asparagus on crusty bread. Then we found ourselves amongst yet another street party, big brass bands and fantastic local jazz bands. We found ourselves a spot on the beach for the most rousing fireworks show ever, all perfectly choreographed to a blaring musical soundtrack- fun!
Exhausted after virtually no sleep, we made it back to the hostel and passed out to the sounds of the spanish partying into the night.
This morning , the streets are very quiet, it´s a Sunday the siesta is seemingly lasting for the whole day. I think there´d be many a sangria headache amongst the locals and tourists alike.
On Wednesday I say goodbye to my little crew of Swedish senoritas and head to Paris for a music festival with Boxy and Booma ( my own personal bodyguards!)
It´s a hard life!
Think it´s fair to say, that my high expectations of this exotic and tantalising place have been well and truly exceeded. I won´t be able to keep away for long.
Until next time my friends, adios chica guapas and chico guapas. Muchos Gracious! ( goodbye hot girls and boys, thankyou very much!) ( dunno about the spelling, but I´ve got me accent down pat!) HOLA! xxoxox