April 2011
- SPAIN-

Valencia

I took the train from Wales to Bristol, UK to get my plane to Valencia, Spain.  It was a smooth plane ride and as soon as we were on top of the city of Valencia I could see how beautiful it was.  It is on the coast of the Mediterranean sea so the view was amazing!  I was lucky that my flight was early in the morning, so I arrived to Valencia around 10am, there were beautiful blue skies and the temperature was in the 20's.  Since I had arrived so early, I could check into my hostel and go out right away to make the most of my day.

@ RED NEST HOSTEL...

The hostel was a big plus for me. It was recommended by a good friend of mine, Isabel, whom I know  from Uni in Swansea. (Thanks Isa :) ).  The hostel had a nice facade, old style so it mixed well with the surrounding old architecture of the city. It couldn't have been at a better location, it was right at the centre and close to absolutely everything!  The people there were very friendly and accomodating.  As you enter, it looks very small, all you can see is the reception area and a big stairway behind it.  However, the hostel has 5 floors and an elevator, with a common place at the attic.  The attic had a pool table, a bar, internet access, tv room and an outdoor terrace for suntanning!! The area was decorated in a cool funky fashion...very cute place. There was also a common large kitchen with several colorful picnic tables where groups could gather, and it had everything...a fridge, stove, microwave, coffee maker (coffee and tea were free), utensils, and even a huge paella pan!! hhehehe. 

I chose a female dorm room of 6 beds, and there were 4 of us. Two Australian girls who were taking a Sabbatical year travelling around all of Europe and a girl from north of Spain (Gallega), her name was Karla and we hit it off right away.  I spent one evening with the other 2 girls, we went out for a drink and talked a bit.  With Karla we also went out into the city, had some drinks and a nice talk.  She's a very interesting girl, and a great Architect with lots of aspirations, and great projects in progress.  She was in Valencia for one of these projects but normally lives in the North of Spain, where she said I could come visit sometime :).  We had lots in common, as she also loves nature and animals.  I loved her eccentricity, it's nice to meet people that are different and don't just follow the crowd like little sheep.

During the days, I was mostly on my own but had a great time wondering around.  I went to the beach like 3 times and it was the best.  The weather was perfect, around 25c and sunny, not a cloud in the sky for all my time there!. Although the water was very cold, I went in for a swim.  Come on, I was in the Mediterranean, I had to!! Anyway, as you start swimming, the water gets warmer and it was so good :)...One thing I did, which I do everytime I travel, was to take some sand from the beach...I collect sand from everywhere I go, and put them in little bottle containers. :)

I also visited the "Ciudad de las Ciencias", it's the white domes that you see in the picture above.  The place is amazing, it is surrounded by clear water and a beautiful big park which you can bike all the way to the city.  It has a museum, which I did not enter, and also what they call the "Oceanographic" which is where I went, since it is an area full of animals from different ecosystems, this interested me more.  I saw big sharks, stingrays, seals, beluga whales, dolphins, sea turtles, colorful fish, pelicans, beautiful tropical bird species and many more...it was amazing, I felt very happy there. Well, it would be much better of course to see those animals in the wild where they can really express themselves in their natural habitats and move about more freely, but it was nice to see all those beautiful creatures...nature is just amazing.

Some other places I saw in the city of Valecia were: The Cathedral, Plaza del Mercado (you can find all kinds of food in this market, and it's so clean), Torres de Serranos, Plaza de toros, Plaza de la reina.

Plaza de la Reina is a very nice place to be.  It has a beautiful water fountain, nice shiny floors throughout (and it's outdoor), and many outdoor terraces all around, surrounded by beautiful architecture and the Cathedral right beside it.

I had a great time in Valencia and I would like to return one day.  I would have liked to stay longer, but my vacation was only a week long and I still had to visit Madrid!!...which was very important to me since my cousins were there and I really wanted to see them.

MADRID

I took a bus from Valencia to Madrid, it was a 4 hour ride with 2 movies, and a 15 min break go get out, get refreshed and get a bite to eat. Very cool trip actually, because it was still light out, and we passed a lot of beautiful countryside (which you'll see some pictures of).  I must have driven the people behind me crazy, cause they were trying to sleep and my camera kept making noise hehhehe

My cousins live in the outskirts of the city, in Valdemoro, so I was actually not staying in Madrid.  When I arrived, my cousin Jorge Mario was to pick me up from the station so that we could take the train to Valdemoro together.  When I arrived he wasn't there so I had to call him.  I had to wait for him a while actually, but it was ok because I was inside the station and not going anywhere, so I just waited.  When he arrived we left right away since it was getting late and the buses would be stopping soon.

It was so nice to see him again.  He had come to visit us in Canada in August of 2010, which was around 8 months back, right before I left for my Exchange in Wales.  So now that I was closer to him, I decided to pop in for a visit, it was the perfect time to do it.

Jorge lives now with his brother, my other cousin Daniel.  Daniel had been living with me in Canada last year and actually had just arrived to Madrid the week before and was just settling in. I was glad to be of help and put a little feminine touch to their place ehhehehe (you know how guys can be).  Anyway, they have a very cute appartment, which they are fixing up little by little...it's so nice to see them all independent. They are my little cousins!! Well to me they are...Jorge is 22 and Daniel will soon be 19.

We had a blast together, went to Madrid and took lots of pictures in the city.  Plaza mayor is very pretty, we spent some time there and went into a nice restaurant to have my first "Paella".  It was an amazing deal! I ordered a Paella to start, then a nice fish with lemon and salad, an icecream for dessert and a personal bottle of red wine, all for only 8 euros!!! and I thought all of Europe was more expensive...I even got a little buzzed! :D hey, it's vacation time...it was actually the same price if you took the coke!

Parque del retiro is another one of the best places I saw in Madrid.  It is a stunning huge park with a nice lake in the middle with statues around it.  People can go on little boats in this lake and some just suntan laying on the grass.  It was also very nice weather in Madrid, around 26c. Too bad this time there was no beach! :P

My cousins also showed me around their area, which is very nice and the area where their mom lives (my aunt Lorena).  She lives a bit further even from Madrid, we took the train there, the place is called Aranjuez.  It is a beautiful town, I really loved it.  They say it has the typical "Spanish Style" look.

I spent very nice moments with my aunt, cousins and a part of their family that I had not met before; very nice people.  I also met a couple of my cousin's friends and his girlfriend Stefania.  One of his friends, David, is a great person and helped me out a lot when I was on my own during the time that Jorge had to work.  David showed me around so that I could see some last minute places before my departure. Gracias David!! :)

Well, I was very glad to see my family and to have spent all of those special moments with them. 

 **Gracias primitos por ensenarme su ciudad, los quiero mucho y espero verlos otra vez...sea en Canada o en Espana, muchos besitos.