I recently spent a week on vacation in Spain, spending time in Barcelona and Valencia. It was nice to take a whole week off from work and just hang out and enjoy somewhere I have never been (it's not Mexico, duh). However, I think I had too much fun, because I've been sick ever since!
I stayed in hostels in Barcelona and Valencia and ended up meeting a lot of nice, fun people. Even though one night was a super-crazy nightmare mess, the rest of the week was great, and I would absolutely stay at the same place again. There is just something exciting and interesting about hostels. In Barcelona the hostel (Hello BCN) was very social. There was a big common room with a bar and everyone hung out there in the evenings meeting fellow travelers, exchanging sight seeing recommendations and Facebook information. My first night I had a room with 2 bunk beds to myself, but for the next two nights I was joined by my friend Kate, who is living in Germany but met me there on a whim, and a couple other guys we didn't know. My biggest worry before arriving was not knowing the ettiquite for staying in al room with strangers (when to turn on the light, where to keep your things, etc), but it all worked out. And the showers and bathrooms were actually semi-clean. The last couple nights I shared with some Slovenians who spent most of their time sleeping, and standing outside the hostel smoking. They were a lot of fun and super funny, so hopefully I will visit them in Ljubljana.
Me with my Slovenian roommates Anja, Katja and Luka, and Matteo who works at the hostel
It's interesting to meet all the people who come through the hostels, including the people that work there. In another life it would have been great to work at a hostel in a different country, meeting tons of people, and being able to travel around on your days off. But thinking about it, I guess I get most of that on my current job, so I can't complain. Nevermind that most people there are 10 years younger than me...
The food in Spain was really good. By Day 4 I started getting a food baby everytime I ate. I would order so much paella and tapas for myself (and of course try to eat it all), that I would spend most of the day uncomfortable from eating too much. Part of the problem was that in order to get paella, you usually had to order paella for 2 people, and in many cases it was just me. But when you want something, you want it, so I ate for two, plus I ordered tapas. I have to admit that by the end of the week, I just wanted some pizza or Chinese food. I could only eat so much.
Paella and jamon bocadillo (cured ham sandwich)
One of the best pieces of advice I got before I went was "Just walk around and get lost in the city". Barcelona is such a beautiful place with mountains, ocean, and bustling city all right there (similar to SF, Seattle, and Cape Town, etc). At one point I got really lost, and started following a French couple. It turned out they were lost too, because they would stop once in a while to look at their map. There was nobody else around, so when they stopped, it became clear I was following them. In order to try to not look like I was following them, I took out my camera to pretend I was taking a picture of something. I'm pretty sure they caught on.
During the week, I was able to hang out with Mo and her friends a few times (Mo's sister Meg is my Chicago "roommate" who hosts me everytime I'm there), seeing the Magic Fountain, doing a short hike on Montserrat, and just walking around the city. When we went out at night, I had to remember that they were in college still, and I am not that young! It was tough, but we even helped her friends stay out til it was time for their flight in the morning (going to bed after the sun came up). Ouch.
The Magic Fountain light show
View from Montserrat
Sunset from Montjuic
Kate and I met a friend of a friend (Mireia) who grew up in Catalonia (the area on Spain where Barcelona is located). She took us to lunch and talked to us about the history and culture of the area, and even took us on a little sightseeing walk. It felt like my little own Anthony Bourdain show. She made sure we realized that the Catalonians are a distinct culture/ethnicity. Catalan is a different language from Spanish and they have their own customs different than the rest of Spain. I noticed the language difference when I got off the plane and all the signs were in Catalan (with Spanish subtitles). I knew my Spanish was rusty, but it was strange that I didn't recognize ANY words....it was because it was all Catalan. Even the street names are Catalan names, not Spanish. Mireia took us to see Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, which is still under construction after being started in 1909.
Another thing that Mireia suggested we see was the human towers. This was truly an amazing experience. Kate and I went to some neighborhood festival off the beaten path, and I wouldn't be surprised if we were the only foreigners in the whole place. It was filled with music, simple (but really good!) food, lots of dancing and a sense of joy and community that I can't explain. Then there was the Castells. These only went 4 levels high, which was quite impressive. But apparently the experts can go as high as 9 levels!!! Are you kidding??? That is more than twice the size of this. Definitely check this out if you ever have a chance to see it.
I spent a bit of time in Valencia for the Las Fallas festival towards the end of the week where the communities build big statues (fallas) and display them around the city...only to burn them down on the last day of the festival. I didn't get to see the burning, but during the week they have fireworks everywhere (day and night, and by little kids throwing them around the street, exploding at your feet), and all the fallas are on display.
One of the dozens of fallas on display around the city
There is also a really nice vibe to the city (which is also a beautiful place, by the way). It seemed a bit more "authentic", since Barcelona had so many tourists (in Barca I heard lots of English, French, or other langauges spoken by people walking down the streets...and tons of obnoxious Americans). I'm very glad I got a chance to see Valencia to experience something different (even though my hostel roommates there weren't as social as the ones in Barca).
The City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia
Overall it seemed that Valencia spoke less English than Barcelona, and since it is not part of Catalonia, you hear Spanish everywhere. Hearing all the Spanish really messed with my Polish. I started thinking in Spanish because of this....and even today in Warsaw, someone asked me a question in Polish and I responded by saying "si!". Whoops.
A couple other interesting things;
- Two different groups of Spanish kids yelled "Konnichiwa" to me walking down the street. If this happened by some American kids, I would probably have been offended. But for some reason this was different.
- Restaurants bring you bread before your meal, but they charge you for it if you eat it. I wanted to see if they would just take it away if I didnt eat it, but of course, I couldn't not eat it. Especially the bread with tomato rubbed on it.
- I got my phone stolen by a guy who was pretending to be friendly to me. After I noticed, I went back and asked him to return it to me. He did it with a smile, actually. So bizzare.
- Mo's iPod got stolen from her purse by some women pretending to want us to sign a petition. It was so slick and we didn't notice at the time, but afterwards it was so obvious how they did it. It is impressive how pickpockets have these pretty fool-proof routines.
The Citadell, where Mo's iPod was stolen 10 minutes after this picture was taken
- Surprisingly, my Spanish came back pretty easy (even though its been over 15 years since my last class), and by Day 3 I was having basic conversations with strangers. It'd be interesting to see how well I'd do if I moved to a Spanish-speaking place. It'd be much easier than Polish, that's for sure.
- Siestas are no joke - things close every afternoon and nobody is out on the streets. I think the rest of the world should adopt this rule
- Every train in the metro systems seems different. My favorite is the one with the place to lean your butt if you are standing up. Is niiiice.
- The markets there have all kinds of weird things...lots of animal parts you don't see everywhere...like pig heads, or pig head skin (Hannibal Lecter style), skinned whole rabbits and other pretty icky things.
- Tortillas in Spain are not the same as the tortillas I eat everyday! They are more like omelettes with potatoes or other fillings. Even though they are different, they are just as good!
Tapas - including jamon, patatas bravas, and yes, a tortilla
Even though I had Mo, Kate and Mireia to hang out with when I was there, this trip was further evidence that there is nothing wrong with traveling on your own. I met a lot of people traveling on their own, a few of which I am sure I will see again somewhere. I'm glad I went and I look forward to my next solo hostel experience.
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