So before I get started, I know what you’re thinking. Where the heck have I been for a month? I confess, I’ve been slacking on the whole blogging thing, but I’m back! In my last post, my mother joined me in Europe and we toured London and Paris. After chilly days in those two cities, we traded in our scarves and umbrellas in for shades and sunscreen as we headed to the beautiful Spain and Italy 🙂
Spain
Spain. Oh how I love thee, let me count the ways! The first thing that I thought when we landed in Spain is “OMG the sun!” After cold days in London and Paris, we arrived in Madrid and it felt like night and day. It could be that after a couple of days in Paris, I was happy to be back in a place where I semi-understood what was happening around me, or I just love the Spanish culture. I don’t know, but I felt at home in Madrid. It’s the capital city of Spain, so it’s not exactly small, but it just had this laid back, small town vibe that I could see myself getting used to. And did I mention; The sun 🙂
We had four days in Spain. Two in Madrid and two in Barcelona. We didn’t have a lot of time to explore, but I enjoyed our time in both cities. After arriving in Madrid, we took the metro to the Gran Via stop and our hotel was a short walk away. We stayed at Hostal La Fontana which was quite pleasant and in a great location. Gran Via has a lot of shopping and eateries. It’s also close to some main attractions including the Puerta del Sol and the Royal Palace.
After settling in, we walked around a bit and grabbed some dinner. In Madrid, the highlight of our stay was during the second day with a free walking tour from Sandeman’s. I’m really into this free tour thing, by the way. It’s the first thing I search for in every city I visit. Our tour guide was amazing! He was American, but has lived in Spain for 4 years and during that time, married a Spaniard. He was so knowledgeable about Madrid’s history and made the tour entertaining. I have to say it takes skill to make a 3 hour tour in the Madrid sun entertaining. After the tour we had one of my favorite meals on the trip. Ironically it was Asian and not Spanish, but it was delicious nonetheless. Later that evening, we explored the city a bit more while on a very particular search for ice cream. The next morning, we headed to Barcelona.
Flying to Barcelona was a bit nerve wracking. We got to the airport around 8:30am for a 10am departure with Vueling Airlines. After standing in line for a few minutes we realized that the line wasn’t moving. There was only one person at the check-in desk for non-priority check-in and they were only checking in one party every 10 minutes. After the longest hour ever, we finally got checked in and had to literally run to security and to our gate. Luckily, the flight ended up being delayed. We finally got to Barcelona and took the Aerobus and metro to our Airbnb. This was the second Airbnb of our trip and although the stairs were a bit much, it was cozy. I found a cute pasta place a couple doors down, and we had a late lunch (or early lunch according to Spain’s standards) and a nap. We walked around a bit and found another Arc de Triomf. I think this is my favorite iteration that I’ve seen thus far.
The Arc was near a pedestrian walk area and we caught some street performers which was nice. Things felt like they moved a bit faster in Barcelona. I think because there seemed to be more tourists here, which makes sense. The next day, Mommy took a much deserved morning off while I went to see La Sagrada Familia. It’s the unfinished Basilica that Gaudi designed and began construction on before his death. Amazing doesn’t begin to describe it. I think it’s probably my favorite experience thus far. The audio guide that complemented the walking tour was so great and really helped you appreciate the thought of the design. It literally felt like the New Testament in the form of a building. Every inch of the design had a purpose and a meaning. It’s also an odd feeling to see the construction in progress. There are all of these magnificent cathedrals around the world that have been there for hundreds of years and I think that we take for granted how much effort and time it took to construct them. It’s estimated to be completed in 2026 and I would love to go back and see the finished product.
We spent the rest of our day in Barcelona walking out to the water and seeing the beach. I have never seen a beach so packed in my life. I couldn’t even see sand. I just saw bodies and water. We retired for the evening to get ready for our next stop….Pisa!
Italia
So for whatever reason, it’s much cheaper to fly into Pisa instead of Florence. We flew Vueling Airlines again, but this time, the check-in process was a bit smoother. We arrived in Pisa and got to our hotel to settle in. Much to my mother’s surprise we were only an eight minute walk from the Leaning Tower. We found a small cafe near the tower for dinner and had our first authentic Italian pizza 🙂 It was delicioso of course. Pisa was a nice stopover. There wasn’t much to do, so it ended up being quite relaxing.
We took an Italo train to Florence the next day. The train was really nice and had wifi, which was perfect. After arriving, it took a while to figure out the bus situation to get to our Airbnb, but we arrived. We stopped at a restaurant nearby before checking in and had some fantastic pasta. Italy was 2/2 on the food front 🙂 After lunch, it was time to make our way up to our accomodations which was located midway up a stereotypical Tuscan hill. It felt like a scene out of a movie.
The house was so cute and by far the best Airbnb that I’ve stayed in so far. Our host Tomasso was so friendly and helpful and the house was equipped with everything we could possibly need. The location was great too. We were just around the corner from Ponte Vecchio.
We had a couple days in Florence and mostly spent it exploring by foot and doing a bit of shopping. We planned to do a walking tour, but as we all know, being on time during vacation can sometimes be a bit of a struggle. We completely missed that tour. Nonetheless, I loved Florence. There were a lot of tourists, but it wasn’t overwhelming. The locals that we encountered were also really nice and cordial. The only thing I regret is not having more time there. I would have liked to see more of the Tuscany region. I think this is the part of Italy that I would enjoy the most. It’s officially on my travel to-do list.
To close out my mom’s portion of the trip, we went to Rome. I thought that this would be the grand finale but it didn’t turn out as well as I’d hoped. We did get to see some of the main sights, but there were other things that we missed out on due to bad timing or sheer exhaustion. By the time we got to Rome, we were two weeks into our European tour and quite frankly, both of us were tired. We settled into our Airbnb and got great guidance from our host on places to see and transportation within the city. After that, we walked around a bit to the Colosseum and to find dinner, then turned in for the night because we had an early morning the next day.
We planned to take a day trip to Naples and Pompeii. I pre-purchased the tickets to Naples, but not Pompeii. After discussing it, we decided that we weren’t that enthused to walk around for 2-3 hours in the sun. So, we decided to just go to Naples and find something to do, but that was easier said than done. We got there in the morning so there wasn’t much open. The places that were open had less than friendly workers which left me a bit rattled. I found a museum that looked interesting, but upon further investigation, it turned out to be closed on Tuesdays. Guess what day it was? Tuesday. We walked around a bit, but with limited internet and growing frustrations, we ended up moving up our return train ticket and heading back to Rome.
One of the main things we wanted to see was Vatican City. Unfortunately, the only day we could go was June 29, which I didn’t realize was a holiday in Rome. Soooooo, that ended up being a no go. We did get to take pictures outside of the Basilica, so it wasn’t a total loss. Our last day, which was a holiday as I mentioned, was nice. We saw some more sights including the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps and the Piazza del Popolo. There was a celebration going on in the square with fireworks planned. And just like that, Rome was done. Mommy headed back to the states and I was Sevilla-bound (at the crack of dawn unfortunately).
I’ve been in Sevilla for a month and have been having a relaxing time. But more about that in my next post and I promise it won’t take a month. Later gators 🙂
Leave a Reply