Ciao, Spain!

Taking pictures in key tourist destinations is hard. Both pictures are from Parc Guell.

Back in Barcelona, we went to Gaudi's Parc Guell, which was so cool! Although it was overrun with tourists making it very hard to get a good look at anything. The park is on a hill, so we thought we would be hiking up a steep road to get there, but there was a system of about 6 escalators along the sidewalk to get you there. The park had all sorts of mosaics, interesting archways and winding paths. I loved it!

We had a great time taking pictures in Parc Guell - it's just so strange it lends itself to having fun.

We also tried to check out the magic fountain show near Montjuic, which consists of a spectacular fountain show with music and lights. Unfortunately, turns out we were misinformed and it only runs on weekends. But there was a great view of the city and we had a nice chat with a Swedish girl who had lived in Barcelona for a few years.

No magic fountain show, but a nice sunset over Barcelona.

Montserrat was our final destination in Spain. We took a train and then a cable car (a gondola) to get to the monastary area. From the main area of Montserrat, we took a funicular (similar to a train) up the mountain to the top. We did a little hike to see some old hermitages and get some spectacular views of the strange rock formations, the reason we went to Montserrat. We hiked back down to the monastary area, passing an old church and some crosses on the way. There were some cats by the church that came straight over to us when Tiina tried to get a picture of them. There were lots of wild cats all over Spain, but these ones looked a little more cared for. We actually skipped the monastary, having been more interested in the landscape.

And that was our Spainish trip! We headed off for the airport, where our flight was delayed by 2 hours, resulting in us missing our connecting flight to Tallinn. So Air Baltic put us on a bus from Riga, Latvia to Tallinn with about 10 other people. We had a great time talking to them but were very glad when we finally arrived at our uncle's house in Tallinn!

Spanish beaches and festivals

A hoguera in Alicante.

From Cordoba, we took (another) overnight bus to Alicante. I have discovered I can't sleep on overnight buses, but Alicante is a beach city and I was able to take it easy on the beach (slathered in loads of sunscreen). The city beach in Alicante is much nicer than that in Malaga. There happened to be a big festival while we were in Alicante as well. It was Las Hogueras de San Juan - the bonfires of St. John (St. John's Day being June 24th). There were massive sculptures all across the city, which would be burned in bonfires at the end of the multi-day festival. Unfortunately, we were there at the beginning of the festival, so we didn't get to see the bonfires. However, there was a parade with people representing each neighbourhood, dressed in traditional dress. And after the parade, there was a party all across the city, though focused on the beach, that lasted literally all night long. We tried to go to sleep at a reasonable time (2am), but could hear it from our window until at least 4am when we fell asleep. I'm pretty sure it didn't end until it rained.

From Alicante, we headed back to Barcelona. We decided to spend St. John's eve in Sitges, a small beach town near Barcelona that our mom couldn't stop talking about. It was a very nice beach, although everything was a bit expensive because it's a resort town. St. John's Day is a public holiday in Spain and is a big deal. In Sitges, there were fires lit up all over the beach and people letting off fireworks and firecrackers everywhere. Little boys (around 6 years old) throwing firecrackers on the sidewalk where you are walking is a bit unnerving. Along the beach, there were a number of small restaurants with thatched straw roofs over their terraces, one of which we saw catch fire. We went to the nearest restaurant to let them know. The conversation went something like this:

Us: There's a fire on a roof!
Girl: Yes, fire on beach. (Looking at us like we're crazy tourists.)
Us: No! On the roof! (Pointing up)
Girl: Yes, fireworks.
Us: No, on the roof! (Then we took her outside and pointed, at which point she ran.)

Everything was okay, although there was a hole in the roof. Some people had come off the beach and were pouring water on the fire to put it out. We decided things were a bit crazy and headed off the sleep shortly after this.

Despite the people, the beach was so clean and relaxing!

Like a sauna, but with no refreshing lake to jump in

From Malaga, we headed to Sevilla, which was blisteringly hot. We arrived midday and did nothing until 6pm because it was too hot. (Over 40 degrees Celsius.) Luckily, our hostel was nice and we met some interesting people, who were also avoiding the heat. In the evening, Tiina and I took part in a free tour offered by our hostel. We saw some of the key sights and even learned a thing or two! Then we went and had paella at the hostel. Paella is a quintessential Spanish dish consisting of rice and more or less whatever else you have on hand. The one we ate had seafood and chicken, I think...

A pool in the palace garden, there to remind you how much you wish you could cool off.

After eating, we met our friend Jüri who was visiting his sister and cousin, Marja and Tormi, in Sevilla. We hung out with them and some of their friends and had a great time! Marja´s apartment is near the oldest church in Sevilla. We spent the next day with them as well. Jüri and I went to see the palaces and then met Marja to check out the cathedral. It is the 3rd largest cathedral in Europe, 5th in the world. We climbed the 97m high giralda (tower), which was originally part of the mosque that the cathedral replaced. The tower was once the tallest building in the world, and gives a great view of the rooftop swimming pools nearby. Looking at swimming pools when its 45 degrees or more is.. hard... Originally, the tower was used to call people to prayer before being converted into a bell tower, so instead of stairs, there is a ramp running up the tower because the man would take a horse up so as not to lose his breath. I went for an absolutely lovely dinner with them, which unfortunately Tiina missed because of heat stroke.

Mosque? Or cathedral?

Our next stop was Cordoba, where we arrived at 3pm, or in the middle of siesta. Absolutely everything in southern Spain is closed from about 2pm until 5pm for siesta because it is way too hot to do anything. So we arrived and had to brave the blow drier like wind because we weren't staying overnight and therefore had no hostel to escape to. The main reason we went to Cordoba was to see the cathedral/mosque, and luckily it was open and cold! It was a beautiful building with these archways that made it feel like a forest. The mosque was built on the site of an old church, but was later taken over by the Catholic church and turned into a cathedral.

These signs were everywhere in Spain, they not only tell you how hot it is, but also show the time (above). Siesta is taken very seriously in Cordoba (below).

There happened to also be a flamenco festival while we were there and our bus wasn't until midnight, giving us a chance to enjoy the music at the beginning of the festival. There were events scheduled to start until 5am!! It's what you do when you can't go out during the day.

A dirty city and pretty little town

Ok so it's been a while... Tiina and I have been so busy we haven't had time to sit down to update, but now we're in Estonia so things are a bit more relaxed.

So from Granada, Tiina and I headed to Malaga, which is a huge resort town, gateway to the Costa del Sol (a huge resort area). Malaga isn't anything too exciting, and the beach in the city is pretty dirty to be honest. (You can see the shipping port.) We went to the beach anyway to relax for a day. I got a really awful sunburn on my legs because I totally forgot to put sunscreen on them.. Big mistake - bus rides and sunburned thighs don´t mix well...

To escape Malaga, we took a day trip to Ronda, a really pretty small town spanning a ravine and overlooking farmland below. It was stunning. To cross the river in the ravine, three bridges had been built at various times in history. (Everything here is just so old compared to anything we have in North America. They don't blink their eyes at something 150 years old unless its particularly pretty.) The other main attraction in Ronda is a bullfighting ring, which every city/town in Spain has. We did not go to any bullfights during our trip - they are supposed to be absolutely brutal.

"Hey, its the hottest part of the day, let´s go climb something big!"

Tiina having fun in the park (above)
The towers we climbed in the middle of the day (below)

Since we got our bus passes working (although every time we buy a ticket there still seems to be a lot of problems..) we were able to hop on a bus to Valencia. We picked Valencia as a place to break up our trip between Barcelona and Granada and were surprised to find how much we enojyed it. We walked from the bus station to the old town through a beautiful park that wraps around part of the old town. We entered the old town through old city gates, which for some reason we decided to climb in the blazing heat. Luckily the view was worth the effort! Our 11 hours in Valencia were spent wandering around the old town and checking out the market.

The entrance to the market

We also ventured into the new part of the city looking for a phone card or computer where Tiina could pay her tuition deposit. Of course this was during siesta when EVERYTHING is closed (for at least 3 hours). We then treated ourselves to a glass of horchata (a cold drink made from tiger nuts) and sat back to watch a huge pillow fight in one of the main squares and prepare for our overnight bus to Granada.

Pillow fight!

After a very long, uncomfortable night (where Tiina slept for 8 hours, and Maarika...well, a little less...) we finally made it to Granada. While waiting for our room we lounged on a cafe patio. Maarika couldn´t really muster up the energy for anything until she had a siesta, not to mention everything was closed because it was a Sunday. However, we still managed to pass the day away by exploring the pretty city. This included hiking up some very steep streets during the hottest part of the day to check out the old Moorish quarter, Albaicin. We were rewarded with a magnificent view of the Alhambra - the Moorish palaces and fortresses overlooking Granada.

The next day, we found ourselves on the other side of the valley, looking back at where we had walked the day before. We toured the Alhmabra, with it´s beautifully detailed tile- and woodwork. The buildings were really impressive, especially considering a lot of it was built before Canada was discovered by Europeans.

Barcelona: Where mullets are more common than street signs

So Tiina (my sister) and I are now in Spain! Woo! We both have travel blogs, so most of the posts will be the same. But we flew separately so here´s my bit before Tiina met me in Barcelona.

I flew via Tallinn (and Helsinki and Riga) to Barcelona. There was a man on my flight to Estonia who hadn´t been back in 63 years! He was pretty excited. Walking around in Tallinn was strange, since I haven´t been in 5 years, so a fair bit has changed, but it´s still the same.

Arriving in Barcelona, I wandered around the Gothic quarter (old town) by our hostel for a while. I spent an hour looking for a supermarket, before I found one in the basement of the department store in front of which the airport bus had dropped me off originally.

0.65 Euros = about $1 (from a fruit market, not the department store)

[Now our joint bit]

Lost? Or maybe something else is under renovations...

Why was Maarika lost? Because streets are really poorly marked in Barcelona (and so far the rest of Spain too, but we´re getting used to it). Also, in the Gothic Quarter, there is no grid system, at all.. so you think you´re going one direction but you´re going in totally the opposite. Anyway, we eventually made our way to the bus station where we spent an hour trying to get bus passes. This was very hard because the forms were in Spanish, which we do not speak, and no one spoke English. Of course, we had forgotten our dictionary (and map). Anyway, it eventually worked out (although we had to return the next morning to fix our passes).

Standard Gaudi, Casa Batllo window

On Friday, we saw the Arc Triomph and Eixample, the area with lots of modernista architecture, such as the famous Gaudi buildings. There were so many tourists! Also, a lot of things were under construction, for example, the Sagrada Familia cathedral. But it was still neat! We also wandered around the Gothic Quarter and Las Ramblas, then down to the port where we walked along the boardwalk. Tiina told Maarika she saw a man riding a bike naked, which Maarika did not believe until she turned around and saw him herself. Tiina often sees unusual things that Maarika has a hard time believing. (We also saw tons of mullets. Apparently, they´re really cool...?) Tiina was in charge of navigating on Friday, and we didn´t get nearly as lost. Ironically, Maarika is usually the navigator while, for the most part, Tiina lacks all sense of direction (in her own words).

Arc de Triomph

Here we go again!

In 1 month, pretty much exactly 2 years after my last major trip ended, I'll be off to feed my travel bug and reduce the itch... for the time being... The plan is to fly to Barcelona, Spain and then spend 2 and a half weeks travelling around, starting in the south. I might also take a day trip to Morocco. (So pretty much my parents' honeymoon...) Then, to Estonia to participate in laulupidu, the huge song festival that takes place every 5 years. I took part in the last one and it was mind blowing. Between laulupidu, volunteering at a camp (Tähemetsa suurlaager) and going to the Viljandi Folk Music Festival, I also plan to spend some time with family and friends before returning to Canada at the end of July. I put links to the festivals in the sidebar, both sites can be viewed in English. (Tiina's blog is there, too!)


I'd be happy to hear from anyone with suggestions about where to go in Spain or if you know anyone who could show me around or who I might be able to stay with for a night or two!