Why Go to Spain?

After spending two weeks in Spain and exploring much of what it has to offer, we are extremely likely to recommend Spain as a trip for other people. We have visited many major cities in Spain and have spent lots of time there, so we know a lot about the place.

There are lots of beautiful sights to see, especially in places like Gibraltar and many cities with beaches. Spain is known for its beaches, where you can lie in the sun, feel the sand, or swim in the cool ocean.

The Barceloneta beach we visited in Barcelona, Spain

And when you grow tired of the beach, there are always the beautiful mountains of Spain to visit. Spain is actually the second most mountainous country in Europe, right after Switzerland. However, Spanish mountains are amazing because you could take a hike, enjoy the views, and watch the sun rise over the horizon and then go relax and read by the beach later that afternoon.

The Rock of Gibraltar is surrounded by water, allowing some areas for

     beach access. Also one of the most famous mountains near Spain.

 Things like these are why Spain has such a nice charm, and a wide variety of activities to do while you're there. One more reason to visit Spain is its wonderful food. Spain is home not only to the restaurant rated best restaurant in the world in 2013, but also the world's oldest restaurant. 

The beautiful El Celler de Can Roca

The title of world's best restaurant goes to El Celler de Can Roca, a restaurant started by a few brothers that has taken off. Sobrino de Botin, the world's oldest restaurant, was started by a Frenchman named Jean Botin, and it is still open today. Unfortunately we were not able visit either of the restaurants due to our schedule. The delicious flavors of Spain do not end there. Native Spanish cuisine such as Tapas and Empanadas are popular in Spain and have certain flavors that you just can't find in any other country. 
Some places we visited in Spain were Valencia, Barcelona, Madrid, Gibraltar, and Seville. We got to see magnificent views in Gibraltar, great sports events in Barcelona, and visited the relaxing Barrio Santa Cruz. This is an old Jewish neighborhood in Barcelona, and it too is part of the reason you should come. There are so many old areas and lots of history in Spain just like this. The Barrio Santa Cruz is labyrinth - like, making it extremely fun to explore, and the orange trees around the area are great as well. The Santiago Bernabeu is a massive soccer stadium in Madrid. Soccer fans will have a blast as they watch Madrid's team play against other teams such as their rival Barcelona, like the game we watched. While in Barcelona make Park Guell and the Sagrada Familia your priorities as the architecture you will find there is unlike anything else you have ever seen! Spain's food, mountains, and beaches are just parts of the reason you should make Spain the next place on your bucket list!

September 12th, Tuesday: Day 14

The pendant I got from the Sagrada Familia

Today we woke up a bit discouraged, but satisfied as well. Today was unfortunately our last day here in Spain. but we were happy we had the experience. All of us met at breakfast at around 5:30 AM to discuss our game plan for the day. We knew our flight was at 12 PM, and we would have to be there 2 hours early. Tyler then chirped in and said that if we ruined one more pair of Asics, we would end up stuck in Spain with no way home. We had a well-needed laugh over this. Rohan finally decided that we would visit La Rambla, then go straight to the airport after. At least no Asics would be ruined (hopefully). After our breakfast at the beautiful Porta Fira, which we would miss so much, we went up to our rooms to pack. It seemed like my bag doubled in size after all the souvenirs we bought. I was brushing my teeth when I peered back into the room to see Chris jumping on his bag to try and fit a large stuffed bear in it. I didn't even know how he would take that on board. I reached into my pocket to find a nice pendant I got from a nice store near the Sagrada Familia. The pendant was in the shape of a cross, silver and black, and was excellently crafted. I put the pendant on, then walked out to give one last glance out the window. Before I could even step foot out the bathroom, there was a large crash from the hallway. Chris and I sprinted out to see Mason lying on the floor in a pile of clothes. We thought Mason had knocked himself out! We ran over to shake him, but we found out he was just sleeping. Mason seemed to always stall us from getting to places. After we helped him pack-up at around 8, we all met up in the hallway again. In the crook of Rohan's arm, there was a bright red and yellow colored soccer ball. He glanced over and gave me a nod. I instantly

Rohan's soccer ball.

understood what he was implying. We all took the elevator down, but as soon as we got to ground floor, we set the ball down and started dribbling. Mason had the ball and passed it to Tyler who popped it very high. Tyler then searched around him to see where the ball went before it landed back on his head. With a large laugh, I swept the ball and passed it to Chris. Chris gave a fast pass to Rohan, standing near the doorway. Rohan then powered up, and smashed the ball out the door. We all cheered and yelled "Goal!" as we sprinted out Porta Fira. We heard large shouting behind us as we sprinted to the car. I fumbled with the keys but I still managed to unlock the car extremely fast, and everyone else loaded up into the car in a flash. We were on our way out but Rohan said he forgot to pick up his ball! I let Rohan out to grab his ball, picked him up, and drifted around the exit 20 KPH over the speed limit. We would be heading to La Rambla, a tree-lined pedestrian mall. It is 0.75 miles long (1.2 km). It has even been around since 1337, which was very impressive. A famous Spanish poet named Federico Garcia Lorca even said it was "the only street in the world which I wish would never end". As we drove passed to find a parking spot, we glanced

La Rambla on a clear morning.

down the street and saw numerous people, vendors, and stores. It immediately made us forget the sadness of going home. Although we were excited, the parking was about to drive me insane. We were driving in circles until Mason said I should drop them off and keep searching. It wasn't a bad idea considering the time we had left, but I was going to let them suffer with me. Eventually, we found a lot that was pretty cheap (around $5 or 4.7 euros). I glanced at my phone to see the time, and it was only 8 AM! We only had 2 hours, so we hurried to get to the street. Even at 8 in the morning, there were still hundreds of people there. I guess Spanish people don't sleep in, but that's none of my business. The sun hadn't come up yet, so the weather was fairly cool and the street was a bit dark, except for the slight lights that emanated from store fronts. I had heard there was an H&M outlet, which made me very excited. Chris was excited because there was a KFC there. As we walked down the street, we admired the beautiful trees that were now a faded green towards the

La Rambla's beautiful trees!

end of summer, and the intricate storefronts. We were strolling down the street and admiring the diverse vendors' items until I heard a scream from behind. I whipped out around to see Tyler jumping up and own. He was screaming about something inaudible, but then I saw his phone. He saw an Asics store nearby. We kept strolling on without him until he realized we were gone. Mason recommended we should buy some souvenirs to bring back home and since there were a lot of vendors, it wasn't a bad idea. Rohan wanted to get another soccer ball, but I didn't think they would let it on overhead compartments. Of course, he didn't listen to me and proceeded to buy it. It was now around 9 AM, so we decided to head to eat somewhere before our long flight. What better way to end a trip at a beautiful country by going to Kentucky Fried

The KFC at La Rambla.

Chicken. Simply amazing. Rohan unfortunately, could not eat much because of dietary restrictions, so he picked up food from a nearby Subway. For the last meal in the beautiful Spanish country of Spain, it was nice to finally eat something American. We even bought 2 gallons of sweet tea to drink on the way to the airport! We would cherish this trip for a long time, even Tyler who had faced many challenges with his footwear. I glanced at my phone, seeing that it was 9:20, proclaimed to the rest of the gang that we had to wrap up. As we exited into the slightly cool air, we could see the sun almost fully emerged, bathing us in it's warmth. We just stayed there, staring down the long stretch of trees and the ocean beyond. The water's reflection almost seemed to be winking at us as we
started to stroll away. We all gave each other some killer high-fives as we realized all 5 of us had made it through Spain alive. I couldn't wait to get back home, but I would also miss Spain immensely. After a couple more minutes, we got into our trusty rental car and

Our lovely rental car that somehow fit all of us.

drove off to the airport. There wasn't much talking going on, except for the occasional sound of us sipping our sweet tea. I could tell everybody else was a bit upset, so I plugged in my phone, went straight to Spotify, and almost broke the speakers with Kodak Black. You could tell we were definitely not from around here. That seemed to cheer everybody else up, and we had a pleasant 20-minute ride to Barcelona El-Prat Airport. Soon enough, we pulled into the Avis parking garage and dropped of our car. It just seemed like we were here yesterday, when in reality, it was a couple days. We stepped into the enormous airport, and took in the view once again. The high ceiling, bustling people, the soft jazz music, and the stores lining the walls. We got our tickets, passed security, and sat down to wait for our flight. It was 10:25, so we had some time to kill before our noon flight. Before we knew it, we were on the plane once again, peering out the windows from 30,000 feet once again.

Hasta La Proxima Spain!

Time most definitely flies when you're having fun, and we will have a very great story to tell our families when we get home. We cannot wait to visit again, and as the Spanish say: Hasta La Proxima, which means Until Next Time!

September 11th, Monday: Day 13

The beautiful view from our hotel room!

Today, all of us were upset because we were leaving the next day. I had enjoyed this trip with a burning passion but it's always good to see family again, and too much togetherness had made me a bit restless some times. Although we were leaving soon, we all decided to go out with a bang and enjoy this day as much as we could. We started off well by getting up pretty early at around 6 AM. I first peered out the window and being 20 stories up, the view was incredible. We were all ready by 6:30 and sprinted to the elevator. Mason must've still been hyped from his 5 cans of Mountain Dew because he believed he could beat us by taking the stairs, opposed to the elevator. It was a nice effort, but the elevator came before he even made it halfway down the hall. Once we got to the lobby, we entered the cafeteria and sat down to eat. We had a famous meal of tortillas, Pan Con Tomate, and 

Tortillas with Pan Con Tomate in the background.

magdalenas. We were halfway done when Mason finally emerged from the stairwell, sweating profusely. After our breakfast, we rushed out to our rental car to get moving to our first destination, El Puerto de Barcelona. The drive would take some time, so we all sat back and relaxed. Except Tyler. Tyler was panicking again because he accidentally stepped in a puddle at our hotel, and feared he would lose them at the harbor. We recommended some fine Crocs for him because they are waterproof! Tyler was thoroughly pleased by the thought. After a couple more minutes, we arrived at the

El Puerto De Barcelona with it's numerous boats!

harbor! We hopped out and shielded our eyes from the bright sun that had just risen. As we glanced ahead of us, we saw a numerous amount of boats and people. The scenery was beautiful as the very blue water reflected the yellow sun. We were all in awe as we stared at the numerous people, and the beautiful technology of Spain. Technology: The boats of Spain are mainly used for recreational us like cruising, opposed to the fishing craze in the United States. The boats usually have sleek, aerodynamic designs for fast and smooth cruising. Since Spain is such an expansive and gorgeous place, cruising is very common to view much of it. Many of the boats are so well-crafted that they are basically floating houses. Some include tables, chairs, beds, sinks, and couches. Along with these luxury items, the price tag is not as welcoming. These boats can range from €30,000 to €1,000,000 ($31,995 - $1,066,500). We finally decided to check out the boats, and see if we could maybe even catch a ride on one. The

Sunseeker - Predator 64 from the rear

boardwalks were expansive and intricate, each leading to a different set of boats. As we walked, we picked out ones that looked coolest to us. Mine was a Sunseeker - Predator 64, a yacht, which came with a sink, couch, sun roof, jet ski, a large deck, and a nice table. It was almost a floating house. We walked over to the man next to it and asked him the price of it, which was conveniently $990,000 over our budget. After we

The Astondoa - 46 Fly from the rear

walked a bit more, we came across another enormous boat called the Astondoa - 46 Fly which was a Flybridge boat. A Flybridge boat contains an open deck above the main bridge of a vessel, typically equipped with controls (kind of like a double-decker boat). This one, we absolutely loved, and really lived up to the name of "house boat". There were 3 cabins with beds, a TV, couches, a kitchen, and a dining room, along with 2 washrooms. This one also had a hefty price that was $150,000 more than our original budget. We decided to settle down from the big boats and find a tour guide to give us a ride for a cheap price. After a bit of asking around, we eventually found a nice man

The Wellcraft - Portofino from the side

to give us a ride on his Wellcraft - Portofino which was almost a dream come true. The Wellcraft was in the motor yacht category, meaning it was half a yacht, half motor boat. The man was being extremely gracious and said we could ride for a total of €60 ($63.99), and we all got extremely excited. Chris and I had to connive Tyler that he would be okay and not "fall in to the water". Tyler had a great fear of sharks, but we convinced him to come along. We geared up, got onto the boat, and pulled out of the dock. All of us were sitting in the rear, which gave us a nice view from behind. We pulled out of the port and passed by many boats before we finally made it to the Balearic Sea. We were out pretty far, but we could still the beautiful beaches and shops hugging the coast. Our tour guide said we would be going up the coast to Port Olimpic which was about a 3 mile stretch. It may be a short distance, but we were starting to make frequent stops to look into the water, and perform various activities. At our 3rd stop, we looked back towards the coast and saw huge hotels and numerous restaurants. Our tour guide suddenly told us to look towards the ocean, and we saw many dolphins hopping out of

The dolphins that were pretty close to our boat!

the water! It was an incredible sight to see because it was my first time seeing one! We were all staring over the edge until we had noticed Tyler was once again missing. We thought he had gone overboard until we saw him emerge from the cabin below, looking a bit pale. He was pretty sea sick so he had tried to sleep below deck. The boat then picked up speed and we all smiled as the front of the boat started to pick up out of the water. We were moving very fast as the boat was slicing through the water. Before we knew it, we were pulling into the next port and docking. We handed the tour

Port Olimpic from the docks!

guide the money, thanked him graciously, and headed to the nearest bathroom for Tyler who had a slightly upset stomach. Mason then helped find us a bus to take us back to our rental car so we could head back to the hotel. We had a pretty eventful morning and afternoon, and were ready to head out for a fun evening. Our next destination would be the Gaudi Exhibition Center after we napped, ate, and picked up some Tylenol.

-A few hours later at around 4:30 PM-

After a long nap and an ultimate bottle flipping competition (Rohan and I were in the finals because everybody else got out on the first round), we started the drive to the Gaudi Exhibition Center. The Gaudi Exhibition Center is surrounded by the works of Antoni Gaudi, a famous architect who constructed the Sagrada Familia. We heard that it was a place we had to visit, so of course we were going to see it. As we pulled up to the Center, we could already see this place meant business because of the architecture. After visiting all of Gaudi's buildings, it was nice to wrap up with an overview of how and why these buildings were created. We walked through and saw many different things. Miniature models of buildings,

informative videos, and a complete overview of Gaudi. Although learning really isn't my type of thing, I actually enjoyed the visit because it really provided us with some insight and life lessons. When we were just about finished, Mason proclaimed "Last one to the car is paying for dinner!", which was a completely horrible idea. Five guys running through an exhibit with fine works of art would surely meet a disaster. Mason was already ahead of all of us, but Rohan and I were gaining on him with Chris in close quarters, and Tyler

The picture we sniped of Tyler tripping over a trashcan.

was nowhere to be found. As Mason turned a corner, he knocked over a trashcan that crashed with a loud "bang!". We all hurdled it until Tyler, slowly trotting along, tripped over it. We all sprinted back, picked him up, and ran to our car to get out of there quickly. Luckily, nobody was injured. After our nearly fatal race, we decided to go back to our hotel and find a very nice place to eat for our last night.

Indigenous Meal: Pan Con Tomate
Pan Con Tomate is a very famous Tapas meal, and is also very simple with only 5 ingredients - Bread, tomato, olive oil, garlic, and salt. It was originally developed by the Catalans, who resided in south east Spain as well as south west France. To make it, you only need to toast some bread, grind up tomatoes, and place the tomatoes onto the bread. (From SeriousEats.com)

September 10th, Sunday: Day 12

Today was a very cold day in September, and when we woke up, we could hear the wind slapping the side of the hotel. The group knew we were in for a very cold, windy and miserable day. But we looked to make the most of it, so we woke up and got ready for the day ahead of us. When we woke up, though, Tyler punched the alarm clock and broke it.

The alarm clock Tyler punched

 He was upset that we had to wake up and head out at such an early time. The management facility sent us a bill to replace it but it was only a small fee (because the alarm clock was cheap and they had multiple in the back) and we did not get mad at Tyler. We all got ready for the day and headed down to get free breakfast provided to us by the hotel. After we ate a hearty breakfast of cereal, yogurt, and complimentary fruit, we made some coffee/hot chocolate to go. Andre got stuck with driving duty today but we let him play music on the way to our first destination for the day: Sports: Camp Nou. Tyler and Chris both fell asleep because we cranked the heat up and it was cozy and dark in the car. We started to see tall buildings more frequently and we realized we were getting closer when we started to see signs that read Camp Nou. As Andre drove closer we started to see the magnificent stadium from the side, but since it was so big, we concluded we were still far away from it. After a while driving, we found the huge, empty parking lot in the southern entrance of the giant stadium complex. The stadium itself was home to the team F.C. Barcelona, or Futbol Club Barcelona. As we got out of the car, we woke up Chris and Tyler up. As we walked to the stadium, we realized it was absolutely massive and it kept getting bigger as we walked towards it.

Camp Nou from the outside

 It was even bigger than some football stadiums! We couldn't wait for our private tour of the stadium! When the gates were opened for our tour we got to go up into the stadium. The person there told us some things about the great stadium, like its seating capacity of 99,000 people!

Our view of the field from high up.

The stadium was absolutely huge! Our guide also told us some stuff about the history of the magnificent stadium that we were spending some time at. She told us that building began on March 28th in 1954 after F.C. Barcelona needed a bigger stadium when they signed better players and grew in popularity. Construction was finished and the stadium was opened September 28th, 1957. When we toured the stadium, we got a good look at the grass fields below and how carefully cut and taken care of they were, and we were absolutely astounded. We even got to go down onto the field!

Our view of the field

History/Culture:After a couple hours of our tour we headed back to our car for the second part of our day today: the park of Montjuic. Montjuic is a hill in Barcelona, literally translated to "Jew Mountain" because of its possible Jewish population at one point and its cemeteries with Jewish relations. It was a collection of must-see buildings and complexes, like the old remnants of the 1992 Summer Olympics. It was also home to very old churches, botanical gardens, and fortresses. We weren't allowed to go into the Summer Olympics facilities because they weren't maintained and weren't in very good shape. We did get to go to the Juan Miro museum, the idea was based in 1968 by Juan Miro and the building was opened by him to inspire young artists to experiment with contemporary art. We looked at some of the pieces and not a lot of of them made sense to us, like a piece called 4 Wings by Alexander Calder. 

4 Wings by Alexander Calder

 After spending some time there, we headed to the Font Magica. This was a fountain designed in 1929 for the 1929 World's Fair as a technological masterpiece. It was a very pretty illuminated fountain that had a lot of history behind it. The fountain was damaged during the Spanish Civil War in 1936-1939, but it was repaired and it is still operational to this day. After Font Magica we headed to the cliffs of Montjuic to see the great sights of the harbor in which Montjuic overlooked. The view was absolutely stunning, the bright blue water we gazed over looked absolutely amazing. We took lots of pictures but after that we got back to our car and drove home. It was getting late and we were starving because we ate only snacks on our travels through Montjuic and Camp Nou, so we ate and went straight up to our warm beds. We looked forward to our last few days in Spain!

September 9th, Saturday: Day 11

We woke up this morning on a bright note, excited to hit the highlights of Barcelona. After grabbing the breakfast that the hotel provided, we grabbed our car and started our drive. On the drive there, we saw the Columbus statue that we viewed yesterday. The last half mile was very difficult because the roads became steep near Parc Guell (History). Luckily we were able to find a parking spot on the side of the road. Once at the entrance, we were fortunate that Andre had already purchased tickets online (€7 each), as for the line was very long.

The view from the bottom of the staircase

The inside of the park was absolutely beautiful, and from the bottom of the staircase, there was a great view of above. We walked up the stairs where we saw a very cool lizard, the guide told us that Antoni Gaudi broke plates to make it. 

The lizard from broken plates

Next we took a walk around the park, observing all the works of Gaudi. After about 2 hours of touring the park, we were all starting to get hungry and decided it was time to leave and get food. The streets were becoming very crowded so we decided to walk and explore the streets hoping to find a place to eat along the way. To our luck, we found a sandwich and ice cream shop on the street side. We ate our sandwiches, but we really wanted the ice cream that they had so we decided to get it. It was almost 1 o'clock and we realized we needed to get back to the car and drive over to the Sagrada Familia (History/Culture). It was only about a 10-minute drive, but our ticket (€15) was for 1:30 and we wanted to get through security in time. We soon arrived and we were in astonished by the outside of the church, it was the most beautiful building that we had ever seen even though it was not completed yet.

The architectural design from up close

Once through security, we took some pictures in front of the building. Tyler almost fought a guy, as that guy had scuffed his brand new Asics! Thankfully he did not and we could move on through the day. We then walked inside and it was not at all a disappointment. There was so much brilliant artwork on the windows, and the design on the ceiling was magnificent. After about 20 minutes walking around the first floor, we headed outside and into the basement. Down in the basement, there was exhibits with historical background of the church, as well as the prototype of the completed building in 2026.

The stained windows and architecture inside the church

Touring the whole church blew our minds away, and we were so thankful that we were able to do that. It was about 3PM by the time we were back at our hotel, we were all tired from the day so far and took another siesta. 


                       -A few hours later at around 5:00 PM-
Our next stop was the Gothic Quarter (History), about a 20-minute drive from where we were staying. In the car, Mason read out to us that the some buildings in the Gothic Quarter were built during the medieval times. And that it is found in the center of Barcelona, with many streets that led to different squares. We found a parking spot on one of the streets and decided it would be best to walk around the streets because of the tight spaces on the streets. Along the streets we stopped at one of the squares, surprisingly it was the one with the city hall. We spent some time in that square, and Chris bought a Messi jersey from a street vendor. All of us were starting to get hungry so we headed back towards the car, but a restaurant along the way caught our attention and we stopped there. We were able to eat an authentic Spanish meal of: Patatas Bravas to start (Enjoyed so much from the last time), Lobster Pallela, and finally to top it off Tecula Mecula mainly because the name sounded very cool and catchy.

                    -A few hours later at around 10:00 PM- 
We were all really bored in our room and decided to try out the club that was inside our hotel. All of us decided to stick together because we did not know what was to come. Mason went over to the bar and grabbed a beer. We were all starting to have fun before the club manager came over to us and told us we had to leave. Andre asked him why, and he said that Tyler was really drunk and not following the rules of the club. It was only then did we decide it was time to call it a day.

The Sagrada Familia:

The Sagrada Familia was designed by Antoni Gaudi, and the construction began in 1882 and still continues today, expecting to be finished in 2026. Gaudi combined the Gothic styles and Art Nouveau (international styles) when designing the masterpiece. The construction was halted during the Spanish civil war ('36 - '39), and only resumed in the 1950s. The building is used today as a tourist attraction (because of architectural design) and as a church to the public. 

People praying in the Sagrada Familia

Dinner Meal:
For dinner we wanted to get a fully traditional meal to the country of Spain. As an appetizer we got Patatas Bravas, even though we got before, we really enjoyed it and wanted to get it again. They are fried white potatoes which are then drizzled in a really delicious tomato sauce. For our main course we got Lobster Paella, which is basically a rice based meal filled with Lobster and spices/herbs. Finally the best part of the meal is always dessert, so we wanted to try a unique one to our country of Spain. We chose the dessert of Tecula Mecula mainly because of the name. Once we took a bite, we did not regret it one bit, this delicious dessert is made of almonds, egg yolks, and sugar (basically tart). The only problem with this meal was that it came at a pricey cost of about €32. 

September 8th, Friday: Day 10

Our hotel.

We woke up to an amazing view of Barcelona atop the Hotel Porta Fira, which we just checked into last night. Mason especially enjoyed looking out at the bustling city. However, we couldn't stay for long because we had a lot of exciting events to do. After having a quick bowl of cereal, we all departed to our first location. We had to take a 30 minute bus ride to get there. Tyler was the most excited out of all of us. This was because we were going to the Palau de la Musica Catalana! Being a musician himself, Tyler wanted to see one of the most beautiful places that talented musicians come to perform. It was easy to tell when we had arrived. With tourists bustling about it and insane sculptures decorating the outside, there was no doubt that this was our destination. After paying €9 each to enter, we stepped inside the amazing concert hall. The interior was even more beautiful than the outside. Intricate stained glass designs covered the walls and ceiling. The stage had a beautiful wood finish. Chandeliers hung suspended in the air. All of us were speechless. 

Our view from inside the concert hall.

Sadly, there were no events happening at the concert hall while we were there. After about an hour of examining the building and taking some memorable photos, we left. As we walked to our lunch area, Rohan explained to us that while that was a great building, Spain had even more beautiful places, like the Sagrada Familia, that we would visit later in the trip. We couldn't wait until we went there. After a brief 3 minute walk, we arrived at our lunch location, the Restaurante La Plassohla. It was a very nice casual restaurant. All of us ordered a patatas bravas for €6.50 each, a classic Spanish meal that consists of chopped potatoes that are fried and served with a spicy tomato sauce.

Our patatas bravas that we ordered.

It was a delicious meal, and cooked to perfection. However, I(Chris) accidentally ordered the extra spicy sauce and practically burnt his tongue off! After finishing up lunch, we headed to our next place of interest. History:It was a brief 12 minute walk to get to the Monumento a Cristoforo Colombo. It is a huge 60 meter tall monument that is dedicated to Christopher Columbus and his achievements in exploration. There is a huge pedestal decorated with mythical beasts and people related to Columbus. Atop the pedestal sits a statue of Christopher Columbus himself, pointing his right hand towards the New World.

The Monumento a Cristoforo Colombo

This monument was created back in 1888 and still stands today. Andre was especially amazed by the statue and even tried to touch it before he was stopped by a policeman. After that encounter, we were eager to move on to our next location. After walking for 23 minutes, we arrived at Barceloneta beach. Nature: The beach was big and beautiful, with over 1100 meters of golden sand and sapphire sea. There were also many pieces of art and shops along the beach. We gazed at some of the nice statues, such as El Peix D'or (which means "gold fish" in English). It is a large depiction of a fish, made of gold-colored stainless steel. It was built for the 1992 Summer Olympics, and its color changes based on where the sun is in the sky. While the structures and shops were nice, we enjoyed the actual beach the most.

The El Peix D'or statue.

The water was refreshing for all of us, and the beach was very relaxing, despite all the people there. Tyler even constructed his own sand castle while we were there, and showed it off to all of us as we started to pack up our stuff. After we got cleaned up, we headed to a place to eat dinner. It was a 20 minute bus ride to get to Cera 23, where we chose to have dinner. Rohan and Mason ordered the Pure de Apio Trufado for  €12.50 each. It included a truffled celery puree and various glazed vegetables. Rohan claimed it was the best thing he had ever tasted! The rest of us decided to have the Meloso con Parmentier de Trufa for  €16.20 each. 

The Meloso con Parmentier de Trufa we ordered.

It had honeyed beef and a white truffle parmentier, which consists of potatoes and some meat. It was another great meal. After we finished our meals, we took the 25 minute bus ride back to our hotel. We discussed what our favorite parts of the day were and then went to sleep, excited for another day of discovery in Spain.
Average weather in Barcelona, Spain:
The average weather towards the beginning of September averages to be about 26 degrees Celcius in the city of Barcelona which is about 78 degrees Fahrenheit. 

September 7th, Thursday: Day 9

We started today off with a late start, as we were really engaged in the late soccer match on TV last night. It was about 11 AM when we got our day started. It was not a big deal for a late start as our agenda for the day only consisted of Ocean Village (Culture), then driving up to Malaga. We spent about two hours just exploring Ocean Village and looking for really cool souvenirs for back home. Tyler ended up finding something that he really liked in one of the shops, it was surprisingly light even though it looked really heavy.

The souvenir that Tyler picked up

Around that time we were all starting to get really hungry, and luckily there was a nearby restaurant. It was an Indian restaurant, which I was really excited for because I had not had any Indian food ever since we took our trip. We soon came out of the Indian restaurant all stuffed with the delicious food and were thinking of what to do next. Andre then spotted a sign advertising boat tours onto the ocean. We still had about an hour and a half to kill before we were going to head back to our hotel pack and check out. So we decided that all of us would get on the boat and roam the waters, with the captain from the company driving us. To our surprise, the ticket for the ride was only 11€ each. We knew it probably was not the smartest thing to do after eating, but it was a gorgeous day outside, so the waters were probably calm. We were right as when we stepped foot on the boat, it did not seem to shaky. As we were relaxing, we were able to make out some unusual but cool looking buildings, as well as other boats out on the waters. 

 

The view from our boat

After a very scenic boat ride, we decided it was time to head back to our hotel. It was almost time for us to drive up to Malaga in order to catch a flight from there to Barcelona. Once back at the hotel, we all finished our packing, but there was a casino downstairs and Mason really wanted to test his luck on the slot machines. There was still a half hour before we wanted to go on our long drive. Mason ended up coming out of the casino with no money made, and luckily he did not lose any. On our three hour drive to Malaga, Tyler somehow got hold of the aux and started playing his music. His jazz music did not satisfy anyone in the car, and we were all on the verge of beating him up. Fortunately ,Andre got the aux back and started to play his music. Before we knew it we arrived at the Malaga airport and were ready to catch our flight. Around 9:30 PM we boarded our flight, we all wanted to get some sleep so we all passed out right after takeoff. I was able to take such a good nap, that I only woke up when we landed around 11:00 PM. Once off the plane, we rented a car and drove down to our hotel, Porta Fira. We could tell that this was a very upscale hotel, right from the lobby. As Andre went over to check in, the rest of us just chilled on the nearby couches.

The upscaled lobby

We got our keys to our room, but were still very tired and decided to call it a day. 

Cultural - Ocean Village
Ocean village shows the culture of Spain in a vibrant way. There are vendors along the roads trying to sell unique Spanish items. 

September 6th, Wednesday: Day 8

We had to wake up very early this morning. Today was the day that we were going to drive down to the Spanish southern coast to Gibraltar, a small British overseas territory. We woke up from our deep slumber at around 5 AM, so we could get ready and go to the rental place to drive our car from our hotel in Seville. We headed downstairs to eat our free breakfast provided to us from the hotel, and we grabbed an extra piece of fruit or two for the journey ahead of us. We headed back up to our room to grab our bags and we headed downstairs as 6 AM rolled around. We called for a ride down to the local car rental place. It was rather cold that morning, so we all had to wait inside the lobby. Tyler even made some hot chocolate from the provided beverage machine, but he got some of the powder on his brand new rainbow Asics.

Tyler's rainbow Asics got hot chocolate powder on them!

After he was through being mad about it, we looked at the time and realized we needed to head out. We decided not to return the car we had been using in Seville, and drive it down to Gibraltar and return it in Malaga. The return was going to be in Malaga because we would need to drive from Gibraltar to the Malaga airport to catch our flight to Barcelona! 

Our rental car that we drove.
(Mason stood on the road to take the picture)

It was still early in the morning, so some of us slept while Chris drove. Andre started playing some tunes in the car as we got farther into the drive, and it got pretty entertaining and the car ride turned into a fun experience. After 3 hours in the car, we arrived out our hotel in Gibraltar around 9 AM. It was called the Caleta hotel, a standard hotel that offered free breakfast and looked like a place that would provide us shelter for the next night or so here in Gibraltar. We parked the car in the parking lot out front of the hotel and unloaded our baggage. Chris got out to get the cart to bring our suitcases inside, but he tripped on the curb and hurt his knee. We had to run inside and get him some ice from the ice machine and after we washed it and put a big bandaid on it, Chris was alright and we continued on the quest to our room. After Rohan checked us in, we all put our stuff in our room and prepared to set out for Saint Michael's Cave (History), our first stop of the day in Gibraltar. I took the time to research it back in the hotel, which had free wifi, and read up about it. I read that it was created million of years ago by rainwater mixing with limestone and corroding the rock to form cavities. I also read that it had extensive military use like even as a hospital in World War II. We drove up to the entrance to the cave and parked in the parking lot in front of the main entrance building. It was still very cold so we all bundled up. We walked into the entrance building and paid the fee of €18.85 each and then we walked down the steps into the cave. It had brilliant lights and the main chamber called Cathedral Cave which served as an auditorium and a place where concerts could be held. The ceiling of the auditorium had wonderfully lit up stalactites which helped increase the glow and the overall warm feeling of the cave. The rock formed such a long time ago was amazing to see up close. We walked up to the top of the auditorium steps and took a couple pictures of the blue lights in the cave, which looked beautiful. 

The view we had of the cave from the top of the steps.

After a few hours of exploring the available chambers, we headed back up the stairs to our car and we prepared for our next stop, the Mediterranean Steps (History). When I was back in the hotel researching the cave, I also researched the Steps. They were constructed in the 1940s as an overseas defense post by the British during World War II, with large gun emplacements as heavy British ordnance. As we climbed, we got very scared because there were no railings and cliffs leading straight down to the ocean almost 1000 feet below us. I almost got a heart attack from the heights, it was very scary. When we got to the top, though, after lots of zigzagging and thousands of steps, the view was breathtaking. I was astounded by the view of the ocean below us and the mountainous Rock of Gibraltar.

Our view of the Rock of Gibraltar and the sea below after climbing the steps.

It was simply beautiful. The view was so hard to look away from so we made sure we got lots of pictures. A lot more people spoke English when we went out to lunch, we found. After we a classic Spanish lunch out at a restaurant we headed back to our hotel for a nap and that would be where we would stay for the rest of the night until dinner time rolled around. We headed out for a quick bite at night but that was all we did for the day. We looked forward to another great day in Gibraltar!
Average weather in Gibraltar:
The weather in Gibraltar averages to be about 24 degrees Celcius during the month of September, which directly translates to 75.2 degrees Fahrenheit.

September 5th, Tuesday: Day 7

Some pictures of the beautiful Barrio Santa Cruz

This morning we decided to sleep in a little bit before we came downstairs for breakfast. We had the TV on in the morning, and I paid special attention to the Danimals commercials. After freshening up, we left to go to the Barrio Santa Cruz. This is a relaxing neighborhood section of Seville, a popular tourist attraction, and a nice spot to sit down and enjoy some tapas.

Barrio Santa Cruz (Historical):

The Barrio Santa Cruz was the city's old Jewish Quarter, or where the Jewish people lived. This is now a popular tourist attraction because people like to visit the old churches, which were originally synagogues, wander through the labyrinth-like roads, and see the old houses. This is also a truly beautiful area today. It boasts orange trees, restaurants, and a corral de comedias (A type of open-air theater). As we were wandering around this beautiful neighborhood, we stopped by a couple buildings and plazas including the Hospital de los Venerables and the Plaza de Doña Elvira. The Hospital de los Venerables was an old hospital that served and protected elderly, poor, and disabled priests. Canon Justino de Neve rented a house where these priests were given shelter and assistance. It was also cool to see the fountain out in the square and to see this amazing historical monument. The Plaza de Doña has a collection of beautiful azulejos (tiles) and orange trees. The Plaza de Doña has a collection of beautiful azulejos (tiles) and orange trees.

A view of the beautiful Plaza de Doña

A fountain in the Jardines de Murillo

This is the plaza that hosts the previously mentioned corral de comedias. This was an open-air theater where three main genres of plays were performed - comedies, dramas, and tragedies. It was amazing to think back to when this was built and the kinds of people that would meet to watch these plays. After taking a relaxing stroll, Mason got a bit hungry and used his height to his advantage to pick some oranges off of the trees. Luckily, he snagged them before anyone saw, and we shared them during lunch. The place we decided to go for lunch was Cervecería Giralda, a bar for tapas open since 1923 with an amazing view. After lunch, we made our way to the Jardines de Murillo, not far from the Barrio Santa Cruz. 
Jardines de Murillo (Historical, Natural)
This is a gorgeous garden that sprung up during the "widening". This is when walls between neighborhoods were shot down in order to improve road communications in the city. Pieces of a wall were demolished so that Alfonso XIII could build this green. These gardens have 8,500 square meters and many types of trees and flowers. Just taking a light stroll around these beautiful trees and plants can lighten a person's attitude and inspire them. It was nice to take a short break from sightseeing and breathe some fresh air. For dinner, we went to La Azotea, a place in Seville where we could enjoy foods from clams and salmon to beef tenderloin and octopus! We all ate a lot and came back to our hotel, where we fell asleep right away, and perhaps a bit more suntanned than this morning.

September 4th, Monday: Day 6

We woke up early in the morning to catch our train ride

The inside of the train station

to Seville. Everybody was in a bright mood because most of us had never been on a train before (Estacio del Nord is the train station we took, pictured to the left). We got up, packed our bags, showered, and were about to head out the door until we realized something was off. We were missing someone. Tyler and I bolted back into our room to see Mason still under the covers, sound asleep. If we didn't hurry up, we were going to miss our train ride! We screeched at Mason to get him up, and we were out the door in seconds. After our

The beautiful view from our hotel room!

little fiasco and breakfast at the hotel, we checked out and drove to the station, Estacio del Nord. We had shown our tickets, and were on the train right on time. The ride would take 2 and a half hours, so we tried occupying ourselves. I glanced towards the window and I saw Tyler, looking for a new pair of Asics after his old pair got tormented by La Tomatina. After a seemingly endless ride, we had finally arrived at the Seville-Santa Justa railway station in Seville. We then went to pick up our rental car, and some lunch for the drive to our hotel. All of us were tired for the constant travel and having to wake up so early. We got to our new hotel, Hotel Madrid Sevilla, which was in the heart of Seville. Before we left, we decided to take a quick nap and admire the gorgeous view from our hotel room. After we refueled with some lunch, we were out the door and on our way to our first attraction, Torre del Oro (Tower of Gold). This tower dates

The view of Torre del Oro from over the canal!

all the way back to the 13th century, and once served as a prison in the Middle Ages. It is also believed to have once been filled with gold. As we walked up to the tower, we were all in awe as we admired the tower's immense size. We entered through the large door and saw many historical items in glass cages. We slowly patrolled through the tower, seeing many things such as scuba gear, model ships, and many cannons. After a few hours of admiring, we went down to the riverside of Canal de Alfonso XIII to check out the water. The water was a beautiful blue-green color, and we could see our reflections peering back at us as we stuck our heads over the water. The Weather was breezy and at around 60°, but the sun provided us with some more warmth. It was just after midday, meaning the air would slowly get cooler in preparation for night. We would soon recede to indoor attractions for warmth. As we looked down the canal, we saw many fishing boats and ferry boats traveling along the canal. I found some spare food in our bags and threw a bit into the water. Soon, beautiful turtles emerged and took

The beautiful turtles we saw at Canal de Alfonso.

the food. I glanced around and noticed we were missing someone. Tyler was sitting on a bench far from the shore. We immediately new he did not want to ruin another pair of Asics after spending so much time cleaning them. After, we headed to Restaurante Abades Triana for lunch, then back to our hotel room. We decided to have a quick nap before heading out once again. Our next destination would be the Plaza de Espana. After a couple hours, at around 

Tyler showing us his next pair of Asics.

evening, we hopped in the car and started the drive to the Plaza. Plaza de Espana is a large semi-circle building that is surrounded by a moat, and in the center of the Plaza, there is a large fountain. This Plaza attracts many people per year because of it's beauty, especially at sunset, and we were about to see it. The drive was very impressive with all the Gothic buildings and beautiful nature, except when looking for a parking spot. It seemed as if we would never be able to find since we were aimlessly circling the Plaza. We decided to park at a nearby restaurant and get some dinner before we view the sunset. It was called Restaurante La Raza which was almost directly across from the plaza. The service was not the best and we could all tell that Chris was getting annoyed. He exclaimed his annoyance with us and threatened to throw his chair if there wasn't any service. That got the waiter's attention fast. Mason also didn't help the cause after he was laughing and dropped a heavy glass on my foot. We had a pretty eventful dinner. 

-Around 8:30 PM-

The Plaza just before sunset.

We had never realized how much time passed! The sun was starting to dip down over the horizon, so we bolted to the Plaza. We made it just as the sun was setting. The Plaza had us in awe because of it's immense size - just larger than 9 football fields. We strolled through the Plaza, admiring the architecture and the water which turned orange because of the sun. Everything almost seemed to have turned gold, but the view wasn't long-lasted. Eventually, the sun had completely disappeared and we couldn't see anything. Rohan turned hysterical and started running around like a maniac. We were all laughing at the hilarious sight until we heard a police man's voice. Our fun ended there. We were escorted back to our car and were given a stern warning. We acknowledged it, then sped on back to our hotel after an eventful day. In the hotel room, Rohan was frightened that we were going to get arrested, but we told him that the cops would only be looking for Mason after he had injured my foot with his glass. That gave us a good laugh for the night. 

History: Torre Del Oro
The Torre del Oro is a dodecagonal tower constructed in the 13th century next to the Canal de Alfonso XIII. It was originally constructed to watch over and control the canal and was a prison in the middle ages. The English translation for Torre del Oro is Tower of Gold, and there are different speculations from where the name came from. Some people say it may have been from the shine that the tower reflected in the river (composed of mortar, lime, and pressed hay). It is also believed that the tower may once have been filled with gold.

Culture: Plaza de Espana
Plaza de Espana reflects culture because of the architectural theme. It follows a Regionalism Architecture which means having an original style while also mixing historical styles into it. Many old Spanish buildings have been built like this, especially the Plaza. The Plaza was also used in exposition to showcase Spain, as well as their industry (another example of culture). Lastly, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones was filmed here, reflecting entertainment in the country.