Spain 2023

It's suffice to say that Spain is just one of those places you 'have to go to'. From the amazing history and culture to the delicious foods such as tapas and paellas, Spain really does have a lot to offer. Back in January, my roommate and I decided that we should take a trip somewhere. After involving two other people and my roommates girlfriend, we decided that Spain would be the destination of choice. None of has have ever been, and quite frankly, it was cheap. Like really cheap. The flight, round trip, and non-stop only costed about $630. Not bad for a 10 day trip. we decided to create an itinerary that had us in Madrid for the first 3 days, then 3 days in Valencia, 2 days in Barcelona, one final day back in Madrid, and then I guess the last day at the airport. We flew with Iberia and the flight proved to be a pleasant experience. The flight attendants were very kind and the in-flight media included great movies and shows. In fact, me and christian found ourselves playing chess through one of their games they provide. To be honest, I forgot the food they served us so I won't be able to go into detail. However, it was good and I had no complaints. Finally, after about 6/7 hours we finally arrived in Madrid. Overall, customs went by quick. Nothing crazy was asked by the officers (Unlike the United States Customs lol). Thus, begins our experiences. Mardid: Our flight arrived in Madrid around 6:30am. We were all pretty tired considering the fact that a lot of us were not able to sleep for most of the flight. Especially me. Sleeping in flights has always been a challenge. Once we arrived, My roommate and his girlfriend were feeling really tired so they decided to book some kind of hotel as our AirBnB was not going to be ready until 4pm. Unfortunately, in that hotel, there were not enough beds for all of us, so me and my friend Shamus decided to bite the bullet and just stay up to explore Madrid in the morning hours. We first took the metro from the airport and arrived in downtown Madrid. We had some breakfast in a small little cafe shop that served us 'tostada con jamón' (toast with ham). A very common breakfast for Spaniards. In fact, throughout this trip we eat a lot of ham. After this we did some more walking and found ourselves next to the Fútbol stadium for Real Madrid. Unfortunately, this site was sort of ruined as we went during major construction. We stopped by Parque de el Retiro which had lots of people and contained a nice little lake where you could go pattleboarding with a friend or your loved one. We stayed here for a long time, found a place to take a nap, and next thing you know it was about 2:30pm. With this, we ended up reuniting with my roommate and went to our Airbnb for some rest. Once we woke up, we went over to the Royal Palace of Madrid. Unfortunately, it was super packed and the line to go inside was extremely long. We did some more touristy stuff until it was time for dinner. We ended up going to Plaza del Dos de Mayo which is a place that is bustling with cafes, people, and shops. we had dinner then ended up going to this pub called Pub La Via Láctea. This pub contained great music, a great atmosphere, and friendly people to play pool with. After that, we decided to call it a night and head home. The second day was a bit more relaxing. We tried to go back to the Royal Palace of Madrid, but it came as no surprise that the line was still long. We had now set our interests in the well known Chocolaterias of Spain. For those who don't know the chocolaterias are basically Churros filled with Chocolate. It was really good and I would advise anyone that is going to Spain to check it out. Once the day was coming to an end, we decided to go to the Azotea del Círculo located in the círculo de Bellas Artes in downtown Mardid. This is a rooftop that gives you an exceptional view of the city. Drinks were pretty cheap as well. This place was perfect to take photos of the skyline and other great landmarks. For dinner we decided to go ea Tapas. You cant go to Spain without eating tapas lol. One of my favorite dishes there was pulp with puré de patatas (fried octopus with mashed potatoes). Absolutely one of my favorite dishes throughout this trip and for me was the highlight of my experience in Spain. On our last day in Madrid we decided to spend the morning back in the Parque de El Retiro, this time so that Christian and his girlfriend could enjoy it as well. After this we decided to have lunch in the Mercado de San Miguel. A very well known food market that contains all different types of cuisines. I had some empanadas. Later, we did some more exploration and once dinner time came around, we found another spot that contained good tapas. This time a huge portion of tapas for only like 5 euros. Finally, we ended the night in a night club called Areia Chill Out. It was now time for Valencia. Valencia: In order to get to Valencia we decided to take the train as this was the cheapest option to get there. It was about a 3 hour train ride with some nice views along the way. Valencia was way more calm but the airbnb we stayed was really nice. After settling in, we decided to do some exploration. Our first stop was Torres de Serranos (the towers of Serranos). This is a great spot for those who enjoy taking photos of historic landmarks. Our first day was mostly just exploring. Nothing too crazy. On the next morning me and my friend Jimmy woke up late and we decided to go out together as the rest of friends went out exploring. This was when me and Jimmy finally tried our Paellas. In Spain, they like to do a meal of the day, which includes like an appetizer, the main meal, and a dessert for only like 20 euros. It's perfect! I started off with a chicken salad, then the main paella (by the way, Paellas originate from Valencia), finally topped off with ice cream. After this, me and Jimmy made our way to the Museo de las Ciencas. In this area, there are plenty of trails to walk in and many great views. After we caught up with the rest of the group and had dinner. AKA more Tapas! The next morning, we went took a trip to Malvarrosa beach and for lunch we went to Casa Carmela. A very well known restaurant along the beach that serves one of the best Paellas in Valencia. Well, maybe all of Spain but thats not up to me to decide. Anyway, we spent most of the time in the beach. We went to bed early as we were headed to Barcelona the next day by car. Bareclona: In the morning we were on our way to Barcelona. Christian was able to rent a car. It was some big van that looked like it was supposed to be for carrying like 20 people. Most of the drive contained some nice sites, but the most important one was Montserrat. For those who don’t know, Montserrat is a mountain range that is located near Barcelona. These mountain ranges are very well visible and are just a joy to look at. Unfortunately, as we weren’t too familiar with the area, we couldn’t make any serious detour. However, we stopped by and were able to take some pictures. After a few hours, we arrived in Barcelona and settled down in our Airbnb, which by the way, had the best view ever. This view was so nice that we were able to see the majority of Barcelona, including the Sagrada Familia. Anyway, in the morning we did what most tourists would do and make our way over to the Sagrada Familia. It was amazing and to be honest, just looking at it makes you admire the architecture behind it. For lunch we ended up having some Filipino food. After this, we made our way to Gothic Quarter as well the plaça de Catalunya. Finally, after some more exploring, we had some dinner. And yes, it was Tapas. Again, me and Jimmy woke up late. Not much was done today but we did end up going to the Picasso Museum which was very nice. Later that day we had some good old fashioned Jollibee. For those who don’t know, Jollibee is a Filipino fast-food chain. However, in my opinion, it was not good lol. With this, our Barcelona adventure had come to an end, and it was now time to go back to Madrid. Madrid pt2: Well, we only spent one day here, and we got there late. Not much was left to do but explore some more and have empanadas for dinner. We ended the night going to Areia Chill Out. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed typing all of this out. I’ve been wanting to share this experience with all of you as I’m not trying to get back on this blog site more often. Stay tuned for the next post. I’m thinking of sharing something related to my work setup at home as this is something that has peaked my interest a lot lately.