Spain is such a fun country, and I felt like I was just floating through since I understand so little of the language. That being said, a lot of people especially in Barcelona and Lisbon spoke English, and hand signals can go a long way.
These three cities are a great time, but luckily, it’s not all we did in Spain (although it is all we did in Portugal sadly). We also visited Granada and Algeciras, which I will try to write about next week!
I am actually currently in the Moroccan Sahara Desert at the moment, with very little wifi and computer battery, so bear with me if posts take a little bit longer. I hope you enjoy the post, which may be slightly ramble as I wrote it with very little sleep, and the great pictures we took!!
Barcelona
We stayed a long time in Barcelona, the longest we have stayed anywhere since we had our Christmas in Sorrento, Italy, so it was nice to really get a lay of the city. We stayed in the San Antoni area, which was very nice and close to all of the action! The first thing we did in Barcelona after checking in was getting a burger at a local chain called Wild Beef, and it was one of the best burgers I have had in a while. It was so good, in fact, that Jordan and I actually returned again before we headed off to Madrid.
A nice surprise in Barcelona was getting to see Piper (who I met up with in Paris)’s little sister! She is studying abroad this semester in Barcelona, so the three of us met up for lunch after her class one day.
The patron saint of Barcelona is undoubtedly Antoni Gaudi, so we spent a lot of time just looking at his works. That being said, there are so many of them, so naturally we couldn’t see them all due to time or financial constraints. We saw the outside of the Sagrada Familia, which I heard may be nearing completion in 2026, I wish we could have seen the inside, but the time got away from us. We did manage to get inside Park Guell though. I really enjoyed the style of the architecture, Catalan Art Nouveau, which Gaudi helped to pioneer, it felt like appreciating classical styles and elements, while adding color and a whimsical feeling to make the architecture more fun!
Some Gaudi / Catalan Art Nouveau that we didn’t end up getting to see is the Palau Guell, La Pedrera, Casa Battlo, just to name a few, and believe me there are more. I promise I wasn’t kidding when I said he is the patron saint of Barcelona.
One of the nights in Barcelona, we fulfilled every single boy who has ever owned the game Fifa or played soccer in his life’s dreams: watch a Barcelona football game! We had wanted to go to a professional football game for a while, and what better place to go than in Barcelona. Despite the stands not being packed, the energy was unbelievable. Sadly, the game was not in the infamous Camp Not stadium, as it was being renovated, but the game was incredible nonetheless.
The following day we headed back to Parc Montjuic, where the game was held the previous night, to go see the Museum Nacional d’Art Catalunya. The exhibitions were very interesting, especially the medieval exhibit which held artwork from different old churches in the area, and the whole exhibit was made to feel like you were inside a church. From there we saw the iconic fountain in front of the Museum, and we could have spent the rest of the day exploring Montjuic and the rest of the olympic village, but it was getting quite late so we headed back for dinner.
One of the few things I had heard of in Barcelona was las Ramblas, so we made sure to walk the entirety of the street. We saw la Boqueria, a famous food market along las Ramblas, and we also saw some really cool street performers on the street which las Ramblas is pretty famous for.
Madrid
We didn’t stay in Madrid for too long, but we had very specific goals for our time here. 1) Visit El Prado 2) See a flamenco show. We accomplished these two and even managed to squeeze a few other things in.
The neighborhood we stayed in was actually Madrid’s China Town, so we got some pretty good Chinese food multiple times, which Jordan was very happy about.
We also visited the Royal Palace of Madrid, at which Jordan and I found out that Spain is a Monarchy, which was interesting but also crazy that neither of us knew that. The palace itself was beautiful and I enjoyed the many, many intricately designed rooms.
One of the days we were in Madrid was pretty rainy, so decided to go to the Prado on this day to make the most out of the weather. We had a good time looking at art, I appreciated the amount of Greek and Roman paintings they had, as most of the paintings we saw in Barcelona had solely Christian imagery.
The flamenco show was fantastic. I think the only people who attended the show were tourists, but nonetheless, it was amazing. I could feel the culture, emotion and skill that they poured into the performance with song and dance. The flamenco guitarist also wowed Jordan and I with his insane guitar skills. Highly recommend seeing a show if you get the chance, even if it is considered a little bit touristy!
Lisbon
Lisbon was definitely a different experience than any we have experienced in Europe thus far. For one, we had another traveler with us, Donald, Jordan’s friend from home. Its always cool seeing how another person reacts to the architecture and surroundings, I feel like Jordan and I have been traveling for so long, that we are used to the cool. Like we cant get too excited over everything or our brains will short out.
We also stayed in our first hostel in Europe, meaning we were surrounded by other travelers and we got to step out of our hermit solo traveling state. In fact, the first night we got to Lisbon, after riding on a bus for seven hours from Madrid, I decided to go out with some of the girls in our hostel. It was a super fun night, and I woke up equally hungover the next day.
Luckily though, the weather was fantastic that day and Donald, Jordan and I explored the city! We visited Alfama, or Lisbon’s old town, which was conveniently a short walk away from our hostel. We were very lucky, because we visited on Saturday, one of the two days per week that the Fiera de Ladra, or the market in the old town, is open. We spent a long while in the Market, and Donald ended up with some tiles and a cork bag, two perfect souvenirs to bring home from Lisbon, since they specialize in both!
Lisbon is basically built on a hill, so we continued upwards from the market and made it to the Graça lookout point where you can see panoramic views of the city. Even better views if you decide to head up to the top of the Graça Church for a small fee. We enjoyed our views of the Castle de Sao Jorge from here and as we headed back down towards our hostel by the sea.
The following day we did not have quite as nice weather, but that didn’t stop us from heading out nonetheless. We took the train over to Sintra to spend the day, where it was even rainier, but one of the locals said days were often misty and cold, so at least we got an authentic experience! We walked into town and immediately I found. Pastry shop that had been open longer than the United States was a country, so I had to try their signature pastry — queijadas, which is native to and mainly produced in Sintra. They were delicious, and definitely worth stopping into a local pastry shop to try.
Sintra is also very hilly, so we made our way up the mountain (aided by a tuktuk) to the Moorish Castle, where we took some pictures that turned out really cool because of how much fog was at the top of the mountain. Even though we got pretty wet, we were still having a lot of fun.
After the Moorish Castle, we hiked just a bit further up the hill to the Pena Palace, a much newer castle that I wish we could have seen when the weather was a bit nicer. Sadly, as we kept climbing upwards, so did wind speeds and rain, and it only got colder. Plus, half the perks of Pena Palace are the stunning views and architecture, which we didn’t get to appreciate too much of because it was miserable to stand outside. We did get to go inside of the castle, but it was a bit underwhelming for Jordan and I as we have been spoiled with visiting fantastic castles in the past.
On our last full day in Lisbon I opted to do a bit of work on my computer instead of heading to the aquarium with Donald and Jordan. I headed to a cafe nearby, got a turmeric latte, and got to writing! After I had worn myself out, I went out hunting for another one of Portugal’s famous foods, sardines! I found myself some cans at a little bodega nearby and enjoyed a can of sardines, using my fingers as utensils, by the beach.
Later that night, two of the girls that Jordan and I had become friends with invited us out on a sunset boat cruise, which we said yes to despite the looming storm clouds and weather warnings. I am so glad we went, because the second the boat pulled out of the harbor, the weather turned great and we even got a nice sunset.
Around 10 o’clock that same night, Jordan and I caught our seven hour bus back to Madrid, and it was definitely a rough one as new were still drunk / hungover from the open bar on the boat party. But, nonetheless, we made it to Madrid and then onwards to Granada in one piece, and after lots of food and water, we began to feel human again.
There’s definitely a lot I missed in all of these wonderful cities, but that just means that one day I will have to come back and do it all! Stay tuned for the last bit of my time in Europe!
xx abby
The awesome adventures continue!