My Spanish Holiday

Ahhh (huge sigh of relief) I am back in my comfy room in Tilburg after a hectic 48 hours of passport craziness. Don't worry, I was able to return to the Netherlands on an emergency passport and today I begin the process of obtaining a new one at the Hague. But I'll not let a situation like that overshadow the fact that Spain was probably the most beautiful country I have ever visited and my time there was incredible!

I went with an excellent entourage of girlfriends that included Danni, Cheryl, Melissa, Florence and of course me. Conveniently, Cheryl had an old friend (Greg) in the capital city of Madrid that allowed some of us to stay in his apartment while the other three of us stayed just down the street in the apartment of his two friends. These three guys were all on architecture co-op terms and all Waterloo students - talk about representing! Danni arrived in Spain a day earlier than us but by Thursday afternoon we were all walking through the sunny streets of Madrid together.

To kick off our first night in Madrid, we went out for a real Spanish treat: tapas! Now whoever invented tapas must have loved poor students like us. Tapas are drinks that come with a plate of food! This food is usually something very Spanish like prusuto, fried potatoes and lots of other things that I can't remember the name of. The best part about them is that they are the price of one drink! Needless to say, tapas became a staple on our trip.

Later that night we headed out into Madrid and danced away to some amazing live Salsa music. We started to really learn some amazing steps and turns but this didn't come without a price.... literally. At some point during the night we had each been pick pocketed. Luckily, none of us had lost anything too important, just some cash. By morning we were packed and ready to go to the airport....... to pick up our CAR!

Everyone one of us agrees that renting a car was probably the best decision we made on this trip. We were able to see Spain in a way that not many tourists do. Us five girls enthusiastically loaded up our little Volkswagen Polo and hit the road with our sunglasses on and windows down. We past through the city of Madrid and head down south for the city of Granada, roughly one hour from the Mediterranean shores. Along the way we were in awe of the giant hills and rolling red fields that made up the Spanish landscape. We passed by enormous roadside bull silhouettes that randomly existed every so often. Flo's sister mentioned that they used to be alcohol billboards but were painted black after advertising alcohol became illegal. The south of Spain is HUGELY into bullfighting and we made it our mission to see one at some point.... unfortunately, the bullfights don't start until NEXT weekend.

We arrived in Granada by sundown and had a crazy time driving through the little winding roads to get to the hostel where Florence, Melissa and I were staying for the night. Our hostel was situated on one of the giant hills that overlooks the city of Granada and right beside the Alhambra - a 9th century palace built by one of the Ottoman Empire's sultans! The hostel had a great location but the room was incredibly small. You had to be careful in the bathroom because as you sit down your knees bumped the door open! By nightfall we met up with the guys whom had rented their own car and we all enjoyed some more tapas in Granada. Florence was really tired from driving all day so she went to bed earlier but we all followed soon enough.

On Saturday morning I took advantage of the incredibly small shower but just as I was stepping out Cheryl burst into our door to announce that Danni was in line at 7am to get tickets into the Alhambra palace. We had to be there at the entrance by 9:30 in order to get in or we weren't going to be able to get in later. Excellent.... I'm soaking wet and I had 10 minutes to dry off, dress, pack and run to the entrance. Somehow, in a whirlwind of flurry, we all managed to make it to the palace entrance just in time. We were the last group they let in for the 9:30 time slot.

But the rushing and panic was all completely worth the most amazing experience in the Alhambra. If I took one million pictures of this palace and fortress you still would not be able to comprehend the beauty of this place. This palace was built by the sultan Mohamed V as a place for his family. Unlike other castles and palaces I've seen, this one was from a completely different and Eastern culture. Ornate carvings were on every single wall space and outdoor gardens lined the grounds and included multiple fountains. The view from the palace was absolutely breath-taking. We could have spent all day at that place but by the early afternoon we had to travel that extra hour to Malaga where Spain met the Mediterranean. There is a saying that goes "If you have not seen the Alhambra, you have not lived".

Cheryl travelled towards Malaga with the guys the rest of us girls actually went a little bit east of Malaga to a beach town. My heart stopped for a brief second as we drove over the last hill and saw nothing but bright blue ocean: the Mediterranean. This was a great place to spend the evening and we purchased some salad, cheese and wine to enjoy on the beach until we headed over to meet up with the others in Malaga. The hostel that some of them were staying at conveniently overlooked a live concert in the square below. As we were getting ready for dinner we enjoyed the Spanish tunes through our terrace balcony.

As night full Florence and Melissa went back to their hostel as I decided to join Cheryl and Danni in the car. This was a great way to save some cash! When morning came we put on our beach gear and sunscreen (making mom proud) and spent some hours by the palmed shores of the Mediterranean taking in the sun and sea. Malaga was a beautiful city and I would have loved to spend more time in it but we had to head back to Madrid for our last day (or what I thought was my last day!)

On Monday Cheryl and Flo had to catch up on some homework they had brought along but Danni, Melissa and I enjoyed some free time strolling through Madrid and taking in the city. We decided to go to one of the most famous art galleries in Europe. This place was incredible! I saw with my own eyes actual paintings by Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali! At one point when I was looking at my favorite Dali painting I had to pinch myself and ask if this was really the painting!

For the rest of the afternoon we met up with Florence and Cheryl in the central garden. There was a beautiful rectangular lake here but we couldn't help but laugh at all the rowboats. Instead of casually rowing to the middle of this small lake' and relaxing, all of the people were frantically rowing and sweating trying to get somewhere in a hurry. The situation just looked ridiculous because the 'lake' was the size of a football field. I think they need to come to Canada to see what a real lake looks like!

It was around this time I realized my passport was missing and the search began. Everybody checked their bags and the apartments were turned upside down but with no luck. Since the embassy in Spain was closed, I was able to void my passport from Ottawa to protect me in case it had been stolen. Before all the girls left, we had one good meal all together eating some traditional Spanish paella's. Although I could not completely forget about my passport troubles, we managed to have a great last night in Spain.

Long story short I obviously worked things out at the embassy the next morning. I have managed to lose several winter coats, purses multiple times and even flush glasses down a toilet but this one definitely takes the cake. On the plus side, I was able to have one more day in Spain....