In all honesty, I wouldn't read this post, it's boring.

I've become really tired of writing in my travel journal- it's become such a chore! And since Morocco totally outdid Spain, this post is mostly a list of things we did so I can go back one day and refresh my memory. So yeah, I really wouldn't worry about reading this, all you need to know is I had fun in Spain and like sangria :)

As far as a song goes, Im going with the flamenco music, and here's a clip from the place we saw a show:


So Spain was pretty fun. We arrived in Barcelona late Friday night, at like 1 am, and the owners of the hostel we were staying at picked us up! They were SO amazing, and it’s a brand new place so not only were we the second guests, but they were super involved in our tourism. Analese gave us an hour long spiel about all the things we need to do, places where and food we should eat, and plotted everything on a map for us.

The first day we went to Las Ramblas and the Mercat de Sant Josep/ La Boqueria. Seeing the market was pretty amazing for a bunch of reasons. 1- I’ve been to Barcelona before, but the market was closed last time I was there. 2-it’s HUGE, colorful, and has an amazing amount of food. 3- the food there is so good, and oh so cheap! We had breakfast there (half a pineapple for 1 euro! Woo!) and it was awesome. Afterwards, we decided to go on the bus tour in the freezing cold. Yes. Spain was cold. Too cold. So on the top of the bus we turned into icicles while admiring the work of Gaudi and Olympic renovations. We got off at the Sagrada de Familia but the line was waaaaay too long so we decided we’d come back. So instead we headed to the shopping district, which was eerily empty, where we had an amazing 10 euro meal that included bread, an appetizer, an entrée, a dessert, and a drink. For the appetizer, Devon and I had black rice- black because it’s made with squid ink! And omg it was to die for! Mirko, the Italian husband of Analese, recommended it and boy was I glad we took his advice! Afterwards we went back to the hostel, where we met two people also studying in France and in Barcelona for spring break- Mike and Anna. They were really fun and we decided to meet up for a flamenco show later that night. So Devon and I wondered around for a few more hours throughout the city, noticing a surprising amount of costumed Spaniards and grabbing a few snacks along the way. The Flamenco show was a lot louder than I thought it’d be and the musicians had MAD skills, I was very impressed. Afterwards the four of us went out for tapas and sangria 

The next day Mirko, bless his heart, drove us all around Barcelona- from Mont Juic, all the way across the city and up a mountain to Tibidabo Sagrat Cor church, and then to Park Güell. Mont Juic is the top of the Jewish quarter that offers some crazy awesome views of the city, the Sagrat Cor church is two churches on top of another mountain with amazing views and carnival rides, and Park Güell is an AMAZING park complete with gardens and Gaudi masterpieces. Mirko was so nice about everything, and the four of us had a wonderful time exploring! Afterwards we were totally exhausted, I passed out for a three hour nap, and then we went out again after being told that Mirko was going to cook us dinner! The hospitality of these people was overwhelming (and we only paid 17 euros a night)! When we were wondering around, this is when we found out why everyone was all dressed up- it’s carnival over there! Ooooh, it all makes sense now. When we returned a few hours later, we discovered Mirko used to own a restaurant and the NY Times did a write up about it because it was that amazing! So we go to Barcelona, and the insanely amazing owners of this hostel pick us up, drive us around all day, and cook us dinner. I love them. Analese was always telling us stories and showing us places we need to make sure to travel, and Mirko is a total badass, but you’d never know it because he was always so quiet and modest.

The next morning we got up early to go see the inside of the Sagrada….which was a HUGE fail lol. Yes, I know it’s still being constructed, but I thought a decent amount of the inside would be finished!...nope. It’s ALL construction. They had some cool stained-glass windows, but that was pretty much it. So yeah, if you ever go there, I don’t recommend waiting in line and paying 10 euros to see the construction process.

So off we went, leaving Barcelona behind, and heading to Sevilla. When we got there it was POURING ( and I have no water-proof shoes) and dark and we struggled quite a bit to find our hostel (the sister hostel of the one in Barcelona). The rain in Spain does not fall mainly in the plain…it falls wherever Katie and Devon are travelling. However, the hostel was a really nice set up once again, with free internet and a nice interior, and we were glad to finally be there so we could sleep.

The first thing we did when in Sevilla was go to the main church, which is supposed to be one of the biggest in Spain. We didn’t really know what Sevilla offered before coming (the main reasons for us going there were because we could fly into Fes for 10 euros and Devon has two friends studying abroad there) so it was an adventure trying to figure it out. But anyways, we went to the church….in the pouring rain…and were mildly impressed when we got inside. Yeah, it was big, and yeah, there was a MASSIVE wall that told the story of Jesus in pure gold, and there were some random statues and baptismals. After about 15 minutes Devon and I were done and wanted nothing more but to sit, so we just hung out a bit there and read what our guidebook said about the church. Columbus’ remains are there! We almost totally missed that (because all the plaques are in Spanish so we couldn’t really read anything)! That was pretty cool, I admit. When we left the church, it kept raining for a bit, but then, miraculously, it stopped. Despite me being incredibly grumpy because my feet were soaked all day, we really enjoyed going to old town (where I had paella and more sangria) and the Moorish Palace we found. The gardens in the palace were AMAZING!!! It was possibly my favorite part of Sevilla, the greenery, the fountains, and the random animals (peacocks especially) we’re really happy and fun. The sunny skies definitely helped too. We also explored the college there and parts of the main city, which were really nice, and then…surprise….Katie needed a nap. So we went back to hostel so I could change shoes and have an hour power nap, before heading out to meet up with Devon’s friend and company. They were all Americans doing homestays there, and it was fun hanging out with them. They were stereotypical American college kids, and that was refreshing after being surrounded by the French (and the really polite Holland girls). The next morning…off to Fez we went!