Spring Break Spanish Style

Spring break 2011.

A ten day venture through Spain.

Filled with a crazy carnival, a relaxing bike ride, and some great paella, it was the perfect cross between a relaxing vacation and a typical college spring break.

With five friends sharing the adventure

(Jenna, Alex, Chelsey, Rachel, & Emmet)

and seeing many more friends along the way,

I couldn’t have asked for a better spring break.

Itinerary: Madrid, Seville, Cadiz, Barcelona, Mallorca

First Stop: Madrid

After a day filled with planes, trains, and automobiles we finally made to our first destination. We were greeted with the oh-so-nice weather of freezing cold rain, just what every person wants for spring break.

We would only be staying in Madrid for less than 24 hours. But in that time we managed to fit in tapas (twice, we love our food), seeing some of the sites, and we found some of the most unique shops.

I wish I could say I saw more of the city. Note to self, half a day is never enough time to explore. When we boarded the bus to Seville our fingers were crossed the sun would come out for the rest of our week.

Second Stop: Seville

Seeing pictures of the amazing cathedral and hearing only great things, Seville was the city I was most anxiously awaiting visiting. As we walked to the hostel, my expectations were instantly met (even trudging along a huge suitcase for 30 minutes. Whatever you do, travel light!).

Within the first afternoon of walking around the narrow and winding streets, seeing the massive cathedral, and meeting only friendly people, I could see that Seville would be the only other city besides Florence I would have studied. It was an instant love for the place.

Our hostel was called “Backpackers Inn Seville” and was more like a family house than a hostel—everyone was in the common area watching TV or in the kitchen cooking. The best part was the rooftop deck above where you could hear everyone sitting at wine bars or eating meals on the streets below.

Our night adventure was spent in Cadiz (you can read all about it below!), and after a struggle of getting ourselves out of bed the next morning we were off to explore more. An afternoon long guided tour showed us all the main attractions of the city paired with interesting stories you don’t commonly hear (like that Christopher Columbus had a love affair with Queen Isabella).  Our day wouldn’t be normal if it didn’t start to rain. Our umbrellas are getting quite the European tour.

The night was spent eating tapas at the most scrumptious restaurant and sipping on tinto de verano. True Spanish fashion. I love the idea of tapas, which are sort of like appetizers but you get a bunch of different ones for your meal (this place had great stuffed eggplant, pork, and fish). Tinto de verano is Sevilla’s version of sangria— a mixture of red wine and lemonade Fanta. Don’t worry, I’ll bring this Spanish tradition back home and make it for all of you!

Third Stop: Cadiz

Words cannot sum up the pure insanity that is Cadiz carnival. It is like Halloween on mega-steroids. Thousands of people crowding the streets of Cadiz, all dressed in crazy costumes, all extremely drunk, bands playing in the streets, everyone peeing in the alleyways (yes, peeing in the alleyways, everywhere). Not to mention the festivities lasted from ten at night until the wee hours of the morning.

A two hour bus ride from Seville, this carnival is not only attended by tons of people from that city but people from all over Spain. Carnivals are popular in all of Europe in the weeks leading up to lent, but I wasn’t close to prepared for the mayhem the night would bring.

Donning big genie pants (not the most original costumes compared to the chickens, ninjas, and everything in between roaming the streets of Cadiz), we boarded the bus and started the festivities the entire ride there.

cadiz costume
jenna, me, chels, emmet, alex, rach

Every alleyway and piazza was packed with thousands of drunk, costume clad people. Spanish food and baked potatoes were being sold all over (potatoes are very typical Spanish food, who would have known?). Glass bottles were underfoot everywhere and we were shoulder to shoulder with the thousands packed into the town.

A cultural experience for sure, I can’t think of anything comparable to Cadiz in the US. It was fun, but by six in the morning our bus couldn’t have shown up soon enough. And twelve hours after we departed, we made it home to Sevilla to see the sunrise as we made our way back to our hostel, exhausted.

Fourth Stop: Barcelona

My knowledge of Barcelona in one word: party. People from Barcelona would probably twinge at this idea, but being there are a million and one IU students studying there (obviously not a million, but lots and lots) and always talking about the clubs, that’s all I knew. However, my Monday night through Thursday morning stay was so much more!

Jenna and I were staying with our friend Andrea, who has an amazing and huge apartment she shares with three guys from Germany. As Andrea was being a student, Jenna and I had two wonderful days exploring the giant, metropolitan city. From seafood paella sitting by the ocean to seeing the beautifully distinct (sort of drip sandcastle looking) Sagrada Familia church by Gaudi.  



sagrada familia
so cool!



If you ever make it to Barcelona, you must see Parc Guell (designed by Gaudi as well). It was the location where Jenna and I had a picnic of wine, cheese, and bread as we looked out over all of Barcelona- until the city meets the Mediterranean. The sun came out for us in perfect timing, and we spent the afternoon taking in the unique architecture and people enjoying their day as well.  

Our time in Barcelona also included more tapas, whipping out our cooking skills to show the German roommates what true American burgers and fries taste like, bars with some British boys, and clubs with our IU friends.

Barcelona turned out to have way more to offer than just the clubs, and I loved every moment.  



beach view with jenna



Fifth & Final Stop: Mallorca

Note to all travelers: clubbing and 6:20 flights do not mix well
(genius lesson, right?). You ask how our group of six learned this? Jenna, Rachel, and I made our flight after getting in a cab at four in the morning… the other three did not. Oppsss. They did eventually make it, and I will be avoiding flights before the sun rises anytime in the near future.

The last three days of break were spent in pure relaxation. Mallorca is a beachy island off the eastern coast of Spain. In the summer it is the hot spot beach location for Spaniards and Germans as well. Off season is much emptier, filled mainly with bicycle training groups riding along the seaside (Little Five!).

The last stretch would be spent in a beach hotel versus a hostel. Even though the weather was (take a guess!)… raining for most of the three days, it was actually the perfect time to catch up on sleep, read, and relax. We did manage to get one day on the beach and watch a sunset with sangria. My favorite part, a bike ride along the beach: great views of the sun peaking through the clouds, mountains in the distance, and blue water.

Our days, like usual, were planned around where, when, and what we would eat. Our favorite part, the all inclusive breakfast with everything from Spanish omelets, to pastries, to fruit, to mimosas. From the looks of our ravenous eating, you’d think we hadn’t eaten in days.

Spring break Spanish style couldn’t have gone better. But as much as I loved the paella and sangria, I was ready to get back to Italian pizza and wine.

We were all in agreement on our travel home: we had missed our home away from home we call Florence.

Love,

Kelsey