Spanish Wandering.

I recently spent seven marvellous days wandering the cobbled streets of Barcelona and Madrid, I enjoyed perfect weather, feasted on far too much tasty food and spent many an hour aimlessly wandering the beautiful streets. A country that serves churro con chocolate for breakfast can only mean good things right!?

Heading to Spain I wasn’t sure what to expect, while I have always wanted to visit Spain it hasn’t always at the top of my list. But when the chance came around to spend time travelling with a friend I jumped at the opportunity and I was truly blown away by how much I loved it! Now I know most people mention the food and the weather when they talk about Spain (both were amazing and are mentioned above) but there were two things that really won me over in Spain, the dogs and the plants! Strange I know but if you like dogs and/or house plants you are going to be in heaven in Spain, Spanish people seem to own every breed of dog imaginable and you can’t walk down a street without coming across at least three shops selling stunning plants.

The first stop was Barcelona, and boy oh boy does this place have an amazing food scene! We couldn’t believe the amount of hip little cafes popping up on every street, and while the coffee wasn’t quite up to our standards the atmosphere and food certainly hit the spot. I am planning on doing a little ‘Coffee Series Feat Spain’ so keep an eye out for that in the coming days.

Of course you can’t go to Barcelona without heading to the beach so we spent a day lounging by the waves and enjoyed some prime people watching while being offered everything from massages and sangria to being invited to parties by people who’s job it is to wander the beach and find party goers. Wild, I tell you! (I won’t add that we are both complete grandmas and no partying was had either…)

 After a few days enjoying Barcelona we boarded a train and prepared for a 9-hour journey to Madrid. You may be thinking, are you crazy… 9 hours!?  But it actually turned out to be one of the highlights of my trip, we got to see so much of the beautiful countryside as we chugged by. I couldn’t believe how much the landscaped changed as we got further from coast and headed inland. Now if you’re not a little odd like me and don’t enjoy long train journeys then there is also the option of a high speed train which will get you there in just 2 hours. Be warned that this is over double the price though, so if you’re on a tight budget then the longer journey is definitely the better choice in my opinion.

I’m just going to throw it right out there, I preferred Madrid. This may be controversial as it seems most people I speak too are on the ‘Barcelona is best’ team. There is just something about Madrid that I love, maybe it’s the beautiful buildings and tree lined streets or the fact that it is so much quieter and less touristy. Whatever the reason, I really enjoyed my time in Madrid and found it to be a very ‘liveable’ city not just a holiday destination which is something I always look for when travelling.

My time in Barcelona and Madrid were both amazing in their own different ways and all I can say is that Spain hasn’t seen the last of me yet!

xx