Spain

We set off almost two weeks ago now and we are loving it! I figure i may as well start a travel blog to keep you all updated along our journey. Hopefully i will keep it going throughout the entire trip!

Our first stop was Malaga where we stayed with the lovely Sarah and Des. They were fantastic and showed us around and were great hosts. We had tapas the first day which was obviously yummy and we had Spanish omlette for the first time and it was really good. If anyone finds themselves in Malaga then you have to go visit the Alien ... that is Des's bar and it is great. Soooooo chilled out and was really nice to sit outside drinking a beer and relaxing with some great people. The beach is just down the road from where they live so very handy and definitely a fab start to the trip! Thank you Sarah and Des, you are both very welcome to come stay with us whenever you like.

We then headed to Madrid which is the capital of Spain and we stayed here for just one night. This wasn't a planned stop as we had planned on visiting Begonia in Benicassim however we got screwed on the trains and had to make the change ... sorry Begonia, i hope you still love me? So Madrid was really nice and as we didn't have long there we cramped in as much as we could in a very short period of time. We went to Puerta del Sol, this plaza is the heart of Madrid and one of the busiest places in the city however was completely under construction however i'm sure it will look as nice as they say once it is finished! We walked around the city and explored the old streets which all look fantastically Spanish with their old buildings and shutters and brightly colored walls.

Next stop Barcelona and it was amazing! Known for the work of Gaudi which you have to see, my favorite place was Parc Güell because you have a great view of the city and it was just gorgeous with great sculptures and artwork in the style of Gaudi. The very steep walk up to the park was really difficult but helped a little by a couple of escalators although don't dare touch the hand rail because you will burn your fingers off! We decided to take a walking tour of the city because there is just so much history and hidden gems that we just would never have found out on our own. Classic Nicola and Derek we forgot to put the battery in our camera and couldn't take any photos! (we mimicked the tour after to get some cool snaps tho). We went to George Orwell's square and found it quite interesting the learn that it is being watched by 24 hour surveillance cameras lol! We both thought Sagrada Família was amazing, it isn't even finished yet and they say that it is going to take another 30 years to finish which is just insane. It was designed by Gaudi and is pretty impressive with loads of detail and some crazy designs. After lots of sight seeing and lots and lots and lots of walking it was the best to be able to go to the beach which is just a small walk from the city ... ahhhhh.

Finally hit Pamplona for the running of the bulls. We were actually staying outside of Pamplona closer to the beach, which would have been really nice if we didn’t have a permanent rain cloud over our campsite! At least our tent didn’t leak and we did manage to find the cleaner’s washing machine and drier hidden away at the back of the toilet block (someone told us about it however I’m not sure how they cam across it back there). The opening ceremony was a massive street party where you had to wear white and there was not one person not covered from head to toe in sangria. It was a complete mess but bloody fun. At the strike of noon the ceremony officially began but everyone was smashed already by then. The main square was so packed it got a little ridiculous, another girl we meet from the tour group Hollie and I had to make a break for it and get out of the square because we were fully getting crushed and was pretty scary. It got to a point where I was hitting people to let us out but they were just pushing us back in but we finally got out and could breath again. The rest of the day consisted of more drinking and turned into a classic birthday for Del with him getting arrested! I’m sure you have all heard by now but yes it is true im afraid; I’m sorry Debbie I do try to keep him safe. We were having a group photo and all of a sudden Del disappears, I assume he has gone to the loo somewhere so not too worried. After about 20 minutes I figure he has forgotten where we are so me and another girl go looking for him around the square. By complete chance we spot him being dragged away by police and run over to see what has happened. The ever so classy Del decided to copy all the other very classy people taking a wee in the street but wasn’t so aware of the police and got nicked! It turns out the Spanish police are corrupt and was demanding €300 from him. We gave them all of our money which was €30 and after lots of threats, shouting and pushing around they handed over some paper work and let him go!

The next day was the running of the bulls … we had to get up at 4am for the bus to get to Pamplona for 5am so there was plenty of time for Del to get in line for the run. I was absolutely crapping myself the entire time, I was sitting in the ring waiting which was the end line and although the run was only actually 3 minutes it felt like forever. The bulls were left loose and there were crowds of people in the small streets pushing and running (I could see on the big screen at the ring). The bulls came and all I could see was people getting thrown out of the way and trampled on, I was horrible. Finally floods of people made it to the ring and I anxiously looked out for Del … when finally saw him I was so unbelievably relieved and fell back on my seat. Phew it was finally over and it was good to see Del safe and sound. After it all ended we went back to the campsite, packed up our stuff and left for Bordeaux. Crazy few days!!

OK that was rather a large entry and i promise not to bore you with so much info all at one again but i am a little late getting the the blog going so it had to be done. We miss you all and our next stop is France so cheese and baguettes here we come!