Sabbatical travel series – Spain

Based on what I had seen and heard, I felt that Spain would be an idyllic vacation place. I was going to visit 2 cities – Barcelona and Madrid. I had heard a lot about Gaudi’s  architecture and influence in Barcelona and was looking forward to seeing his creations firsthand and forming my own opinion.  

At the Munich airport, there was a piano near the departure gate and a couple of talented kids treated travellers to some soulful classical music. The flight from Munich to Barcelona was slightly bumpy but I landed in one piece. My cell phone roaming plan was going to expire the next day and I had a tough time renewing it. I got the airport shuttle to the city centre and while on the bus, I called customer care who renewed the plan for another month. Although the roaming plan now reflected the new expiry date, data roaming wasn’t working. I had to call customer care nearly 15 times before it got resolved. The solution, given by the tech team, to wait for 4 hours for the new plan to become active finally worked.  

I was staying at the Four Points Sheraton hotel in Barcelona which was very clean with a spacious room as expected of a Marriott hotel. The hotel was conveniently located next to the bus stop and the metro station was about half a kilometre away. Due to all the hassle to get cell phone data roaming to work, I finally slept at nearly 3 am and I had booked a 7 am day trip to Andorra the next day. I got up when the phone alarm rang 2 ½ hours later, quickly got ready, collected the packed breakfast which the hotel had arranged and decided to take a taxi to the starting point for the bus trip. When I glanced at my watch to ascertain the time before stepping out of the hotel to catch a taxi, it showed an hour later time. I panicked for a moment that I had overslept and missed the bus, but I was reassured when I looked at the time on my phone again. In my sleep deprived state, I thought the watch battery must have gotten weaker. It was only later that morning that I found out that my watch was working just fine and daylight saving changes had kicked in that night when a friend living in the UK mentioned that they had gained an hour. For the first time in my life, I was extremely thankful to whoever came up with the daylight saving idea. It was such a boon to have gotten an extra hour of sleep that night.  

The cab dropped me at the address mentioned in the booking but there was no bus there. I had 15 minutes to locate the bus. I checked the exact pickup point mentioned in the booking confirmation on google maps and it showed me that I had to cross the park to get to the bus. To my relief, I found the bus and a couple of people who confirmed that they had booked the same tour.   

The agent came on time, and we all boarded the bus and settled down. The tour would cover 3 countries in a day – Spain, France and Andorra and I was chuffed that I would be able to visit a new country on a day trip. After an hour’s drive, we stopped at a restaurant with beautiful views of the mountains. I ate my packed breakfast while admiring the clean, fresh and cool air and the beautiful views. We visited the spa town of Ax-Les-Thermes in France. It is a small and sleepy town famous for its healing waters.  

I strolled the streets and cooled and probably even healed my feet in one of the hot springs. After France, the next country we visited was Andorra. On the way to the capital city of Andorra la Vella, we stopped at the ski resort of Grandvalira where you can witness stunning views of the Pyrenees range.

The temperature suddenly dropped at this height of around 2500 metres. We got off the bus to take in the views, quickly snapped some pictures with the mountains as the backdrop and returned to the bus. Andorra la Vella is a small and pretty town popular for tax free shopping of luxury goods, cigarettes and liquor. You get good views of the Gran Valira river in the historical centre.

After walking the historic old town and doing some souvenir shopping, I was very hungry and stopped at the Starbucks on the main street for pain au chocolat and coffee as I couldn’t find a restaurant which had vegetarian options. After the coffee, as I was walking down the main street to the meeting point, I saw a mall where I could have probably found some vegetarian food. Anyway, I proceeded to the meeting point and after some wait for a couple of girls who had lost track of time and came 15 minutes late, we headed back to Barcelona after a 3 hour drive through scenic mountain views.

The next day, it was time to explore what Barcelona had to offer. The next morning, I made my way to the gothic quarter after buying a metro pass and the first stop was the cathedral of Barcelona with a beautiful facade containing intricate ornate tracery. 

There are many beautiful buildings and squares in the old town area including the Santa Maria del Mar Basilica, Mercado de La Boqueria market, city hall, Palau de la Generalitat, Temple of Augustus, Saint James's Square (Placa Sant Jaume) and Royal square (Placa Reial). I walked from one end to the other of Las Ramblas, which is always buzzing with tourists and is lined with outdoor restaurants and souvenir shops and ends with the Columbus monument.

It was especially crowded that week as there were a lot of tourists from the UK and France on vacation. A short walk from the monument is the waterfront with boats and ships docked and peppered with museums and an aquarium.   

After a good couple of hours of exploring the old town and gothic quarter, my growling stomach started demanding attention and I stopped at a small restaurant in the gothic quarter for the famous Paella. Given the unassuming restaurant and also since I am a vegetarian, I didn't have very high expectations but the Vegetarian Paella was simply amazing. I ate up every last morsel with a satisfactory sigh and began my afternoon jaunt.

I wanted to visit Casa Batllo, one of the most popular residences designed by Gaudi. When I went there, there was a huge line of folks who had already bought tickets and were waiting in batches to be let-in. I realized that I had to do better planning and buy tickets beforehand. I visited the shop there to check out the souvenirs and proceeded to see a couple of other Gaudi buildings from the outside. These were relatively less crowded and I could have bought tickets for the interiors on the spot. But, I decided that checking out Casa Batllo, Sagrada Familia and Park Guell would be good enough to get a perspective of Gaudi’s designs and to agree or disagree with all the hype about his genius. 

The next day, I made my way to Arc de Triomf. I had caught the bus to Andorra from across the park in front of the Arch on the first day but it was dark and I could see just a silhouette of the Arch.  

This morning was a beautiful day with clear blue skies and lovely cool weather. The park was lively with kids bursting soap water bubbles, locals enjoying some down time and tourists capturing memories using their phone cameras. I spent an hour strolling up and down the park and sitting on one of the benches soaking the sun and people watching. 

It was time for the Casa Batllo tour and I had booked it online this time around. The facade is too garish for my taste but I loved the thought that had gone into designing the interior of the house which is functional, built to have plenty of light and air and has a form of a ventilation system to keep the house cool during hot summers.

The furniture looks very comfortable and the old gramophone, typewriter and globe add character to the place. After the tour, I headed to the old town to have a Tapas lunch and enjoy a leisurely coffee.  

My last stop for the day was Sagrada Familia. 

The main hall, with Jesus on cross under a canopy-like structure, looks much simpler than the exterior will have one imagine. It was sunset time and the play of light through the stained glass windows was different compared to what one would see during day time. Gaudi was the second of many architects involved in designing the church and is buried in a crypt in the church. After spending an hour at the church with the guide explaining the significance of the various elements of the church including the spires, statues, Eucharist door etc, I headed back to the hotel.  

The next day was my last day in Barcelona. I had booked a Park Guell tour in the morning, planned to head to the beach right after and most likely go to Montjuic that a lot of blogs recommended for the views. After an early breakfast, I took a train to the nearest train station and made my way through some very steep streets to reach the park entrance at the meeting point for the guided tour. Our guide was extremely enthusiastic, passionate and energetic and she showed us the highlights of the park including the super comfy serpentine benches around the terrace, view points with panoramic views of the city, gingerbread houses at one of the ends of the park and Gaudi’s house, where he spent the last 20 years of his life, which is now a museum. After viewing all the famous Gaudi monuments, I appreciate Gaudi for his functional designs.  

After the tour, I headed to Barceloneta beach. 

It is a perfect place for locals and tourists alike to enjoy the sun and sand in the middle of a buzzing metropolitan city. Since it was another perfect outdoor weather day, the beach had drawn a horde of people - families with kids, couples, friends. It was good to enjoy the beach despite the nuisance of vendors selling everything from massages to trinkets. I then took the metro, funicular and cable car to Montjuic to enjoy the beautiful views of the city and walk the trails. I had worked up a massive appetite by then and decided to head back to the city for a late lunch cum dinner which was an unusual combination of hummus for starter and a veg thali for main course. I headed back to the hotel to pack and get ready for a flight to Madrid the next day.  

My flight to Madrid was at noon and after check in and security check, I found that I had plenty of time before my flight was due to depart. There was a Starbucks in a very nice location on an outdoor terrace after the security check area. It was raining as I quickly sprinted to the cafe and sat with a coffee indoors until it was time to walk to the departure gate. Southern England, Ireland and France were experiencing Storm Ciaran and Spain was also seeing some effects of the bad weather. The entire flight was an edge of the seat thriller complete with a lightning strike. Most of the flight, I sat with hands firmly clutching the seat in front of me and eyes firmly screwed shut praying that we will land safely. It was a huge relief to land on terra firma and everyone on the flight loudly applauded the pilot for landing us all safely in Madrid.  

I took the airport shuttle bus to the Atocha train station and from there, I took a cab to the hotel. I was staying at the Emperador hotel which was on Gran Via, the broadway of Spain. The street is buzzing with people throughout the day and with long lines of theatre goers in the evening waiting to get into the theatres to watch the plays. I noticed that the bar area in the hotel was a great place to watch the passers-by and the theatre goers to the theatre right next door to the hotel.  

On my first full day in Madrid, I headed to Plaza de la Puerta del Sol after breakfast to take a walking tour. The Puerta del Sol got its name from a gate in the eastern part of the city wall in the 15th century. This is where Spaniards welcome the new year by eating 12 grapes as the clock atop the tower of the Royal post office building strikes 12. The square houses the statue of Charles III of Spain, Royal Post office and the symbol of Madrid, The bear and the Berry tree.  

Our guide was a theatre artist whose love for Madrid and his home region of Andalusia was obvious from the way he spoke so lovingly about its people, food and the Flamenco art form. He told us about the centennial plaques introduced by the Spanish government in a bid to encourage local businesses amidst globalisation and are granted to local businesses that have withstood the test of time and have been around for more than 100 years. He challenged us to find all the plaques in the route we were taking. We proceeded, keeping an eye for the plaques, to Plaza Mayor that was reborn from ashes three times and ended the tour in front of the Royal Palace of Madrid and the Almudena cathedral. 

No one in our group had been able to spot all the plaques. I had spotted all but 2 of them. After the tour, I visited the crypts beside the cathedral and stopped at one of the very popular chocolaterias in Madrid to indulge in some sweet treats. It was time for a leisurely stroll in the city before heading back to the hotel.  

The next day was going to be a rainy day and I took the opportunity to catch more sleep and wake up in time to have a leisurely breakfast before the breakfast counter closed for the day. I made my way to Retiro park and it was unfortunately closed because of the storm. I had to satisfy myself by admiring it from the outside. I headed to the Prado museum but there was a long line as it was an ideal day for staying indoors and what better way than a museum visit. On doing some research, I realised that it would have been better to buy the museum ticket online and book an audio guide visit. As it began to rain, I decided to head back to the hotel. I was going to leave for Porto the next day. I realised that I could have done better planning to see a little more of Madrid. However, after about a month of long days and continuously checking out various cities and attractions, I was not feeling the least bit guilty. On the contrary, it felt good to reduce the pace and to take some time to wind down before the final leg in Portugal. I wanted to conserve some energy to pick up pace again for my friend whom I was going to meet in Lisbon and who would probably be eager to explore the city and all the attractions.  

I had a disturbed sleep that night as I was anxious about flying in bad weather. I woke up in the middle of the night to check if my flight was going to be on time and lo behold, there was an email in my inbox from the airline saying I could reschedule free of cost. I checked the weather in Porto and it was going to be a rainy couple of days. I took this as a sign from up above and I decided to skip Porto and stay in Madrid for a couple of more days - 3 more nights to be exact. I rescheduled my Madrid to Porto flight to fly to Lisbon from Madrid in 3 days. My friend had booked a day trip to Porto from Lisbon and I booked the same trip too so that I would get to see at least the highlights of Porto. I now had the opportunity to see the places I had missed in Madrid in the next couple of days at a sedate pace. I booked Museum tickets online for the next day and went back to sleep.  

I woke up to a decent day in Madrid and headed to the museum around noon. I was on a mission to check out the must-see paintings as per the audio guide. So, I went from room to room in search of the paintings, sometimes ending up in the same room multiple times due to my awesome sense of direction or lack thereof. I managed to see all the paintings but one, which was taken out of display for restoration. After nearly 3 hours in the museum, my legs were getting tired and I headed to a middle eastern cuisine restaurant for some awesome vegetarian food including hummus, falafel, tabbouleh, tahini and brown rice. I had to walk quite a bit from the museum to this restaurant. It was totally worth it and I licked the plate clean. I came back to the hotel for my new favourite pastime in Madrid of checking out theatre goers from the huge windows overlooking Gran Via in the restaurant bar over a cup of coffee. After quite a long time there, I reluctantly went to the room to look for day trips from Madrid for the next 2 days. I booked a bus trip to Avila and Segovia and after some social media therapy, I hit the bed.

The next day, I woke up, got ready, had breakfast and went to the pick up point next door for the day trip. We reached a stop area in the outskirts of Avila that had a restaurant. I bought  a cup of coffee there and headed to a view point across the restaurant where one can view the ancient walls of Avila. We headed to the town and now got a closer look at the walls that date back to the middle ages and were built between 11th and 14th century AD. 

We went past the Avila cathedral, town hall and Plaza del Mercado Chico to the church of St. Teresa which is one of the oldest churches and also a pilgrimage spot. We also visited the San Vicente basilica before heading to Segovia. 

 
The aqueduct of Segovia was impressive and was built during the first century AD to channel water to the city. 

It is one of the best preserved Roman aqueduct bridges in the world. We saw a few spots in the city including the monument to Juan Bravo, Plaza Mayor, Cathedral of Segovia, before heading to the Alcazar and doing a guided tour of the castle including its architecture and historical importance. This was the last stop in the tour and a pleasant day came to an end as we headed back to Madrid reaching the city in the late evening. I had dinner at a burger place near the drop off point and walked back to the hotel which was just a few steps away. For the next day, I booked a half day trip to Toledo. That would give some time in the evening to visit the Retiro park before sunset. 

The next day also started at the same pick up point and we headed to Toledo. We stopped at a viewpoint that gave a good view of Toledo which sits on a hill. We could view its famous cathedral and monastery. The town has monuments of Arab, Christian and Jewish influence. It was also home to the famous painter, El Greco. We visited the monastery and the church of Santo Tome which houses the famous El Greco painting, The Burial of the Count of Orgaz.

 

 

We went to the Toledo cathedral that has a beautiful altar made of real gold on wood and wonderful artwork.

It was time to stop for lunch at an Italian restaurant in Plaza De Zocodover. After a good lunch of Vegetarian Pasta made to order and coffee, I visited the shops nearby and headed back to the meeting point to leave for Madrid. We reached Madrid at around 5 pm. I had checked out of the Emperador hotel in the morning and had left my bags at the reception. I collected my bags, checked into the other hotel on the same street and after dropping off my bags in the room, I rushed straight to Retiro park and got a good view of the lake with the imposing monument of King Alfonso XII before sunset. 

People were enjoying boat rides in the lake and there were families walking along the lake with children. As I headed to the crystal palace in the park, the sun set and it got dark in a matter of minutes. 

I was happy to have seen the two main attractions in the park. I was excited to go to Lisbon the next day and  after all the solo travel for the last 5 weeks, I was looking forward to meeting my friend and exploring Lisbon with her.