Capital: Madrid … 46,530,000 People … 505,990 km²
The Country
Known for its sunshine, rich history, and love of celebrations, Spain is undoubtedly a cultural hotspot. With delicious tapas, sangria, and paella best enjoyed during a siesta, value of living well is a stable of Spanish culture. Spain also has a long history of exploration, establishing colonies all over the world. From bullfighting to flamenco dancing, Spanish culture is distinct and impressive.
Fun Facts:
There is no tooth fairy in Spain. Instead, a mouse named Ratoncito Pérez leaves gifts for teeth.
Spain produces roughly half of the worlds olive oil.
The national anthem of Spain has no words.
My Experience
I arrived at the Port of Barcelona early in the morning, and immediately went off to explore the city. Near the port is the Columbus Monument, which shows a statue of Columbus pointing towards the New World. The monument is at the start of La Rambla, a pedestrian street which leads to Plaça de Catalunya. La Rambla is filled with restaurants, shops, and also Mercado de La Boqueria, a massive market filled with fresh food (and the biggest strawberries I have ever seen).
After walking up most of La Rambla, I wandered into the Gothic Quarter in search for one thing: shoes. I wanted to get my girlfriend at the time a pair of hand-made espadrilles, and after enquiring at a few different places, I found a shoemaker that could make the perfect shoe. The only problem, however, was that I did not remember the European shoe size conversion to US sizes so I had to guess and hope they would fit her when I got back home (the size was… close enough).
After spending a few more hours exploring the Gothic Quarter, we walked to La Sagrada Familia, a minor basilica that has been under construction since 1882, and has a completion date of 2026. Although still under construction, the church was consecrated by the pope in 2010. The church is simply breathtaking; filled with stained glass windows and double twisted columns to represent tree branches, the noise and heat of Barcelona disappears with the chilled, quiet atmosphere of the church. After spending some time walking around La Sagrada Familia, we walked back towards La Rambla to have some sangria. We then walked back to the port to go to our next Spanish city: Valencia.
When I arrived in Valencia, I had nothing directly planned; I wanted to explore the city, talk to the locals to see what I should see, and go off the beaten path. To start, however, I headed towards Plaza de Toros, a Neo-Mudéjar bullring in the centre of town. I spent the majority of the day walking around looking at the architecture, such as the Museo Histórico Municipal de Valenci. Eventually I found myself in the Valencia Central Market, where I asked a few people where the best place to get paella was. After a great meal, I went to the Almudín de Valencia, a building from the 15th century warehouse which is now a museum. With dark, cold rooms, it was a great place to escape the heat. The remainder of the day was spent exploring Valenica, wandering from plaza to plaza.
A few years later, I spent a long night at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport. After a late connection from Marrakech, I found myself in a large terminal by myself. I actually went out of my way to try and find someone, but it was eerily empty. I tried to sleep on a bench, but was awoken every 30 minutes by TV’s blaring figure skating highlights. It all felt like a strange dream. Eventually I woke up to a packed airport (10 minutes before my flight, since my alarm didn’t go off), and headed back to Denmark.
Photos of Spain