Tag: spain

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Valencia Spain

We arrived in Valencia June 28th and stayed there until July 25th. Valencia is the third largest city in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona, this was our first destination after the Camino de Santiago.

The reason we chose Valencia is because we’ve never been there before and because it is in the south part of Spain. After walking the north from Pamplona to Santiago de Compostela we also wanted to experience the coastal areas of Comunidad Valenciana and Andalusia, which we had been told is a must see. Compared to other cities in Spain, Valencia is more affordable to live in, for us this is important since we will be traveling for awhile. For those looking for a great cheap vacation, Valencia is a great option. Staying here for almost a month, is a way to get involved in the culture and really get a feel for how people live, to have a daily life while at the same time exploring around. During July it is very hot with temperatures of up to 35C as it is summer time in Europe. Coming from Florida this was not too much of a problem for us, it felt better because there was no humidity like in Florida. We definitely made a good choice by choosing Valencia as one of the cities to live in.

Our Airbnb was very nice and located right on the Plaza Tossal in the neighborhood of El Carmen. Here we had everything we needed such as cafes, tapas bars, restaurants, small fruit/veggie markets, fashion boutiques, museums, theatre, and the Central Market was 3 minutes walking distance from our apartment (aka piso). No matter what day of the week it was El Carmen was always ready to party at night. Whether we walked downstairs to what became our corner to have a drink and enjoy the evening or look through our balcony we enjoy it very much!

  • Our apartment building to the right and some of the street art
  • Torres de Serranos, one of the 12 gates that formed part of the ancient city wall.

In Valencia you can rent a bike, scooter, or simply walk like we did. There are also free walking city tours that you can book online and offer great insight (at the end of the tour you pay what you consider appropriate).

Food in Valencia like everywhere in Spain will not disappoint. Tapas, burgers, fresh seafood, paella, agua de Valencia, horchata, vermouth, fartons, churros, arroz caldoso, and many more! Valencia is where you can find the most famous Spanish dish, the paella, which originated from this area. For those of you that do not know, the traditional paella Valenciana is made up of chicken and rabbit. In Valencia they do offer other combinations of paellas for those that do not like the taste of rabbit (like Santiago). Agua de Valencia was Ingrids favorite after a sunny day of walking around. It’s very refreshing and made up of fresh-squeezed Valencian oranges, along with cava, vodka, and gin. We also had anything we could ask for at the many markets and shops around town. Santiago was able to cook some of our favorite meals from home during our stay in Valencia. We also went to many international restaurants like Chinese, Argentinian, and Colombian. Needless to say, do not worry about food in Valencia because there is something delicious for everyone!

  • Agua de Valencia
  • Horchata and Fartons
  • Paella de Mariscos

The City of the Arts and Sciences complex will amaze you! It’s very futuristic and offers many activities for the entire family. You’ll need to dedicate some time when visiting even considering coming back a second day if you have the time. The City of the Arts and Sciences is comprised of the Museum of Sciences (hands-on exhibits fun for the entire family), L’Hemisferic (IMAX cinema), Palau de les Arts (opera venue), Umbracle (open air area to take wonderful photos), The Agora (multi purpose event space), Oceanographic (Europes largest aquarium). We recommend purchasing a combined ticket of your choice which is good for the day of purchase and the next day to allow you to come back. Tickets are around 25 euros for combined activities depending on what you want to see. You can also walk around the complex and its gardens for free.

  • Umbracle
  • Museum of Sciences
  • The City of Arts and Sciences

La Lonja de la Seda, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was originally used for trading in silk. This is a beautiful Gothic building worth seeing that will not take much of your time, it’s free, and it’s right around the corner from the Cathedral at Plaza de la Virgen.

Jardin del Turia is a park in the center of Valencia that runs about 9 kilometers stretching from the Bioparc to the City of Arts and Sciences. It is the largest urban park in Spain with activities for the entire family. Within the park you can enjoy activities such as morning runs, cycling, yoga, sight seeing, skateboarding, festivals, fairs, playgrounds for children, Gulliver’s park and much more! We enjoyed walking through here to reach different points in the area and take advantage of the shade, we did our daily runs, and enjoyed the fair that was there at that time. When in Valencia it is very hard to miss as it stretches along the city and from its history you’ll want to go see this park that was once the River Turia.

Bioparc is one of the top zoos in the world located in Valencia. We visited the zoo and enjoy it very much! The park has a concept of zoo-immersion, which is a more natural habitat for the animals and where you’ll see rivers, rocks, and ponds separating you from the animals. Pretty cool!

The Mediterranean Sea has a lot to offer and along the coast of Valencia you will find its many beaches. We visited La Malvarrosa beach and drove a scooter to Playa de la Pobla de Farnals. Both very nice beaches to spend the day.

  • Playa La Malvarrosa
  • Playa de la Pobla de Farnals

We loved The Central Market! We were 3 minutes away walking and we were here for our daily coffee and some pastry almost everyday after our morning run. Inside the market you can find fresh fish, meats, cheeses, all kinds of ham, veggies, fruits, spices, and many many international foods.

  • Central Market

Valencia’s Cathedral claims to have what is supposed to be the Holy Grail, the actual cup that Jesus drank from at the last supper. There is a small entrance fee for the cathedral. You can also go up to the cathedrals bell tower (El Miguelete) through a spiral staircase of around 200 steps for city views.

  • Plaza de la Virgen and the Valencia Cathedral
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Granada Spain

While living in Valencia for a month we decided to visit Granada which is a 5 hour drive from Valencia. Granada just as Seville is also in the Andalusian region of Spain and it is right in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. During the summer it could get very hot and dry reaching temperatures around 40C degrees.

We had not planned on going to Granada and it was a last minute getaway. We left July 20, 2019 and returned July 22, 2019. We had been recommended to visit Granada by many people on the camino and also by our Airbnb host from Seville, so we thought well it’s not that far and renting a car for 2 days cost us $70 from Eurocars in Valencia.

We got a Smart car which was very small but very comfortable and did the job. This brings me to renting cars in Spain. Be careful when renting a car in Spain, we had 2 very bad experiences. One, was in Santiago de Compostela in the north of Spain. We had finished our camino and wanted to have a road trip all the way to Valencia so we made a reservation online with Enterprise and thought well that was inexpensive and easy. Once the day came we show up to pick up the car and the lady tells us they have no cars that they have ran out! Off-course we were frustrated Santiago even spoke to someone in charge and they just simply don’t care. You can imagine how angry we were. On the bright side we were not in a hurry but it is still so disappointing. We ended up going to another nearby car rental company named Sixth that did have a car but we ended up paying double what we were supposed to! Our road-trip was not so pleasant after that since we were already out of budget, lost time, and had to drive 9 hours to Valencia!! All we wanted to do was get to Valencia and return the car. Our second bad experience which ended up being good at the end was in Valencia, renting the car to go to Granada. We made the reservation online and the same thing happened, they had no cars! We could not believe it!! Now we were in the southern part of Spain and same exact situation, we get there and they don’t have the car!! Needless, to say we walked out of there furious and went to Eurocars which was very close and the girl helped us get a car. We had to wait 45min for one to come in which was the Smart car but that was fine with us plus she was so helpful and it was a cheaper car than the other one we were supposed to have. Our recommendation would be to make your reservation and call ahead of time to make sure they have your car ready when you get there or go to the office to reserve a car there directly. They kept saying their online system is not reliable and they are not sure why they let people make more reservations online.

Back to Granada, to start, the drive there is amazing, the views from Valencia are very entertaining and specially if you take the route that passes through Benidorm. The highway and tunnels are in very great condition. In Granada we stayed at the Hotel Catalonia Granada. It is situated in walking distance to all points of interest with many options of restaurants. We recommend including breakfast at the hotel since it is buffet style with many options. The pool was disappointing since it is very small but the spa made up for it! We loved the spa and even used the gym the two days we were there.

The Alhambra is a must go if you are thinking of visiting Granada. Home of many Arab Sultans, this palace and fortress was also a runner up to be considered as one of the new 7 wonders of the world. Buy your ticket online in advance for 14 euros. There are four main areas you can visit when you go to the Alhambra; the palaces, the military zone or Alcazaba, the city or Medina, and the gardens of the Generalife. You will also get one of the best views of the city from here. I would recommend to spend at least half a day there if not more.

The tapas are very good here and the best part is that for every beer, wine, or drink you order you get a tapa and these are usually really good! We ended up not having dinner one night because we had ordered 2 beers each and that was enough food for us!!

Don’t forget to go to flamenco show, for 25 euros you can experience some of the best shows.

Mario Maya was one of Spain’s most influential Flamenco dancers who grew up in Granada. His statue is a tribute to all his great work.

During our getaway we had time to enjoy the hotel, walk to some of the bars, walk around town, ate tapas, went to the Alhambra, visited the cathedral, and some of the plazas and shopping areas which are all very close to each other. This is a very beautiful city worth visiting. Don’t forget your comfy shoes to walk everywhere, and bring your camera as you will be taking lots of pictures.

Don’t forget to check our story line in Instagram @everywhereabroad for more pictures and videos.

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Ibiza Spain

Ibiza! What a surprise for us! We visited Ibiza for the summer in July 2019 and spent a weekend there. Ibiza is one of Spains Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea with a population of around 140,000. Once you arrive you start to realize how beautiful and big the island actually is!! We imagined Ibiza as a party island, almost like a strip of clubs along the beach with all sorts of crazy, and unorganized chaos. Well we were totally wrong!!

We reached the airport and took a bus that after an hour ride took us to San Antonio where our friends were waiting to meet us. Ibiza is divided into many towns and San Antonio is where we chose to stay. It is considered one of the biggest towns of Ibiza. This is also where the famous Cafe Del Mar and Mambo Cafe are located (both well-know for their unique sunset views). Since we were traveling as a group we all chose the hotel or area where we stayed as a group so that it worked for everyone. We stayed in a nice hotel, the only drawbacks were that it did not have a pool and our room did not have any views. Since we were in a very central area, as San Antonio is, we had beaches and pools very near and that was not a problem at all. The best part of these pool lounges is that you had a view of the sea/sunset and all you had to do was consume something from their menu to be able to enjoy an entire day of relaxation.

We had it all within walking distance except when we wanted to go to the other side of the island or when we had to go to a party. We ended up going to 2 electronic music parties. One was at Amnesia and the other at Pacha. We had very good times at both. More at Amnesia I have to say, Pacha was way too crowded.

Amnesia Ibiza

Formentera! We can’t forget Formentera! This beautiful island is considered one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, it’s the smallest of the Balearic Islands of Spain and is just an hour away by ferry from Ibiza! We did a day trip from Ibiza and it was totally worth it! We rented a scooter and drove through the entire island making stops at some the most beautiful beaches. Seafood and cocktails are also very good here at very reasonable prices.

Cala Saona, Formentera
Playa d’Illetes, Formentera

Ibiza has entertainment for the entire family, it is not only a party island as we discovered and it is very much controlled, clean, organized, and safe. Beautiful turquoise water beaches to enjoy the day with water activities for everyone, historic places to visit, boat tours, delicious food, and anything you can think of when you think of an island vacation.

Some of the activities we recommend doing while in Ibiza:

Take the ferry to Formentera for $30 (both ways).

Take a boat tour around the island for around $40 per person.

Check out one of the sunset cafes, including the famous Cafe Mambo or Cafe Del Mar. For these two places you don’t need to go in during the sunset times as it could be quite expensive (minimum $70 consumption per person). Instead, go to one of the many stores around to get some drinks, snacks, get a blanket and enjoy the music with your friends sitting by the beach. You will have an awesome time and better yet, one of the most beautiful sunsets you’ve ever seen.

Watch as many sunsets as you possibly can, they are some of the best sunsets we have seen.

Visit the old historic town. Remember your comfy shoes.

For our daily adventures see our highlights of Ibiza in Instagram/Facbook @everywhereabroad.

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Seville Spain

We visited Seville for a weekend in May 2019 and to our surprise it is a very awesome place! The main reason for our visit was to attend a futbol match, which we ended up not attending but that is another story! Seville (Sevilla in Spanish) is a city in the southern part of Spain on the Andalusia region. What we loved the most about Sevilla was its people and culture. They are very friendly, although at times they spoke Spanish so fast we could not even understand, but even they know it and we all had fun with it, Sevilla is beautiful!

Our favorite was the tapas bars, this is one of the top if not the best places where we have experience the tapas culture from bar to bar and it is something to experience that can’t really be explained! The places to visit should Bodega Santa Cruz and Cerveceria Puerta de la Carne; amazing tapas with endless options and very reasonable price. Get a corto or caña (small beer) and experience the local culture at its best.

Birthplace of Flamenco, must go to a Flamenco show. We recommend Los Gallos Tabla. Lucky us, the host at our Airbnb was the wife of well know Flamenco Maestro Mario Maya. As she is an expert she recommended Los Gallos Tabla which is recognized for keeping the roots of Flamenco and having some of the most talented artists in town. This is a must go place and you wont be disappointed.

The Real Alcazar (UNESCO site) is a Moorish royal palace with beautiful gardens. Different scenes from the series “Game of Thrones” were filmed at the Real Alcazar, the Water Gardens of Dorne, seat of House Martell. You will not be disappointed and it is a must! We were amazed of how big and beautiful it is. Entry fee is around $15-$20 USD.

Metropol Parasol (Las Setas de Sevilla), you won’t miss this wonderful wooden structure. We got views of the city going to the top of the structure. You can walk around for free to take your pictures, and if you want to go to the top the fee is $4 USD.

Plaza de Espana is inside the Parque de Maria Luisa, it’s worth the visit there to see some of the most outstanding architecture. Get comfy shoes and if you go during summer time take some water with you as it gets very hot every day.

Seville Cathedral, you’ll want to take photos everywhere! Also, the tomb of Christopher Columbus is inside.

Santa Cruz, is the neighborhood where you will find tapas bars, tourist attractions we mention above, souvenir shops, restaurants, and a great atmosphere!

For more photos and stories visit our instagram account and view our highlights and posts of Seville. @everywhereabroad.

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El Camino de Santiago – Was it tough?

Is it tough? Yes. We’re not going to lie and say it is easy, all beautiful, and amazing. It is all that, plus it requires all your strength, patience, and willingness to keep going. The pain is inevitable no matter how much you have prepared for your camino. We could not even imagine how tough it would be when we were back home training. On average it was between 20-30 kilometers daily for any given stage imagine that! You will feel exhausted at the end of each stage and you will be pushed to your limits at least once on the camino. Back pain, blisters, sun irritation, tendinitis, and soreness are all part of this journey. Santiago did not have any blisters throughout the entire camino (lucky!) he did have back, knee, and muscle pains. Ingrid did have blisters (amongst other pains) which became a daily routine for both of us to squeeze the fluid out, this would be painful depending on the location of the blister but very necessary in order for the blister to dry out. I remember two very painful ones, one on each little toe (weird), where Ingrid almost cried. After those two painful blisters heeled (about a day) Ingrid was a professional with blisters and the entire rest of the way they were not a problem. Everyday we would wake up with a different part of the body hurting or making it uncomfortable to even move. The positive side of all this is that once you warm up and start each day it all goes away until off course you stop for a break or finish your stage that day. There were also the days where we woke up perfectly fine, no pain, nothing! It was like magic! We were always amazed and still are of how much our bodies can change and get accustomed to as well as how we managed to keep going regardless of how much our bodies were hurting. This is a lesson we proved in the camino, that we are stronger than we think and it is all in your mind, this is so very true you just have to live it to discover it.

There will be times when you will want to give up, get discouraged, frustrated, and will think of taking a taxi or bus to the next town, don’t do it! just keep walking, I promise you will get there and it will feel amazing. Go at your own pace, take breaks, walk shorter distances, talk to pilgrims, take a rest day, have some wine along the way or a beer, it is your camino and you make it however you want!! It is not a race and everyone is equal in the camino, no one is judging, on the contrary, everyone is there to help and find their own way. You will find many pilgrims are suffering more than you at some points, you can help if needed, and then just keep walking. That’s just it! It’s so real and human that the physical pain becomes normal and it ends up being a part of your journey.

Rest days, are very important and we believe necessary if you’re going to be walking the entire camino. We took rest days in Logroño and Burgos. We also took a shorter walk of 8 kilometers to Ponferrada and stopped there. Rest days are very helpful for the body and the mind to recharge. A nice hotel with amenities such as a sauna, jacuzzi, normal towels, a nice shower, nice sheets, and the ability to sleep in without being disturbed is always good during the camino. We also used this time to wash our clothes at the laundromats around town. Using the hotel laundry service was more expensive so we took advantage of the laundromats around town for less than half the hotel rates.

  • Our backpacks we carried all the way

  • Sunny day
  • Feet in the river, great for healing

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El Camino de Santiago de Compostela / Way of Saint James

As many of you know, we have just completed our Camino de Santiago de Compostela (The Way of Saint James in English). If you’ve never heard of it you might be asking yourself, what is El Camino de Santiago de Compostela? In short, because it is so much more, it is a pilgrimage with many different starting points and ways all leading to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia Spain. Legend says the remains of apostle St. James were brought to Santiago de Compostela from Jerusalem and are buried where the cathedral now stands. There are numerous reasons why many follow the camino, some of the most popular ones are for religious beliefs and personal growth.

The many different routes/pilgrimages that lead to Santiago de Compostela. We followed The Camino Frances pointed in the picture above.

The reason we decided to do it? Ingrid was first motivated by Paulo Coelho, her favorite author, his books referenced it and it was like nothing she had ever heard about and thought to herself one day she would do this. Paulo Coelho did the camino himself and wrote a book about it, The Pilgrimage, which I recommend everyone to read. Back in 2014 Santiago’s mom decided she was going to do the camino! Once Santiago’s mom completed her camino, we were both so intrigued and motivated with all her stories and adventures that we promised ourselves we would do it together one day and experience all that it brings with it. There we were in 2018 planning 2019, our year of travels, and we think to ourselves why not start this new journey with he camino?! We would have plenty of time since you need at least 30 days to complete the entire Camino Frances (the French Way) about 780km which is the route we did except we started in Pamplona Spain about 70km after the starting point in St Jean Pied de Port France. It took us 28 days total with 2 rest days to complete around 710km always carrying our backpacks (210km we did by bike). We were not wrong about doing it and the experience is inexplicable and it is something we feel everyone should do once in their lifetime even if for a shorter period of time and you have to complete it over a few years. It’s a time to connect with others, nature, and more importantly yourself. It was nothing like what we imagined and felt like we were in a dream!!

“El dolor es inevitable el sufrimiento es opcional” a quote from somewhere on The Camino. In English it translates to something like this “The pain is inevitable the suffering is optional”.
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