Spain - San Sebastian & Madrid

San Sebastian

San Sebastian is located in the Basque Country of Spain (same as Bilbao) in the coast of the Bay of Biscay.  It's coastline is gorgeous and we were privledged to stay in a guest home (Aia Pension) that was a 2 minute walk to the beach.  It was just what we needed to re-charge and rest up after the hectic two weeks we had of non-stop travelling that lead up to Running of the Bulls. 

While in San Sebastian, I enjoyed the beach, walked the "sea wall" that surrounded the coastline, peaked into all the restaurants and admired the beautiful & appetizing pinxtos on the counter and caught up on my blog.  Here are a few pics from San Sebastian:

Catching up on my blog! Over a month behind (but in all fairness, I've been busy!)

Gorgeous beaches!

Walking the "sea wall"

Patatas Bravas - recommended by my lovely friend Eve! Basically fried potato chunks coated in a spicy sauce. Nom nom nom!

Madrid

I am so far behind in blogging (again) that I have to look at my photos to see what I did in Madrid!  Normally I would refer to my journal, but I have shipped my first journal home.  Can you believe that...I've filled an entire journal with reflections of my travelling experience already? 

We arrived in Madrid, the capital of Spain, on July 16th and stayed for 3 days.  Madrid was a pretty cool city. I had heard mixed reviews from other travellers but from my own experience, I really enjoyed it. Plus, the food was phenomenal.  The quality of the food alone is enough reason to visit Madrid.

We did a free walking tour to get the low down on the major sites and then explored the city on our own.  The free walking tours are always a good bet, as you pay the guide by tip at the end of the 2 to 3 hour tour, depending on what you feel the tour was worth.  What I enjoy most about these walks through the city is the interesting history you obtain without having to read through a guide book (especially since I threw my guide book away in Brussels as it was too heavy to continue carrying).  You also get to meet some friendly faces and exchange travel stories as you walk.

Did you know the symbol of Madrid is a bear eating fruit from a tree? There is a relatively small statue of this bear (small, but weighs nearly 20 tons) & tree in the Puerto del Sol Plaza.  You will find this symbol all over Madrid if you look carefully (ie. man hole covers, garbage cans).

The Royal Palace was pretty but also so large that I couldn't get it into one shot - so here's a picture of the palace featuring the fountain in front!

Madrid's architecture history is interesting.  As the Royal Palace is right in the centre of the city, the buildings which were constructed within the Palace's vicinity were not permitted to steal the Palace's thunder. The attention had to remain on the Royal Palace.  Normally when you visit major cities, all the buildings in the vicinity are of equal or similar extravagence, but not in Madrid. Just take a look at the Royal Theatre next door - nothing special!

Even the church was built to look "simple" which is rare for European churches. 

But the church was a bit sneaky as the opposite side of the church was built beautifully and also because of it's location hid the Royal Palace from the backside view.

There are so many historical stories that I want to tell you about Madrid, especially how the King moved the capital of Spain from Toledo to Madrid within one day and the resulting implications and quick thinking - but alas, I'm behind in blogging and I just want to get these posts done.  I definitely recommend that at some point in your lifetime you visit Madrid, take a free walking tour, tip generously and eat eat eat the yummy food!  Here are some other pictures from Madrid:

Plaza de Mayor

Gran Via Street

Inside the Parque de Madrid

Palacio de Cristal

Jamon Iberico - a delicious cured ham found in Spain. Tastes awesome thinly sliced on a baguette with some cheese. Mmm.

Inside the Mercado de San Miguel - one of the oldest covered markets in Madrid where you can buy fresh fruit, meats, cheeses, olives, etc.  You can also enjoy a variety of freshly prepared tapas, eat oysters, sardines (sardines are hugely popular in Spain & Portugal) and other savoury foods.

Mercado de San Miguel

Mercado de San Miguel

  

Horchata - a traditional Spanish beverage typically consumed on hot days that is mainly made with ground tiger nuts, water and sugar. While it was tasty, it was far too sweet for me.  But at least I tried it!

That was Madrid in a nutshell!