The end of Mike's visit

I guess we should get back to where we left off...but first I want to let you all know I just made 2 videos/sideshows of our time at the aquarium in Valencia (1 with the dolphin show and 1 with all the rest). The dolphin show one I already posted on the link talking about our trip to the Oceanografic (2 posts ago) but here's the other one. Hope you like it! (I JUST learned how to put together the videos- i'm so excited!):

 Now to get back to Granada...
We ended up getting to the city in the late afternoon, then spent about an hour just trying to get to my friends house from there (I really have bad luck with one way streets in Spain). Eventually we made it but my friends were all busy so me and Mike just headed out on our own to explore the town. Since I'm pretty familiar with Granada already I was able to be Mike's personal tour guide :) yay. We walked around a big shopping area (on Recogidas), through Plaza Espana, then on the Paseo de los Tristes and up through the Albaicin (the old neighborhood). We also made it up to the Mirador de San Nicolas (a lookout area) and I finally got to see the view during the day time!!! I always go up at night so it was a nice first for both me and Mike.

After all that walking we headed back towards the house to rest...it was literally a few hours of walking around so we were both ready to sit down and relax. After a little bit of relaxing time at the house we met up with Carlos (my Spanish brother) and had some tapas at one of my favorite spots in Granada. And that, of course, was followed by a very long night...like always. First we hung out at my friends place for a bit (well, until 3am haha) and then made our way over to a big party that was going on that night. OF COURSE before we even got there my friend had been told that the police shut the party down (oh, i feel like i'm back in college...) SO we headed over to a small bar, hung out for a while and then went home at the early hour of 5am. It was actually my most calm evening in Granada, ever.
The next day was pretty mellow also. We met up with Carlos again for lunch at some famous Italian restaurant that had some great food and that was all followed by a nice long nap :) Later on Mike, myself and 2 of my friends headed to a Moroccan tea shop for some tea and crepes (always a must do when in Granada). When we walked into the place it even felt like we had just taken a trip across the ocean and over to Morocco. They did a great job of decorating the walls with the "traditional" carpets, having lots of pillows, low lighting and many hookahs around the place. Both Mike and I were wiped so it was a nice relaxing place to hang out for a bit.

After that we had to head back to Lucena...we were supposed to be meeting up with some friends that night. We said our goodbyes (it was probably my last trip to Granada this year!) and headed on the road. When we got to Lucena though we were so out of it we just stayed in and rested...


The next day was meant to be peaceful and calm since it was Mike's last day of his visit but of course things are never as planned. We ended up waking up super late, had to run to the gas station to grab some gas (to have hot water!) and got hit by a car on the way back...not badly but I mean come on! Then went to meet up with Carlos' fam for a last lunch with Mike where we all stuffed our faces of morcilla, chorizo and paella. After which we headed to go get Mike's bus ticket to Madrid (there's a bus from Lucena-Madrid) and what happened? Well they had sold out. So we went home and tried to search for another option online and what next happened? My internet went on strike...the only time i've had a problem with this one and it just chose to be THAT DAY! The we had to scramble over to Carlos' fam's house to use the internet and finally there we were able to find a ticket from Cordoba-Madrid and 1am that night. Now, we just needed to figure a way to get him up to Cordoba. Doesn't seem like a big deal being that its only a 40min car ride...BUT that day it was almost impossible to find anyone to get him up there. After numerous phone calls to friends we finally decided to put him on the 10pm bus. So then we had to go back to my place, get him all packed and then over to the bus station.


Basically our "relaxing" day turning into anything but that...I felt bad on top of it, not only because of the chaos but because he was going to have over 30 hours of traveling ahead of him (with all the buses, flights, and driving when he got back). But now Mike is all safe and sound in WA...and I'm here in Spain. BUT I will be back in a month, so in the meantime I'm back to more traveling and sightseeing!

Calling All Meerkats, Lemurs and Turtles

I’m so behind on my postings! I’m going to make an attempt to catch up since Mike just left…Monday :( There’s not too much more too fill you in on but let’s get back to Bioparc…

So on our last day in Valencia Mike and I headed to Bioparc. It’s like a zoo/safari type place, so basically the animals aren’t really in cages but rather in open areas that are fenced off and you can walk around (outside the fences/wall things) and get really close.  They call it “nature in the open.” Some of the areas you could even touch the animals like with the birds and lemurs. Well I suppose you could touch them but we didn’t try, I was scared they’d bite me or something lol.

So there are 4 “themes” in the park: Madagascar, Savannah, Wetlands and Equatorial Forest. They are full of SOOO many different animals like zebras, ostriches, lions, leopards, flamencos, rhinos, hippos, hyenas, tons of different monkeys, lemurs, meerkats, camels, mongooses, big turtles and tons more. I tried to get pics of pretty much everything so just check out the photos in the album (Mike's visit)

I loved all the animals but I DID NOT want to leave the meerkats!  They’re the cutest…and I really wanted to take one home (still do…).

I think Mike was about ready to snatch up one of the lemurs though…he got to stand right next to them…too fun!

After a few hours at the Bioparc we had seen everything so we decided to head out.

It was getting close to lunch time so we went to this small town called Port Saplaya (I think) just North of Valencia (I literally mean just a few min on the highway…super close) and grabbed some food. And that stop was WELL worth it. The restaurant, El Faro, was right near the ocean and so, of course, we had to get the seafood. We tried an assortment of different things like calamari, mussels (that tasted like they had JUST been caught out the ocean), sepia (i.e. cuttlefish?), some small fried fish (WHOLE) and washed it down with some Sangria. We were just in love with this place and the food, not to mention that we were then able to follow the amazing lunch with a walk on the beach :) It was all smiles from there.

 
We then decided to keep heading north because we needed to get to Peñíscola that night. We had about a 2 hour drive ahead of us but we extended it a little when we decided to stop in another small town. This one had been recommended to me by a friend so I figured; it’s on the way, why not?
Sagunto is the name of the town and we thought it would be a quick stop, we just wanted to see the castle BUT trying to get up to it was another story. We wanted to drive up there (or rather I did because I was not wearing hiking shoes) but just try to figure you’re way through traditional European streets, it’s IMPOSSIBLE. Lots of one ways, dead ends (that randomly end), and other streets that you just pray you can make it through because they’re so skinny. We ended up spending a decent chuck of time trying to find our way up but eventually we did get pretty close. We didn’t stop for long but we got some great pics and the town was just precious. Remember- SAGUNTO- it’s worth a visit.

After our quick stop we got back on the road and continued our drive up to Peñíscola. I had chosen to stay in the town because I had been told it was really pretty and it was also half way between Barcelona and Valencia, therefore a perfect resting point. Plus, it was on the beach. We got to the town and explored the place a bit, checked out the castle, walked near the beaches and saw a decent amount of the town (it's pretty small). I’m glad we did that the night we arrived because the next morning it POURED! I mean it REALLY poured! We were having some breakfast so we were relatively safe from all the rain (minus some of it dripping on us from the broken awning above us…). When it slowed down we headed straight for the car. Of course after the downpour the weather cleared up but unfortunately we had to head out to get to Barcelona…the car rental was due that evening! 

Once again we got back on the road and made our way up to Barcelona. Mike told me the drive was really pretty but I was knocked out so I didn’t see much haha. When we got to Barça we dropped the car off but not before driving the wrong way on a few one way streets…we wanted to fit it with all the terrible Spanish drivers (and yes, they’re bad…another story about that later). Then we were vehicles so we had to catch the train/shuttle into town and went to go find our hostel.
We were staying outside the main area of Barcelona but it ended up working out quite well. We had an early morning flight to catch (we had to be at the airport at 6am) and we were close to the train/shuttle to the airport. Needless to say, we didn’t so much in Barça with having to leave so early and all BUT we did get to check out a few cool things. We were staying near the Arenas de Barcelona, an old bull fighting ring that has been converted into a NICE shopping center. Now that bullfighting has been outlawed in Barcelona, I’m sure they’re having to be creative about what to do with the rings…

This place was cool though and they had tons of very nice stores. On the top of the building they also have a “lookout” area that overlooks Plaza de España and some big church looking building (we never figured out its actual name). The view was spectacular and we grabbed a quick pic there. After spending a couple hours wandering the “mall” we went to go get some grub. 

What I am about to tell you next is very important…

When you visit Barcelona you HAVE TO try out this restaurant: La Petite Fondue

We just stumbled across it when we were looking for a pizza joint and it was seriously some of the BEST pizza I’ve had in my life. It’s a super small restaurant and they recommend having reservations but we were lucky and got in just fine. I swear the place wouldn’t seat more than 20 people…Either way though, I LOVED IT. I’m even considering going back to Barça before I leave just to eat there. Yes it was amazing AND they have fondue!!! I really wanted to try the fondue but couldn’t manage to curb my pizza craving so we got pizza and a salad. BEST Bolognese pizza EVER!!! We contemplated buying another just to eat for breakfast in the morning. And 2 other pluses about the place- 1. Super nice staff (our waitress was Italian and almost started to speak in Italian with me instead of Spanish haha) 2. Really, really reasonable prices (our pizza, salad, jar of champagne sangria and dessert came to just under 30euro…yes I’m serious). So once again, JUST GO THERE!!!

(The address is C/ Sepulveda, 17   Barcelona 08015; phone is 935 19 67 50; the metro stop is Plaça d’Espanya (L3))

Well, the next morning we had to get up EARLY and get ourselves over to the airport. We got back to Malaga in less than 2 hours after leaving Barcelona…then had to wait there for the bus to Lucena. We got home to a very messy and foodless house BUT we were in luck because we were heading to Teresa’s for lunch! And man oh man; she made sure that Mike tried everything from Spain haha. We had a great time with them eating some delicious Spanish food and followed it with some homemade liquors. ALL good. After a few hours there I had to get back because I had a class that night. So we waddled our way home and that night we didn’t even need to eat dinner because of all the food we had eaten earlier. It was a very restful and relaxing evening…much needed because the rest of the week soon became busy.

The next day was Wednesday (it was a holiday weekend) so my work week was again really short- 2 days! That Thursday we ended up going out with the crew in Lucena and had some great tapas and fun company to share them with. The next day we were *supposed* to get up early to catch a 8am bus to Granada BUT one of my friends here offered to loan us his car! Yay! Spanish people seem to be so relaxed with their cars…It was super nice of him though and saved us and really early morning!

Obviously you know where we went to next- GRANADA! It’s lunch time here though and I have a class in 2 hours SO…I will have to tell you the rest later. 

What do you prefer: watching sealife or eating it???

walking through the tunnel of fish!

Per where we left off…Mike and I were heading to the Bioparc in Valencia, BUT, before we get into that I have to get back and tell you about Oceanografic! We walked there from our hotel and made our way in to Europe’s largest aquarium. It didn’t look super big when entering because most everything is underground. They have 7 different themes: Mediterranean, Wetlands (birds and fish), Temperate (seals, penguins), Oceans (sharks), Arctic (belugas, walruses), Islands (sea lions) and Tropical (fish), and we made sure we spent plenty of time in all of them. We saw some beautiful animals like Beluga whales, penguins, walruses, sea lions, tons of exotic fish and birds and last but not least- SHARKS, lots of them. That seemed to be Mike’s favorite part of the whole place were all the different sharks they had in the walk through aquarium tunnel. In all the whole place was amazing and very well set up. 

Us in the fish tunnel...

The outside part was very peaceful with many pond/small lake like bodies of water filled with fish and birds. The underground part had glass tunnels that you could walk through to see all the different sea life. There was even a cool little cave type part that you could crawl into and feel like you were part of the aquarium because when you look up you were surrounded by water. We had to fight our way in there because there were tons of kids just trying to swarm there way into there. We
got in there eventually though! Here's a glimpse of a few things we saw:

I just want to take a nap with them...

they were glow in the dark!

He looks like he's smiling!

I feel like I'm living in Nemo's world :)

The Beluga...TOO cute

After exploring the "underground" aquarium, we walked over to see a show...with DOLPHINS! The show was great and I got to be Mike's personal translator :) After watching the dolphins (and people) do tricks we worked our way back over to the Arctic part to see the walrus, Beluga and penguins. That was definitely my favorite part of the whole place, and we made sure to go through it twice. The animals were just TOO cute! 

So after a half a day later, we had gone through the whole Oceanographic. We grabbed a cute little penguin souvenir mug on the way out and headed out to move hotels. The hotel reservation we had that night was a hostel type place on the college campus. It was just old dorm rooms converted into hostel rooms and me and Mike just stayed in a double. It wasn't anything special but we didn't stay there too long anyways. That night, after our busy day of sealife sightseeing, we walked around a stopped at a small bar. I have to tell you though- this place was GREAT. Just a typical small Spanish bar with some AMAZING tapas. It was called Los Arevalo and it was right on Carrer de Marti Grajales, across from a day market. Really good food and really nice people- I definitely recommend!

Well the next day we headed to the Bioparc but I will have to get back to you all on that. I'm about to head out the door...

349 km later

This weekend is a holiday weekend all over Spain and Mike and I decided to enjoy by taking a trip to Valencia. We caught our plane to Barcelona, hopped over to the rental car company (Pepe car) and started to make our way down to Valencia. The drive wasn't too bad but trying to maneuver around a city you don't know WITHOUT a GPS can be quiet a challenge. The rental car place didn't have any GPSs but luckily we had my computer with mobile internet so we weren't completely lost...at least not at that moment.

After about 4 hrs of driving and a few stops along the way, we made it!

We made a quick stop in a small town just north of Tarragona

...where they do human stacking championships

then we stopped in Tarragona...

By the time we got to our hotel it was early evening so it became just a relaxing night of staying in and grabbing some dinner. I should mention that if you ever want to stay in Valencia check out the Valenciaflats rentals (http://www.valenciaflats.com/home) because they are REALLY nice and a great price. We booked them on booking.com but on their website would work just as well. That place was by far my favorite hotel here and they even have a really nice restaurant next door with AMAZING food. I'm ready to go back right now!

our view from the hotel

fried cheese with 2 different fruit sauces

potatoes covered with jamon and fried eggs

Our relaxing evening was much needed because the next day seemed to be a little crazier. We had another reservation at Acta Atarazanas. We had purchased a promo deal to stay there and get passes into the Bioparc (zoo) hence why we moved hotels. The place was really nice and was in an easy location to catch the metro (subway) into the city. Even though that day we didn't do any  big touristy things, I think finding our way around Valencia proved to be the most difficult task of the day. We spent over an hour just trying to find the hotel due to getting lost in the city with a mob of crazy drivers everywhere we went. For most crazy city of driving in Spain...I vote Valencia. Eventually we did find our hotel but by the time we did I was hesitant about being able to have time to do the rest of activities we had planned (going to the aquarium and wandering the city)...

the hotel (Acta Atarazanas)

Instead of racing through to get everything done, we just decided we would stay in Valencia an extra night. Smart idea! So we're missing out on one of our 2 nights in Peñíscola but we'll get there later today and enjoy the town a bit. Ok, well getting back to our day...

We checked out the hotel for a bit (they had a jacuzzi and bar on the roof!) and enjoyed the place before heading out for lunch. We just headed across the street for lunch, had some paella...I mean we're in Valencia, what else would we be eating??? (FYI Valencia is where paella "comes from")...then made our way into the city. First thing after getting off the metro, we were welcomed by a concert. nice. Just at the metro exit we had gotten off at they had a concert for kids (and some adults) singing famous songs from '71. The kids were cute but the woman we saw sing was incredible. Check her out:

Next we wandered around the city and found ourselves facing a few cool monuments. One of them (the cathedral I think) even had a procession heading inside. We just caught the tail end of it but stayed in the plaza area and snapped some great pics. By that time we were pretty hungry so we made our way around the town into a more to find a place we wanted to eat at. We stopped at a tapas bar and hung out there for a while, trying some very innovative tapa recipes like a croissant filled with sobrasada (meat) and topped by caramelized apples; bread topped with morcilla, bacon and a little lettuce; and bread topped with fried goat cheese...all of them were absolutely delicious. Since the metro stops running aroud 10:30, we had to make our way to the station in order to get home!

We got the the hotel and since it was still early we decided to check out the bar upstairs. We got up there but no one was around (I think they just use it during the summer) so we just hung out, played around and brought some of our own drinks up. It was such a nice view we couldn't miss out on enjoying it!

The next morning we had to get up early to go to...OCEANOGRAFIC- the BIGGEST aquarium in Europe!

Unfortunately I don't have time to tell you about it right now so you'll just have to wait. We're about to head over to the zoo to see more animals! This last day in Valencia should be great!