I can't believe it's already time to leave Barcelona...and there's still so much to share with you...
Our ramblings through the bustling neighborhoods, the many amazing restaurants we had the pleasure of eating at (can I recommend The Hoffman to you? AMAZING!!!), the colorful characters, eclectic shops, and have I already mentioned that Spainiards LOVE their chocolate? They even have a museum dedicated to it...
But to write about every little thing in Barcelona would require so many posts, and as everyone has lives, and needs to do more than read epic blog posts, I guess it's time to leave artistic, original, and beautiful Barcelona for the much more urban and cosmopolitan capital of Spain, Madrid...
We had to leave VERY early in the morning, so since we were up. Jason and I jogged down the pier to take pictures of the sun rising over the Mediterranean...
With the boats and endless blue ocean...it was truly stunning...
From all shades of pink to fiery oranges, the sun rise took us on a kaleidoscopic journey through the passionate colors of Barcelona.
Then it was on to a part of the trip that I had been excited about for weeks...truly one of the things I had been anticipating most...a ride on the AVE high speed train from Barcelona to Madrid...
I know it's a little nerdy...but I couldn't wait to ride a bullet train...to watch the scenery speed by at 300kmh...to make an 7-8 hour car ride turn into a 3-and-a-half hour train ride (and only that long because we called at all stops...without stopping, it would've taken only 2-and-a-half-hours...but I'm glad we stopped, because I loved seeing all the charming little villages).
The trains were sleek and modern...and best of all, we got to sit in the Club Car, where we were waited on hand and foot by servers, and had great seats by gigantic windows.
I am VERY excited...
I am also VERY tired...we hadn't slept more than 4 hours a night since we got there (except that unfortunate night that the hotel lost power and our alarm didn't go off and we woke up 3 hours late)...
See...in Spain, they eat VERY late...lunch is between 2-4, and then dinner doesn't start until 9pm, at the EARLIEST. And then, the first hour is all cocktails and socializing, with the first course being served sometime around 10-10:30pm. So we weren't returning to the hotel until AT LEAST midnight...and we'd always promise ourselves that we were going to go STRAIGHT to bed...but it never failed that we'd meet friends and they'd want to go out and we'd always say: "SURE!!!"...so we were dragging our butts into bed at 2 or 3 in the morning, only to hop up at 7...just a few hours later.
Almost everyone was in the same predicament as I was...and the minute the got on the train, they reclined their seats and went to sleep...including my husband...
But I had been looking forward to this so much that I didn't sleep at all...instead staying glued to the window as a beautiful pastoral Spain whizzed on by...
Hundreds of miles of orchards, vineyards, and quaint and crumbling villages, all with ramshackle gardens that exploded with color and vegetation...little people pulling carts or leading horses...women and girls wrapped in shawls, little boys playing games...no cares for the ancient medieval walls that deteriorated around the fields...probably once marking various lands of noble families...
Hardly a paved road in site...
I managed to stay awake the whole time, soaking it all in, reveling in the experience of being able to ride a high speed train in Spain. And all the while, marvelling at the science and technology allowing us to speed that fast over ground...
We arrived in Madrid, and without barely a breathe began the second part of our adventure. Like Barcelona, Madrid was a whirlwind "how-much-can-we-do-in-one-day" adventure...so I was grateful for the blissful hours I got to spend in a quiet sleepy Club Car, enjoying the provincial and rustic beauty of Espana...
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