Despedida (Valencia, Spain)

Despedida is probably the most feared word by the international students in Valencia.  Despedida signifies "Goodbye" Party.  As this is the story of my Despedida, this also signifies that it will be the last blog from my life in Europe.  Very unfortunate, and feared, but it was still a great evening!

As this was the night after our crazy fiesta of San Juan, people were all a little tired, but managed to pull themselves together and come out for one last night with me!  My dear Frenchies were so kind to throw me a little dinner/predrink at their place, preparing a huge table full of tapas and wine.  Many of my friends, the ones left in Valencia, came by to have a few drinks with us before heading to the nightclub.

Around 2AM we headed to Umbracle, one of my favourite nightclubs in Valencia - it is part of the City of Arts and Sciences, gorgeous view, all outdoors.  There we met up with some more of my friends, and partied one last time until came time to leave.  4AM, Amelie, Flo and I took a cab back to my apartment to go change and grab my things.  4:45 the cab got there to take me to the airport - the girls also joined me all the way there.  Once I got to the airport I saw that a few of my friends had managed to get their butts to the airport to say bye one last time.  After the craziness of the airport and saying bye to my beloved friends, I headed through security and came home.

Spain was unreal, a once in a lifetime experience that I would do again any day!  I had a blast there, travelling, meeting new people, and now having friends all over the world - friends that are dearly missed!

Hope everyone enjoyed the blogs, it was sure an amazing time to visit all those places!

San Juan (Valencia, Spain)

This is the time of the year that everybody awaits for months, the biggest fiesta in Valencia: San Juan!  (known as Saint Jean in Quebec).  I remember it being quite the party in Quebec, but in Valencia, it is insane!

At around 6PM, people start arriving on the beach: bathing suits, drinks, chairs, fires, picnics, and lots of friends to party with!  The various groups get installed all over the beach, build fires (wood is supplied by the city), and start drinking with their friends.  People spend the entire night there, partying with everybody.  I left with my friends at 6:30AM and the beach was still full with people.

I don't know how it usually is, but this year, there were 200,000 people partying all night!  It is by far the most insane party I've ever attended, and the French and Quebec crew I was with definitely made it a little bit more insane!  Everybody going swimming in the middle of the night, running around the beach trying to find all there friends, definitely a must if you are there during that time!

A great party to celebrate the almost end to my year in Valencia!

Palma Mallorca (Spain)

Unfortunately this point had to come: after a year of visiting Europe this is my last trip of the year :(

My good friend Amelie and I decided to fly out to Palma Mallorca, a Spanish Island in the Mediterranean, and go visit our friend Reyes.  This was actually a great opportunity for the two of us, as not only did we get to visit a new place, but we got the chance to live with locals, and see that side of the island.
As we flew in, Reyes came to pick us up at the airport, and we headed straight downtown to go see the city, and enjoy a couple drinks on a terrace.  Afterwards, we headed to his parents' house, where we were staying for the night.  We then headed out to dinner, and drinks on the water side, in a little quiet restaurant away from the commotions.

The next day we headed out to the beach bright and early with our picnic and some of Reyes' friends.  Of course, having the locals, we headed to secluded beaches away from the bulk of the tourists.  They have amazing beaches!  It is crazy how blue the water is!!  After a day in the sun, we headed to our hotel - dinner - and then hit up the biggest nightclub on the island!  It was insane, you had to take elevators to get to the bar, which overlooks the whole port, beach, and the Mediterranean.

Next day, as it was our last day and we had to fly out that night, we decided to hit up the more touristy beaches so we wouldn't be too far.  After a day in the sun, with crazy parties all around us, we headed back to the terraces for a couple drinks before heading back to the airport.

Palma Mallorca is absolutely incredible!!!  I would go back anytime if I had the chance!  It is also a great spot for bachelor/bachelorette parties ;)  Amelie and I had an amazing time - I'm gonna miss our crazy adventures around the island!

El Saler (Spain)

Again, another beach!  El Saler is a very small place just outside of Valencia - when you stand on the beach there you can actually see the Valencia port just beside.  It is really easy to get there, it is about an 20 minute city bus ride to the main road, and about a 5 minute walk.  The beach is really pretty and private, the water really blue, the only thing is that the sand is not really soft.

After spending the day on the beach with my favourite French girls, we headed to a little restaurant just up the beach and enjoyed a bottle of wine.  Again, great relaxing day with the ladies!!

Gandia (Spain)

Being not too busy after exams, some of my international friends and I decided to go visit beaches around Valencia.  Gandia is a small town on the Mediterranean coast, about an hour train ride away.  Its actually a pretty quiet spot.  The beach is similar to Valencia's but there's a lot less people - which makes it so much nicer.  The water is ridiculously blue, and the sand is really nice.  So we just spent the whole day relaxing on the beach - enjoying the weather.  After a day in the sun, we decided to go sit on a patio for a little while and enjoy some cold drinks.

If you take a train to Gandia, be careful as to which train you take.  There are 2 stations: the city and the beach!  If you go to the city station, you will have to cab to and from the beach.  It's not really expensive, but it could save you time to go directly to the beach station.

Rome (Italy)

After almost a month of travelling, last Eurotour stop: Rome!  The place was scorching hot!  Having just 3 days to visit the place, we started right away.  Rome is just ridiculously packed with old structures, and different things to see.  If you go to Rome, the must-sees include: the Pantheon, the Roman Forum & Colosseum (you can buy a ticket that will get you access to both, also plan on being there at least half a day - its huge!), the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, and of course, the Vatican.

Of course the main thing to see at the Vatican is the St. Peter's Basilica - it's a pretty nice basilica to go visit, and it'll require at least a couple hours.  Afterwards, you can visit the Vatican Museums - they are ridiculously huge, and I personally found them a little too long.  There are sections more interesting than others, so if you're stuck on time - you may want to pick what you want to see.

When going to Rome, you also want to be careful as to where you eat and go out.  There are a lot of people trying to scam tourists - make sure you go to offices to buy tickets, or known agencies, even if it means paying a little extra.  Eating at restaurants can become a little more expensive than other places - they often add extra charges for seating down, cutlery, ....  however if you leave the really touristy places, you can easily avoid these charges.

Like almost every other place we've visited during our Eurotrip, Rome was a lot of walking around - in the burning sun!  After a month of traveling, mom & dad headed home, and I left to go back to Spain.

Valencia (Spain)

After a couple weeks of travelling, uncle Laurier and aunt Jeanne left us to return to Canada.  That same morning, me, mom, and dad headed down to Valencia, my home.  Clearly for me this was nothing too new, but mom and dad got the chance to roast a little bit under the sun.

Our first day there, we visited downtown, and went to a bullfighting show - not the most impressive thing in the world, and I don't particularly recommend it to anyone.  The next few days, mom and dad visited a bit of my city on their own as I had classes.  They got the chance to see the usual: the beach, the Turia, the City of Arts and Sciences, the downtown,... and of course, our great Spanish restaurants!

It was a quick one, but I'm sure mom and dad enjoyed visiting my new city!!

Montserrat (Spain)

Another day trip: Montserrat.  Montserrat is a huge chain of mountains about an hour train ride away from Barcelona.  It is actually a pretty cool place as you need to take RailRack trains and cable cars to access the Sanctuary.  When you get in the mountain, there is a small village with a basilica, stores, restaurants, and hotels, but it is pretty small... similar to a small resort.  What is so amazing about Montserrat is that it is a gigantic mountain with trails all over it leading to a bunch of different lookouts, chapels, hermitage sites,... The trails are located over 4,000 feet in the air.  It is crazy high, and you can overlook other mountains and villages at the foot of the mountain.  From the sanctuary, you can go up or down to reach the trails... you can either walk it or take funiculars to get to the top and then take the trails to hike.  It is a heck of a hike, you better bring your hiking shoes, they will be needed!!  Most trails take an hour to three to walk there and back.

We spent the whole day going from one trail to the other - Mom and matante Jeanne definitely didn't follow the whole time!  Some of the trails are very steep, rocky, narrow - you have to be super careful, some of them don't have too much protection so you don't fall.   Great day in the outdoors, but definitely exhausting!!

Definitely one of the best spots we visited during the trip!  It was just really cool and different!

Barcelona (Spain)

Third stop in Spain... Barcelona!  Definitely a beautiful place - I actually enjoyed it more than Madrid.  There is so much life in that huge city it is crazy!  Beautiful riverfront, beaches, millions of monuments, museums, shows, and touristy entertainment.  If you go to Barcelona, definitely map out what you want to see, because there are so many things, you won't be able to see them all!  We took a day tour bus pass in order to hit the attractions that were a little further in the city... cut a lot of walking and saved us a lot of time!

The main places you want to see in Barcelona are definitely: The Port, The old Olympic sites, La Casa Mila, Poble Espanyol de Montjuic, MNAC, Mountain Montjuic, The Magic Fountain of Montjuic, Las Ramblas, Casa Batllo, Park Guell, the Cathedral, and of course la Sagrada Familia!  There is so much Gaudi architecture, it is incredible and you'll never see anything like it!  The Poble Espanyol is a very sharp place to visit - they recreated the various regions of Spain within a little village.  La Casa Mila and Casa Batllo are really cool looking, but it is very expensive and the lines are really long... we personally didn't go in as we were told it is not really worth the time and money (unless you are a huge fan of Gaudi).   Las Ramblas is just a street packed with people, terraces, and little shops... It's a pretty cool place to be, but be careful as it is packed with tourists.  And finally the Sagrada Familia.  This basilique is incredible!!! There are actually no way to describe what we saw there as there is just too much.  The architecture in the front is different than the back, the inside is the complete opposite to the outside, the details are ridiculous... This is the unfinished masterpiece you want to go see in Barcelona.

During our stay, we also went to see a Flamenco show.  Even though Flamenco is a Southern Spain tradition, they offer shows in the major touristy areas.  They are not as traditional as in the South of Spain, but they are still pretty good.  - Flamenco is not something for everyone, but I think its pretty sharp and everyone should see it at least once.

We had beautiful stay in Barcelona - the weather was great!  But like every other major city we visited, we did a little day trip outside of town.  Next stop: Montserrat!

El Escorial (Spain)

After visiting Madrid for a couple days, we decided to make a little trip outside the city and go visit El Escorial.  El Escorial is a monastery about an hour outside of Madrid, in a small town, at the foot of the mountains.  To get there, you must take the train and hike up to the monastery - it's quite a hike, going all uphill for about 15-20 minutes.  The monastery is huge!  It's a pretty standard monastery for the most part, but has many cool features too - they have a whole section dedicated to how they designed and constructed the place.  But the best feature is by far the crypt...  from the floor to the ceiling, marble and gold!  It is absolutely gorgeous!!  Unfortunately, no pictures allowed inside the building.

The Monastery is so big that it takes pretty much the whole day if you want to visit the entire place.  They have huge gardens, a school, and a church within the place.  It was definitely worth the day trip out of the city!  After visiting, we walked around the village - there's not a whole lot to see, but its a very small, quiet, cute village.

Madrid (Spain)

After France and England - Next Stop... my home, Spain.  Our first stop was Madrid - unfortunately, we didn't get the greatest weather there, lots of rain and cold.

This round in Madrid was actually my 3rd time there, so I was starting the know the sites pretty well.  Its a really easy place to visit... a lot of walking, but not a lot of distance.  Not a whole lot to actually visit either - just things to see and walk by.  There are a million monuments, plazas, and gardens to visit.  Madrid has this huge garden called Retiro Park - it could take you the whole day to visit it.  There are many little hidden buildings in the park that are pretty cool to see.  We also did a cable car ride over the city and into the mountains not too far.  Madrid, like every other places, involved many terraces for drinks and afternoon breaks!

Unfortunate that we didn't get better weather, but the city is still a nice place to visit and many things to see.

Brighton (England)

Sorry about the delay on the blogging, the last couple months in Spain were a little crazy with exams, school, and everybody leaving.

Due to the fact that the Royal Wedding was taking place during our stay in London, we decided that it would probably be a good idea if we left the city and visited something else - so we decided to visit Brighton.  Brighton is a small city in the South of England, on the waterside.

Brighton was really nice and quiet.  We spent the day walking the waterfront - the beaches there are rocky, not sandy.  They also have 2 huge piers, which both burnt a couple years ago - one being completely re-built, with a theme park on it.  At the time of the Royal Wedding, we went and sat in on of the pubs on the pier and watched it like the rest of the world.

Brighton is not a huge place to visit, but it was nice, cozy, relaxing, and very pretty.