With the help of Payless Car Rental, I was able to travel to Spain with the Florida International University’;s Honor College Program. I am so grateful and glad that Payless was able to assist me in my fund raising endeavors; it was truly a trip to remember!
We started our trip in Madrid, the capital city of Spain and stayed in a small hotel, only steps away from Plaza del Sol. This area was a perfect place to stay, as it was also within walking distance of the Royal Palace, the Metro and many other monuments of interest. There is so much to see in Madrid, that I feel we only scratched the surface in our 2½ weeks there.
Not only does Madrid have plenty to see, it is also ideally located. We stayed in Madrid, but were able to visit several other important cities like Toledo, Avila, and Segovia. Each of these cities has its own unique cultural “flavor” with their own amazing cuisine!
From Madrid we headed over to Barcelona in the Catalonian region. It was quite interesting to learn that although the main language in Spain is Spanish there are several regional languages such as Catalan, Vasque and Galician (each one stemming from the Latin language and each one unique).
Barcelona was a refreshing respite, since I was able to speak English far more easily than in other parts of the country. I was also able to jump into the Mediterranean Sea! Of course, I will be much more careful with my suntan lotion in the future… I apparently missed a few spots and had a painful, yet entertaining splotchy burn. Well… more entertaining for my friends than for me at least!
Our final destination was Santiago in the Galician region, and is one of my favorite cities that we traveled to. The food, especially the seafood, was amazing and I’;m glad we only stayed a few days or I would have gained 10 pounds! The people of this city were the nicest and most accommodating of the places I visited in Spain.
Needless to say, the trip was one of the best that I have had in a long time. I will miss Spain, but as with every trip am glad to be back home and getting back into a regular routine. Now time to start planning my next big adventure… maybe South America!
Wanna come?