Heidelberg, Germany

Went for a day trip to Heidelberg yesterday. Drove on the otobon not sure of the spelling but it´s the highway where there´s places with no speed limits. Heidleberg was awesome! there was a pharmacy museum which was basically an old herbal dispensary which i´ve learned about at college so it was amazing for me to see. there was a castle and some amazing vegan friendly sweet shops i was well fed :) A fireworks show too!

BARCELONA!

So September 4th has to be one of the best days of my life. I took a train from Madrid to Barcelona. I got to watch the sun rise which i kind of forgot was an actual activity since it´s usually well high in the sky when i wake up. It was really beautiful. Watching the Spanish country side with the sun slowly painting the sky different shades of warm hues. When I got to Barcelona I found the train station that i was to be leaving out of later that day but there was no luggage lockers so i went to the north bus station to find a place for my pack. I then went to The city hall where there is a bike meet every morning (barcelonabiking.com) I was the only one to show up for that day so i got my own private bike tour. About 3 and a half hours it was some great information. There was a whole building that they moved stone by stone which took 50years just to make way for a main street. It´s really neat to see buildings older then the county i live in. I took a dip in the ocean. I swerved through heavy traffic (on bike) following my safety first guide and remembered why i had my travel insurance with me at all times. It was a bit of a white knuckle ride but I really recommend it. It really helped me see the city and find places easily later. After the bike ride I went to the BioCenter an awesome Vegan-friendly restaurant. I got Gazpacho, salad, main dish of the day, cerveza and a dessert all for under 12€. Then it was a walk along the Ramblas (which means dried river, which long long ago it used to be but now it´s one of the most popular places in Barcelona for a walk) to the famous house of Antoni Gaudi which was amazing and breath taking. I went to courting Ingles (it´s a huge chain of supermarket in Spain with everything. Like a classy wal-mart with more then 7 floors, it has everything) for some vegan mint chocolate before heading to the chocolate museum which was closed so i went to the park of Barcelona instead. Afterwards I went to the train station and met 3 great women to practice my french which is a lot better then I thought it was. Great train trip and best day :)

Madrid Casa

My Tio and tia in Madrid were great with my being Vegan. The made a few totally vegan meals for the whole family which made me feel so great. Knowing that my decision was making waves right in front of me :) I have two cousins with the coolest play room ever. They have a fully functioning disco light show complete with disco ball and lasers. It´s also filled with a bunch of cool toys and close by two white rabbits. I was in awe. I spent most of my time just hanging out with my two cousins making puzzles, playing some classic games like pick up sticks and memory. Watched some Spanish tv. Went to the pool but it was pretty cold. only went into town that once to get almond candy (which i still have a bag full) and train tickets.

Granada to Madrid

There was some delay on my trip back to Madrid from Granada. I went to the train station for my ticket and they told me the seats were full and if i wanted I could get a 1st class ticket for 50€ So i opted for the bus instead for 16€ The bus didn´t leave until a bit later so i got a luggage locker and walked around Granada. Really close by I found a park. It had such a neat jungle gym! I have photos because it´s different from any that i´ve seen. so photos to come :)

Granada last day, Aug 30th

So on my last day in Granada there happened to be a huge bike event. The street my cousin lives on was closed off. There were a ton of extra trucks and the city was just packed. Since it was so crowded we went off to the gym. There was a Sauna and a Vapour room. The Vapour room was so cool if anyone knows of one in Toronto please let me know. Then it was laps in the pool with a great view ;) Fany and I could not stop making jokes about cute guys :P then it was the best Jacuzzi i´ve ever tried. There were all different stations of jets one was as high as a shower head with supper strong pressure but since it was water it actually feels like someones giving you a massage. Great for shoulders and back. Then to another hotter typical jacuzzi. After that we went outside to eat and take in some sun. We were both so relaxed it was the perfect ending to my time in Granada.

Bus to Granada

So I realize that I´m backtracking a bit but the funniest thing about the bus ride from Almunecar to Granada was when we were driving along a very narrow windy road up in the mountains. Very high up looking way down at the drop i was thinking, that´s nice that they finally put up a little ramp here, even if it does only reach the wheels of the bus. I then reasured myself that if there were more accidents the rail would surely be higher. Then I remembered signs I saw in Madrid. In Toronto you can see more police in higher crime areas. Where as in Madrid there are just some signs saying ´by the way, there´s tonnes of theives in this area so watch your stuff.´ Then as I was watching the last of the sea sceanery I saw a truck bigger then the bus laying on it´s side :P

Almond Candy

So i was going to write about Granada but that can wait. I just found these amazing candy coated almonds which i have to say was my salvation after finding out my train ticket was 72€ more then I expected. Ouch.

So... Granada...
Last day there went to the gym that Fany goes to. Amazing. Best Jacuzzi ever. I want one.

I´m in Madrid now, it´s cooler which is nice. I didn´t have a siesta today so i´m a bit tired. Hopefully i´ll find some time to write more soon. All is well, love Sam