The North

So last week I faced my fears and hired a car. I was even more scared of driving a car on the right (wrong) side of the road than I was driving a scooter in Thailand! I needn't have worried though, as after 5 minutes or so the brain quickly adapts. It was so good to have the freedom to go wherever I liked without relying on trains and lugging baggage around. The little fiat 500 I got was perfect for me, and I only wished I'd done it sooner!

I spent 10 days travelling around different spots. You definitely need a car for this as many places aren't easily accessible by public transport. Everyone told me that the north was beautiful and completely different from the rest of Spain, and they're right. It's often compared to Scotland in that there's lots of green hills, it rains a lot and they speak a language that most other people can't understand!  I absolutely loved it! The scenery is incredible, the food is out of this world, and the people are great.

My first stop was Logroño in La Rioja. Needless to say the only reason I went here was for the wine! Although there are many wineries, I ended up doing a tour of one called Bodegas Franco Españoles which is in the town of Logrono itself. All of the other ones require at least a 20 minute drive by car, which clearly defeats the whole purpose as you can't have much to drink! I imagine the tour itself was much the same anywhere given the process doesn't change. And I ended up trying many different types of Rioja in the bars that evening, so it didn't really matter in the end. The next day I made a quick pit stop in Pamplona, but there's not really much going on there other than the bull run in July!

San Sebastian was my second stop, and it's where I had some of the best food. It's also one of the most beautiful towns I've been to, with the beach running along its length and enclosed by hills on both sides. It's like something on a postcard. The day I arrived the sky was grey and it was pissing down. But even then the place is beautiful! The place doesn't feel at all Spanish, it's more French. Not altogether surprising given the proximity to the border. It did, however, mean that I encountered more French people than I would have liked. The sun was shining in my second day when I went to the beach and climbed Mount urgull for views of the city. The picture says it all. So beautiful.

The food here deserves a mention. Instead of tapas, the bars here are lined with pinxtos (pinchos). Most of the time these are served on little bits of bread, and could be something as simple as goats cheese or Iberian ham. Others are small plates of hot food such as pork cheek, or grilled steak. I have to say it's some of the best food I've eaten since I've been here. The only problem is ordering the stuff! In some bars you have to ask for a plate and you help yourself to the bar pinxtos. Often you have to order the hot stuff from blackboards behind the bar. Of course, nobody really tells you any of this. Also, being polite here gets you nowhere fast. You can't stand at the bar and just wait to be served. First of all, even getting into the bar is a challenge give everywhere is heaving! Once you battle your way through,  you need to command the attention of the bar staff by signalling or shouting. This does not come easy to us Brits! It's a bit daunting at first, but it's amazing how ruthless you can be when you're hungry. My favourite places for anyone thinking of going - la Cuchara de San Telmo, Txuleta, Zerruko.

San Sebastian is also where I went on a date with Ivo the porn director. Well, it wouldn't be a proper trip without a tinder date would it? Some of my friends were a bit shocked when I told them, but you should never judge a book by its cover, and I was very curious about the industry! He was actually a lovely guy, very intelligent and well travelled, and very successful with his business. He also mentioned I could make £500+ per session. Something to think about if I struggle to find employment on my return to Scotland...

The next stop was Bilbao. I only booked one night here because I didn't think there would be much to see or do. I was glad I did, as even though I liked the city more than I thought I would (it's very pretty) there's not much to do. Especially since I was here on a Monday when the Guggenheim museum was closed (not that I would have gone in anyway since I have zero appreciation for art). I took the funicular to the top of the mountain for some really nice views of the town, before heading to Bar Irrintzi for some pinxtos. I actually ended up going back here for dinner as it was that bloody good! They had this amazing pork knuckle dish and a skewer of pork with mustard mayonnaise. I'm still salivating at the thought! 

The next morning I drove to Santander, where it did nothing but rain. I thought that was maybe the reason why I didn't really like the city, but even when the sun came out for an hour or so that afternoon, I was still a bit underwhelmed. I maybe shouldn't be so harsh on the place as I'm told that a huge fire raged through the old town in 1941, which is why there's not as many historical sights here. It just lacks any sort of charm in my opinion, although there's no denying the coastline is beautiful.  Given the whole point of my stop there was to enjoy the beach it was very disappointing. I actually ended up cutting my trip short by one night and driving to a small town 30 mins from here. I'm told I arrived the worst possible week as the week before and the week after was glorious sunshine. Typical. From Santander I booked a last minute hostel in a small town called Santillana del Mar. Its listed on many websites as a must see town in Spain, and because of this, it is SUPER touristy. It's still beautiful though. It was nice to chill out i a small little town as opposed to a big city for a change. 

At 8am I set off for the Picos de Europa mountain range. I did the Ruta de Cares which is a 24km walk. I can't really describe just how amazing it was, and the photos really don't do it justice. I had great weather for it too as the sun was shining all day. The only issue is, it's not like being on a Scottish mountain where you can nip in the nearest bush for a pee. The whole route is along a very small path in a gorge, so you have the rocks to one side and a sheer drop in the other. Very few places along the way, such as little recesses in the mountain, where you can drop your kegs and relieve yourself! Especially when you're own your tod and don't have anyone to keep a look out for other tourists!

Next stop was Oviedo in Asturias. This was a beautiful little town, full of charm and lovely people! The famous drink here is Cider. They drink bucketloads of the stuff. As you can see from the photo, there is a special knack to pouring it i.e. from a great heigh without looking. This is so it gets a proper airing apparently. Each time they pour only a mouthful and you're supposed to shot it. I'm not a cider fan normally, and I didn't particularly like it. The next night I found this great little bar called Casa Pachu. When I went to order my glass of wine at the bar this old guy started chatting to me and invited me to sit down. Eventually I realised that he was the owner, although I swear he's santa claus. He was standing there helping himself to glass after glass of wine, which is exactly what I'd be doing if I owned my own bar too. He was one of the friendliest people I met, as was his friend who was also sat at the bar. I chatted away to them all night, and it turns out his friend is a very keen mountaineer. I've been invited to return to Oviedo to go hill walking and it's something I will definitely think about doing. Some of the photos he showed me of the mountains were incredible, and very similar to the ones I showed him in Scotland.

From Oviedo I took a trip 20 mins further north to visit Gijon. I didn't love it as much as Oviedo, but it has a nice coastline with a couple of decent beaches. I'm glad I didn't decide to spent the evening there. Instead I decided to travel South to Leon and stay overnight. Leon was probably the biggest surprise for me of the trip as I loved it. Its not a place anyone has really mentioned to me before or suggested I visit, and I can't understand why, because its beautiful. The food here is also fab, and the same tapas culture as Granada where you get a free tapa with every drink. The night I spent here i think I went to about 7 different bars and had croquettes, fried potatoes with spicy mince, nachos with guacamole, sopa de ajo (garlic soup), ham and cheese, to name a few. I know, I'm a fat bastard!

The next day it was time to head back to Madrid. To break up the journey I stopped in Valladolid for a couple of hours. Again it's a city that people don't have too much to say about, but I thought it was really pretty, and the award winning tapas bar i went to (Taperia Jero) had some of the tastiest pinchos I've had on my stay here. All in all it's been a fabulous 10 days, but I'm glad to be back in Madrid. It feels like I've spent so much time travelling and seeing the country than I have actually living in Madrid! Which is why I've decided to stay here until the end of the year. I'm sure most of you won't be surprised to hear that. But I don't think 3 months is really enough time here, especially since I've only now just established myself with students and friends. Whats another 3 months after all! The next two weeks will be spent enjoying myself with friends and looking for a new apartment to move into when I return in late September. I have to go back to Scotland first for a two week holiday to Florida with the family. I know, I'd hate me too if I were you!

Jerez & Cadiz

So the blog has taken a bit of a back seat since I've been/continue to be on my holidays. Yes I know, arguably being in Madrid is one long holiday anyway, but what I mean is that I've been doing a lot of travelling.

Last week I visited Jerez, which is famous for being where sherry is produced. I only booked to stay there for the evening as, other than drinking lots of wine, there's not much else to see or do. I arrived at 5pm and checked into my hotel where I made the mistake of mentioning salsa to the hotel owner. Before I know it he's through the back putting on a salsa tune and grabbing me for a dance in the foyer. Wouldn't have minded so much were it not for the fact he was Colombian and a bit creepy.

I had a sherry tour and tasting booked at 6. It  was interesting to hear about the process, but they kept us waiting over an hour until we got to try anything so I was getting pretty impatient towards the end. I tried 4 different sherry wines, which were all perfectly pleasant and easy enough to drink, but I was happier when I hit the bars and got on the red wine. Sherry is too sweet for me! I went to a recommended bar called Tabanco el Pasaje where they have traditional flamenco every night. Nice to see some local tradition, but it's just a lot of stomping and clapping.

When I returned to my hotel, rather merry I'll be honest, I was greeted by my Colombian friend who insisted I join him in the back for more sherry. It would've been impolite to refuse so I had another couple of drinks and salsa dances, before starting to feel uncomfortable with he direction of chat. I think he was trying his luck, and even asked if I wanted to see his room! This was after he screened a call from someone called 'mi amor' (my love). I made my excuses and hot footed it to bed! 

The next day I took the train further south to Cadiz. It's a really nice place, with a labyrinth of little streets in which you could easily get lost. I spent the first day exploring the city and enjoying some nice food. In the evening I went to a very traditional bar called Taberna Casa Manteca. I waited an age to get served at the bar and when the barman went to serve the man beside me, the man kindly pointed to me first. It was at that point that I knew he was British, and we got to chatting. We ended up drinking the night away together. He was a really nice guy, 44 year old entrepreneur from Essex. We shared lots of our problems, and he gave me his business card should i ever need help when I decide what I want to do as a career. Wonder if he has a contact for professional skiver.

Paella for 1 in Valencia

In my quest to travel around most of Spain in three months, Valencia was next on my hit list. I haven't exactly heard great things about the city from people who I've met in Madrid, but I've learnt not to put much weight behind the opinions of the Spanish when it comes to the best places to visit in the country, as they are all extremely bias towards their own birthplace!

However, there's nothing I love more than exploring new places and Valencia was no exception. Admittedly it's not my favourite city in Spain, but it still has the typical Spanish charm with the picturesque little squares and the big gothic Cathedral. It's also only a 2 hour train ride from Madrid, and is one of the closes cities that has a beach.

I arrived in the afternoon and after checking into my hotel went out to explore the city. This started with a long and laborious climb up to the top of the bell tower of the Cathedral for views over the city. If i'd known that those bells were going to wake me up at 9am each morning and ring incessantly for 35 minutes then I would have cut them loose there and then. For lunch I had some nice tapas at Las Cuevas before carrying on my tour of the city. I have to be honest, there's not really a hell of a lot to do or see in the city, which forced me to spend much of the afternoon drinking beer. What you gonna do?! That evening I took the metro out towards the coast where I had read about a popular tapas bar called Casa Montana. By the time I got there at 9 it was already heaving (fairly early by Spanish standards). I found a seat at the bar and ordered a really nice glass of Rioja (I've subsequently sent the details off to my dad who has already ordered some bottles off of the internet. I'm hoping that'll make my transition back to Scotland more bearable). To eat I ordered their famous stewed broad beans, which were extremely tasty, as well as tuna stuffed pepper and cod croquette.

The next day was spent at the beach. Although its aesthetically a nicer beach than Malaga, I found the water to be quite dirty and the one and only time I went in for a dip I found that I came out covered in debris. It was also very windy, unlike Malaga where there was no breeze. Don't get me wrong, I was grateful for this given how hot it was, but it meant that I couldn't use my parasol as the sand was far too fine to withold the force of the wind. Third world problems. For lunch I went to one of the many restaurants that lined the promenade. As Valencia is famous for paella, I figured it was something I had to try. Easier said that done since most restaurants prepare paella for a minimum of 2 people. Not much use when you're a sad and lonely singleton like me. Eventually I found somewhere prepared to make it for little old me. Usually I find paella to be quite bland, but it was actually rather nice. The traditional way of making it here is with chicken and rabbit, so it had more flavour.

That evening I had a couple of drinks in my favourite bar, La Estrecha, before going to Sagardi for a tapas dinner. This place is very popular in Valencia and is always packed. The bar is lined with all sorts of different tapas served on bread. The idea is that you just go up with your place and take as many as you like. They also come out with hot tapas, such as croquettes, chorizo etc. At the end of the meal, they tally up how many cocktail sticks are on your plate and give you the final bill (each tapa is 2 euros). I'm not quite sure what's to stop people from throwing away cocktail sticks so they pay less. However, I'm not a stingy bastard, just a fat one, and therefore the only reason I would have to throw mine away is so that I wouldn't be judged on the quantity I managed to eat!

I returned to Madrid on the Thursday and on the Friday decided to take a day trip to Alcala de Henares, which is only 35 minutes on the train. Its pretty small, and there's not much to see or do, but it's a pretty city to walk around. As the birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes, there are homages to Don Quijote all over the place, such as statues and plaques. My favourite place was the Convento de las Clarisas de San Diego, which is where the nuns sell homemade candied almonds. You have to order and pay for the almonds through a revolving wooden door, as you are not allowed to see the nuns. I can't imagine a life where no contact with the outside world is permitted. I may still be single, but I"m not yet ready to commit to a nunnery, even if it meant a lifetime of delicious candied almonds!