After a few flights from Kenya, I arrived in Spain...
...tired enough after 24 hours of travel and nearly 3 sleepless nights to get in bed (after I managed to figure out the trains to my hostel) at 5 pm and sleep for 15 solid hours. Whoever said solo traveling was like a vacation has probably never solo traveled. This stuff is hard!!
But, totally worth it. After waking up I went to explore. Madrid honestly blew my mind.
Beautiful buildings, so much history, creative graffiti covering walls and closed shop doors, cafes, plazas, parks, fantastic food, fantastic people...it has it all.
Mid afternoon I met up with a local through couchsurfing. CS is fantastic because it connected you with locals who know the area or want to explore with you.
We spent the day checking out the sights, churches, shops, and the fanciest palace I've ever seen.
So much delicate artwork covered the walls and exquisit chandaleirs hung from the royal ceilings.
Later we connected with another local and they took me to a traditional restaruant and we ate strange but delicious food - chaquitas which are kinda like fried cheesy things with ham and no cheese. Dont ask whats in them. Looked and tasted like cheese but they insisted it was a bread batter goo. Either way, they were delcious.
We also ate tortillas which arent tortillas at all but rather a potato and egg omelet, and morcillos; blood sausage. Strange but good.
The next day I got on a bus to a nearby town, Toledo.
Toledo is cool, cobblestone, narrow streets and a strong midevil history.
I tagged along for the history tour, got some ice cream, wandered around...
...and started feeling completely overwhelmed by all the people and tourists.
So, back in Madrid, needing to move, I booked a bus to Barcelona. Unfortunetly, I sat by a very smelly man who insisted on having the shades closed to block the beautiful view. Luckily he got off halfway and I was free to enjoy the scenery.
Barcelona, well. It's still a city. A city full of Europeans. People so caught up in their own lives and the norm of social uninvolvement that I started getting angry at the unfriendliness.
So after an evening and morning of wandering around by myself, enjoying coffee and the beach and architecture and then a long skype call with people who love me, I jumped on a plane to Milan, Italy. No use staying put in places I dislike when theres so much world to explore!
Italy is beautiful. Moutains and fields and beautiful people speaking a beautiful language with beautiful buildings.
And, as expected, my love for a place is mostly based on the people I meet and experiences shared, so after two days in Milan I met up with two locals from couchsurfing, saw some awesome sights, and went salsa dancing at the ritzyest club. Yes, love Italy.
And now, I'm on a train through the country north, to stay for a few weeks.
Its pouring rain, but my heart is content to be traveling, and it's beautiful. So many experiences, and this beautiful life is mine.
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