Off to Spain Loz and I flew, with 1 day in Barcelona and 3 days in Sevilla. There we met up with 3 more aussie travelers; Tamara, Larissa and Sinead! As we took wayyyy too many photos, I will let them tell most of the story.
Warning: there are a ridiculous amount of photos in this blog.
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| 3 more Aussies (and a selfie stick) in the mix... |
We blitzed Barcelona, visiting all of the places we wanted to in just under 4 hours before relaxing at a bar for the rest of the afternoon.
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| A touch of Gaudi to get the party started |
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| Nailed it |
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| Paella and Sangria |
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| Beers on the Guadalquivir river, Sevilla |
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| The lane ways of Sevilla |
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| Sar joins the action |
One night we went to a local Flamenco show, where we certainly enjoyed the sangria and crowd heckling (at each other), but were a bit miffed when the infamous red lady never turned up!!!
We did make friends with a salsa-dancing Venezuelan that night though, so all hope was not lost. With Francisco, we all went along to a little bar with standing room only and danced the night away to J-Lo.
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Francisco and Sar having a great time....
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When it came to closing time, the owner shut the doors and windows and continued service until the wee hours.
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| ....wandering the alleyways of Seville, trying to find the elusive red flamenco woman... |
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| We never found her! |
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| ....Sar did though... |
What an amazing 5 days with a great group of girls, we had an absolute ball and found ourselves in tears with laughter most days. It certainly was the icing on the cake for my 30th birthday week - with more to come if you can believe it!
Loz and I said our goodbyes to the girls as they continued their European adventure and off we scooted to Gran Canaria.
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| Introducing Loz to my BFF in Gran Canaria |
I had the opportunity to show Loz around our home and the weather was perfect. It was brilliant! We went to the beach, drank cava and gin, went to the mountains (where we learnt it is important to work out how to engage reverse BEFORE you leave the car rental place) and just hung out which was superb!
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| Las Palmas turns it on for Summer! |
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| G'day mate! |
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| Driving around the mountains of Gran Canaria #handbreakstart |
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| Gin and rosemary at the rooftop bar, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria |
We even "ducked" over to Tenerife on the ferry to check out Gran Canaria's toughest competition. And I have to say, I was VERY impressed with this island.
We hired a car and checked out the markets in the capital before heading to the mountains down south and the towering Teide Volcano (the highest mountain in Spain).
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| Things got a bit cheeky in Tenerife... |
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| Breakfast at our hotel in Tenerife |
Down South, we took a spectacular star gazing tour; we sipped cava whilst watching the sunset behind Teide volcano and then had the chance to watch the stars and learn about the Northern Hemisphere constellations.
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| Teide and its "moonscape" surrounds |
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| Sunset, stars, BFF and Cava - perfect combo |
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| Teide |
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| Observatories on Tenerife |
We hiked up Teide to check out the stunning views from above, it was a great little walk, even though we did cut it a bit fine and almost missed the last cable car back down to the car.
We were helping an older German couple who were trailing behind us (that's our excuse and we're sticking to it). The lady hadn't eaten anything other than an egg all day and wouldn't accept any water or food from us - she was not in a good way.
We all made it to the cable car in time. Well, just in time for us to remember how we hate enclosed spaces - especially on a 35 degree day stuck in a glass box with 25 other sweaty tourists.
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| Still fresh faced and eager |
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| ....Still having an absolute ball.... |
We weren't able to reach the top as we needed a permit to go any further, but we made it to 3555masl and were very happy with ourselves!
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| Made it to 3555masl |
And thus concluded my prolonged 30th birthday celebrations. It was lovely to get an injection of love all the way from home, to see a bit more of Europe with Brad and friends and to show Loz around our new home. This is one birthday I will never, ever forget - that is for sure.
Thanks to Brad and everyone who made it so much fun!!!
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