Semana Santa is the week leading up to Easter Sunday, and is the equivalent of spring break in the US. Although schools and offices only have off Thursday and Friday, the BU program gave us the entire week off, leaving 10 days to hit the Canary Islands, Costa Brava, & Barcelona. Traveling within Spain for spring break, I have stuck to my original goal of getting to know the country and its many regions. Spain’s immense diversity has made my travels especially interesting.
Tenerife:
Tenerife is part of the Canary Islands, which are located near the equator and Africa and are a popular tourist destination for Spaniards. Few Americans make it to the Canary Islands, and one excursion we did asked us to please promote them to our American friends on facebook. The part of the island we stayed on was rather Honky Tonk, but perfect for a group of college students looking to relax and sunbathe on a budget. We couldn’t believe how inexpensive things were. We went to the same restaurant almost every day and got delicious chicken sandwiches for 2 euro, a sharp contrast from Madrid prices. We stayed in 3 apartments all next to each other, each with a balcony overlooking the pool and beach. We took turns cooking every night. Each apartment was in charge of 2 nights. We did chicken tika masala, a couscous and garbanzo Mediterranean dish, and best of all: Mexican night! It was fun to have dinner all together, since we usually eat apart in our respective host families. We found ourselves eating at 10pm by choice because we have become so accustomed to it. Also in true Spanish form, we would sit around and talk long after we finished eating, always with plenty of wine.
The weather was warm, and it did not rain once despite the discouraging weather forecast. We spent 3 days relaxing at the beach and pool and did excursions 2 days. We went on a catamaran one day after being offered a last minute price of 20 euro for a 5-hr boat ride with lunch and unlimited beer and sangria. We met 3 Venezuelan girls who study in London on the boat and together turned the sailboat into a party boat.
There were 2 trampoline-like areas in front where you could sit and bounce. It was such a rush because every time we hit a wave, the water would splash up under the rope.
The water was rough, which was fun at first, but later made Lauren and I seasick. We also didn’t anticipate how cold it gets on the water with the wind. Another day we hiked to the top of a volcano. We got a great view of the Atlantic Ocean and the island. Toward the top we were hiking in a rain cloud and couldn’t see the view anymore because of all of the condensation. Going down we had to be very careful since the rocks were slippery.
We had a taxi van take us to the start of the hike and pick us up at the end. Per usual, we made a scene and upheld the stereotype of Americans being loud. We discovered that the driver’s ringtone was “Ai se eu te pego,” a popular song in Europe now and a favorite of ours. We kept calling him so that we could listen to his rung tone and sing along. The guy thought we were weird. I have never laughed as much as I did in Tenerife. We all worked really well together and endlessly joked around and pointed out each other’s mannerisms. We coined so many great sayings and phrases (each with a story behind it) including “never heard of it,” “don’t fight it,” “I was affected,” and “I’d be scared” to name a few. We also took lots of videos that Fiona is compiling into a compilation called “The Real World: Semana Santa”.
Costa Brava:
Getting to Fiona’s apartment in Lla Franc was not simple. We flew into Barcelona and then had to take a car service (see pic below) because it was too late at night to get a bus. It’s a long story, but Fiona’s flights got messed up, so she couldn’t get to her apartment until the next morning. We got hopelessly lost without her there. It was unreal trying to translate Fiona’s vague memories from the last time she was at the apartment 4 years ago to our driver who only spoke Spanish. In addition, a friend from our program was meeting up with us in the Costa Brava and hitch hiked with a strange Moroccan since there were no cabs. Needless to say, getting there was stressful, but arriving was blissful. Fiona’s family’s apartment was beautiful and obviously so much nicer than any hostel we would have chosen if we didn’t have accommodations provided. It’s modern, has plenty of beds, and a porch overlooking the beach and the Mediterranean Sea.
Lla Franc is a small, quaint, friendly, family-oriented town. It’s classy with chic restaurants along the water and is the vacation destination for people from Barcelona especially. Lla Franc is to Barcelona as the Hamptons is to Manhattan.
It is 5 minutes away by car from a larger town called Palafruguell. We spent 2 full says there relaxing on the beach, walking to a look out point of the coast at a lighthouse, and once again cooking incredible meals and enjoying each other’s company.
In Fiona’s apartment we were able to cook all together since the kitchen was much larger than in Tenerife. We also had a lot more supplies there like cutting boards, an oven, and a dishwasher. Dimitri made his famous stir fry one night, and the other night Emily and Ana made pasta with tomatoes and fresh rosemary that they picked from someone’s garden and a beautiful cake with lavender for Dimitri’s 21st birthday. It was Passover while we were there, so Lauren and I made charoset for everyone to try. We ate it on bread though since there was no matzah in the tiny supermarket there.
One night we went to a couple of bars in the little town, just down a stone staircase of 162 steps below the apartment. We ended up at the bar at the Lla Franc Hotel with some of the classiest, coolest adults I’ve ever seen. I hope that I am as cool as they are when I’m older. They were dressed so trendy and were dancing the night away at 2 AM. The staff at the bar was wild and encouraged us to get up on the bar to dance.
Instead of being annoyed that we were in their way while trying to make and serve drinks, they were wiping down the bar around our feet. One especially flamboyant bartender was banding together two huge pots like they were tambourines to keep a beat going. It was an unanticipated exhilarating time.
One thing I loved about being in the Costa Brava was that we got to see Fiona’s Irish accent come out. I loved hearing her reminisce about good times she has spent there with her family. It’s easy to see where she gets her free spirit after hearing about her family dynamic. I am hoping to get initiated into the Donovan Clan.
Barcelona:
We took an 8 AM bus from the Costa Brava to Barcelona, the earliest morning I’ve had in a while. Driving from the train station to our hostel, I was already hooked by Barcelona’s charm. Although Madrid and Barce are the ultimate soccer rivals and my loyalty remains with Madrid, I couldn’t help but love the city of Barcelona. It reminded me of a European version of Miami with the palm trees lining the street and wonderfully fashionable, classy young crowd. Although part of Spain, Barcelona is like its own country, with its own language (called Catalán) and set of festivities and traditions.
The architecture, much of which was influenced by the famous Spanish architect Gaudi, is unique and striking. We did some major site seeing in a short amount of time. We saw one of the Gaudi apartments, the Sagrada Familia Basilica, and Park Guell. I have seen a lot of churches while in Spain, but the Sagrada Familia is my favorite by far. Gaudi’s design is incredibly creative.
I loved the colorful stained glass, contrasted by the grandiose white marble pillars, designed to look like a forest.
The church was luminous, unlike many others I’ve seen. We saw the famous lizard by Gaudi at Park Guell as well as the cave from the final runway show of Cycle 7 of America’s Next Top Model.
The nightlife in Barcelona was pretty amazing. We went to a club called Shoko, which is right next to Opium. Both clubs are trendy and open up to the beach. I loved running around in the sand, heels in hand. Another great part about Shoko was its proximity to the Ice Bar. Lauren had told me about the Ice Bar, explaining that it was a very popular European study abroad stop. When we saw it from the beach we couldn’t resist. They gave us parkas and gloves to wear inside the bar. Everything inside the bar was made of ice— the bench, the walls, the bar counter, the cups, etc. There were colorful lights that looked very cool reflecting off the ice. We were wearing skirts, so our legs were especially bare and cold. Lauren took the fur off the bench to wrap around her legs.
We met a group of guys in the Ice Bar from Brussels and spoke to them in their very broken English. They were crazy but a lot of fun! They were very into taking lots of pictures with us and taking their shirts off to prove how tough they were. After about 30 minutes, we were too cold and had to move the party outside where we danced in circles with the guys (kind of like the horah) and chanted random sayings they came up with. Aldo, like the shoes, wooed Lauren; while another named Nicola bought me a red rose…true romance. The next day we had an all-American brunch complete with eggs Benedict and got on the plane homeward bound toward Madrid. It’s funny that when the metro announces, “Alonso Martinez,” I feel at home now.
