What comes to your mind when someone says - Spain? Probably bull fight, sandy beaches, rugged harsh landscapes, wine, sangria or much more. You're guessed it right, there's much more to it than just all these things. Just scroll below to follow our brief journey and unique experiences we had during the 10 days in this magnificent country.
We had quite an adventurous journey entering Spain, Taking the SNCF train from Paris via Toulouse to Girona in North Eastern Spain. From Girona, we took a self drive car to Lloret De Mar. You can easily book all your train journeys online, as we did it from Rail Europe. Do check out for offers before you book it.
The train from Paris to Toulouse was bit disappointing, with cramped up cabin for much leg room of us three guys along with one other passenger. + our luggage. The connecting train to Barcelona was quite spacious and modern (picture below) going to Barcelona from Toulouse. Our destination was Girona, from where we hired a self driven car, with quite a bit of adventure 😉
The train from Paris to Toulouse was bit disappointing, with cramped up cabin for much leg room of us three guys along with one other passenger. + our luggage. The connecting train to Barcelona was quite spacious and modern (picture below) going to Barcelona from Toulouse. Our destination was Girona, from where we hired a self driven car, with quite a bit of adventure 😉
20 Best Moments in Spain
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| 1. Check out the entire coastline and beaches in the Lloret De Mar.The shades of blue doesn't fade, do they ? Its much like an much glamorous Goa of Spain and much more. |
Lloret De Mar, though not known as the top destination in Spain, we would definitely recommend it over others like Madrid. It has a sense of rebellion youthfulness. Fantastic climate year round makes the residents life expectancy one of the best in the world.
Lloret De Mar has amazing to do activities including a nightlife and right from boat party to water adventures like scuba diving, swim with dolphins, kayaks, snorkeling, casinos and list goes on. And of course if you have interest in the history then there are two forts, one in Lloret De Mar and another one in Tosa De Mar.
2. This is one the best drinking games I have seen on the seashore promenade of Lloret De Mar.
Traveling with vegetarian friends has its advantages as we always use to walk those extra miles to find an Indian restaurant. In that extra mile we came across the unexplored places which were never in our itinerary.
The entire coastline is crowded during the season from June to August, with businesses minting money. The most surprising factor was shops owned by Asians. We were surprised by a substantial Indian diaspora, in a remote city like Lloret De Mar.
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| 3. You can meet an Indian person in any corner of the world. We met a lot of Indian shopkeepers in Lloret De Mar who had migrated here decades back for a living with an aim of permanently settling there. |
We got a big jolt when the self drive car we hired, was rammed into stationary school bus in Lloret De Mar. Nothing much happened after that except our entire focus was on how to get rid of it, as soon as possible. With few Euros in the drain and being in an unknown country, makes a huge difference. To our dismay, we got advised not to get it repaired as it will be known by the self drive company and would be fined.
When such incidences happen, it adds to the excitement as long as it doesn't cost you in money. But for that entire day we were just in shock, we decided not to take the car anywhere. Moreover the fact that lanes of Lloret De Mar has cramped roads leading to the seashore where we were put up.
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| 4. The dent and the broken reflector mirror is not as much visible, but it dented our wallets. Finally,we decided to move on without the car, which is actually a wise thing to do in a city like this. |
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| 5. The beaches at Lloret De Mar are man made with big grinded stones mixed with sand. It was hard to believe at first, when the sand doesnt stick to your feet and feels great, you kind of start believing it. The sea this side of the globe is too rough, with ropes attached at many places for the tourists going inside sea to hold on when the tides keeps knocking you down. |
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| 6. Tossa De Mar is a 20 minutes drive from Lloret De Mar. This beach looks more natural but similar features. A fortress perched up at the one end like with watch tower built in the early 15th century, called as Castillo de Tossa de Mar |
A day in a coastal Spain is a waste without this pitcher of Sangria. I had learned and heard a lot until I traveled to Spain, and actually had it.
Sangria has various fruity flavors, usually a fruit punch, but that punch is bit intoxicating. The best of the lot, according to me was with red wine and lemon. The hot sun, sandy beaches, a cozy vantage point with a pitcher of Sangria and lazy afternoon is what you all need for a blissful siesta.
Almost all road side restaurants and cafe's will serve it, along with a combination of tapa. Tapa is an appetizer or snack in Spanish cuisine and translates to small portion of any kind of cuisine.
Although you get variety of other beers and wines, Sangria has a special place in Iberian peninsula.
The thing that it goes with any kind of food and also anytime of the day, makes desirable. The restaurant sign boards and neon signs all over screams and calls to have one.
So once in Spain, drink as the Spanish do.
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| 8. A must do - A yacht party in the Mediterranean sea with the locals. Lloret offers a lot of options for the young crowd to go on a boat party, anchor in the middle of the sea and just splash in with variety fun games, food and drinks on board. |
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| 9. Your best bet to move around the sea side as well as internal areas in Lloret De Mar as well as Tossa De Mar. The lanes and alleys near to the beach side are very congested, so you better hire something operated on battery or your own calories 😃 |
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| 10. Another must do in the list - water sports. We did scuba diving and it was mind blowing experience in the clear waters with lots of fauna inside. You can get a certification too, but need to have atleast a week to get yourself trained. |
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| 11. The most famous street of La Rambla is a must visit when you're in Barcelona. It is buzzing with life and as if the entire city converge on the streets for shopping, leisure and entertainment. It is "the happening" place of Barcelona, if not most. |
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| 12. A cathedral which is being for build for 100+ years, literally due to various factors, since it began. It is expected to get completed by 2026 during the centennial year of Antoni Gaudi, the renowned Spanish architect. This marvelous structure is awe-inspiring, even when it has thousands of tourists visiting it, the silence observed inside the cathedral is amazing and soul touching. |
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| 13. If you're a football fan, you should guess this place. An entire museum with rich history of football, collection artifacts, trophies, BARCA's merchandise and you get a chance to imagine how it would feel when the match is on in this spectacular stadium. Cant miss this in Barcelona. With larger than life portraits and pictures of all football stars played for BARCA, it takes you to a different world, keep half a day for BARCA visit. |
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| 14. Our ALSA bus from Barcelona to Valencia. The distance is 350 kms, but it amazingly smooth roads took us only 4 hours to complete it. This journey is not along the coast, though if you're self driving, you can opt for the highway along the seaside. |
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| 15. Valencia's modern architecture is flabbergasting-ly astonishing. I had seen it in pictures before visiting it but when you actually see them, you only wonder not as to just how could they imagine them, but to actually make it possible in real. Simply amazing imagination and architecture. |
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| 16. Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències or City of Arts & Science is truly a marvelous area in Valencia which is spread on acres of land just across the dried river Turia. |
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| 17. The City of Arts and Sciences is situated at the end of the riverbed of the river Turia. Turia river which was drained and rerouted, the old riverbed was turned into a picturesque landscaped sunken park. Once you come out of it you see these structures surrounded by crystal blue water which adds to the magnificence of it. |
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| 18. The other side of the Hemispheric or Hemisfèric. It is an IMAX dome shaped theater, which also has a planetarium and a laserium inside this dome. You can try boating in the small man made pond here. |
19. The street artists in all the places we visited, were fascinating, did mentioned in my earlier blogs. This guy was literally playing with fire. The amount of practice, skills and focus required for this kind of act is something even the professional athletes putting everyday. The only difference is, these artists are not getting the due fame, respect and money which they deserve. This is my small effort to to appreciate and spread their talent.
20. We had so many "instagramable" moments that I could not decide which one to post and which ones to let go. Though we covered most of the places planned in our list, the ones which we didn't has a lasting impact. The above picture clicked on the last day in Spain in the old downtown of Valencia with these marvelous flowers blooming in the Mediterranean summers.
With totally tanned skins, hotter Spanish climate like back home in India or rather more, but nevertheless filled with memories. We were eager to explore our next destination of Portugal, our next stop was Lisbon through air. Interesting to note we did not had much expectations about Portugal till we landed there and it was a complete turn around after that. Coming soon - Portugal - A Surprise Package.
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