Adventures in Spain

Hola! This is in fact my very first blog post ever, so if it's a bit rubbish then I can only get better! Right?! I recently visited Barcelona and Valencia, where I got a bit snap happy, so am wanting to share some of the photos I took, places I went to and experiences I had. I took three cameras with me (I've become a bit of an eager beaver when it comes down to photography!), these being a Nikon D3100 DSLR, my Dad's vintage Pentax ME SLR and a cheeky little Polaroid Sun600, well, because they're pretty. 

Fujifilm Velvia 50 is yet to be developed but will post pictures once they're done!

Our first stop was Barcelona, which basically meant that for four days we got lost in Gaudi and then a bit more Gaudi and then a little bit of Picasso and then some more Gaudi. We visited Parc Guell, the fabulous park that Gaudi designed for his bezzie mate and bazillionaire Eusebi Guell, the Picasso museum and La Sagrada Familia, which has to be one of the most beautiful buildings forever and ever. And will probably be being built forever and ever! If you're planning on visiting Barcelona in the near future, I can strongly recommend purchasing tickets for the main attractions in advance to avoid spending time queuing when you could be eating paella and drinking sangria!

La Sagrada Familia, although construction first commenced in 1882 it is still being built!

Intricate ceiling of deliciousness

Stained glass windows in La Sagrada Familia

My favourite, the mosaic lizard, who I fell in love with the very first time I visited Parc Guell when I was just a wee gal!

We then spent four days in Valencia, where we visited the BioParc, a massive urban zoo emulating the different terrains of Africa and home to giraffe, elephants, lions, and warthogs. My sister was particularly unimpressed by my renditions of songs from The Lion King and shouting "I killed Mufasa!" every time we saw a lion - a gal's gotta have her fun though! Valencia has a very chilled out atmosphere, which was a bit lacking in Barcelona, and there are lovely buildings scattered all around the city so you don't really have to plan anything in particular. 

Lemur having a chill

Cute little elephant snogging a wall

Plaza de Ayuntamiento, Valencia

DO: 

• order an Agua de Valencia, a delicious beverage containing champagne, vodka and orange juice (or zumo de naranja, if you've got your phrasebook out).
• get yourself a pair of Dr. Martens sandals and a Fjallraven Kanken rucksack - I'm a huge Dr. Martens fan and my trusty holiday shoes are the Flash sandal.

DON'T:

• be so shocked/mesmerised that a lady has pulled a weave out of a cardboard box in Valencia airport that you focus all your attention on that bizarre sight and collide into a poor Spanish lady. 

I will end with a photo of some graffiti I saw in Valencia. If you're headed to Spain make sure that you check out the amazing graffiti there - it's a lot better than the 'REEM' and 'VOMIT' nonsense you get spraypainted on the way into Nottingham train station.

I thought there was something so funny about a cat saying LOOL and a banana peel. Maybe there isn't and I'm just weird.

Adios,

-Beth