Finally visiting Madrid, Spain - Check out my pictures

I can’t believe it took me this long in life to get to Madrid. I’d always heard that it was like New York and was curious about what that meant. Well, it really is, but I can’t find the right words. So many of the similarities were familiar urban struggles and exclaiming them feels likes I’m calling out only the bad parts, but maybe it’s that the vibrant energy NY has is palpable in Madrid too and that dynamism outshines the rough edges. Yeah, I just don’t have the words, but three days of walking helped me uncover lots of little moments of magic.

European cities always have beautiful architecture, which of course I admired, but it was the people, the fun stores, the high fashion, the variety of dining options buzzing till the wee morning hours. The Christmas season was a great time to visit because the city was all dressed up. With all the time I’ve spent in Central and South America, each new visit to Spain, the colonial power uncovers more layers and deeper perspectives. Ahh travel, you really do stretch me in the most marvelous ways.

                        Click HERE to see my full set of pictures from Madrid

Barcelona, Spain in the time of Covid

I love travel because it gives me a chance to fully engage my curious mind and to get out of my daily rhythm and dive into to learning about somewhere else. On this trip I was observing another city and trying to experience travel itself during covid to see how another place was coping. I took advantage of cheap airfares and spent a long weekend walking all over the city. As for why now, I have never been to Barcelona, because I have always heard there were too many tourists. Well, as soon as covid hit and I saw pictures on the news of empty sites in Europe, I thought this was my chance to visit Barcelona and boy was I right. There were enough tourists for places to feel lively but not desperate, and so many that I couldn't see the amazing sites without fighting a crowd.

I mostly went to Barcelona to look at architecture. During the Pandemic long long walks outside are the safe thing to do and Barcelona buildings are a real spectacle. I could always see some ornate building in the distance that tempted me to walk and walk. It's interesting to see a much longer span of historical building styles than we have in the US. We are such a young country and Europe’s long life span always inspires me.While

Memories of Southern Spain

Spain, thank you so much for welcoming me with you chill "manana, manana" attitude. I felt so relaxed and comfortable visiting you. I loved sitting at your many outdoor cafes, eating your delicious tapas that came with the abundant fresh fruity sangria giving me a chance to try so many different tastes. I loved your ornate Moorish architecture. It moved me to tears. The tile work and carvings were so beautiful. The symmetry felt so soothing and solid.

Your cultural and colonial connections to my world (Latin America and America) are so visible and yet so complex. I thought you would be so much more developed, but in some ways you felt almost as developing world as the colonies you left in Latin America. I loved that part of you too. You are the lace between Europe and Latin America. 

I hope we will have many chances in our futures to get to know each other. 

Photos from Andalucia, Spain - Summer 2015

Click HERE to see my pictures from Spain