I’ve been traveling a lot these days. First there was a weekend trip to Rotterdam, which was a birthday present I got from my friend A. It was great, we stayed at the SS Rotterdam, which is a cruise ship turned to a hotel. We had an amazing night there and a great weekend in Rotterdam. Did a lot of walking, talking and had great food. In an attempt to go out, we had a cocktail and went home early because we were both too tired to go clubbing. Instead we watched a movie and in the end still went to sleep way too late. The next day, we went to the Euromast for an amazing view over Rotterdam (pictures will follow soon) before we had to go back home.
Southern Europe, here I come!
Once home, I had to finish packing for my trip to Spain and Portugal, where I was going a day later. The travel stress really set in when I got home because I had still so much to do before I flew out. But, in the end all went well and I arrived at Schiphol Airport very sleepy (6 A.M.), but exited to go out on adventure again. The plans for this trip changed a few times over time and I’m really sad that Tanger, Morocco and Tarifa, Spain had to be cancelled because of lack of time. I flew in at Málaga Airport in the South of Spain and out from Faro, Portugal. Oh how I’ve missed long late breakfasts with tapas and seafood, even longer midnight dinners with even more seafood outside and the ‘mañana, mañana’ attitude! I got a chance to practice my Spanish, which even in Portugal came in handy. I took a lot of pictures, which I will post soon.
Málaga
I stayed in Málaga for a couple of nights. It’s an amazing city and a great break from bad weather back in Holland. It’s quiet in a nice way, but still offers a lot to do and see and has a beach from where you can watch beautiful sunsets. There are lots of bars and clubs open untill late and great restaurants to have a good meal. There are lots of museums to go to and I recommend the fortress and the castle (Alcazaba de Málaga). The view is just amazing and the castle is small, but very beautiful.
Seville
After a couples of days, it was time to go to Seville, a bit more inland and to the east. The bus ride went through many landscapes from dry and barren with a persistent tree here and there and what seemed to be abandoned houses to accurately placed orange trees in straight lines on rare flat parts in the mountainy landscape. Arriving in Seville, while wandering around the city I saw the most beautiful architecture I have ever seen. The weather was warmer there since the city is located a bit more inland. I noticed that Seville is a very kid-friendly place. Where in Málaga I saw a lot of older people, in Seville kids are everywhere. I love it, it’s what makes it such an alive place. It also has a great night life and I felt really safe outside and late at night. In Barcelona I almost got robbed, but everywhere I went on this trip I never felt threatened in any way. I went to see a beautiful Flamenco show and went to the Festival de las Naciones, an international Festival with food and music where I ate kangaroo for the first time in my life. I met some great people there while having a cocktail at the Cuban Bar and we had a great laugh and danced salsa for a bit. I loved that Seville still is very traditional Spanish. There are a lot of people in Seville as well as in Málaga that don’t or hardly speak any English. That’s when you really feel that you’re on holiday, right?
Faro
A couple of days later, the trip went on by train, to Faro in the Algarve area in the south of Portugal. My first time ever in Portugal, it didn’t disappoint me at all. Faro is a really quiet place at the end of october, perfect for regaining enery and looking back on experiences and past events. A 20 minute bus ride will take you to the beach, which is a bit windy at this time of year, but of course that didn’t stop me from going. The water is beautifully blue and I found the most beautiful shells in the sand. I had cocktails every night at a great cocktailbar, Bar Columbus. The food is amazing and the people are so lovely!
Lagos
Last minute, the travel plans got changed again. Since Faro didn’t have that much to offer at the time, I decided to check out Lagos for a night. A lovely place, but way too touristy in my opinion. I felt that real Lagossers (or whatever they’re called :D) were hard to find since every bartender was probably foreign, but discovered that manager of the hostel I was staying in was born and raised there. Lagos has lots of beach opportunities and even more bars and restaurants. But, since I don’t love the very touristy places that much, one night there was just enough for me.
After one night in Lagos, I went back to Faro to fly back to Amsterdam with mixed feelings. Sad to leave the south of Europe, but exited about my plans in Amsterdam at the same time. I’m already thinking about my next trip. Will it be next week? Next month? Next year? Fortunately the year’s almost coming to an end and I can look back on a year with a lot of travels and adventures I went on, new people I met and places I discovered. My journey will never end. First thing to do now is to find a destination.
Maps and miles 