Ja, det her indlæg har været flere måneder undervejs, men det der tæller er, at det blev skrevet!
Spanien er ligesom en kær gammel ven, som jeg altid kan regne med. Vi har efterhånden mange år på bagen sammen. For at forstå det komplekse og smukke forhold, jeg har med Spanien, skal vi langt tilbage. Faktisk helt tilbage til.. 2005? 2004? Sådan deromkring. Første gang, jeg var i Spanien, det var på en charterferie til Gran Canaria med min familie. Så fulgte Mallorca og jeg var på Lanzarote en gang hvert år fra 2007 til 2009. Så fulgte en lille pause på et par år. To år efter var jeg på studietur i Barcelona med min gymnasieklasse. Det var i 2011. Året efter var jeg på sprogskole i Salamanca. Året efter det, i 2013, var jeg i Barcelona igen. Så skulle der gå næsten 3.5 år indtil jeg satte fødderne på spansk grund igen. Jeg mistænker lidt, at min store kærlighed til Sydamerika på en eller anden måde fik sat en dæmper på min begejstring for Spanien. Det burde egentlig være omvendt, men når jeg i Spanien nu, føles det mere som om jeg er i en kopi af Argentina eller Chile. Fjollet, når Spanien jo er moderlandet, og ikke omvendt. Men tilbage, det kom jeg da. Det skete i juli i år, da jeg tog et lille smut derned for at mødes med en af mine venner fra Tennessee, som jeg lærte at kende under mit udvekslingsophold. Og nu skulle det være igen. Altså i august. Jeg er bare langsom til faktisk at skrive om det. Altså! Min 10. gang i Spanien, og så endda til en helt ny region, som jeg ikke har haft mulighed for at udforske før. Både Alicante, Benidorm og Valencia blev nedlagt på denne tur, hvor vi havde base i Alicante, som ligger i den sydøstlige del af Spanien. Costa Blanca, når det er bedst!
Vi var afsted i 15 dage i alt og lejede en lejlighed igennem Airbnb (for mit vedkommende var det første gang nogensinde, så det var spændende!). Det var denne lejlighed, hvis nogen overvejer at leje gennem Airbnb på en ferie i Alicante. Det var den perfekte base for vores tur. At have en tagterrasse var helt uundværligt i varmen, så de fleste aftener blev tilbragt netop der. Men al tiden skulle ikke bruges på at dase. Vi var også i et smut i Benidorm, hvor der også blev taget mange (flotte) billeder. Det betaler sig altså at have et spejlreflekskamera, skulle jeg lige hilse og sige!
To me, Spain's kinda like an old friend. One of those friends I know I can always rely on. Me and Spain, we go way back. I don't even remember the exact year it all started. 2004 or 2005'd be my guess. Anyways! My first time there was a family trip to Gran Canaria, followed by another family vacation to Mallorca the year after. Then we were obsessed with Lanzarote (Club La Santa for the win!), and we went once a year from 2007 to 2009. Good times. Two years after I visited the mainland for the very first time; high school class trip to Barcelona. I was in love. That was 2011. The year after, I was in Salamanca for a month to study at my beloved language school, Salmínter (will always have my highest recommendations, so if anyone's going, go there!). Fast forward to February 2013, and I was yet again to be found in the streets of Barcelona. But then, for some reason, I ended up not going back to Spain for almost 3.5 years. I feel like my attachment to Latin America has somehow ended up diminishing the love I had for Spain before I ever stepped foot on South American soil. Now, it kinda feels like a less magical version of Argentina or Chile which makes no sense at all. Spain's the mother of them all. It's a shame actually. It's like having a tiny version of South America in Europe, but it's just about not the same. At all. Anyways..... My first time back in Spain after all that time was this past July, so three months ago. I went to Barcelona to meet up with one of my best friends from Tennessee, who'd been in Morocco for a couple of months. And now again. I just got back again. This time (August.. I know, I'm late!) I went with my mother and my brother. This time we explored an entire new region. We were based in the lovely city of Alicante of the Costa Blanca and also got to explore Benidorm and Valencia.
We had 15 days in total and rented this lovely apartment via Airbnb (to be found here in case anyone's considering going!). This was actually my first time renting with Airbnb despite having done a lot of travelling since that website took off. This apartment was genuinely an oasis. A rooftop terasse was perfect for relaxing at night after exploring the city. It was the perfect base for our trip. But all our time was not to be spent in Alicante. One day, my mom and I took a daytrip to Benidorm. I, of course, brought the DSLR. Pretty pictures are always a priority.
Selvom Benidorm kun er en time væk med sporvognen (den tur kan forresten anbefales - den kører ude ved kysten i et pænt stykke tid, og det var ok pænt!), så føles det som en helt anden verden. Her er britiske turister i hobetal (hørte ikke en britisk accent én eneste gang i Alicante), her er en overflod af dårlige tapasrestauranter lige ved promenaden, hvor du med garanti ikke finder en fødevare, der ikke har været i fryseren og der er en endda en Costa. Så kan man vist godt gisne om, hvordan de tjener pengene i Benidorm. ITV (britisk tv netværk) har endda lavet en tv-serie om Benidorm (af samme navn), som følger et par britiske turister. Meget passende, må jeg indrømme, efter at have været der. Det var som taget ud af en dårlig joke om blege ferieturister fra det kolde nord. Men nok om det! Benidorm er helt sikkert et besøg værd, hvis man er på de kanter, og den er let at komme til, så win-win. Jeg vil dog lige indskyde, at jeg synes, at en dag er nok. Medmindre man altså elsker at lægge på stranden. Så er byen helt perfekt!
Benidorm's merely an hour away from Alicante with the tram, but Benidorm is worlds away from the Spanish tranquility of Alicante. Benidorm has been named Little Britain, and rightly so. Very rightly so. I don't think I overheard a single conversation that wasn't carried out in a thick British accent. Except for the Spanish of the locals of course, but you get the picture. I don't recall hearing a single conversation between Brits in Alicante. They're there, obviously, but in Benidorm, it's everywhere. It's Little Britain indeed. There's an abundance of overpriced tapas places with nothing but frozen food on the menu and yes, there's even a Costa. And yes, they do speak English. They kinda have to. ITV, the British television network, has gone so far as to create a tv show called Benidorm. I believe it's about a couple of British tourists and their subsequent adventures in this Spanish coastal city. Without having ever watched it myself, I'm pretty confident that the portrayals of the show are very true to reality. Pale tourists dying to get some sun - that's pretty much Benidorm for you. That being said, Benidorm's worth a visit if you happen to be nearby. It's easily accessible from Alicante (the tram runs along the coast and the route is pretty scenic, so definitely opt for the tram if going!), but one day is definitely enough!
Nummer 2 dagsudflugt fra Alicante var Valencia, som er den største by i provinsen og den 3. største by i Spanien. Personligt mener jeg, at Valencia ofte bliver glemt, når folk overvejer spanske destinationer, der er værd at besøge. Hvis det ikke er Barcelona (eller Mallorca, en canarisk ø eller Andalusien - selvsagt), så er det det Madrid. Jeg kender ikke mange, der har været i Valencia. Det er mere de hardcore Spanien-entusiaster.. Som jeg selv, vel og mærke (sagde hun med et glimt i øjet). Men det er altså en skam, for Valencia har meget at byde på. Så meget kultur, at det halve kunne være nok. Der er altså flot. Og for slet ikke at snakke om Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències (Kunst- og videnskabsstaden ville det vist være på dansk), som nok er det, som Valencia er mest kendt for. Det er der, de to nederste billeder er fra, hvis nogen skulle være i tvivl. De bygninger har vi vist alle sammen set før, på et eller andet tidspunkt, ikke? Det var virkelig imponerende at se i virkeligheden. Bygningerne huser både museer, et planetarium, en biograf og en masse andre ting. Det er en af de "Spaniens 12 Skatte" og helt klart den vigtigste turistattraktion i byen. Helt klart et besøg værd. Jeg gad godt have set det om aftenen med lys i, men vi havde desværre en bus at nå, som skulle fragte os tilbage til Alicante.
Our second day trip was to the capital of the province; Valencia! I've been wanting to visit Valencia for a long time and now was finally the time. 2.5hs away with the bus from Alicante makes Valencia very accessible if you're on the Costa Blanca. After all, Valencia is the 3rd biggest city in Spain, so if you're close, I can't think of any excuses not to go. Personally, I feel like Valencia is often overlooked when people are choosing Spain as their holiday destination. Granted, all Europeans go to Spain generally speaking, but if it's not Barcelona or Madrid, it's bound to be either the Balearic or Canary Islands or, of course, Andalusia. I don't know too many people who's actually been to Valencia. It's a shame, because it has just as much to offer as Madrid in my opinion. I'm too fond of Madrid, but that's a different story for another time. Valencia has just as much culture and just as many pretty buildings. Not as big, but for some, that's a big plus.
Unfortunately, we only had a day here, but I still got the impression that we saw most of the important stuff. Of course, we went to the world famous Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, the City of Arts and Sciences in the southern part of the city (the last two pictures in case anyone's missed it!). It was super impressive and massive! I would've loved to see it at night when they illuminate it and it's reflected in the water. It's quite far from the centre of the city, but buses run and taxis are super cheap. Definitely a must see when in Valencia. I believe there's both museums, a cinema, a planetarium and a bunch of other stuff. The old market in the centre of the city is definitely also worth a visit. So cute. I'd definitely like to back if I'm ever in the Valencian comunidad again.
Aaaand 15 days later, she's back on Danish soil. Well, British soil now. They were 15 lovely days, that's for sure. Spain's the country I've visited the most (if you don't count Denmark or Scotland that is). It was good to see you again, old friend. Next time, it'll be destination Andalucia. Or Salamanca. It'd be nice to go back and see my old teachers. Perhaps the Basque Country, which my Spanish Politics professor has spoken so highly of. It does indeed seem interesting, especially with the Basque nationalists wanting to separate. The list is endless. I might have to live in Spain one day, just so I can see it all!
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