Another country, another language, as we
crossed the border it dawned on me that I only knew one Spanish phrase (thanks
to Tegan) and I didn’t know how helpful “Thank you for the dinner but I don’t
like cheese” would end up being. So the phrase book came out and the Spanish
class began and I settled with three important phrases Hello, Thank you and of
course, do you speak English?
Armed with a minuscule knowledge of Spanish
we continued to Barcelona. We arrived in Barcelona and settled into our
campsite in El Masnou just outside of the Catalan capital. We headed in to the
city on the metro the following morning to explore the centre. We headed to La
Boqueria Market, the most colourful and impressive produce and spice market I
have ever seen. Fruits, vegetables and seafood that I had never seen or
sometimes even heard of, I was like a kid in a candy shop with endless variety.
The vibrant displays combined with mouthwatering smells enticed us so we
meandered, slowly eating our way through the food stalls. Once we were full to
the brim we headed from the market towards MACBA, the Museum of Contemporary
Art, although we weren’t there to peruse the masterpieces, it is also home to
one (out of hundreds) of the famous Barcelona street skating spots. Matt had
watched skate movies since he was a kid, and dreamed of skating the famous
street spots of Barcelona, and lucky for me they were scattered on every corner
of the city. We then continued to Sagrada de Familia, the cathedral built by
Antonio Gaudi (Barcelona’s most famous modernist artist). The impressive and
unique church is still under construction after 100 years, however it doesn’t
prevent tourists from flocking to marvel at its brilliance. After walking
continuously around the streets all day, we were exhausted so we ventured back
to our campsite for sangria and an early night.
Waking late the next morning, we travelled back into the city this time
heading north walking to Park Guell, another incredible Gaudi masterpiece,
where we wandered through the Park admiring the distinctive architecture. Then
Matt and I decided to go our separate ways for the day. There were many far
away skate spots for Matt to see, and shops for me to explore. I roamed back
through the center winding in and out of Spanish stores, just enjoying getting
lost in the alluring streets. Matt and I met late in the afternoon to go for
dinner at a tapas bar which we enjoyed with of course, some more sangria. 
Our next day was spent walking along the
promenade finding more skate spots where I read or filmed, while Matt skated. I
even tried my hand at skating, less than successfully; it usually involved Matt
pulling me along flat stretches. After a few huge days of walking and skating
we called it day truly exhausted and unable to walk anymore. The following day
we said “Adios!” to Barcelona and headed for Valencia stopping for a day to
ride around the city and admire the truly remarkable architecture of the Arts
and Science Complex before continuing to Spain’s capital, Madrid. 
We found ourselves arriving late again into
another unfamiliar city, so we found ourselves a campsite and called it a
night. We woke late and headed into Madrid on the bus. By this point starvation
had set in so we decided on dessert before lunch. So the hunt began for the
ultimate of devilish treats, churros. Deep fried, crispy dough with smooth,
rich chocolate- what more could you want? There was one name, one name that had
stood the test of time in Madrid. An institution famous amongst locals,
celebrities and tourists alike who visit the venue at any time, day or night. San
Gines Chocolateria has been making churros with chocolate the exact same way
since 1894 and no wonder, because it is absolutely delicious just the way it
is. Crunchy, sweet, savory and perfect. After our snack, we explored the
streets surrounding Puerto de Sol more just admiring the inviting vibe that
surrounds the Capital. We found a great restaurant late in the afternoon that
were doing delectable modern takes on some Spanish tapas favourites that
sounded too delicious to pass up, so we enjoyed a few with some Sangria. We
strolled down the main drag of Gran Via, window shopping and taking in the
sights before calling it a day in the early evening.
We
left Madrid the next morning, after a skate in the city, and headed towards
Portugal driving through the Spanish countryside. We arrived in Costa de
Caparica outside of Lisbon late in the evening and enjoyed dinner in the
campsite. We ventured in Lisbon the
following day catching a boat across the water to Belem where we admired the
stunning monastery while indulging in traditional Portuguese custard tarts from
a bakery in Belem that was been making them since 1837. We walked from Belem,
around the water stopping for sangria by the pier before stumbling upon the
Time Out market that housed all different food stalls and cuisines. HEAVEN! We
left after lunch and walked to Praca de Comercio, the main square, where we
tried traditional Portuguese port for the first time. It was absolutely
delicious, possibly a new favourite of mine. We continued through the town
until we could walk no more of Lisbon’s hilly landscape so we began our journey
home only getting lost a few times.
The next morning we left Lisbon and headed
to a skatepark just outside of Cascais, a stunning coastal town with winding
mosaic laneways. We ate lunch by the park in the sunshine while Matt enjoyed
the atmosphere of yet another incredible European masterpiece. We continued on
to Sintra in the afternoon, a beautiful town perched in the Portuguese hills
amongst manors and castles. We tasted Ginja (cherry liquer) and compared
different ports before meandering through the streets admiring the beauty. We
made our way to Ericeira early in the evening to a Quicksilver skate park right
next to a campsite. PERFECT! Until Matt broke yet another board (number 6 for
the trip) in the park effectively ending his night of skating so we grabbed a
bottle of wine and walked down to the beach to watch the sunset. We found wild
watercress in the rocks and water running to the ocean and played by the sea
into the night. And by played I mean, we
got drunk and Matt mooned people. 
The following day we left Ericeira around
midday and began our journey north stopping in the fishing town of Peniche
where we visited a beautiful beach and found (of course) yet another skate
park. We ventured on late in the afternoon to Figeuira da Foz where we stayed
at a lovely campsite with private access to the beach. Another day pass by, we
kept driving north to Coimbra- a town boasting a stunning 16th
century university but that’s about it, so we continued driving to Porto where
we spent the evening. We rode along the boardwalk by the beach and found a DJ
concert on the sand so we danced and drank into twilight. Rain welcomed us the
next morning, so went spent our lazy Sunday cleaning up before heading into
Porto center for a peruse around the town and an extremely late lunch. 
The
following day was spent solely in the car (a full nine hours!) driving back
into Spain to San Sebastian. San Sebastian is a chef’s dream! The area boasts
the most Michelin stars per capita than anywhere in the world, not to mention
scrumptious local eats like pintxos (basque country tapas). So as you would
expect, Matt and I were in heaven and planned to stay a few days, if not
forever. However, if constant stream of delicious food wasn’t enough, San
Sebastian was also beautiful with rolling green hills and stunning beaches. We
spent our first day in the town exploring the streets, eating street food,
marveling at incredible churches and visiting a few skate parks. When the
evening rolled around, we headed for Pintxos. Such an incredible concept where
you grab a spot standing at the bar and order a glass of wine before digging
into small Spanish canapés on toothpicks, you simply pay for the amount of
toothpicks at the end. Simples! 
After stuffing ourselves with pintxos we
ambled through the streets and watched the fireworks over the beach before
calling it a night. Unfortunately overnight incredible storms set in and our
plans for the day were washed out, so we bundled up in our rarely used winter
gear and hung out in the car for the day, reading and cooking. The next day was
Matt’s Birthday! To celebrate his quarter of a century, we headed to Mugaritz,
currently number six in the world, the two Michelin star restaurant was high on
Matt’s list. Deep into the beautiful hills of San Sebastian we dined for four
hours on twenty-four incredible courses. We left, as you can imagine,
completely stuffed, so we headed into town and rode along the water into the
night. The following day we left Spain headed for France. The final leg is upon
us. France and then back to England!
