A quick overview...



My Fiance & I

Who: Husband & I
Age: 24 & 21
When: June 10^th-18^th, 2012 – the day after our wedding
Budget: $10,000
Time: 8 days
Time difference: +6 hours
Bags allowed: 1 bag each
Currency: Euro 
$1 Euro (EUR)=$1.3877 Canadian (CAD)

June 10th, 2012



Our plane tickets!

Today is the day we leave home and start our wonderful adventure and walk through history. We leave Toronto in the late afternoon and arrive in Barcelona at 7:35am – I hope we get a lot of sleep on the plane because tomorrow is going to be a long day!

June 11th, 2012

By the time we land, pick up our bags, go through customs, and catch a ride from the airport to the hotel, we should have little time left before check-in. I want to stay at the W hotel in Barcelona because it is close to both the water and the sea. We would also be able to choose which view we want from our room. Obviously we are going to choose the beautiful and serene water view!


After checking in to the hotel, we will walk downtown to see La Sagrada Familia (the Holy Family) which was built by Antoni Gaudi who was an international architect. Since his death in 1926, different architects have been adding on to his design. I am really excited to see the famous design details that he is known for.

After seeing this beautiful structure, we will walk around Barcelona for a bit and get a feel for the city. Afterwards, we will go back to the hotel to relax and sleep since it has been a very long day.

June 12th, 2012

Today I want to spend time on the beautiful beach! I am excited for the beaches in Spain because we do not have something similar in London. I want to be able to see the palm trees and just lie on the sand while soaking up the sun.

After sitting on the beach for a while it would be nice to go on a tour bus to see all of Barcelona. There is a tour bus that goes from the North of Barcelona to the South and it stops in 44 places that you are able to spend time in. They also explain the history of each place. This is nice to do because we will be able to see all of Barcelona and actually know what we are looking at rather than going by ourselves and trying to figure out the significance of the places.

Our tour bus !

Our last activity in Barcelona is Las Ramblas. This is a long walkway that has little restaurants and shops… I love shopping. There are a lot of attractions in this small area including live performances, artists who will draw your portrait, human statue art and a wax museum.

An artist at work !

Street Performers, Las Ramblas

After this long day we are off to bed!

Barcelona Total expenses: $1257.50

W Hotel: $802.85
La Sagrada Familia: $35.07
Bus Tour:$19.61
Miscellaneous (food&shopping&cabs): $400

June 13th, 2012

Off to MADRID!!

After a 3 hour train ride to Madrid,we take a cab and arrive at our hotel. We will stay at the luxurious Hotel Villa Magna. We will then be on our way to explore Madrid! We will go on a coach bus that will take us on an afternoon sightseeing tour. We will be able to see different parks and historic areas. The tour also includes a stop at the hard rock café so we can stop and have a bite to eat. What I LOVE about this tour is that it will be in English :)

City Hall

                

After we have toured Madrid, I would like to see the Bernabeu stadium where the Real Madrid Football club has their matches. I am not a huge soccer fan – actually I am not a soccer fan at all, but my husband will definitely be excited to see the stadium. Maybe touring it will make me want to watch more soccer.

Bernabeu Stadium

Madrid Total Expenses: $1430.28

Hotel Villa Magna: $589.85
Train to Madrid: $336.07
Tour Bus of Madrid: $59.52
Tour of Bernabeu Stadium: $44.84
Miscellaneous: $400.00

June 14th, 2012

After a beautiful day in Madrid, we will take a train to Seville - Andalucía’s largest and capital city. I am excited to see the famous Alcazar Palace. The architectural style of this castle is from Islamic to Neoclassical. I am looking forward to see the detailing of the design in person. If the castle is breathtaking in pictures, then it must be absolutely stunning in real life.  

Most of our day will be spent in the castle. When we are done, we will explore Seville, eat and then call it a night.

Total Cost in Seville: $674.82

Train to Seville: $200
Hotel Amadeus: $265.00
Alcazar Palace: $9.82
Miscellaneous (shopping and food): $200

June 15th, 2012

After approximately 45 minutes by train, we are finally in CORDOBA!!


We are really excited to see the Great Mosque of Cordoba!! This mosque was made the third largest mosque in the Islamic world - that is huge ! The prayer hall is 23,400 square metres and is filled with 500 slender columns that have red and white arches.

There are over 500 of these!

After Spain was conquered in 1236 A.D., the king ruled that the mosque would now be the city's cathedral. Later in the early 16th century, the Bishops of the church wanted to demolish the mosque and build a new cathedral on the same foundation. This never happened because there was an uproar of people in the community and so the mosque still stands.


After seeing the mosque, we will walk through the market place alleyways to get a feel for the town as well as do a little shopping :)


Total expenses in Cordoba: $428.61

Train ride to Cordoba: $42.09
Hotel Macia Alfaros:$84.14
Tour of Mosque: $102.38
Miscellaneous: $200

June 16th, 2012

When we arrive to Granada the first attraction that we will see is Alhambra. This is extremely exciting because Alhambra was built by Muslims. You can see this by the Arabic calligraphy in the design. Also, if you look at this design compared to the Alcazar in Seville, you will notice similar architectural styles. They have the same detailing and a lot of arches. The detailing in this building is flawless. It is crazy to think about the amount of time and effort that went into this building and the time that people have spent carving these designs. There are a lot of different components to the Palace as you will see in the pictures below:

 

Court of the Myrtles

This part of the palace was designed in a way that is

completely symmetrical and reflects in the water beautifully.

This part of the palace has somewhat the same design as the Alcazar

Patio of the Lions

Patio of the Irrigation Ditch

Detailing of Arabic calligraphy on the walls
with different tile styles

More exquisite
 detailing of the building

 After seeing the Palace, it would be nice to see some Flamenco dancers! The dancers do their routines in the caves which is a crazy experience that I would not want to miss out on ! I would love to take lessons, but we only have one day in Granada and I really don't think my husband would want to do that !





Flamenco dancer dancing in the cave!





Total amount spent in Granada: $590

Alhambra: $36.44
Hotel Santa Isabel la Real: $203.56
Train to Grenada: $150.00
Miscellaneous: $200



June 17th, 2012

Sadly, our last stop is in Marbella. I don’t want this journey to end! Since it is our last day, I just want to sit and relax with an ocean view. The Villa that we are going to have for the night is at the Mariott Marbella Beach Resort which includes 2 bedrooms, a spacious balcony with tables and chairs and a full kitchen; it also has two cable TVs!! I feel like we are going to be living in an actual house. It will be great to relax in!

Our bedroom view

Good Night Spain, it is our last night with you :( !

 Total cost in Marbella: $516.21

Bus To Marbella:$37.31
Hotel: $278.9
Miscellaneous: $200.00

June 18th, 2012

Sadly, it is time to go home :(

Today we are going to take a flight from Marbella to Barcelona early in the morning at 7:00am and we arrive in Barcelona at 8:30am

Then we board our flight to leave Barcelona at 11:55am and hopefully we arrive safe and sound to Toronto at 2:50pm.

On the plane, I will sit and reflect on all of the wonderful things I saw. I originally wanted to go to see all of the history that dates back so far, and to see religious monuments as well because Spain once had a diverse culture with Christian, Jewish and Muslim coexistence. I hope that when I leave Spain I will have seen and learned so much about Spain's history. I also hope that after reflecting on their culture, I will take from it and apply it to my everyday life. This trip will also make my husband and I closer because it will be our first trip together. I think you can learn a lot about someone when you travel with them because you see how they are out of their element. I think this trip will be good for all aspects; I will learn about the Spanish history, culture, and I will learn more about my husband. This trip will visually be amazing. I will be able to see the beautiful sights that I have always wanted to see.This trip will also definitely help me grow as a person. I believe that every experience in your life helps you grow and understand yourself.

Miscellaneous

Of COURSE I am going to shop, shop, shop in Spain, I mean really - I am a girl!


Barcelona: Las Arenas Shopping Centre

Interestingly shaped Circular Mall
This mall has over 60 commercial outlets

Madrid: Plaza Notre Shopping Centre

This mall has over 200 shops and over 25 restaurants !

Marbella: La Canada Shopping Centre

This mall has a lot of western shops and restaurants including...
McDonalds!

Final Prices

And here is the final cost in Canadian Dollars!


Flight: $2552.46

Hotels: $2224.32

Transportation: $891.54

Activities: $291.07

Miscellaneous: $1600

Total Spent on Spain trip: $7559.39

We were under budget ! That means that we can go somewhere else right after :)

I find it really amusing that we spent almost the same amount for hotels as we did the actual flight. Nonetheless, it is all worth it.