Hola!!! As you can tell from the very long absence of blog entries, I have been very very very busy. The 3 weeks leading up to my year end holidays were filled with meetings, and conferences and courses. I was a miserable teacher in those 3 weeks. And then 28 Nov came, and I flew for my well-deserved long haul break. And where was it this time? Espanyol!!!

Yes, I went to Spain this time. I have always wanted to go to Spain for the longest time ever.

1. 2007- Wanted to go with Maya but she went ahead without me as I was starting off new in HQ and was not able to take time off. So she went, came back, and told me that it was stunning.

2. 2010- Signed up for a Spain trip with Angela but the trip was cancelled last minute due to unforseen circumstances and I ended up in London and Paris instead.

So, 2011, I made sure that Spain materialised for me. We went on our own, me and Angela. We hired a private travel planner to plan the trip for us, booked our train tickets for us, the accommodation, day trips to Alhambra and Cordoba, and he did the best job in the world! It was so easy for us as we didn't have to worry about sourcing out for day trips, and hotels, etc. We simply told him what we wanted to do and where we wanted to go in Spain, and he arranged it for us. Fabulous. Money well spent.

And so I left for Spain, starting off with Madrid, moving on to Granada where we visited the Alhambra, then to Sevilla where we took a day trip to Cordoba before ending off in Barcelona. I loved every single state that I was in, and no one state disappointed. Each state had its own character and personality, offering something different.

I started off in Madrid, and despite what people said about Madrid being too touristy and not too exciting, I beg to differ. I liked it there. The architecture, though not as bold as Gaudi's architecture in Barcelona, had its own charm. The cafes and tapas bars and restaurants were so quanit. It was such a pity we only spent a night day and wasn't able to explore Madrid fully. I had the best paella there as well as churros. Visited the Royal Palace, Plaza Sol, and got lost walking around the beautiful city.

Our very quirky room in Madrid, right next to Puerta de Sol

After a 16 hr flight.

We stayed 1 night in Granada and had a full day to walk around Old Granada town. It was surprisingly beautiful. People know Granada for the Alhambra, but would be surprised to see the beauty of the city. The trees lining the cobbled pathways, the weather was fantastic there, and we walked up all the way to the Albacin to get a view of the Alhambra from the top. We sat there till sunset and to see the sun setting against the gorgeous Alhambra was just mind blowing. 

And the Alhambra. We took a half day tour here and after seeing the Alhambra on National Geographic and so many travel shows, I couldn't believe that I was finally seeing it myself. Stunning, what more can I say.

Sevilla is probably my favourite city in Spain. It has so much......flair...and soul...and...something that I can't seem to point my finger to. I was so happy that we were there for 3 full days and I walked around the city so much, in wonderment and awe. The majestic architecture, orange trees lining the streets everywhere, the zig zag of little alleys, quirky cafes trapped in between these alleys, flamenco music filling up the air, creating this very romantic mood all around. I loved it here.

From Sevilla we took a day trip to Cordoba, and I was intrigued by the mix of Islamic and Christian elements here. Cordoba was also where I had to best tapas in Spain and where I made a very nice friend from New York, Francis Beluca. We were on the day tour together and we hung around together and had lunch. As he was staying in the hotel near us in Sevilla, we met up for dinner that night and that was probably one of the best nights I had in Spain!

Last stop in Spain: Barcelona. Barcelona is a big city.  Most cosmopolitan, and shopping was the best here. By the time we got to Barcelona, we had seen many sights, saw many beautiful buildings, ate a lot of tapas. We were missing our Mcdonalds and our Starbucks and our shopping! So Barcelona was the best city for this! Yes, we went to see Gaudi's architecture, Sagrada Familia, Casa Mila, Casa Battlo, Parc Guell....But we actually spent 1 1/2 full days doing nothing but shop! I went a bit beserk because my favourite brands came from Spain. Mango, Zara, Desigual, Bershka....God, and it was so much cheaper. I'm talking about half price ok, and they were NOT on sale. Damage done:

1. Zara: Pair of jeans, a t shirt, a shirt, a black work dress, a party dress and 4 sets of kids clothes for my niece and nephew.

2. Desigual: A dress, a top and a skirt

3. Bershka: A top

4. Springfield: A dress

Bad!!!!!! But then I went back to Singapore and saw the prices being slashed in half and I was a smug girl. lol!!

So yes, it has been a long and overdued post but it was worth the wait cos I have put up so many pictures!!! And this is a pretty long entry.

For now, I will have to wait a looooooong time before my next holiday next June as it doesn't seem that I would be able to get away in March.. Boo hoo.

Enjoy the rest of the holidays (for my teacher friends) before the grind starts again. :)