Hola Everyone!! Greetings from Spain. I won´t make excuses this time for taking so long to update my blog, I think you have heard all my excuses already. I have finally uploaded some photo´s too, so please check them out. Sorry but you wont be seeing any from Egypt and Italy as I have already sent them home, hopefully they will be there when I get back. So where have I been since landing in Spain. Well it goes something like this: Madrid - Segovia - San Sebastian - Barcelona - Valencia - Seville - Granada - Tarifa At the moment I´m in Tarifa having a bit of relaxation time (ie no sightseeing) prior to heading to Morocco for a two week tour with Intrepid that I am really excited about. Madrid was a great fun, I was there over the easter period so there was plenty of people around and a real party atmosphere. The easter parades and stuff were also really cool to see. I spent a bit of my time there hungover and sleeping so I probably didnt see as much as I would have liked. The palace (Palacio Real) was a real highlight, it was one of the most spectacular I have seen so far. The pub crawl was great fun, I met a few really cool people and managed to get myself pretty well written off. It must have been all the shots and the cheap champage I had to drink, I think we finished up at about 5am but I´m not sure, I had to go searching for one of my shoes in the morning as I left it in the hostel somewhere. Next morning I was just glad that I was still on the top bunk and hadn´t fallen out. From Madrid I took a day trip to Segovia, it was easter Sunday. Segovia would be one of my favourite places in Spain, this might be because it was snowing when I was there. I was walking around with my mouth agasp like a kid in a candy store. I really didnt expect to encounter any snow in Spain, I honestly thought it would be pretty sunny. Because it was easter I treated myself to a hot chocolate. They dont quite make them like they do at home, you literally get a cup full of hot melted down chocolate that is so thick you have to eat it with a spoon, it tasted so good. There was plenty to see in Segovia but the Roman Aqueduct and Alcazar were highlights, the town just has this real charm about it that is hard to describe, there is so much history there. So after Madrid I headed to San Sebastian which I had been looking forward to for ages. I got a bit of a shock when I arrived, my hostel was pretty much empty (I had 6 beds to myself), and the weather was terrible (very Melbourne winter like). I walked around as much as i could (in between sideways rain and wind) but most of the time was spent in the tapas bars enjoying the local cusine which is known to be some of the best in the world. San Sebastain has the best tapas set up I have come across so far, they basically sit in all on the bar, you eat what you want and order cheap drinks and then pay when you leave. There was also a few gourmet ones which were really good (but expensive). They make them specially and have thinks like duck and fried fish (you need to eat like 10 of these to make up a normal meal, so its not very economical at around 4 euros each). I was lucky enough to finally encounter some people at the hostel (Kate and Ben) from north queensland, so I hung out with them for a bit. I think i will have to give San Sebastian another shot when the weather is better, its the kind of place where I can see myself staying for a long time. Next stop was Barcelona which was another party destination. While I was there I did another pub crawl, a cooking class, plenty of lying around with a headache, and lots of sightseeing. The pub crawl was pretty good although the Madrid one was much better, We visted a few bars which weren´t too different from those at home and as usual were given a free shot at each one. There was a really cool rock bar that I loved, probably could have stayed there all night . I hung out with a guy called Owen from Melbourne who I met on a city orientation tour earlier that day. The cooking class was probably the biggest highlight although it really just turned into a serious drinking session.. First they taught us to make Sangria (and handed us what seemed like unlimited ingredients) and then basic tapas and paella. I dont remember any of the paella, I think I had myself pre-occupied with mastering the mixing of the Sangria. Will have to use a receipe when I try and repeat that one. After the cooking class (around 9pm) they gave us a shot of Vodka and we then moved out to the bar. Somehow the three english girls (who I was staying with at the hostel) and I got onto tequila shots...the rest was history. We all ended up really sick one by one. The first one was Jo who was so sick she had to be escorted home (before 10pm) by one of the other girls Emma and it was only Nicky and myself left, so we kept going. At some point I was sick but continued on as a well experienced Friday night campaigner does. Really bad hangover the next day a real night to remember. I reckon I could shop in Barcelona for weeks if I had a few thousand spare euros, the clothing there is so much better than the stuff we have at home. I also loved La Rambla which is the most famous street in Barcelona. As you walk down there you see all sorts of stuff, impressionists, pet stores, resturants, garden shops and plenty of gift stores. Its really easy to just stroll up and down there taking in all thats going on around you. Some of the other places I visited in Barcelona included the Picasso Museum, the Cathedral, Plenty of Gaudi´s architecture, Parc de la Ciutadella, The port and the hill called Montjuic. I´m not really a fan of museums and artwork, but I quite liked Picasso´s museum and alot of the buildings designed by Gaudi. I especially liked Picasso´s later stuff and some of his more out there paintings (which were generally erotic in nature), I actually cracked up laughing at one of them I would love to describe it but dont know how to do it without it being extremely crude. I would certainly like to visit Barcelona again someday. I will add more about Spain shortly..... really need to find a place to sleep in Casablanca first Ciao