MALAGA-SPAIN
Spain just keeps getting better! This little coastal gem is quite historic but with a modern twist! There had been some terrible flooding in the area, but Malaga City itself wasn't affected. Our first day was spent at the beach, laying on a scarf, as we had left our sarongs in Malta by accident! We really wanted to just relax in this little town and soak in the Spanish sun, but unfortunately some heavy fog came through and we were off the beach and walking up to an old castle with a great view point of the area. Then we attacked the little streets and township which is beautiful to stroll through. We worked out the last time we ate REAL meat was late August in Malta so we decided it was time for some healthy dinners of chicken, beef and vegetables to be cooked up in our hostels kitchen! Let's just say our pasta obsession had lasted longer than we had anticipated and we've created some great sauces using cheap and minimal ingredients! The Sunday, our last night in Malaga, Jackson went to a pub to watch a Liverpool match while Nic dined at a restaurant and sipped on sangria. Then it was off to a couple of local bars to watch two football matches- Real Madrid vs Barcalona and Malaga vs Athletico Madrid (all three games a draw) And our few drinks turned into a huge night of meeting other travellers and getting to bed at 5 am. Checked out at 11 then spent the day hungover and trying to recover at the beach before our overnight train into Lisbon, Portugal. To take a positive away from the day, was that we were now lying on massive beach towels a fellow traveler had given us!

LISBON-PORTUGAL
Arriving in Lisbon in the AM after a night train we were crossing our fingers the hostel did early check in but it was not going to happen. So, exhaustedly we walked up to the castle and again, loved walking through all the streets and being coast side. We headed to the local cinema after a picnic in the park (where we witnessed a very frisky pigeon working it with the lady pigeons.) we watched 'Taken 2' which is set in LA and Istanbul, and because we had traveled there we were both pointing out places we recognised. Our hostel was a very noisy place, inside and out but after all the walking we do, falling asleep is not difficult. We were beginning to go loopy with sleep deprivation and a movie and a early night was exactly what the doctor ordered. The next day was a massive walk, about 8kms to Belém where there are a few things to see like The Monument to the Discoveries and The Belém Tower. We even saw a guy catch a sting ray while we were walking beachside. Supermarkets are now becoming a frequently visited store in our daily activities! So some yummy cheese and ham treats for lunch and walked back to our hostel. We decided on a rest and then thought we'd head out at night to see a couple more sights but by evening we were still wrecked so a DVD was put on and it was a night of couch potatoes! 

PORTO-PORTUGAL
Whilst in Porto we stayed in a fairly new Hostel that was very modern but lacked in atmosphere! They have residents there so they all just sit on their laptops in the common room, which was boring for us! So we just played UNO with a few beers after dinner each night! We did some exploring on our own on the first afternoon. LOTS of hilly streets in this old town! We walked across Dom Louis I Bridge over the Douro River to Vila Nova de Gaia. The next day we did the walking tour which showed us the city hall, a train station designed by a student, a church that was covered in gold on the inside, walked through small streets and old convents. Then we explored some more ourselves, finding a beautiful bookstore and the skinniest house in Porto that squeezes in-between two cathedrals. Because we LOVE walking we decided on a massive walk to the west, where the coast is 1 hour and 15 minutes away, so a walk through a more modern part of town got us to the surf beach. We walked back along the river and found a cafe that served the local dish of "francesinha" which translates into French Girl and is a meaty sandwich topped with meat and drowned in sauce. JacksonFrom here we take an overnight train back into Spain to the Northern coastal town of San Sebastian in Basque country!

SAN SEBASTIAN-SPAIN 
We decided on camping in San Sebastian as it was nearly half the price of hostels that had pretty average reviews! So up the tent went.... In the rain! The weather looked like it wasn't going to be on our side! But each day just after midday the sun would come through the dark grey clouds and the afternoons were perfect, even quite warm! The campsite was a 30 minutes bus ride into town, which only cost €1.90 each way. Once in town we were determined to keep up our walking so we think we covered every street in the centre and old town! We checked out a few cathedrals (we've seen hundreds by now) but also wanted to head up Mount Urgull, where a statue of Jesus and a spectacular view of San Sebastian is. After taking in the views we walked through the little port and then went out for pizza for dinner. The next day we rugged up, skipped the bus, and walked the 7 kms down the hill from our campsite into town. It was a good idea because again we got great views, but from the other side of the bay! We found Northern spain to be so different to the south but both ends so very beautiful. The Basque people are very different but we found them very hospitable. Our spanish sucks at this point in time because of our stupid choice of destinations, Barcelona, valencia, portugal, malaga and San Sabastion all speaking a different language. The next day, its another train ride but this one is to be our last Spanish destination, Madrid! 

VOLUNTEERING - CANDELEDA -SPAIN
We had been accepted to volunteer for the "Diverbo" Programme (formally "Pueblo Inglés") where we helped Spanish people improve their English skills. So we had a meeting the day before we left Madrid, over paella and red wine! The next day we were on a bus for two hours to the small town of Candeleda. Our accommodation was exquisite, HOTEL quality. (And that's something we are not used to in this trip.) During this week, there was a different schedule for everyday. 3 meal breaks, buffet and 3 course meals, serve with wine. We spent a lot of the day one Anglo to one Spaniard which we enjoyed, because we felt we learnt about the Spanish culture alot. There was also a lot of fun activies, like performances, presentations and drinking at the bar. We had a fantastic experience and We both feel like we have made friends not only from Spain but from around the world! There were so many laughs during this weeks, with Jackson always being the "class clown." it was very emotional for us to finish the program, becoming so close to all of these people was such a highlight of our holiday! We can't stress enough how much we would recommend this to any traveller who has a spare week in Madrid! 

MADRID-SPAIN
Love it!! We managed to spend 3 days either side of the program in Madrid! First 3 days were spent finding our feet and preparing ourselves for Pueblo Inglese. We managed to find a second hand bookstore which was fantastic with thousands of books for a very cheap price. Our accommodation was very basic but we had a private room which is always a plus for us. It means washing day, after checking into a private room within 1 hr there are clothes hanging everywhere frantically trying to dry. The day before we left we had that reception with a lunch and fleminco show. We returned one week later and managed to see a lot more of Madrid, a walking tour on Saturday was brilliant another fascinating historically charged European city, monuments a plenty and a royal palace that is amazing! We also got to see a regatta in the city baths watching from the Alphonso the Vll monument. What we will always remember about Madrid is the passion of its people! Protests every other night, fiestas including herding a 1000 sheep down the main city roads! But most of all the loving friends we were able to catch up with in Madrid, dinner on the Friday night with fellow Anglos, Jim, Katelyn, Foley and Arthur was  great. Also a great catch up with the brilliant and beautiful Marta who showed us some local bars and local community projects. As big as Madrid is we had planned to catch up with Marta but ended up bumping into to her in the street. If that wasn't weird enough we rounded one more corner and bumped into Manuel also from the program and had a coffee with himself and his mother. To top it off we ended up bumping into Bath on the sunday night having some beers, who we met on Friday night as a friend of Arthur's. Anyway fantastic city, fantastic country but most of all loving and caring people who never ever let us pay for a thing! We will miss all our new Spanish friends. Sebado, Sebadette!