Couch surfing took me to more fabulous places again while in Valencia. I was hosted by Elodie and Manuel. They showed me around the city and took me to a great cheap paella lunch. That evening I went with Manu to watch his Capoeira class, but his teacher made me join! It was a great workout and lots of fun. There were also people gathered in
one of the plazas doing Capoeira; very cool! The next day Manu drove us into the mountains and we went to a beautiful natural spring swimming. The water was warm and SO clear! That night we watched the sun set at the natural conservation area; an area where a river and sea meet creating a thriving bird habitat. That night Manu taught me how to make a Spanish omelet! My third day in Valencia we went to a nearby village where there was a castle! This was unlike any castle I have visited! First the Romans built it, and then the Arabs came and used the same spot and much of the same building but added their own archway. After the Arabs, the Catholics came and used the same spot! It was pretty cool, Roman columns, Arab archway and catholic crosses. We had a nice picnic dinner on a mountain where we could see the city of Valencia and the sea. Absolutely wonderful.Granada
After Valencia I took a night train to Granada where I wanted to visit the Alhambra, the Arab palace and estate! Granada is a very interesting multi-cultural city, very influenced by northern African culture. I arrived and cruised the city through the old part of white buildings, narrow alleyways and old Arab history. That afternoon I went to the Arab baths…woah! It was just what the doctor ordered after a week of craziness in Barcelona and sleeping on a train! For an hour and a half I soaked in three pools of different temperatures; incense burning, tea to drink, lovely music, and it was all topped off with a massage! That evening I went to a great local tapas bar where my Spanish was put to its first test…I passed! I made friends with 3 women and we shared dinner, drinks and dancing; none of them spoke English! With a bit of patience and a very handy pocket dictionary we had a great time all evening!The second day in Granada I met with another couch surfer from Argentina who was also visiting. We went to the Alhambra together.
It was really amazing. The Arab palace, still in very good shape, was full of interesting history, including the room where our good buddy Chris Colon asked for funding and ceilings that inspired the famous mathematician and artist MC Escher! The palace of great beauty and detail was very contrasting to the other palace on the estate, built a bit later by a new king who wanted Roman architecture. The fortress was only a ruin but fun to explore. My favorite part of the Alhambra estate was the garden! Full of flowers, trees, gardens and great views of the city and the Sierra Nevada, it was such a great place to watch the sun set. Sevilla and Tarifa
Just when I think that couch surfing has thrown all it has at me, I have the most adventurous, exciting time ever! I was picked up by my host and his friend when I arrived in Sevilla. They asked if I wanted to join them and some other friends at the beach for the weekend; of course I did, I’m traveling with no plan for this reason! We get their stuff, meet a few more people for lunch and then head to the beach El Palmar for one of the most spectacular sunsets I have ever seen…and it was on the Atlantic!
My host and his carload of people meet up with us and we went to a beach town for dinner and then headed to Tarifa. From here we could see the lights of Morocco...only 14 km across the sea and I peed where the Mediterranean and Atlantic meet! We stayed in an amazing flat with views of the ocean and a huge veranda to hang out on until the sun came up. It was the most amazing sunrise…orange sky and a huge rainbow over the sea! I was supposed to learn to surf Sunday but it was a huge storm, not exactly beginner surfer conditions, but it was great watching the kite boarders under the shelter of the veranda! I headed back to Sevilla and spent 2 days there. I was shown around the city, had great local (cheap) food, relaxed in the Alcazar and enjoyed sunny weather.
The Alcazar was another Arab palace…and is the oldest palace in Europe. The building was beautifully decorated with the ornate hand made tiles but the gardens were the best. Fountains, orchards, a labyrinth, and plenty of benches to sit and bask in the warm November sun. It was also the first city I visited that had Christmas lights on! So beautiful and romantic!Cordoba
As much as I loved Sevilla, I needed to move on (and I didn’t have a couch to surf anymore in Sevilla!) so I headed to Cordoba. What an interesting town. I stayed in a hostel and made friends with the 2 girls in my room…both couch surfers too! We enjoyed tapas and some beers together. We also met with some other couch surfers at a bar with live music and were recommended the best, cheapest tapas place yet! We spent the next day together at the Mezquita.
What a powerful place. The Muslims built the Mezquita as a temple. Over 800 columns, with double archways supporting the huge ceiling, it was very impressive. The archway to Mecca was so beautiful! What I found was the most interesting part of the Mezquita is that it is now a catholic church; instead of the Catholics coming in a knocking it down and building their own holy building, they removed 16 columns and put a temple in the center, leaving the rest of the building as the Muslims built it! After touring the Mezquita we went to the history of Cordoba museum where I was even more impressed with the city; it was once a city home to Jews, Muslims and Catholics where they were educated together and shared their ideas about science, math, theology and more! In such a conflicting world today, it was very cool to be somewhere where everyone once lived so peacefully! We also walked around and visited the patios, something the people in the south of Spain are famous for. They open their personal gardens to the public's viewing; boy were they beautiful. Lots of small and large pots of plants, water features, and Andalusian ceramics on the walls. Fabulous alternative to gardening! Then it was off to Madrid!Madrid
I was expecting more of Madrid, so it was a bit sad to make it my final stop, but I still managed to have a great time. The first 2 nights I stayed in a hostel. I wandered the streets and plazas that the books and maps say you need to see with some others from the hostel but the real fun stared on Friday night! I got a message from the person that was going to host me Saturday (until Wednesday) that there was a group of couch surfers meeting to go salsa dancing;
I warned him of my two left feet but it was no problem. I had a blast! Everyone was very nice and we laughed a lot! I met with Jose, my host on Saturday and went to the palace and the Prado with the other person he was hosting. We enjoyed the sunny weather, museums and laughed at the ridiculous Christmas lights that were up everywhere! Sunday I cruised the city with Jose; we went to some really cool, free, small art museums and monuments. I went with him to a dinner with all of his Venezuelan friends and got another good round of Spanish practice! The REAL fun was on Monday night. There was a group of couch surfers meeting for tapas so we went too. There was about 20 of us from 10 countries. After eating, we went to a bar where we were given the cellar to ourselves…and the fun began! 3 people left to “go change” and when they returned, the two guys were dressed as women and were ready to go out clubbing. I had made a new friend from Mexico, 
It was a fabulous way to bid farewell to Spain (and to Europe!)
