Spain

Over Spring Break, I took the best trip of my life in Spain. For all those of you who don't know where Spain is, it is in west Europe. It't not a huge country, only being a little bigger than twice the size of Oregon. We started off in the capitol of Spain, Madrid, which some people consider a Fashion Capitol. After having gone there, I now do too. The people there dress so differently than in the United States! I can honestly say I didn't see a single person (besides my brother) who was wearing a sweatshirt or sweatpants/athletic shorts. All the women looked so stylish and intimidating, and the men were quite attractive. But I did stand out a little bit because I was packed for a warm Spring Break since it was predicted to be in the 70's and 80's, so I had warm weather clothes (dresses, shorts, skirts, white, etc.) It was only in the 60's and 70's, but apparently that is cold for the locals because they were all wearing boots (over-the-knee boots were everywhere) skinny jeans, scarfs, and leather jackets. The men were all wearing straight-leg jeans, collared shirts, dress shoes, and quite a few wore fedoras. I'm sure everyone knew I was a tourist by the way I dressed. In Madrid, we walked around the town and went to a castle and shopping. The castle was unbelievable and giant! Wish I lived there....The shopping was amazing! I've never seen so many cute, stylish shops in one town. They were all around! In Spain, the streets are narrow and winding with adorable Spanish boutiques surrounding you. I got a couple things in Madrid from Mango and another store that I can't remember the name of...I was counting on going to Marc Jacobs and Chanel because I was told by my mom that we'd go there, but she didn't keep her promise because we'd have to go on a detour to get there, which was a huge downer. We also went to an art museum called the Prado which was breathtaking! There were well-known painters' art there, I even got to see a Leonardo de Vinci! For the next 3 nights we were in Seville, which is farther South. It was noticeably warmer there so people were wearing a little more reasonable outfits and weren't quite as bundled up. But I was still one of the only people not wearing boots... In Seville we went to a very famous cathedral (which was actually very cool,) went to a bull ring, and went to two more palaces. They were all very cool, but my favorite was the Cathedral! My mom and I also went shopping in Seville. There were Mangos, H&Ms, Topshops, and shoe markets everywhere! We spent quite a while wandering into all the different shops, but everything there is super expensive so we didn't buy a lot. I ended up getting a couple things at a store called Massimo Duti which could be compared to a more up-scale J. Crew. My favorite purchase was a blue and white gingham shirt. It is now my new favorite! I sad an adorable pair of oxfords at Mango for 50 Euros (about $80,) but I'm mad I didn't pounce on them. Now they're all I can think about. The following 2 nights we went to a tourist town called Nerja. This was the most Southern part of Spain. Here, we went to the beach and walked around. We did a little bit of shopping here, but now a ton since it was a super touristy town so they didn't have great shopping. The last day we went back to Madrid to be close to the airport. We walked around for a bit, but the majority of our time we were taking care of things we had to do before we got on our flight. My mom and I were disappointed because we discovered out there was a shopping mall 30 minutes outside Madrid where all the luxurious fashion designers had stores, and the clothes were last season so everything was 60% off...next time. Overall, it was very impressed by Spain and I hope to study abroad in Madrid when I'm in college.