Los Hostals (the hostels)

Perre Tarres

Career de Numància 149-151

08029 Barcelona, Spain

This hostel was in Barcelona, about a 10 minute walk from the Barcelona Sants train station. This was a somewhat modern hostel, with AC, bathrooms in the rooms, and electrical keys for the lockers and the doors. Each bed has a light and a few electrical outlets for charging devices. The lockers in the room were gigantic. We shared two between five people and all of our stuff fit.

The bathrooms weren't as clean as they could be. I would definitely bring flip flops (and your own soap for the sink) but overall they are fine. If you want to stay in total comfort and feel totally safe about your stuff, this is the place to go. Location wise, it really isn't close to anything but it is only a short walk to the train stations which take you directly to where to want to go. However, it is right across the street from a mall (which doesn't look like a mall) so that is a plus. 

Breakfast is also included and they have wifi only in the lobby

Innsa 

Calle Baja 48

46003 Valenica, Spain 

This hostel was located in Valencia and we really felt like we got to experience the culture of this city by staying in this hostel. The building is actually from the 16th century and has been updated (our room was still in the process of being updated because they only opened the hostel about two years ago). However, even with the updates, you still get to experience living in a older Spanish house with an indoor courtyard (where the owner, Teresa, runs a small Restaurant and where guests eat breakfast in the morning).

 The rooms are quite comfy and you don't have to pay for each individual locker (unlike Perre Tarres).

(Sorry for bad quality of the picture)

We shared a four bed room even though there were only three of us (one girl changed plans and so we decided to keep the final bed so we would have privacy). We slept with the balcony window open every night, which let in the air. The bathrooms are shared between multiple rooms (unless you book a room that has a bathroom included) and they were extremely nice and clean.

They also have a sitting area, where you can get wifi. It is an extremely comfy room and we sat in there a lot.

 The owner is the best and all of us would go back just to see her. She is extremely funny, always joking about everything, and I really feel like we got to know her during our stay. Location wise, this hostel is perfect. It is located in the older city of Valenica, near the cathedral, central market, and many places to eat. The train and bus stations to the beach and the City of Arts and Sciences are also extremely close and make this hostel a great place to stay.

One thing I also liked is that the whole hostel is filled with pieces of art, as you can probably seen in he multiple pictures. There were very few blank walls.

NOTE: if you need AC or cannot stand loud noises while you sleep, this hostel is not for you. Innsa uses open doors and fans to cool off (which I enjoy). Along with this, Innsa is along a busy street with many tapas bars and stores so at night it can get pretty noisy if you are sleeping in one of the front rooms. It didn't bother us, but I know some people get annoyed with this. 

Also, to get into the hostel before the restaurant opens, you actually have to ring a door bell (there is 24 hour reception so you're fine getting back anytime), which I liked cause only guests could get in instead of anybody being able to wander in.

Excusión a Salamanca y Ávila (excursion to Salamanca and Ávila)

To get to Salamanca, we had to leave extremely early in the morning (at least for us) at 7:30 because Salamanca was farther away than the other places we visited. When we arrived, we met our guide at a bridge below the walls of the city. The guide (guía), Carmen, took us to the Cathredal first, which was actually two cathredals, a newer one and an older one. The citizens of the city had thought that the older cathedral was ugly and so decided to build a new one. They continued using the older one while the newer one was being built (which took many years), however once the newer one was finished, they decided to keep them both.

In the older Cathredal (below), which is from the Romanesque and gothic architectural period, we saw the paintings behind the alter, which were really stunning. After that, we headed to the capillas (chapels) that were to the right of the alter.  

One of the capillas was formerly used by the university for graduating students, who would spend the night in the chapel before their final exam and then take the final exam in the chapel, surrounded by professors.

(Dra. Pertusa is sitting where graduating students would have sat.)

We saw one more capilla, this one for a duke who lived in Salamanca, and then headed to the newer Cathredal. While the older one was darker and had fewer windows, the newer one, created in the gothic and baroque style, was tall and very bright. Everything was extremely beautiful. My favorite part was the dome (below). 

After discussing more of the history between the two chapels, we headed outside to another entrance to the newer chapel. Because of an earthquake in the past years, much of the sculptures and decorations on the outside of the church were destroyed. The city repaired some of the decoration but made of few changes while they were doing so. In the picture below, you can spot both an astronaut and the devil with an ice cream cone.

We then headed to the University of Salamanca, the oldest university in Europe. The facade was created in the plataresco style. The entrance to the older part of the university is stunning, full of sculpture and designs. 

If you look hard enough, you can find a frog sitting on a scull. Finding this is said to bring you good luck in your studies. In the picture below, it is on the first scull on the column. It is tiny, but it is possible to find it. 

We headed into the university and got to see the oldest classroom of the building. Most of the wooded seats had decayed or weathered and none of them looked comfy. The room was also incredibly dark and I don't believe many people would have been able to stay awake in there. We then headed to the capilla of the university, which was extremely pretty. 

After that we headed to the library. Because of the fragility of the books, only caretakers are allowed to enter because the water vapor released by people breathing could greatly injure the books. Therefore, there is a glass box in which you can stand to view the library.

After that, we walked down the street to the plaza mayor de Salamanca. One the way, we say the palace of the duke who had a chapel in the older cathedral, which had adopted lots of Arabic style decorations. We then continued to the Plaza Mayor, which all of us really liked even though there was no cover from the sun. Images of heroes and famous writers along with other important historical figures were placed all around the plaza, which I though was cool. 

We then divided and some people went shopping while others went to historical locations in the town. We went shopping and I actually found earbuds (the iPhone ones) for about six euros. We also found a cute little candy shop with gormet candy. After shopping a little more, we met up with the group and headed to Ávila. Ávila is surrounded by murallas (walls) left behind by the Romans.

We didn't have long in this city but we made sure to try their specialty, yemas. Yemas area basically sugar and egg and I compared the taste to fondont, the stuff used to decorate cakes. They weren't bad but they weren't something I would buy again because they were extremely sweet. 

After that, we headed back to Segovia but not before stopping on the hill a little way out to take a better picture of the walls. 

Viaje a Valencia (Trip to Valenica)

We arrived at the train station in Valencia around 8:30 and got a taxi to our hostel, Innsa. Teresa, the owner, then checked us in, showed us our room, and explained how things worked in the hostel. After she left us, there was a small procession for Saint Carmen outside our windows because it was her feast day or something like that. 

 We settled in and then headed to dinner. Everywhere we walked, there was someone trying to get us to go to our restaurant and we finally chose Mavala. They had an upstairs loft and we sat up there. They had a deal where you could get two entrees and a desert for €12 and so we got pollo en agridulce (chicken in balsamic vinegar) and a four cheese pasta. 

 We really enjoyed the pollo (one of my friends even got a second helping) but the pasta wasn't as good. We then got desert, tiramisu, which was fantastic. After that, we headed back to our hostel and went to sleep.

The next morning, we got up, got dressed, and headed down to breakfast. It was a simple breakfast, with toast, muffins, or croissants along with coffee, tea, or water. We then headed to the beach, called Malvarrosa. We took the metro line, which, unlike the other cities I've visited in Spain, is above ground. We took line 4 to the beach (although we started off on the train going in the opposite direction) and made it there around 11. 

It was really pretty and the water was so clear, you could see your feet even if the water was all the way up to your chin. It was also much saltier too. 

NOTE: If you are pale or if you burn easily or even if there is a possibility that you might burn, wear tons of sunscreen! I applied sunscreen twice in the 4 hours I was there (which is a lot because I was in the shade of the umbrella for half the time) and I still got slightly burned. Apply a lot and apply it frequently. 

We ate lunch at a nearby Pans&Company and then we headed back to our hostel on the metro line.  We all took showers and relaxed until dinner time in the cute little lounge area they had at Innsa. We then headed to dinner at La Catalina, where we got lagrimas de pollo (literally chicken tears but basically just small fried pieces of chicken) and paella de pollo (chicken paella). The lagrimas were good but none of us really enjoyed the paella. With the price of the meal that we didn't really enjoy, we decided not to go back. 

We then headed to the hostel and went to bed. 

The next morning, we got up and headed to the Mercat Central or in Spanish El Mercado Central (the central market). It's one of the oldest and largest markets in Spain and it was really cool to see all of the fruit, meat, and vegetable stands. 

 On the way to the bus station to go to the Ciudad de Artes y Ciencias (the city of arts and sciences) where the Oceanográfic (aquarium) is located, I got hit on by a very drunk man. Everything was fine, with one friend pulling away and the other pulling me away, but that was a very interesting encounter. He basically asked me if my hair color was natural. I didn't really understand what he was saying (as he was invading my personal space and I was trying to get away from him) but my friends translated what he said later. 

We finally made it to the bus station and took that all the way to the aquarium, although we missed our stop and had to walk back to it. We bought our tickets (around €23 for just the aquarium) and then entered the aquarium. 

They divided the aquarium into different sections based on where the fish came from and we started with the tropics because it was closest. 

We got to see a dolphin show, which was really cool. They had some child volunteers, but to pick these volunteers they actually made them answer questions or picked the child whose parent danced the worst (that was extremely funny to see). During the show, the Dolphins did extremely high and complicated flips. I hadn't realized that they were that talented and so it was really cool. 

After that, we headed to the area with the sharks and I took this really funny picture. 

I found it really funny that they had an exhibit for ducks. 

 We then headed back to the hostel to change and relax, because we had spent at least 4 hours at the aquarium. After a little bit, one of my friends and I headed to see the Cathredal but along the way we found a little medieval market, where they sold leather goods along with food, jewelry, and soaps. 

We then made it to the cathedral, which was extremely pretty. We didn't go it but we did end up walking around La Plaza de La Reina (Queen's Plaza) and it actually rained (first time I've seen rain here)! They had some really cute shops and after looking in those, we headed back to the hostel to pick up our other friend for dinner, 

 We went back to Mavala because we had loved it so much the first night. We once again go pollo en agridulce. 

This time though, we also got Pasta Carbonara which we liked a lot more. We got a torta (cake) for desert. It had different layers of caramel, chocolate, and I believe Nutella. It was really a good but we all agreed the tiramisu was better. 

We headed back to the hostel and went to bed once again. The next morning, we woke up and had breakfast before catching a taxi to the train station. 

One other thing I really like about Valencia, is that everywhere we explored in the area around our hostel, which I believe was the older city, had paintings and murals on the walls. I really enjoyed that.