Beaches & books

Since I spent one day in Bilbao and Zaragoza each, this meant that I was forced to wake up well before 8am for 3 mornings in a row in order to catch an early bus to my destinations. With jam-packed days of walking and traveling (which is always strangely exhausting in itself), and less than quality sleep at a couple hostels along the way, my body was craving some rest. After catching up on emails that are longggggg overdue (isn't everyone else on spring break too???), I went to bed at 11pm and slept solidly until 7am. I did a slight double-take when I saw the time on my phone, but I only managed to sleep another hour until I got restless and decided I may as well get a start on the day.

The hostel was full of early risers though and I got to chat with some fellow world-travelers about the best places to visit in Spain (may or may not have shamelessly plugged Madrid, definitely one of my favorite cities). I then set out to visit the Central Market, which is this absolutely beautiful market that has rows upon endless rows of fresh produce, fresh meats and seafood, and freshly pressed fruit juices. They had one of these in Zaragoza too and I must say I am a fan, if only because these markets are incredible eye-candy (if you look at the produce, don't ever ever ever approach the seafood section. The smell alone is disgusting)

I visited the Lonja de Mercederes (yes, same word/place as the one from Zaragoza) where silk exchange used to happen long ago. 

Is it just me, or are all the buildings starting to look the same? 

I was determined to see a handful of sights around the city before heading out to the City of Arts and Sciences and/or the beach. Both are quite a ways away from my hostel, so I was planning a route to minimize the amount of public transport I would have to use to see everything. Well somehow between visiting the huge, beautiful train station and walking along Gran Via, I got to the point where I was about halfway to the City of Arts and Sciences anyway... so I decided to keep walking!

The city is majorly awesome. Modern, sleek, overall impressive, with a beautiful park situated right adjacent to it. I got to the city at the prime of the day and promptly sat down to start reading the book I have carried around with me for the entire trip and had yet to start reading: The Hunger Games (more on this later). 

I realized I was pretty close to the beach and I was determined to check out some of the restaurants that line the port which are said to have some of the best paella of the city. And, I can now say I have seen all the coasts in Spain (north, east, south) and, if the bay in Lisbon counts, all the coasts of the Iberian peninsula! 

After a delicious lunch, I got to lounge around on the beach and read for the next 1-2 hours, during which point I got utterly absorbed into the book (I swore I wouldn't let that happen, but it's so good!)

My walk along the beach had taken me much further north than I thought, so retracing my steps back to the hostel wasn't a good idea. Still determined not to fuss over the bus, I walked a new route towards an area of town I am familiar with and from there head home. 

Holy moly did I walk. Like, for hours. Which was pleasant, but all I wanted was to rest my achy feet and read more of my book. By the time I got back to the touristy part of the city, I rewarded myself with another horchata and a farton (picture a long breadstick looking thing, which tasted like the inside of a croissant covered in powdered sugar- yum) and lingered in the horchateria to read a few more chapters of my book. 

Immediately upon arriving at the hostel, I kicked off my shoes and curled up on a coach, laughing out loud (literally) and sighing at every page of the book until I finished it. The question now is how quickly I can locate the second book. Not quick enough. Maybe someone can guide me to an English bookstore here since it is a pretty big city. Otherwise, it looks like I'll have to wait until Monday to hit up some bookstores in Madrid. Darn. 

Overall, this Saturday was simply a perfect day - beautiful views, good food, and the perfect book to get lost in...