Goodbye Pamplona. I’m writing this on our bus as it leaves for Madrid. Pamplona has been an awesome experience. Some things I’ve noticed since I’ve been here, and this isn’t just exclusive to Pamplona, or even Spain, some are about Europe as a whole.

1. Ham- Boy do they love their ham here in Spain. I’m telling you every single possible food item here besides for seafood has ham in it. There are giant hams hanging in Tapas bars all over Spain, or Pinchos as they call them here in the Basque region. It’s not the ham like we have at home either, It’s like cold bacon, I laaaph it, it’s graate. (Bruno Reference anyone?)

2. The Women- Where do they hide all the ugly women here? The least attractive women I’ve seen here is at least a 5 by American standards. Everyone here from age 18-60 is just insanely good looking. I maybe saw 5 people this entire time here in Pamplona that I would even consider overweight. Maybe it’s just because I’m a sucker for dark hair and dark skin, but seriously the women, man. I need to come back here after college and find my Spanish seniorita.


3. Trust- the trust level here is pretty absurd. No bars here even start tabs with an ID, they just trust that you’ll pay. And even when you do pay, half the time they just ask you what you had. This is unheard of in the states as people would be flying outta Ricks without their tabs left and right.

4. Hairstyles- I could write a book on the hairstyles here. And it’s definitely not just Spain. The mullets here flow like the salmon of Capistrano. And not just dirt mullets. I’m talking perfectly manicured salon cut mullets, the red necks in the states would be drooling. Also I love the shaved sides look on women, a little throwback to the Third Reich.


5. Red- What’s with the color here red in Spain? Call me crazy but there are NOT that many people who rock red gear back in the states. Here EVERYONE WEARS IT! I can’t figure it out. Red scarves, red shoes, red jeans, red shirts, and red purses (and clutches!). I’m not hating on it or anything, but a very interesting observation.

6. Book train tickets IN ADVANCE- Don’t even try to “wing” it. It’s not worth it. This goes for any aspect of the trip. So far I have discovered that yea it seems fun to kind of just travel and live one day at a time, you can’t do this its going to cost too much money. You need to book train tickets and hostels in advance, and not just expect there to be tickets when u get there. I’ve already learned this the hard way. Oh yea, and don’t miss your trains, these tickets are not refundable like airplane tickets, I learned that the hard way as well (Hello Barcelona!)


7. MAP YOUR HOSTEL BEFORE YOU BOOK IT- Don’t just think the hostel with the best rating or cheapest price is the best place to say. My friends learned that the hard way when they got a 10euro a night hostel that was in the fucking mountains and it cost just as much to actually get into downtown Barcelona as it would to stay in a more expensive hostel closer to the city.


Well I’m done ranting for now, I can’t think of any more keen observations to share with you guys. I got a phone call from my mom about 15 minutes after I posted that I wanted to go to Morocco this weekend. My parents were there three years ago and told me that she didn’t want me to go because of how unsafe it was, I’m going to take her advice so I think I’m going to do Lisbon on the coast of Portugal this weekend, which she highly recommended. I’m going to look at train tickets and hostels as soon as I get in Madrid. WHICH REMINDS ME!!! We have internet in Madrid at the hostel we are staying at for the next 2 weeks. Oh I am so excited to be able to just sit down for 5 minuets at a time to check the news or my e-mail. It’s amazing how much you take the internet for granted when you don’t have access to it at your fingertips. Apparently the trade off for this is no access to a kitchen during our stay in Madrid. Looks like I will be eating a whole lot of sandwiches and eating out a lot. I think my favorite part of being here so far is just trying different foods, wines, and beers. I try and order something different every time I go out, and I always ask the bartender to recommend me a drink. Ok but really I’m done ranting now, ill post again tomorrow after a full 24 hours in Madrid. Ciao!