Adventure papaer

My Trip to Spain

Keona Weathers

The Community College of Baltimore County Dundalk

My Trip to Spain

Spain is a country in the Southwestern part of Europe that covers a big part of the Iberian Peninsula. It is bordered by two large water bodies: the Mediterranean Sea to the East and The Atlantic Ocean to the North-west and South-West. In this paper, I am going to include detailed information about traveling to Spain. These details include the approximate traveling costs and total cost of staying in Spain, the means of travel that I will be using, how I plan to prepare for the culture and language of Spain, where I plan to stay, and the activities and foods that I will try. A summary of what I gained from my adventure will also be inclusive of this paper. I finally plan to conclude this paper by summarizing the purpose of my tour and what I think will inspire me the most. I plan to visit Spain primarily for educational and cultural quest purposes, though I will also include activities that one could do for fun.

Though it sounds fun, planning for a journey is no easy feat. I plan to travel to Spain for thirty-six days. I plan to get to Spain by taking an inbound flight from Sao Paulo to Madrid. I also plan to include a travelling partner so that my visit does not get boring. The total travel cost in Spain is 431.65 euros, excluding the inbound and outbound flights. Full intercity travel would amount to 320.55 euros while local travel is 111.10 euros. For my local trip, I am planning to use BlaBlacar to hire vehicles for travelling between five different cities. If my travel partner and I share the travel costs of the five rides, it will amount to 76 euros. I am also planning for us to take one train and three bus trips and hire a rental car for three days. These would amount to 43.60, 66.95, and 134.00 euros, respectively. The total accommodation costs would amount to 419 euros, food would amount to 762.63 euros, attractions would cost us 107.35 euros, and other miscellaneous expenses would sum to $ 117.65. These various activities include Souvenirs, Internet costs, pharmacy, locker, clothes, and water closet. The total approximate for our travel would therefore amount to 2144.18 euros for two persons. This meant that each of us would need 1468 US dollars (Denduck et al., 2020).

To overcome culture shock, I will prepare for Spain’s language through having an English-Spanish dictionary to guide me on the basics of speaking Spanish and what words would mean. I would further ensure that my Google Translate is working so that I would be able to communicate effectively with natives that have little knowledge about English. I will also make an effort to learn the local language through enrolling in a short course on the basics of Spanish. On the other hand, I plan to prepare for the Spanish culture by keeping an open mind to avoid perceiving some information as wrong. Since I have never been to Spain before, I also plan to perform several background searches concerning their cultural practices to avoid clashing with residents that I would meet there (Gunn, 2017).

Spain is a country with lots of attractions and open-air museums. When I finally settle down after my travel, I plan to engage in many activities. For starters, I plan to go for a Kayaking in Costa Brava, Barcelona, for a whole day. I also plan to watch the traditional bullfight in Madrid, since it is an inevitable part of Spain’s history. Through watching Bullfighting, I will get to understand why animal rights activists are against it nowadays and its significance to the Spaniards. I also plan to visit the Alhambra Moorish Fortress. Located in the hills of Granada, the Alhambra is a significant historical landmark. It served to protect the city’s residents from invasion by the Christians in the past (Boll, 2020). Another cultural quest that I plan to explore in Spain is paying a visit to the important art museums in Madrid. I mainly plan to visit the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia museum to find the works of Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali. Other recreational activities that I plan to engage in include: seeing a Flamenco show, attend a gypsy wedding, taking a trip along the Camino de Santiago, which is an antique pilgrimage, and study a little bit of Spanish.

Spain is one of the countries in the world that has unique cuisines and serves as a destination for food lovers all around the world. While there, I would love to try Gourmet Cuisine in San Sebastian. This includes steak, cider, and tapas. Paella is another cuisine that I would love to try while in Spain. It is a popular and traditional Spanish rice dish. I would also love to try Jamon Iberico ham that is made from Iberian black pigs. The last dish that I would love to try is the Gazpacho, an authentic Spanish dish that is composed of ripe tomatoes, olive oil, garlic bread, pepper, and cucumber. These ingredients are usually blended and served cold.

During my Spain tour, I plan to stay in several places, considering my lengthy period of stay. I plan to spend the first four nights in hotels. In Barcelona, I plan to spend two nights in the Alma Hotel, one night in Hotel Orfila in Madrid, and Destino Pacha Resort in Ibiza for one night as well. For sixteen nights, I will be residing in an AirBnB at Cabo de Gata along the Spanish Coast. Airbnb would be a great way to obtain a decent place of residence at a lower price compared to hotels (Vallejo Pousada, & Larrinaga, 2020). I have a friend in Toledo, where I planned to stay for four nights. This is great for my budget since I would mean reduced expenses. In the last 12 days, I plan to get a house sitting job, which would double up as free accommodation for me. This house sitting job would serve to reverse the effects of spending on accommodation purposes. From my adventure, I will gain knowledge of how the culture of the Spanish is. I will get a taste of what their food is like and how they prepare it. I will also get to learn the basics of speaking Spanish and saying basic statements like greetings and thanking people.

My trip to Spain will prove to educate me on the culture and the ways of the residents of Spain. This trip will enable me to learn how they interact with one another and the events that bring them together, such as weddings and bullfights. I will also get to know the basics of planning for a trip, therefore enabling me to advise others on how to prepare for the same. My source of inspiration during this trip will be the Art Museums. This is because I am interested in art, and I would love to be featured in the Art Museums in Spain one day.

References

Boll, J. R. (2020). Selling Spain: Tourism, Tensions, and Islam in Iberia. Journal of Intercultural Communication, 20(2), 42-55.

Deduck, N., UnevenSidewalks.com, L., Cadore, R., Riya, Vanessa, Amar, N., Cristo, M. (2020, April 28). How much does it cost to travel to Spain? Budget tips for your next trip! Retrieved September 07, 2020, from https://loveandroad.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-travel-in-spain-budget/

Gunn, S. (2017). Globalization, Education, and Culture Shock. Taylor & Francis.

Vallejo Pousada, R., & Larrinaga, C. (2020). Travel agencies in Spain during the first third of the 20th century. Tourism business in the making. Business History, 1-20.