Guide to Madrid, Spain

For a city that is so large and is the capital of Spain, Madrid has a lot of plant life. I greatly enjoyed Madrid's parks. There are many & they are huge. We started by going to the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid. Can you believe that royalty had so much land and plant life? With more than 2,000 different species of plants, there is a ton to see!

Please remember to respect the plants. ;) I'm all about respecting the plants, it just sounds funny.

My favorite spot of the botanical garden is the greenhouse full of succulents and cacti. 

Near the botanical garden, you can find the Palacio de Cristal, the Crystal Palace. This breathtaking palace is in the middle Madrid's "Central Park," Parque del Retiro. 

Wouldn't it be fun to have a party in there?

& in the midst of the botanical garden and one of the largest parks in Madrid, is one of Europe's most famous museum, The Prado. Give yourself a whole day for a trip to explore this grand museum of European art. Do not bring a backpack unless you want to get a locker. & get there before or when it opens! The line gets long!

We went to two more parks while in Madrid. The Temple of Debod is an Egyptian monument that was dismantled and placed in Madrid. It's free to enter and check out (& be careful! The admission times change seasonally!) It wasn't my cup of tea. But the temple is in the middle of another Madrid park. There's a lot of visual stimulation while there. You can see acrobats practicing between the trees, people playing instruments and sunbathers. We just sat in the sun and soaked up the culture. I definitely suggest it!

One more park. ;) Casa de Campo has a gigantic lake in the middle & a walking/biking trail surrounding. There are also more hiking trails surrounding the area. If you're in the mood to be at a park restaurant or paddle on a boat, those activities are available to you. This is the largest park in Madrid, so I'm sure there's more to find that I didn't see!

Madrid also offers a city bus tour that we enjoyed. You can get a 2 day ticket for only 4 additional euros. I suggest doing that, so you can use the bus to get around even if you're not touring,

The Royal Palace of Madrid.

Sammy, the laundromat dog. ;)

Sangria in the Plaza de Santa Ana. 

I absolutely love Madrid & hope to return. Have you been to Madrid? What did you do? Would you visit Madrid?

Want to more of Madrid? Feel free to read my vegan guide to Madrid or watch my Madrid vlog!

- Christina

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lately 001

My last two weekends have been packed with activities. Like I mentioned in my Weekly Goals, I went to a 85 year old birthday party and a one year old party. The 85 year old is my boyfriend's grandpa, Grandpa Andrew. We all met up as a family, which includes many dog cousins. Picture above is my boyfriend & I's German Shepherd/Husky, Timber.

Sarah and her little lady.

Monty

Emma

Grandpa Andrew

Then I went to Makaio's birthday party. My dearest friend Andrea hosted him a Curious George birthday party. It was beautiful decorated. He's a lucky boy to have a caring mother like her.

Timber participated after. ;) 

This past weekend was 4th of July and Keith and began our day by watching one of our favorite movies, Forest Gump. 

Our favorite line. :)

Gregory, our family tortoise. (I didn't take many photos on the 4th because I mostly in a pool. ;))

THEEEN the day after the 4th, I went to my first Los Angeles Dodgers game!  

They have vegan veggie dogs! It was delicious. 

This usher tried to get out of the way. LOL.

AND they have vegan nachos with Follow Your Heart vegan cheese. I was one full happy girl. 

After the Dodgers game we went to one of our local favorites, Chapter One and watched the U.S. women's soccer game. I am so happy they won & kicked butt but I wish it was a more exciting game. 

 What have you been up to lately? Any fun parties? What did you do for the 4th of July? 

I hope you're having a great summer!

- Christina

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Weekly Goals 003

Here's another installment of my weekly goals. 

A way to hold myself accountable for my goals by sharing them with you. 

Last Week's Goal:

Scrapbook. I don't know what I was thinking that this goal could have been semi attainable. I have so.many.photos. from our Europe trip. & I want to edit all of the ones I want to print. I'm kind of overwhelming myself with this goal, but I will be SO HAPPY when I have all of my photos organized in one place.    

This Week's Goals:

Read 15 minutes a day. I plan on editing more photos to print but I think this week I should focus on a more fun goal. I want to read at least 15 minutes a day. I was reading a lot while I was traveling and miss it. I read Wild, One Day & now I'm reading The Happiness Project. Have you read any of them? I love them. (Especially One Day!)

Apply for a job. (& then a less fun goal...) Since coming home from a 3 month European backpacking trip, I've had a hard time adjusting and finding motivation to get back to work. You feel me? I think I should at least start looking for a job. even if i don't want to. :)

Do you have any goals for this week? I'd love to hear them!

- Christina

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Guide to Bilbao, Spain

Have you heard of Bilbao? It’s one of Basque Country’s gems. Basque Country is technically in Spain but they want their own independence. It’s the region in the northwest coast near the France boarder. I absolutely LOVED Bilbao. Although it was raining often (Bilbao gets a lot of rain. Don’t forget your umbrella!), it’s beautiful and welcoming. And surprisingly vegan friendly!

Where to Stay:

We stayed in the Ganbara Hostel. It was a great hostel, no complaints. They have very friendly staff who are very happy to help you with directions or tips for the city. Keep in mind it's a hostel and bunkbeds are a given. 

What to Do:

You may have heard of the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Well there are more locations and one is in Bilbao. The museum is a work of art itself, designed to look like a fish. The museum is full of modern art and while we were there, the main exhibit featured Niki de Saint Phalle. Pictured above you can see her "Nanas", her famous women sculptures. 

The Guggenheim’s interest in featuring art has spilled into the rest of Bilbao. You can find artwork surrounding the museum. There's a gigantic spider sculpture near the river and and even larger flower sculpture named "Puppy" in front of the Guggenheim. Puppy was suppose to be a temporary exhibit but became permanent when Bilbao fell in love. And I did too. A large flower puppy? YES. 

Eat pintxos! Pintxos are Basque Country's tapas. They are typical open faced sandwiches with a skewer through the middle. Pinxtos are all laid out on the bar for you to choose. Let your tastebuds go wild! 

Where to Eat (Vegan):

Typically when I am traveling to a city, I would use these resources to find vegan options. This wasn’t the case in Bilbao. Vegan options just fell into my lap. It was such a pleasant surprise!

Tirauki is a bar that specializes in vegan pintxos. We had no clue we'd find vegan pintxos! It was a lovely coincidence. & they were very delicious, featuring vegan cheese and tofu. 

On the same street there is Muga Taberna which also featured vegan items on their menu. I had a vegan quesadilla with a ton of vegetables. It was kind of greasy but that bar food for you. I’d suggest trying something else at Muga Taberna. :) 

Hot Dog's House is an omnivore restaurant that has a vegan hot dog and hamburger. They’re prices were perfect. I admittedly had a lot vegan hot dogs there. The staff was lovely, a very comfortable place to go.

I absolutely LOVED Bilbao. I really want to go back and eat more vegan pintxos. (I miss them. ;)) Would you ever consider visiting Bilbao?

- Christina

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