6 Cities You Should Visit in Spain

You know what I love most about life? The fact life always ALWAYS has better plans for us. The moment you take a leap of faith and decide to trust life, that’s when life would surprise us. Take us to places we probably never imagined before. Sitting in my living room looking at some old pictures from Europe, I couldn’t help but smile just thinking about my Euro trip this year. From learning French in Nice to exploring more than 20 cities around Europe. Honestly, I never thought I’d make it back to Europe after my first visit in 2015 but I am glad life has a different plan so I get to visit so many places around the world, even those places I can’t really pronounce or never heard of. 

Last April I returned to one of my favourite countries, Spain. It all started with a great conversation and dinner I had with a beautiful soul I met in Berlin. He suggested me to visit Granada, Madrid, and Seville. Seville has been on my bucket list for a very long time so I thought I’m gonna do it this year and maybe visit few more new cities in Spain before heading to Portugal. Obviously it’s always good to be back in Spain, my favourite home away from home. Reminded me of the very first time I visited this country in 2015 where I had a wonderful opportunity to live in Mallorca for 3 months. Then, the more you visit Spain, the more this country will steal your heart. From good food to culture to architecture to sunshine, Spain never fails to amaze me…I told my friend in my next life I think I’d love to be half Indonesian and half Spanish. Simply because Spanish people know how to celebrate and enjoy life, they’re just so cool and humble! 

So if you’re thinking to visit Spain this December or next year and would love to experience something completely different and unique, here are 6 cities you should visit. Experience enchanting Granada, then be sure to visit Valencia ( and eat tons of pincho ), also go explore Mallorca and of course you can’t skip Madrid, Barcelona, and Seville! 

Valencia

Madrid

Malorca

Seville

Barcelona

Granada

Cala Rajada, Spain

I'm glad on my first trip to Europe I actually really take my time exploring beautiful places and immersing myself with the culture and surroundings, instead of rushing from one place to another just for the sake of been there, done that. 90 days obviously not enough to see all the things Europe has to offer, while traveling can be damn expensive - I found renting an apartment for a month or two helps a lot to reduce the cost especially if you don't mind to live in a quiet area like islands, suburbs or small towns...anything but avoid big cities and touristy places. Read more about living cost in Porto Cristo and what makes Cala Rajada different than any other towns in Mallorca, Spain.

Traveling in Europe for 2 months now, started the journey in Munich, continued to Italy, Santorini then Palma de Mallorca - Spain. When I landed in Palma about a month ago, I never thought I would fall in love with the beauty of Mallorca and Spanish people. The island has so many hidden paradise from the exotic beaches, caves, little bays, wait did I mention about good food and wine ? Even every little corner of the streets seem to have unique details and characteristics  which for photographer like me - it means absolutely heaven ! Another great thing that makes you have to visit  Palma de Mallorca, they provide such an easy and convenient transportation system takes you mostly everywhere you want in the island, so don't worry if you don't have a car with you. Meanwhile, yesterday we made it to Cala Rajada...umm say, about 40 minutes ride from Porto Cristo or you can take TIB bus no.441 from Porto Cristo Moll bus stop. While the previous towns I've ever been like Porto Colom and Porto Cristo occupied by old couples or retiree, Cala Rajada seems to be the place where the young people go for summer. Just a little more crowded and dynamic, colorful, as usual you can find many tapas beach bar and accommodation at different rates, it's still not too late to organize your upcoming holidays perhaps this year at Mallorca or Cala Rajada ?

Porto Colom, Spain

Back in Porto Colom, Spain. Well not physically, but mentally yes. I've spent 2 wonderful months in Mallorca this summer, it was everything I saw in the movie or magazines where European people went on summer holidays and they went crazy after months dress up  in layers like an Eskimo. I could totally understand that. While for me, born and raised in a tropical country like Indonesia where we're lucky to have the sun almost all year, it seems we don't really appreciate the summer heat, oh well..grass is always greener. I only have been to few places in Europe but I can convince you Mallorca is one of the best summer destinations, period. A lot bigger than Ibiza, the island has so many hidden paradise to explore, whether you just want to party or relaxing ( or both ), getting off from the plane or ferry in Palma, you can take TIB buses from Placa De' Espanya to different towns. I loved Porto Cristo because it's pretty busy and touristy, they have Saturday market, with various of beach bars and restaurants and we were lucky to live in an apartment next to the famous Cuevas Del Drach and only short walking distance to the beach, town center, my favorite secret bay, possibly everything I ever dreamed about summer in Europe. We visited Cala Rajada too, I found this town was more energetic and dynamic, saw a lot of young people. Then we moved to Porto Colom, less crowded but it was perfect to relax, they have few restaurants, unfortunately not a beach bar but I didn't complain as we met bunch of nice people, the beach Cala Marcal was just 15 minutes away from home and taking an excursion to explore the sea cave, kayaking or diving with Skualo could always be nice option to do. Always love dancing on the beach while watching sunset, now scroll down for few photos I took in Porto Colom, also read  How I Afford Travel for 6 months non-stop. 

Porto Cristo, Spain

As far as i remember, in my life I've never heard any single thing about Porto Cristo. Never had a single dream about Spain, obviously I heard about Barcelona and Ibiza but that was it. You know life has a special plan for you, even though some days can be tough and things get blurry, you have no idea where you'll be heading next, you just have to enjoy the ride - like riding a rollercoaster, believe wherever you are now that's all happening for a good reason.

Previously we were in Perissa, Santorini for 5 days, thought we'd be spending 6 months working in paradise but as soon as we found out the whole situation unfortunately didn't even close to our expectations, we decided to book our last minute flight tickets to Barcelona and took a Transmediterania ferry to Palma de Mallorca. We were pretty lucky to get a job offer at Porto Cristo, a small town about an hour away from Palma. So we left Santorini with peace and tons of good photos, look forward for a great adventure in Porto Cristo.

I love love love the way life surprises me, life seems so much better when you surrounded with people who simply different to you, like they speak different languages and different background, some days I was in a little old town Burghausen on the border of Austria and Germany - my ear trying to listen and catch the new words i've never heard before when I had a chat with bunch of Bavarians, while the other week I was in Italy surrounded by real classy Italian women at Cinque Terre, and after a crazy week in Santorini I continued my journey to Spain, did not know a single thing about Porto Cristo but could smell a fun adventure with great people. I wish i could speak many languages..

The living cost in Porto Cristo is pretty affordable, we live in a studio type apartment located just next to the famous Cuevas Del Drach which cost us $300/month, only few minutes walk to the town center and the beach, we mostly love the laid back vibes in Porto Cristo where it's such a simple joy to have cocktails or cortado and tapas near the bay. Obviously there's a lot of things you can do in Porto Cristo like snorkeling, kayaking, trekking, wall climbing, cave diving, scuba diving, yesterday we went on a boat excursion to explore the sea caves and it was stunning !! After a year working and two months traveling ( I know sounds like a tough life ), I decided to have a little break here, slow down for a month welcoming Summer as I found Porto Cristo actually quite a perfect place for relaxation. The art of doing nothing..