Spain Archives - Passport Overused

Twas the night before Christmas, somewhere there was a kid secretly opening their presents without the adults knowing. When I was a toddler, that kid opening presents early was me. The Christmas spirit filled me with so much nostalgia. At one point in my life, it was my favorite time of the year.

Madrid’s most famous Christmas tree photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Seeing families with their children running home put a smile on my face. Everybody looked happy and relaxed. The Puerta Del Sol was packed with people. All eyes fixed on the neon lighted Christmas tree. I was in lost for words. This tree lived up to the hype.

Famous statue del puerta del sol photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

The texture and patterns of the lights were so interesting. It felt like Times Square when the ball drop for new year’s. The Spanish public square was completely packed. Everywhere you turned, there was a person with a camera. Had to get out the main part of Puerta Del Sol to take a photo. It was almost impossible to get close to the tree.

The entrance to Puerta del sol photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Still with all these people, I was loving the moment. People were all together celebrating something positive. Not sure, why that stood out to me. Maybe because I feared someone or something would make a negative out this celebration. Luckily, everything was relaxed. You didn’t even see police with guns imposing like you do in the USA. There was no sense of intensity here. Just smilingly faces with joyful expressions.

Christmas lights Madrid photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Started walking back to my Airbnb apartment. The thought about of my family came to my mind. I wonder how they were doing. I spoke with my parents and everything was fine. What made me pounder, were my cousins. We used to be so close. Yearly, I used to celebrate Christmas with them. Around this time as kids, my brother and I used to travel to New York City to visit. Sadly as you get older, sometimes family bonds fade away. Who you considered your love ones, don’t always want to show you love back. Please, treasure the good moments with your love ones. You never know what the future has in store! Regradless of how I was feeling, loved my time in Madrid.

Hey everyone we got nominated for the sunshine award!!

I Want to say thank you to chocoviv. She is someone who is always positive! I really recommend reading her blog! Here is the link! Even when everything is not going her way, she alway looks at the bright side of things. Her blog is for people who love positivity. Truly honoured that she reads my blog post 🙂

The Sunshine Blogger Award Rules :

Thank the blogger (s) who nominated you and provide a link back to their blog.
List the rules and display an award logo on your blog.
Answer the 11 questions the blogger (s) asked you.
Nominate 11 other bloggers to receive the award and notify them by commenting on any of their posts.
Ask the nominees 11 new questions.

Questions

1) Do you celebrate Christmas? If not, do you celebrate any special day in December?

Yes, I celebrate Christmas. However, the way My family and I celebrate it is different than the main stream. It’s more about eating food than exchanging presents. Our meals are the presents.

2) What book are you reading right now?

Currently reading the 48 laws of power.

3) Netflix or YouTube?

Youtube all the way. Since most of it is free.

4) Favourite movie?

The movie Hugo. It’s crazy how it has my name as the movie’s title and I could relate it to struggle of the main character.

5) Favourite artist?

Don’t really have a favorite. For some reason Bob Marley is the first to come to mind.

6) Dream vacation location?

Antarctica! Currently planning on going there soon!

7) When did you start blogging?

About 4 years ago

8) Why did you start blogging?

My friend recommended me to start blogging. Sadly he just wanted to use me.

9) Do you like using gift bags or are you a wrap-expert?

We don’t do normal gifts. Our meals are the gifts. So i guess plastic bags.

10) Favourite childhood toy?

A teddy bear i called Pacheco. I losted it somewhere.

11) Go to friend’s house or host the party at your own place?

Probably go to a friend’s house. I hate when people are at my home. Things tend to go missing.

Alright! Time for my questions!!

1) what are your plans for next year?

2) How are you going to make sure those goals are accomplished for next year?

3) What is the favorite place you traveled to?

4) Do you like to travel alone or with friends?

5) what is the funniest travel story you experienced?

6) Does it snow this time of the year where you live?

7) When did you start blogging?

8) Do you enjoying blogging?

9) What is the best thing that has happened to you this year?

10) What made you smile the hardest this year?

11) What are your travel plans for next year?

Blogs nominated for this award:

https://empowerandbalance.wordpress.com/

https://rebeccagoesrendezvous.wordpress.com/

https://kristalynhartley.wordpress.com/

https://amomentwithme.com/

https://thehuntress915.wordpress.com/

https://rosesintherubble.com/

https://bobbiblogger.wordpress.com/

https://thetravelingtodds.com/

https://adventuresfromelle.com/

https://streetsofnuremberg.com/

https://angelartstar.wordpress.com/

Thank you for reading! Stay safe and much love! Happy holidays everywheres

Check out our eBook “How to Travel for Dirt Cheap” by Hugo Morel for ways to make your dreams of traveling come true without breaking the bank. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M848M47?ref_=pe_3052080_276849420&fbclid=IwAR0_mRF-eE9tODIshljVr7CQ8h6vKT6hHn_8gZfJ94DySY1ylPO2Itu2Qe

For videos about cultures of the world and to see our travels, subscribe to our youtube channel!

For my underwater photos, I use the gopro hero 7 white.

We have partnered up with booking.com and working on TripAdvisor. Here are some links for each hope you all enjoy!

Here are links to hotels and other deals.

For Hotels, make sure to click here. For apartments make sure to click here. For Resorts click here. For villas click here. For bed and breakfast and for Guest houses, make sure to click the links!

It was Christmas Eve today, I had to explore before everything starts to close for the holiday. Walking around I was surprised to see how clean this city was. The locals were very friendly. Probably because of the jolly Christmas spirit lighted a fire in their smiles.

The bay faces of Madrid photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Madrid is a city full of diversity. Not just with immigrants from all over the world. The Spanish capital has someone from every corner of Spain. It’s so interesting seeing people speaking one of Spain’s many languages.

View from the train station photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Kept exploring, until I ended up near a central train station. Apparently, the train station was closed due to Christmas. Wandering around, I was asked to take a photo of fellow tourists. They were from Mexico City. Spoke with them about the current affairs in Spain and Mexico. We had such an interesting conversation, they recommended me to go to Mexico City. They even offered to show me around. It’s so crazy, how one conversation can lead to a new contact. Not sure why random people have so much faith in me.

The beautiful building photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

After meeting new friends, I started walking towards this beautiful looking building. As shown in the picture above, it looked like a church in Latin America. Seeing the Spanish architecture mixed with other European styles left me in awe.

Madrid’s Christmas tree photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Ended up going to Puerta del Sol. I was told to come here to see the Christmas tree by locals. They told me the tree is very beautiful at night. I couldn’t wait to see what the hype was about. This reminded me of my childhood going to Union square in San Francisco to see the Christmas tree.

Building with the west side story banner photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

As the sun was setting, I readying myself for the night. Found a restaurant that sold chocolate dipped churros. I always thought this was a Mexican snack. However, the Spaniards claim they invited it. Either way, night was upon us. Let’s see what it had to offer. Who knew that night would be so beautiful.

Thank you for reading! Stay safe and much love!

For videos about cultures of the world and to see our travels, subscribe to our youtube channel!

For my underwater photos, I use the gopro hero 7 white.

We have partnered up with booking.com and working on TripAdvisor. Here are some links for each hope you all enjoy!

Here are links to hotels and other deals.

Landed in Madrid on December 23 , two days before Christmas. The flight from Tangier to Madrid was about an hour long and costed me 25 dollars. I never been to Spain, so I was super excited to see what this city had to offer.

Picture of a bodega in Madrid photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Took a taxi from Madrid’s international airport to my Airbnb apartment. Got into a conversation with the taxi driver about the current affairs in Spain. Barcelona really wants independence. They been fighting for it recently and it’s had become more intense. I was told to not speak Spanish to locals in Barcelona. It might cause a fight.

Flan in spain photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Once settled, I had to eat. I haven’t eaten since being in Morocco. There was no food given out on that flight. Maybe, that’s why it was so cheap.

Found a place near the apartment I rented out. It was owned by a Chinese couple. It was interesting to see Chinese people speak Spanish with Spaniard accent. It was kind of mind blowing to be honest.

Of course, I ordered rice with beans. For desert, it was flan with a glass of sangria. These are so common in Latin American countries that I almost felt at home. Speaking Spanish was so simple and natural to me. Coming from Morocco, having people around that spoke Spanish felt like 10 tons of weight left my shoulders. Compared to my time in Morocco, they only spoke french and arabic. Few spoke English or Spanish.

People were surprised to hear me speak Spanish with a non-Spaniard accent. They couldn’t believe I was from the USA. Americans really don’t have a good reputation around the world. I’m constantly reminded of it. PS. We are known as culturally ignorant. Please, make sure we change their views.

Madrid street with Christmas decorations photo courtesy of hugo Morel

Once my meal was done, I walked around little bit. Didn’t want to go too far because getting lost was not my ideal situation at the moment. I usually wait for the second day. Got back to my apartment and was ready for the next morning.

Thank you for reading! Stay safe and much love!

For videos about cultures of the world and to see our travels, subscribe to our youtube channel!

For my underwater photos, I use the gopro hero 7 white.

We have partnered up with booking.com and working on TripAdvisor. Here are some links for each hope you all enjoy!

Here are links to hotels and other deals.