Popping in to Europe one last time

Our Moroccan adventure complete, we flew back to Spain (for the third time!) for one last taste of European grandeur before jetting off back to Asia. It was starting to feel like we'd hit the return leg of the trip, making us sad (end of an adventure getting near), happy (seeing family and friends back home again soon), scared (returning to Australia unemployed) and excited (returning home to Australia unemployed but with plenty of time to catch up with people!).


We squeezed in two last Spanish cities. The first was the Uni town of Salamanca, with a fantastic central square and a great night vibe, without too many people:

Plaza Mayor - the heart of the action in Salamanca

One of the less attractive locals

Every street seemed to lead you to something impressive

By our third trip to Spain, Mel was handling the red wine carafe like a pro

Salamanca was nice during the day but really came alive at night

So we came to Madrid - our final stop in Spain, and the end of our European summer. We finished in the right way - a hearty dinner in the Plaza washed down with some red. The last few months had been amazing and even though there were plenty of crowds, it was impossible not to find the feel of the old towns in this part of the world inspiring.

Maybe our enduring memory of Europe - tables lined up in the Plaza enticing us for another evening of food and wine

The quintessential Spanish souvenir - a freshly speared toy bull

Frescoes abound in Madrid's Plaza Mayor

The last supper - we'd been seeking out the local specialty, tripe stew. Although our waiter told us the restaurant couldn't cook it as well as his Mum, we tried it anyway and had a great final meal in Europe

Heavy traffic over Madrid - we were soon off to Qatar, and on our way back to Asia