Spain. (Appreciation blog with no particular structure)
Hello to all of you, lovelies, and welcome back to my blog.
I call this country my happy place. I want its name on my tattoo. I am lucky enough to have travelled there five times and I am fully intending to go back about ten billion more. I have lived through some of my most fulfilling, exhilarating, memorable moments while I was there. I have talked people's head off about it. Given all that, it would only make sense that I dedicate an entire blog post to one of my favorite places on this entire planet- Spain.
It all started when my family and I first landed in Barcelona. On the bus I saw this gorgeous woman holding her baby. Some people who I think she didn't know said something to her and as she responded with a lingering "Siiii", happiness and positivity radiated through her much like the beautiful sunshine of which Spain gets plenty. Immediately I thought "man, these people are always smiling AND they speak one of the most beautiful languages EVER!" Needless to say, I was hooked.
From then on, Spain became my family's favorite pace to go for vacation. We'd go there and spend wonderful, unforgettable moments with dear friends; visit many breathtaking, fun sights; eat a ton of delicious food; spend countless hours at the beach and at the pool with kids; drink Sangria (I joined on that too when I became of age and it's now my favorite drink obviously); and just keep falling in love with the place where the sun never stops shining. We loved it there so much that we'd want to go back again and again. And we did! I consider myself very lucky to have visited beautiful Spain five times!
When we first started visiting Spain I was about twelve or thirteen. I loved every second of it but still wasn't able to fully appreciate the history, the culture, and the beautiful architecture that Spain is so full of. Moreover, because we were there mostly during summer, it was blazing hot so I was wining a lot when going to different tours and excursions cause me and heat do NOT get along at all. The last trip, though, happened at the end of November through mid- December and the weather was absolutely perfect. (As in I only needed a poncho or a light jacket so how perfect is that?) So this last trip I one I wanted to focus more on.
My college has something called D-term (D for December). Basically, for the first three weeks of December the students can decide themselves what they want to do: work, take a course, go home, or whatever. One of the options is to take a trip to Europe and that's what I chose to do my junior year. There were many options as far as where I could go, so I narrowed it all down to Italy or Spain. My mind was saying Italy because I have never been there before, but my heart was saying Spain and longed to come back. All hesitation went away once I saw the itinerary for the two trips and realized literally every single city that I was dying to visit in Spain but never had a chance to until then was on the list. The choice was made quick- I was to go to Spain for the fifth time and couldn't be more thrilled.
Not only that, but my family and I planned it so that a I would fly into Spain a week prior to the start date of the trip so my dad and I could spend a week of vacation together. It was all sorts of wonderful!
Our week was amazing, we started in Madrid, took the train into Barcelona, and then back to Madrid so I can meet the group from my school.
When I met my group, the "non-stop" mode was on right away. People in my group were absolute champs at powering through the jet lag! We went to 9 cities, saw countless cathedrals and churches, ate more delicious foods that I should admit, drank tinto de verrano, had wonderful conversations (both amongst us, students, and with our professors too), saw flamenco shows full of passion and beauty, and did all sorts of fun things. The average amount of sleep I got on the trip was between 2-5 hours and I didn't feel it for one second! I was beyond happy every single say and the tiredness did not do any damage to my mood. (Those that know me well, know that I am NOT a pleasant person to be around when running on little sleep, so the fact that it wasn't at all a thing in Spain says something for sure).
Aanyways, it I go in detail about every day of our trip (I journaled every night, so I still have all the info), this blog will get super super long, we don't want that. Let me just say, my last trip to Spain is one that I will remember for rest of my life so let me just point out a few highlights from it and wrap this up.
1) Top one highlight for sure- seeing Spain wake up when being on the train. We travelled mostly by train and we had to be up really early for that. Sometimes, before 7 or 8 in the morning. Since it was December, it was still dark at that time. During the train ride, though, the sun would come out and cover the sky, as well as all the hills and valleys (we would go through areas that were very hilly and green and just gorgeous) with incredibly pretty colors and, as I would drift in and out of sleep, I couldn't stop marveling at the view that opened up from my window.
2) Cathedrals- we saw nine or ten of them and I would gladly see about ten thousand more. In fact, when we were in Cuenca during one of out last days of the trip, I was so drawn into everything I was seeing at the Cathedral that I lost my group! (The very first picture in this blog was actually taken there) I must not have noticed that they left that's how much I wanted to soak all the beauty in. PSA: I was totally fine and absolutely safe, found my group pretty shortly after realizing that I was lost, and continued on with our day in Cuenca.
3) FOOD. Tapas, croquetas, paella, jamón, tortilla de patatas for breakfast, different types of meats and seafood- just a few examples of the deliciousness that Spain has to offer. My advice is to try and refrain from eating something familiar as much as you can and just give locals foods a try! You will not regret it.
4) Sangria& Tinto De Verrano- my most favorite drinks. They can be pretty strong (applies more to Sangria) so be cautions and know your limits, but definitely try them.
5) Flamenco- the dancing and singing, the sound of spanish guitar and castañuelas, the passion and the contagious love that the performers have for what they do, we were able to experience it all- how cool is that?
6) The people!! Both the locals who are all drop-dead gorgeous and never stop smiling, and people from my group who I loved getting to know. Many of them I still talk to and reminisce about the trip with.
7) The language- where it all started for me. I have only been learning Spanish for a little over two years now but I was able to practice it on the trip a little bit. It was so nice! Again, if you go to a country where they speak the language that you can communicate in even a little bit, try and use that language! Generally the local people are highly encouraging, supportive, and eager to help when you do that! You might discover that you know more that you thought, trust me. When it comes to learning a foreign language, there is no better way to make progress than actually going to a country where that language is spoken. (Coming from someone who's writing this long-ass vlog in a language that is NOT her own)
8) The architecture, the history, the art, and much more- we were able to see most breathtaking sights that had an incredibly rich history to them, go into small churches, art museums, castles, and much more. I gained a whole new appreciation for all that on my trip.
GO TO SPAIN IF YOU WANT TO EXPERIENCE ALL THAT AND MORE. Just see and experience everything for yourself rather than reading me blab about it.
Now, peeps, this blog is awfully long, all over the place, and way less structured than what I had in mind. But I always get asked why I love Spain so much and I hope this answers that question at least somewhat.
As always, you're a total champ if you stuck with me till the end. Thank you and see you in my next blog that hopefully will be more organized than this one!
Much love,
E.
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