Valé valé

Crowded food markets, miles of beach, funky architecture (a la Gaudi), beautifully manicured parks, clubs that don't close until well after sunrise. Such is the attraction of Barcelona. God damn, it's a cool city. It took me years to get back but my fascination is still the same. Every building, church, and park that wears Gaudi's name makes me feel like I'm on the pages of a Dr. Suess book. With bright colors and whimsical designs, his creations sprinkled throughout the city add an element of light and playfulness. Both Las Pedreras and La Sagrada Familia left me in awe. To put it simply, the man was a genius.

[La Boqueria, Barcelona]

[La Boqueria]

[Parc Güell, Barcelona]

[Benches of Parc Güell]

[Las Pedreras/Casa Mila, Barcelona]

[Las Pedreras]

I wasn't as impressed with Madrid. Although the food was delicious and spot on every meal, I felt that the city lacked character. It has some beautiful qualities of course. Maybe I'm just partial to Barcelona but coming from a city with so much personality, art, and culture, I found Madrid to be unimpressive. We did go to a Flamenco show one night and it was mesmerizing. Spanish guitar, vocals reminiscent of Bob Dylan, and beautiful women passionately dancing. Flamenco is one tradition that I hope never dies. I'm hoping to take a class before I leave the country. It was born in Andalucia so I think it's the perfect place to try and learn.

[Park del Retiro, Madrid]

[Flamenco show at Cardamomo, Madrid]

[Park del Retiro, Madrid]

Meghan and I had a special visitor for the first 10 days of the year. Natalie was able to take advantage of the fact that two of her best friends are in Spain and she had unused vacation days. One perk of working in the wine and liquor industry is that you get to spoil your friends and take them to wineries in the Spanish countryside. How lucky are we? We spent a luxurious night in an old castle-turned-hotel outside of Salamanca where we dined with the estate director of Numanthia winery. Tasting everything on the menu that was vegetarian/pescatarian friendly and drinking the most delicious wines I have ever had the pleasure of trying. And I took a bubble bath! It was a very fitting night for a princess. The next day we visited the winery, drank more of these incredible vinos, and once again had a multiple course meal with the winery execs. It was the perfect end to our mini vacation with Nat and I think a good transition for her to return to work this week.

[Castillo del Buen Amor, Salamanca]

[Numanthia winery, Toro. Psst you can buy this in the states, do it!]

A few days and one fantastic bus ride later (not sarcasm, it was a great ride) and Meghan and I have finally found ourselves in the south of Spain. Andalucia has been our talked about final destination since starting the trip and it feels pretty satisfying to be here. We've landed in the enchanting hippie city of Granada and just the simple thought of having to leave this place makes me sad. It is so lovely. It's one of those places that everyone seems to get stuck in. I overheard a fellow traveler talking on our first night and saying that one never truly leaves. A couple hours later and I knew what he meant. Granada is one of those places that seems to speak directly to my soul. As with almost every other person I've met here, we came with the intention of only staying a few days and already have extended our stay. Part of me wishes that I didn't have plans for the near future and I could stay for awhile. But I do of course have more adventures planned and as sad as I'll be to leave, I am beyond excited for my fourth continent and the country that I have been longing to visit for more years than I can count. I still have a few Spanish cities left on my list but Andalucia will be the end of this three month Euro trip and the end of Meghan and I's travels together (atleast for a couple months). In just a little over a week I'll be crossing over the Strait of Gibraltar and spending a few weeks with yoga mates in Morocco! 

[Albaicin, Granada]

[A little glimpse of the work of Spain's most famous street artist, El Niño de las Pinturas]

[Granada]

This morning I woke up to hear David Bowie blaring from the courtyard and a huge smile spread across my face. When I made it downstairs I found out that he passed away. In honor of Ziggy Stardust, he's been playing in the hostel all day. And I leave you with one of his many genius quotes that seems particularly relevant to my life at the moment..

"I don't know where I'm going but I promise it won't be boring."

Rest in Peace and Power to a legend!

Indulging in Italia

Indulgence is an understatement. The last month is Italy has been downright gluttoness. And although my pants feel a little bit tighter, I can't say that I didn't enjoy myself. After all you're supposed to gain weight in Italy right? While I don't plan on giving up wine any time soon (or ever) I can say with some certainty that I won't be eating pizza, pasta, or gelato for awhile. 

[arancini in Palermo, Sicily]

[Gelato topped with a cannolo shell and dipped in dark chocolate]

After bumming around Sicily for almost two weeks, we headed back to the mainland and stopped for a few nights in Naples before returning to Rome. Thanksgiving was spent in Catania (Sicily) arguing in Italian with the receptionist of our hostel over a minor discrepency and then erasing it from our minds with two liters of wine and a whole lot of food.

[Somehow Meg always ended up with a smaller glass than me]

In Naples we focused once again on eating. Being the birthplace of pizza and sfogliatella it would be a shame not to taste test. 

[Doppia mozzarella aka double mozz, cheese please!]

Once back in Rome we cooked our own healthy meals and went to yoga and tried to good in anticipation of the following two weeks with my family.

[Borghese gardens overlooking Rome]

[Seeing the colosseum at night from the back of a motorbike has always been on my bucket list]

My aunt, uncle, and uncle's daughter came to visit us for two weeks which we divided between Florence, Venice, and Rome. It was strange how normal it felt for them to be there and how accustomed I became to traveling in a pack of five. To sum up our two weeks together I'd say we spent them eating, walking, drinking wine, and eating some more. And we had a hell of a time doing it. Wine tasting in Tuscany, playing tour guide in Rome, and cruising along canals in Venice, my life really is like a dream sometimes. And sometimes that dream is hard to put into words, so I think pictures are the best way to capture it:

[Fam on the Ponte Vecchio]

[View of the duomo from Piazzale Michaelangelo. Playing around with the filters on my camera]

[Wine tasting in Montelcino, Tuscany. Looking forward to a bottle of Brunello when I get home!]

[David at the Galeria dell'accademia in Florence]

[Why not drink beer at an Irish pub in Italy?]

[My favorite of Rome's sights]

[Found some more relatives in the eternal city!]

[Couldn't be in Rome and not visit my old residence!]

[Colosseum]

[Gondolas in Venice]

[Gondolas docked at St. Mark's square, Venice]

[Taking a break]

[Venice]

[Grand Canal, Venice]

[Evening gondola ride]

[Our favorite, and the absolute cutest street musician in Florence. He's here from sun up to sun down 7 days a week!]

[The last supper! Per usual, we were the first ones in and the last ones out]

The past month in Italy was the best so far and I have a feeling it is only getting better. Meghan and I are currently in Barcelona and spending the next month in Spain. Leaving Italy was bittersweet. I am so in love with the country- the people, the language, the culture. And I was so close to becoming fluent in the language, one more month and I think I'd have it. We were both really sad to leave. But also so excited for a month in Spain. Barcelona was my favorite of all the cities I visited the last time I was in Europe and I've been dying to get back for 5 years. Now I've just got to forget all of that Italian and start thinking in Spanish! So many exciting plans on the horizon for me, I'm trying hard not to let the excitement of the future overshadow the present moment. After all, how lucky am I that I get to celebrate the holidays in España?! Looking forward to the Christmas feast that Meg is preparing and ringing in the New Year in Barca!

Coming Home

It took me 5 years to get back to Rome but nothing has changed and I am still head over heels in love with the eternal city. It's a strange feeling you get when you return to places that had such an impact on you; places where you've left a little piece of your heart. Strolling through the streets, twisting and turning down memory lane feeling like I'd finally returned home. After a month and a half of traveling in Europe, I suddenly felt a weight lift off of me. Like I could finally slow down and actually be in the moment. Taking a deep breath, sipping my espresso, and soaking up the sun's rays, I smiled to myself. This is the feeling I've been searching for. This is why I travel. To feel like time is standing still, like I have nothing I need to do and nowhere I need to be. 

Unfortunately the 24 hours that followed that blissful feeling were anything but. We had tickets for an overnight train from Rome to Palermo, Sicily. The train left Rome at 10:25pm and arrived in Sicily at 10:35 the following morning. Without us on it. We arrived at the train station with plenty of time to spare, waiting until our platform was announced and after reading 'Binari 17' from the screen we boarded the train. The train destined for Frosinone that is. We both were confused boarding the train that neither the car nor the seats were marked and our tickets had specific seat numbers but we shrugged it off. I also noted how I could have sworn we were on a sleeper train and this car had seats that didn't even recline. But we just giggled and made jokes and talked excitedly about Sicily. I started to get a strange feeling once the train took off and decided I'd better double check with someone so I got up and asked the kid a few rows back where the final destination of the train was. When I announced that we were meant to be going to Palermo a look of sheer shock and panic crossed his face and suddenly other passengers were yelling to eachother "Palermo!" "Sicilia!". Only one word came to my mind, "FUCK!!!" So long story short after the gracious help of other passengers we remained on this train destined for Frosinone, a small town whose claim to fame is that it is the home of famed TV actress Fran Drescher. You know, from The Nanny. The Frosinone train station at 1am is not somewhere I'd ever like to be again. After spending an hour there we got on a train to another miscellaneous town where we had to wait 2 hours for a train to Naples. We got a nice taste for what it's like to be homeless as we huddled together on the cold cement floor surrounded by all of our bags. 2 hours felt like 2 days but finally we got on a train to Naples where we would wait 4 hours for a train that finally would bring us to Sicily. After being woken up by a police officer from my bench slumber I felt like a real degenerate. Only 9 more hours on the train until we reached Palermo! 

I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and although it may seem shitty at the time, there's got to be a good reason for it all. I kept racking my brain trying to figure out what the reason was for this. And then I realized how grateful I'd become over the last 24 hours. Getting a taste firsthand of what it is like to be homeless, to be lost, to be physically and mentally exhausted and at points want to cry and give up. My life is often times way too easy and although I have so much gratitude for it, there are times when I get caught up in the petty bullshit that consumes our everyday. And I forget to be thankful for everything I have been blessed with. As I sat on the cold floor of the Naples train station fighting to stay awake for fear of both myself and my belongings, I thought to myself, "I am so god damn lucky". There are people who would kill to switch places with me, whose troubles are far more than I can even fathom. And so in short, I think the life lesson of this travel mishap was to change my perspective. 

The rusty train rolled to a halt on board the ferry across the Mediterranean Sea destined for the island of Sicily. Finally we could exit the train and breathe some fresh air. Sunshine on my face and ocean on the horizon, I knew everything was going to be just fine. A couple hours later, after the train of course temporarily broke down, I gazed out the window and saw the most magnificent sunset over the mountains to my left and the waves of the Mediterranean crashing on shore to my right. Two things that always ground me, the sea and the sunset. 

After a short walk and getting lost only once, we made it to our sweet little apartment where we'd rented a room for the night. We showered, washed our clothes, ate a pizza, and fell sound asleep for 12 hours. And after the nightmare of the day before we decided we really needed to relax and deserved a getaway. And so if it weren't for all of the hassle of missing our train, we would never have come to this beautiful apartment on the ocean in Mondello. But here we are, with a beautiful view of the beach, getting ready to walk into the sparkling town on the horizon for a delicious and fresh seafood dinner. Like I said, everything happens for a reason.

[The view from our terrace]

❤️💙💛