Hello all! It’s been a while since I’ve written anything, as my life has been crazy hectic with traveling, school, and family fun.

Since I last posted I spent a week traveling through Spain, had a flight cancellation leading to a 17-hour bus ride home, spent the day at a mosque with my class, been to Paris twice, and showed my family around Aix. It has been a long exhausting few weeks but some of the best memories were made.

For my first break, the five of us started in Barcelona. It was a short flight from Marseille, and we went out to dinner the first night to a local paella restaurant. I’m not much of a sangria girl but it was amazing, and the perfect complement to our dinner. We spent the next few days touring the city, which was much more spread out than we anticipated. We saw sights like the Sagrada Familia, Park Güell, and the vast beach. It was a wonderful few days in the city that I almost studied abroad in.

 

We flew down to southern Spain to the city of Granada for our second stop. The mountains greeted us as we landed, and I knew I was going to love it. We cozied up in our Airbnb right near the heart of town and began to explore. The city was incredible, just what I wanted from Spain. Looking up the Alhambra was nestled above, as if guarding the city. Below, the streets were filled with Arab markets and a plethora of restaurants to choose from. We found the best café for breakfast that served the BEST toast I’ve ever had, coated in jelly and butter. The translation game is always funny, and when you ordered a whole piece of bread they called it a “unity.” We ordered unities every day. We walked through the “souk” (Arab market) one day, and I fell in love with all of the leather purses that were so beautifully crafted. To my delight, they were only 20 euro, so I am now the proud owner of a new bag. There were several shops with gorgeous jewelry as well, and I bought a hamsas bracelet, something I’ve been looking to get for a while. We saw a flamenco show in Granada as well, which was incredible. It was a small theatre and the performers changed every night, so it was exciting to see what we would get. The guitarist was unreal, his fingers moved so speedily producing the prettiest sounds. The dancers easily could’ve been playing us, as the moves seemed silly at times, but it was well worth the time. My favorite part of the whole trip though was the Alhambra. To get to see such an expansive palace that was so old yet kept in such great shape was amazing. The art detailed into part of the building was breathtaking, and the view of the city of Granada was the magical. I feel like I can’t do the building justice, so take a look at some of the pictures below. Granada was an amazing city, and I cannot wait to go back to explore even more.

Our last stop was in Madrid, and my Spanish had pretty much come back by this point. (All those Spanish classes were worth it!) Madrid was very different from Barcelona, and I liked the city feel of it better. Barcelona seemed pretty touristy, not that Madrid wasn’t, but there was more Spanish pride seen throughout the city. I’m sure that was because of the strong Catalonian pride that Barcelona has instead. But Madrid was wonderful as well, it had so many cool corners to explore. Another friend joined us here, and the six of us headed to the Parque del buen Retiro, which is massive and has a fun pond in the middle where you can row boats. It was very tiring but fun. We went to the Royal Palace of Madrid as well which was incredible. Unfortunately we couldn’t take any pictures, but it was cool to see how every room had a different theme, and to know the history behind them. One room was specifically built for the King to have his lunch. I wish I had a room devoted to lunch. I absolutely loved Spain, and it was fun to be in a culture similar to that of Miami and my Puerto Rican family. It also taught me that language doesn’t need to be taught only in school, and that real life experiences are more important. I’m excited to pick Spanish back up again, and to return to Spain with my mom and sister one day!

Unfortunately the trip ended on a bad note when we found out our flight was cancelled. We booked with Ryan Air, which is a cheap European airline. The next flight to Marseille wasn’t going to be until 3 days later, so after a bit of searching we found our only and best option was to take a 17-hour bus ride overnight from Madrid to Marseille, aka Hell on Earth. It was quite the experience, and driving through the Spanish countryside was the highlight. We got back to Aix at 7 am, and I sped home, got ready, and then was out the door by 8 am. The field trip was mandatory, so mandatory that if I missed it my final grade would drop by two letters. It was an incredible experience at the Mosque of Istres, a town outside of Marseille. I learned so much in such a short time, I just wish I was more awake to fully enjoy it.

Three days later I met my family in Paris, and the fun began. I thought I never wanted to travel again, but here I am, headed to Prague on Friday.

It still seems unreal all of the things I’ve done this semester, but I am so grateful for all of the opportunities, and especially to share some of these moments with my family. (More to come on that). I only have about a month and week left here in Europe, and I can’t wait to see what other experiences come of it. Here’s to nonstop fun, exhaustion, and an amazing last few weeks!