European Vacation

Days left in Barcelona: 2-ish

Yet again, I prove how unreliable a blogger I am. Maybe 2 posts a day?? Oops. I'm not sure that I was thinking very realistically. When I haven't been studying for finals and doing powerpoints for presentations, I've been trying to catch as much sun as possible and go to all my favorite places in Barcelona.

Topic of this blog post: Mom, Dad, and Bridgie hit Barcelona. Oh man, where do I start? At the beginning, right. Read with caution: I think this one is gonna be a doozy

Due to unforseeable and unfortunate events, we spent our first day of their vacation in the police station, calling major credit card companies, and driving up and down the ramp at the rental car station. At the time, I remember thinking, "Oh, wow, I forgot what it was like to travel with my family." Now, I wish that I could do that trip 10 times over.

After our rocky start, we finally got in the car to start the adventure through the French Riviera. With the help of the Garmin GPS system, which I lovingly dubbed "The Gremlin" because I could never remember the real name, we made it to our destination of Nice, France - of course, not without a couple of bumps along the way.

We all had our "jobs". Dad drove. I worked the Gremlin. Mom read guide books and looked at maps. Jet read books, slept, and took pictures - I would have traded with her in a heartbeat. Navigating the way wasn't the easiest job. At one point, Mom handed me a map to consult. It wasn't a map, it was a lifesize poster. When unfolded, I couldn't even see the road. On the way we stopped in Arles, a beautiful French town complete with Roman ruins. Other towns/country we visted were Monaco, Lourmarin, Bonnieux, Lacoste, and L'Isle Sur le Sorgue. The towns atop cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean charmed me. The hike up wouldn't thrill me on a daily basis, but I wouldn't mind sitting on a bench up there all day looking out at the ocean. The hilltowns of France were equally charming. We all caught ourselves saying, "Wow, I hadn't realized how beautiful the south of France was." To which Mom respond, "Didn't any of you look at the links I sent you or do any research?" I did the most out of the three of us and that's really not saying much. I actually think Austin knew more about the places we were going than I did - go figure. Dad saved his research for on sight. I think he now knows more about the structure of Roman ruins than we could have ever imagined. He's got an eye for that kind of stuff and he also spent a lot of time walking around the outerwalls of the towns. One time, I was a great daughter and walked to the top of Lacoste to see the Marquis de Sade's castle. Totally creepy but worth the trip.

We ate at some delicious French cafes courtesy of Rick Steves's advice. He really knows his stuff. Though, again it proved difficult to try and order things in French. Mom picked up pretty quickly, remembering how to count to two and what the names for different foods were. We also ate at a few not so good places which I blame on my constant cravings for American food. Mom rolled her eyes, and in retrospect I should have to, when I suggested going to a Buffalo grille. It was...odd. They served us popcorn as an appetizer. Laughable though to consider that's what they think of American food. There were also pictures of Native Americans adorning the walls. Wow. Speaking of wow, had the BEST gelato of my life in Nice. Score 2 for Rick Steves!!

After a beautiful 5 days in the South of France, we came back to Barcelona to enjoy my city for a few days. I gave them a personal tour of MY Barcelona, which was a lot of walking and ultimately resulted in an exhausted family. Dad made fun of me for taking them to the same restaurants that I took Megan and the girls to, but hey, stick with what you know is good, right? We also did a bus tour of the city which made me realize just how little I get to see of Barcelona on a daily basis. I felt a bit embarrassed not to be able to answer their questions - What's this? What's that? Um...I stay in the same 30 minute walking zone all the time.

All in all, it was an absolutely amazing trip. After the fears of them not being able to come due to British Airways strikes, I felt very lucky to have them here. Hugging me goodbye, Mom said, "I feel like a bad parent leaving you in this big city all by yourself." To which I laughed, because I had been in this "big, scary" city for nearly 3 months. I came back to my room feeling more homesick than I have my whole 106 days here. Now here I am, being able to say that I go home the day after tomorrow. Time really really does fly.

I got the backpack back from lost and found. It is currently haphazardly packed away in my suitcase. I had to ductape it to get it to fit... So thanks for that, Mom, it actually did come in handy.

P.S. Pictures to follow.

Besos y Abrazos <3