Christmas holiday update

After a month away from blogging, you can imagine how much catching up I must do! I just got back from my Christmas vacation which was filled with reunions and laughter (from getting to go home for a week), tube-riding and massive crowds (from visiting London for New Year's), and sun, sangria, and tapas (all three of which I had every day during my visit to Barcelona). I will do my best to sum up the adventures from my fabulous winter holiday.

My week at home was spent relaxing with my family, eating lots of yummy holiday feasts, and getting to see many of my wonderful friends who came to visit while I was back in the states. After four months away, I thought for sure I would forget how to go places or drive a car or maybe not recognize my 14 year old cousin who had his braces removed while I was away. But honestly, it was like I hadn't been gone at all. It was quite surreal, actually. It was like I was coming home from college after just a few weeks away. Completely natural and mostly very relaxing. At the end of the week I was excited for my travels to come, but a little disappointed I didn't give myself more time to just be at home. Apparently one week was just not enough!

After giving myself a day to recover in Brussels once I arrived back from the states, I departed for London the following morning without, for maybe the first time ever, any travelling drama. Hooray! I spent my time in London hanging out with a few friends from high school (also visiting London) , seeing some sights I hadn't seen yet, visiting the Tate Modern Art Museum (which was FABULOUS...my favorite display was called Video Quartet. The display was set up with four video screens each playing scenes from movies in which an actor was playing an instrument, like piano, trumpet or percussion, etc...but there were literally hundreds of clips, and each screen was playing different scenes simultaneously. It was so cool!), seeing the musical Avenue Q (which was hilarious), and standing in a mass of thousands of people in Trafalger Square for the New Year's celebration. By far it was my favorite trip to London.

I left London early Wednesday morning and arrived in Barcelona around mid-afternoon. And as I sit here trying to formulate a summary of this trip, I am left stuck, because nothing I could write could do justice to my time spent in Barcelona. Never have I been in a city that left gave so many opportunities of things to experience for so many different types of people. For those who paint or just appreciate painters, one could visit the museums of Salvador Dali or Pablo Picasso. A linguist may come to study Catalan, a language that combines Spanish, Italian, and French and is the official language of Barcelona. An architect may come just to visit many of Antonio Gaudi's unique buildings or the Park Guell which was also designed by him (and one of my favorite spots in Barcelona) or take a walk through Barcelona's narrow, Gothically structured, streets. A dancer could watch a Flamenco dancing show and be blown away by the dancers' passion and the wonderful music that accompanies such music, normally Spanish guitar. Hikers and walkers can enjoy Barcelona's many parks or take a hike up to the top of Mount Tibidabo, the highest point in Barcelona. A beach bum can lay out in the sand and dip their feet in the Mediterranean Sea. A food lover can sample the many different varieties of tapas, normally vegetables or seafood, accompanied by a pitcher of Sangria (chilled red wine with filled with fruit). A shopper can visit upscale stores like Dior or Versace but then cross the street to visit the markets of Las Ramblas. The amazing thing is, I got to do all of those in just the short time I was here. Whether it was the palm trees, the gorgeous weather, the sights, the food, the ease of being able to walk almost everywhere, I'm not sure. But one or all of them made Barcelona my favorite city I've visited since I've arrived in Europe. I can't wait to go back.