The countdown to our return to Texas has begun…and it is pretty bitter-sweet.
We wrapped up our long weekend this Monday when we came back to Barcelona by train from Valencia. I cannot say enough good things about Valencia! We spent our last day on a hot springs day tour like I previously talked about, but it was better than we ever imagined. We were in a group with one lady named Grace from New York, a newly-engaged couple from Germany, and our tour guide Mike was from Canada. Mike is also a wedding photographer so he made our trip extra special by taking the time to document our adventures in really cool and creative ways. The so-called “hot springs” were by no means hot. They were freezing cold, but the chilly water and beautiful mountains almost made it feel like we were in Colorado at times. At the end of our trip through Mike was kind enough to drop us off at the train station and send us on our way back to Barcelona. My favorite part of our excursion in Valencia was probably the opportunity to chat with people from all over. We even got to learn a lot from the lady from New York who had never even heard of Texas A&M, let alone College Station, Texas. We all discussed differences in our cultures like tipping waiters after a meal. Mike did not think it necessary, the Germans thought it was polite, Gace told us about how New York restaurants now have an included “Covid tip” on bills to help support waiters, and we thought tipping to be customary pretty much everywhere. It was so interesting to compare the different ways we live and get to broaden my knowledge about the world even on a small day trip.
After we got back to Barcelona the next morning we were up and headed to Girona followed by Tossa del Mar. Both places were absolutely stunning and I loved the small-town feel of both of these places. If it weren’t for this program I think I would miss out on a lot of important visits throughout Spain. As part of our tour, we even got to see how some beautiful historic monuments were also used as a set for “Game of Thrones.” Even though I am not a GOT fan, its was still really cool to see how these sights are still used as an accurate depiction of the past even in present-day filmmaking.
Now, my roommates and I are on our way to Granada and Seville for our last few days of exploring Espa?a. Granada is much less hectic than Barcelona so I do not feel as overwhelmed or as out of place since we are remaining mostly in tourist areas. But since we aren’t in such a heavily toured area as Barcelona we have found the language barrier to be more challenging in Granada because fewer people speak English here.
Our last few days here are going to fly by being that we have less than a week left in Spain, but parts of me are ready to return home with so many new memories and experiences and get to share those with my friends and family that I am missing very much!