This past week was our final full week in Barcelona. Throughout this week, I had an incredible time relaxing with not much obligations. Other than relaxing at the beach and in the city, my week was marked by a group excursion to Girona, Tossa del Mar, and an incredible cooking class. It has been a blessing being able to relax without an itinerary this past week because I am getting to the point where I am pretty burnt out. Three full weeks of school, learning, and experiencing a new culture really took its toll on me. Long days spent on the beach have been a necessity for me recently.
I actually didn’t get back from Madrid until Monday night, so I got to spend most of my Monday hanging out in Madrid and then sleeping on the train back to Barcelona. We spent the first half of the day on Gran Via doing some last minute shopping before we headed out. We returned home to Barcelona on a high speed train. Traveling by high speed train has been my favorite method of travel, and I honestly wish we had them in America. Also, I find it rather interesting and pretty awesome that, at this point, I see Barcelona as “home”. After every day trip or weekend trip we take, I am excited to return “home” to Barcelona. The same way after a family vacation I am excited to return to my home in America. Alternatively, I have mixed emotions about returning home to America at the end of this week. I am excited to return to the consistency of my life in the states, but leaving an experience like I’ve had here will be tough knowing I won’t get another experience the same as this one. I am really looking forward to doing my best to take full advantage of my last week here in Barcelona.
Tuesday, A.K.A. Dr. Panina’s birthday, was spent as we took a day trip to Girona and Tossa del Mar. Girona was an incredible city in my mind. I think it would be very cool to spend an extended period of time there especially because everything is cheaper. My favorite part of Girona was the fact that part of the infamous show Game of Thrones was filmed there. When I heard that I immediately recognized the resemblance from the show and was fascinated by it. We capped off our experience in Girona with an incredible lunch. There isn’t too much I have to say about Tossa del Mar other than the fact that it is beautiful. This beach town was remarkable to me solely because of its beauty.
My favorite part of the week was our private cooking class with a tremendous chef. Not only did we learn how to cook, but our chef also explained his experience consulting for restaurants. He taught us about the restaurant industry and how he helps restaurants be successful. We cooked some tasty dishes and ate pretty much everything we cooked. We made croquettes, meat & vegetable paella, patatas bravas, black rice seafood paella, sausage with onions, and catalan cream. I skipped breakfast that day knowing I had an amazing meal ahead of me and I definitely made the right choice.