November 2016

This month was somewhat spoiled with the anticipation of the US election and especially so after the actual results were in. That is the reason for the title of the post.

Spain had been one of the countries I was mostly looking forward to based on all the rave reviews I had previously heard from travelers I have crossed paths with in the past. So, the anticipation leading up to my arrival in Spain, was quite high, to say the least. But, at the same time, since Morocco had been so "intense" in many ways, I was also looking forward to a town that might seem a bit more tame in comparison. And, that's exactly what Spain provided me.

Upon arrival, Valencia, Spain welcomed us with an overall sense that we were home in many ways. The warmth from the people was felt, almost immediately, with every interaction you had with locals. They were, on the one hand, completely willing to help a new traveler but, on the other hand, they never seemed to be pushy in any particular way which couldn't be said about some of the other countries I'd recently experienced.

One of the best things about the Spanish culture is their love of their siestas. I previously assumed that the thought of a "mid day break" was over exaggerated when people spoke of their time in Spain but chilling out was no laughing matter to the Spanish people. It took a week or so to get used to stores, usually made available to you all day, suddenly being closed for a huge chunk of the day. But, once you got in the groove and accustomed to the siesta, you wouldn't want to have it any other way. The new normal was quite welcome to me.

Most of my time was spent in Valencia but I also made sure to take some time to check out the larger city of Barcelona. It seemed like it would of been a shame to come so far and not check out the city often on the tongues of the traveling kind of people who regale you with their stories. Barcelona lives up to his reputation with its equally amazing friendly people, the food, the uniquely strange Gaudí architecture, the infectiously joyus energy of the people and the list goes on.

So, I would say my month in Spain was quite amazing but the only sour note was that there were quite a few days of rain that might of hampered crazy activities. However, this definitely wasn't a sour note considering there are always ebbs and flows in life and constantly being "out" and doing something can be exhausting, over the course of a year or...ever. So having some time to reflect and just enjoy simpler interactions seemed to compliment the Spanish experience perfectly. Spain became almost like it's own siesta in the timeline of my trip around the world.

Highlights:

Going to Barcelona
Watching the US presidential election results at a bar with people from all over the world (saddest night of the trip)
Eating paella on the beach
Visiting the the humongous oceanarium known as L'Oceanogràfic
Listening to jazz at the Jimmy Glass jazz club
Visiting and witnessing the elaborate construction that make up the Sagrada Família church in Barcelona
Getting healthy recipe and food preperation training at miobio
Visiting the beautiful Valencia Cathedral
Biking alongside the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia & L'Àgora