Have Bag, Will Travel: Spain

Mi amor por España no sabe límites. I love Spain, and before traveling over there on a family vacation over Christmas time, I wasn't expecting to. I don't know if it was growing up in Puerto Rico or the time I had spent with my Brazilian half of the family. It probably stemmed from the fact that my father can speak Spanish fluently and was telling my brother and I that we were going to be the main communicators this trip. All for the sake of further our education. In hindsight, I was I had been more willing.

There's so much to love about the country. The food, the people, the siestas. I've been to Spain on two different occasions. The first was with my family, and we traveled in the Andalusia region, visiting Granada, Seville, Cordoba, Madrid and the coast. Between the tapas and oxtail with rich, dark red wine, we spent two weeks driving through the rolling hills covered in olive trees that glittered silver in the sun.

Granada is impeccable. The city's architecture is a feat in itself. Christmas Eve mass in Spanish was breathtaking and the next day's Christmas present of skiing in the mountains is unparalleled to any other skiing expedition. Mostly because they don't lines their trials like they do in the states. So the wipeouts were far more impressive. The Alhambra is a piece of the Middle East in the West. Beautifully haunting and stepped in mystery.

The other time I was in Spain was with my study abroad group. We rented a house in Alicante for the week. Unfortunately Spain isn't as warm as we were expecting in March. Regardless we devised ways to get sun without being pelted by sand in the fierce wind. We didn't do much about from eat, sleep and make sangria. We did visit the Santa Bárbara Castle. Except I didn't make the best decision by wearing slightly heeled boots because we decided the hike up would be prettier and cheaper than the shuttle. Still the view was worth it.

Naturally, we did make a trip to Barcelona for a weekend. It was a quick trip, but I did manage to take a train out to Montserrat to visit the church and admire the views. I think the photo speaks for itself.

Spain is a country I can rely on. I know there are places I haven't seen, but it's a country that I can fall back on if I need to get away. A place to escape. Spain is a marvel and one to be enjoyed the way the Spaniards do.