Exploration

Ellen, my roommate, and I taking quite the journey this spring break. We just got to Galway after spending an evening in Barcelona. We will be here for 2 nights then off to Dublin, then Edinburgh, then London before we circle back to our "home" in Florence. It is bizarre.
I was telling her earlier how crazy it is that we planned all of this on our own, from the places, the tickets (bus, airplanes, and tours included) as well as finding places to stay and then figuring out how to get to and from these places. Mind you a lot of this is easier since I have T-Mobile and data, but I really haven't used it except for emergencies. Anyway, it is just so amazing to know that we can do this on our own. I love it!
So, back to our little excursion.. Barcelona was originally just a stopping point because flights to Dublin were cheaper.. but I absolutely loved it when I got there. I know it is wrong, but it felt the most like California. It was so diverse and people looked like Americans.. I didn't know what language people were going to speak just by looking at them. Oh and Gaudí.. genius! I loved Segrada Familia! I am ashamed and not ashamed to say that I liked it much more than going to Vatican city.. I know it is wrong and I definitely appreciate the history and culture that is there.. but this church was amazing. The architecture and colors just called my name. I know it isn't hundreds of years old like St Peter's Basílica, but I want to go a hundred times.
Oh yeah, and I could speak Spanish? Score! So casually I spoke.. I knew that I could speak it if I was forced haha. *cough* and the Spanish men were not bad looking ;)
Anyway now I am in Galway, in my nice Airbnb bed, and I am so delighted with our host. Not only because she speaks English, but because she has traveled so many places! She seems so cultured and knowledgeable. She is also so welcoming to other travelers because she knows what it is like to travel. I could not be happier right now. I hope that the cliffs of Cohen and our other journeys are just as wonderful as my time so far.