Feeling A Little Melancholy...

Barcelona, Spain

November 6, 2007
N41°23.190
E002°10.480

Today, as we strolled along the waterfront, making a final pass of some of our favorite areas in Barcelona, we grew a little melancholy. Yes, we’re headed home to San Francisco and we’ll be in the States for a few days, we’ll visit family, we’ll catch-up with friends, drive our car (on the right side of the road), and we’ll even get a chance to see Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals. Most importantly, we’ll get to be a part of a very special day for Joel and Lisa, their wedding day. But it will only be a taste…

However, we’re both reluctant to go home, well, because we don’t really get to go to home. We’ll still be living out of our backpacks and not in our home, but at the same time we’ll be in our City. Sure, we’ll get to see our parents, spend time with them and enjoy their company; no, that isn’t a bad thing. The problem is we’ll temporarily get out of “travel mode.”

Being on the road for a little over nine months puts you in a different state of mind. Mentally you grow accustomed to a nomadic lifestyle and the constant changes, challenges and stimuli of traveling. However, we know a visit back to our old lives, although only brief, will make it difficult to get back into “travel mode.” The comfort of home, seeing familiar faces, and just the ease of day to day life will be refreshing, but at the same time it will make us, well, soft.

We still have at least three months of travel left and a lot more of the world to see. We still have a lot to look forward to including Christmas and New Years in Amsterdam with Dustin and Shelby. It will probably take us a few weeks to get back into the mode, and then we will have a hard time ever going home again!

A Familiar Place...

Barcelona, Spain

November 5, 2007
N41°23.190
E002°10.480

As we strolled through Parc de la Ciutadella we noticed the trees shedding the last of their leaves, the shadows from the sun were soft and Marc commented how much he likes the light this time of year. Fall was in the air as we sat on a bench and enjoyed the perfect weather. Children played in the park, running, falling, crying before picking themselves up to do it all over again.

We admired the city of Barcelona blending in with the locals in the parks, on the beaches and in tapas bars where we picked at the pinxtos and sipped on the local Spanish wine. In fact, we seemed to blend in so well we were frequently asked for directions, of course all in Spanish; ultimately leading to a polite, “Yo no se, lo siento.”

Barcelona is the most we have felt at home since we started traveling nine months ago. The city is a lot like San Francisco. The locals have a very relaxed, bohemian vibe about them, no one seems to be in a hurry; although everyone seems to be hip, no one seems too concerned about what you may, or may not, be wearing. BCN isn’t as picturesque as San Francisco; it doesn’t have the beautiful landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge and cable cars. However, what it lacks in beauty it more than makes up for in entertainment, quality of life and intrigue, mainly due to the abundance of great tapas bars and architectural styles of Gaudi.

We’ve enjoyed getting lost in the neighborhoods, wandering through the alleyways and exploring as much of the city as possible. I feel we now know Barcelona. Of course not like if we lived here, but I am confident I could move here tomorrow.

Tomorrow is our last full day in the beautiful city and we are going to spend it lounging in a beach front cafe, checking on the progress of Ana’s spa and enjoying a final round of tapas and drinks with Ana and Kyler—seeing my college friend again has made Barcelona even more special to me.

I know one thing for certain… when we leave on Wednesday, we’ll definitely say hasta luego to Barcelona—see you soon! I definitely won’t wait another ten years to come back; the city still holds a firm number two spot (after San Francisco) on my all-time favorite cities list.