The Grand Finale (Spring Break Part 4)

Walking on the beach...
Feeling the symbolism: Our grand adventure!

So it's taken me over a month to recount all of my spring break, but I'm finally going to finish up my story. I'm going to do things a little differently for this post: I'm going to make a list of our experiences from Barcelona and from Alicante and let you all put them together stream-of-consciousness style, or something like that. Let's see how this goes!

My favorite picture from Barcelona!

BARCELONA: The pinkest hotel room you've ever seen, ice cream and beer on tap, lion rides, the miracle of a random run-in with my friend Katie in a crowded park, walking from the Sagrada Familia to the park (believe me-this is impressive), the view from the top of Park Guell, changing hotel rooms every night, a delicious sea-food dinner, gorgeous train rides, walking along the beach, quenching strawberry cravings in the market, celebrating my HSA presidency with a rose and a Nutella crepe, a lit candle for Pili, and of course, lots of laughs.

ALICANTE: Sharing paradise with my parents and going to all of my favorite spots, getting a kebab right after the train ride, meals at the best places in Alicante, becoming regulars at the restaurant Sale & Pepe, a long and peaceful walk along the empty San Juan beach, the classic castle climb, watching my mom jump on the little kid trampoline, the return trip to San Juan-- complete with hundreds of drunk 15 year-olds, an unexpected rainstorm, the host family meeting my original family, a visit to the University, walking, walking, and more walking, but eating and drinking like kings, a family siesta before goodbyes and the night bus, and the best end to our trip that we could have asked for.

The families meet!

This was the trip of a lifetime, and I'm so thankful that I got to experience it with my parents. We made so many memories, and I know that we will be talking about it for years!

Love you both!

As for me, I'm just trying to enjoy my last few weeks here before I head back to the US. The summer weather conditions have been perfect for beach trips and  pleasant night fiesta-ing.  Not going to lie, it's going to be really hard to leave Alicante-- I'm hoping that I don't cry on the entire plane ride home.  I'm excited to see the ones I love, but it's sad to see my study abroad experience come to a close. Luckily, I feel like this is just the beginning of my adventure: I will be back for sure!