Barcelona

Like, wow, is Barcelona gorgeous.

Reasons for loving this city:

- The beach
- The mountains
- La Sagrada Familia
- Park Guell
- The magic fountain
- El barrio gótico
- The food
- Camp Nou (famous stadium of F.C. Barcelona, but since I'm a Real Madrid fan, it's only a little cool)

But seriously, I loved it all.

Located in the northeast of Spain, Barcelona is the capital of the region of Catalonia.  As mentioned above, it's located on the sea.  There is are mountains that surround the city, and it slopes down to the shore.

By the way, amazing view from the top of those mountains.

All was perfect.  The only issue was that in Barcelona, the speak catalan and not castellano.  What in the world does that mean?  Well, although Catalonia is in Spain, (traditional) spanish is not the primary language. Instead, in the region, they speak the dialect of catalan.  (Some argue that it's its own language, and some argue that it isn't, considering that Catalonia is not its own country.) There are two other dialects aside from catalan and castellano too.  Gallego is spoken in the northwest region of Spain, north of Portugal, and Basque is north in the basque country as well.
Catalan is, simply put, a mix between French and Spanish, which makes sense because it's located on the opposite side of the Pyrenees mountains of France.

However, I don't speak any French, and therefore I understand only a small part of Catalan. But all is well, because everyone speaks spanish too, considering it's the national language.

Also, another great highlight was getting to see the Sagrada Familia-- a basilica designed by Antoni Gaudi.  The interior, although difficult to see here, is built to resemble nature, specifically a forest in the picture above. He used different geometrical patterns for supports and the exterior as well.

superguay.

But in reflection, I am so glad to be able to witness all of these amazing things in Spain (and other countries too!) that have so much history and meaning.  It's so cool to be able to talk about Spanish geography because now I'm starting to actually live it.  I also have discovered that I love traveling.  Planning trips and handling all the bumps in the road is what my life's been all about the past two months.

So grab your passport and my hand...

Sorry, I had to throw that in there.  Love y'all.

Derek