I've had the good fortune of being able to travel to so many great places. As much as I love New York City, I always catch myself daydreaming of distant travels and future plans. I think a lot of this wishful thinking is coming from the travel bug inside of me. I love visiting new places and learning about different cultures. It's fascinating to see the way other people live. The everyday customs and lifestyle of different cultures is so interesting to me and I hope I can continue to be able to recognize the beauty in places not yet traveled.
This post is a little overdue but I couldn't go forward without mentioning the little trip I took to Spain with my parents and my older sister, Christine. For me, this trip was a spontaneous eye opener to the world around me. We flew into Madrid late August when the weather was just about perfect. From Madrid we took a two and a half hour train ride to the capital of Andalusia, Seville. Growing up in middle school and high school I have always taken French speaking classes. So, knowing little of the language or the culture, I was amazed at the beauty this petite and incredibly old town had to offer. The buildings were exquisite and the cobblestone roads we walked on weaved their way through the historical town. Of course, parts of the town have been modernized (with a Zara on almost every corner) but with an open eye you can see the detail in each and every breathtaking building. As my family and I strolled through the maze that they called streets I found myself looking up, down, to my left and right, gawking in delight at everything we passed by.
In Seville we were introduced to the infamous Spanish Tapas, and from there we were hooked (I'll have more on that later.) On our first night we ate a small restaurant. I had ox tendorloin which I was a little afraid of at first but it ended up being pretty delicious. Dinner was yummy but it was the tapas bar next store (owned by the restaurant we were eating at) that drew in a large crowd of locals. After dinner we enjoyed a few glasses of wine outside at the tapas bar. It the perfect way to end the night and its a memory I don't think I will ever forget. After a few days spent in Seville we flew to Barcelona. We explored the tapas a little bit more in Barcelona and found ourselves completely in love with the city. One of my favorite dinners on the trip was at a small restaurant called La Pepita. Upon our arrival we were greeted by a woman named Sophia who welcomed us into her restaurant with open arms, as if she had been waiting for us. The restaurant was cozy and the ambience was a ten. Sophia ordered everything for us, we didn't even have to look at the menu! It was exciting to see and try to guess which tapas they were going to bring out. The night could not be more perfect and I think we all left with happy stomachs and light hearts. On our last day we had an amazing guided tour through the city and some of the views we saw were unlike anything I have ever seen before. There was so much culture and richness in everything we saw and everywhere we went. It was almost magical in a way (not to sound too cheesy).
All in all it was an incredible trip. I am so lucky and so happy I was able to spend time with my family (minus my little sister, we missed you kitty!) in a new place. I hope to return to Spain again in the future, hopefully sometime soon. There is so much I want to do and so much more exploring that needs to be done!
As for the tapas.... my dad is hooked. Our palates were wildly expanded in Spain which is always a nice change of pace. Since coming back to NYC we have mastered recipes for "pan con tomate" and the yummy "potatas bravas." We even tried making shishito peppers (although is another story for another day!)
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| Walking through the streets of Seville |
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| Beautiful Seville buildings |
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| From Seville to Barcelona! |
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| The view from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel |
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| My Dad and Mom at La Pepita, an incredible and fun tapas restaurant in Barcelona |
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| A little fun after dinner! |
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| Breakfast at the Mandarin Oriental |
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| Park Guell |
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| Pan con tomate with Iberian ham |
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| There's always room for dessert |
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| The best view in Barcelona |
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| Cheers to amazing food and wine, breathtaking views, delightful laughs, and an incredible trip. |
