Despedidas

I'm leaving Spain tomorrow. Where has the time gone?

There are is so much I'm going to miss. 

Even the small things.

No... especially the small things. 

• the smell of fresh baked bread and pastries as I get off the bus. My favorite panadería was right behind my bus stop. The same sensation applies to walking by every bakery on every corner. I couldn't help but linger for a few seconds and take a deep breath before moving on, but rarely entered.
• finding art, romance, and passion everywhere I go
• Gaudí, modernism, graffiti, open air fairs, Las Ramblas, el barrio Gótico, el Born, the chocolaterías, Park Güell, music, music everywhere. 
• city culture
• the musicians in the metro (just last night as i was heading down to the bar I heard a guitarist sing Pretty Woman in the metro. It was so good. It put a smile on my face, as these guys usually do.)
• healthy eating, a wide (and cheap) selection of fruits, seafoods, fish, good meats, extra virgin olive oil, pastries, and the pumpkin/squash cream soup my host mom makes
• bars. I'm gonna miss safe spaces where I can drink legally and peacefully with friends while also meeting new people. Heck I'm gonna miss La Ovella Negra. It basically turned into "our" bar by the end.
• speaking spanish, practicing it when i can, hearing it and experiencing it wherever I go
• the UB library. It's nice to study in a library where you don't know anyone and thus cannot get that easily distracted
• a free schedule
• frequent trips and traveling. I'm so excited to already start planning my next trip abroad... where should it be? Latin America, Northern Europe, Africa, Australia? The list is endless. 
• the friendliness and openness of spaniards
• that wonderfully thick and bitter hot chocolate
• the sea. Especially the beach in Sitges. 
• making music at the beach
• laughing at the politicians of the country with my host mom while watching the news every night.
• solo hiking trips. solo trips in general.
• finding new reasons to give up being a cynic. I'm not saying I'll leave the wonderful bitterness and dark humor of cynicism for good, but my dark moments (both of reason and feelings) are followed by hope and brighter thoughts when I think of Barcelona and the truths about humans and the world I learned her. Being a cynic is too easy for anyone highly educated. Being a realist is nice and practical, though not always easy sometimes abysmally boring. Being an optimist and positivist can be incredibly difficult, but well worth the effort. Mixing that positivity with some healthy critical thinking and dosages of dark romanticism could form a worldview I'm now interested in exploring. 

As my camera broke a few weeks back, I have no pictures to share now, except for a last few Michelle and I took in Sitges. Anyhow, it's the images imprinted in one's memory that matter, right?

Hasta luego, Barcelona. I'll be back. Especially with a significant other to experience the other side of your romance. And when I'll have the silver I'll buy a beautiful painting of your shores and mountains.

Thanks for everything!