Bella Scipione

Oct 10 2022

G and I have officially completed our three week adventure across Europe. The past 96 hours have been a lot to process. We spent a short 36 hours in Barcelona, flew back to London, visited with our English mates (Mungo, Hugo, George, and Tom), and traveled 14 hours back to our home in Colorado. To say we are exhausted is an understatement. I have not been able to come to terms with this being the end, and have decided to give myself some time to reflect. So, for now, here is a recap of our last couple of days.

After parting ways with our beloved Aussies, G and I arrived in beautiful Barcelona. Both of us were still upset about leaving the boys and had a very quiet night in. We tried to make the most of our first night by admiring our hotel’s view of the city and venturing for some classic Spanish food. We shared starters and cheesecake at a restaurant called La Pepa, and sang along to all the Bad Bunny tunes.

We made sure to take advantage of our only full day in the city. We went mega tourist and bought tickets for the “Hop on Hop off” city tour bus. We were able to explore plenty of historic sites. Most notably, the Arc de Triomf and La Sagrada Familia. G and I really enjoyed cruising around the city and learning the historical contexts of each special landmark.

The Arc de Triomf is a triumphal arch built as the main access gate for the 1888 Barcelona World Fair. The frieze overlooking the Passaig de Sant Joan depicts Barcelona welcoming the nations. The frieze facing the park shows the city presenting medals to the exhibition participants.

The well renowned La Sagrada Familia is definetly all it is hyped up to be. La Sagrada Familia is in the city of Barcelona and is currently the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world. Atoni Gaudí devoted his life to this project and did an immaculate job at combining Gothic and curvilinear Art Nouveau forms. G and I were unable to go inside the church, but admired it’s outer archiectural design.

While there is still so much we wanted to see, we headed back to our hotel to prepare for an iconic night out in Barcelona. One bottle of Merlot later, G and I were out on the dancefloor of Pacha nightclub until four in the morning. We tried to enjoy every minute of it. It was our last night out and I could not let my years of Spanish classes be put to waste. The night ended with a walk on the beach under the moonlight.

Five hours of sleep later and we were on our way back to London. On our train ride over, G and I started to feel reality kick in. Luckily, we were able to spend our last hours with some of our first friends of the trip. We spent the night with our British mates eating Chipotle, sharing stories, and watching the classic British film, Hot Fuzz. It felt really good being back to where it all started – a wonderful full circle moment. We arrived safely back home earlier this afternoon and are preparing to start work again. I will be reflecting on our journey in the coming week and cannot wait to share all that I have discerned.

p.s. Chipotle in London does not have Queso.