Tuesday, July 8, 2014

48 hours in Barcelona



There was sun.  There was salt water and a lot of humidity.  There were teeny, twisty streets to get lost in.  There was color.  There was noise.  There were churros and chorizo.  There was beautiful architecture.  There were moments to savor.  There was sangria.  A lot of sangria.  

I spent the good part of last weekend in Barcelona, which I visited for the very first time.  I went on kind of a whim and I went by myself, which I needed and enjoyed every single minute of.  I think I was hoping for some epiphanic moment, a great awaking to a truth about myself or spontaneous moving on of what has happened in my life over the last year.  But, I did not get these things.  Instead what I got was a brief reprieve and an ever so slight lifting of the fog.  In the end, though, that was more than enough.  In fact, it was exactly what I needed and I enjoyed every minute of it.  

I didn't see all that much while I was there.  Actually, I missed the majority of things Gaudí.  I didn't go to any museums nor did I sunbathe at the beach.  But, I walked a lot, meandering through the Gothic Quarter and getting lost in the maze of it.  I ate so much and had plenty of delicious wine and sangria.  I let the coastal wind whip through my hair and I felt the sticky salt on my skin.  I observed--the Spanish, the tourists, the colors and the pleasant buzz around the city--and for the first time in maybe 7 months, the racing in my mind stopped.  For a short time I was free.  

Although I haven't come back transformed, the quiet in my mind has settled in a little and I can feel it gaining just a bit more strength every day.  Next week it's off to Michigan, my favorite place in the world, where hopefully it can really take root.  Until then, I'll look back on these pictures with fondness, grateful for a weekend to feel just a little bit like myself again.  


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