blog.

It has been two weeks since I returned from Spain. No more train to catch at 7 a.m.; I now wake to an alarm clock and head to work in a car. No more sandy beaches; I now walk across the grass. No more Mediterranean sunsets; I have to settle for the sunsets here. No more metro lines to take me anywhere I want to go; I must take a car. No longer am I surrounded by architecture much older than the country I was born in; I am now surrounded by new buildings and construction. No more cobblestone streets and tile street signs; I am back to green placards and asphalt. No more moments of “pinch me, I’m dreaming;” I’m back to the things that I know. I’ve returned to my normal and thinking back on Spain I can still hardly believe it even happened. I miss it terribly and hope I can return one day.

I’ve had a very busy two weeks at the agency wrapping up all of my projects. I do not know what the rest of my life has in store for me, but I know that my time with Imagewest International will get me a step ahead of the rest. I am so proud that our client was pleased with our work and I am proud of what we accomplished during our time abroad. I would not have traded this experience for anything and I am so glad that I went on this journey.

A sunset in the Mediterranean.

(This is my contribution to our Imagewest blog and I liked it so much that I decided to post it here as well)

Here we are. Back in the United States and back with our families and friends. You might not recognize it immediately, but Spain changed all of us. We tried new things, broadened our minds, and we all grew from the experience and came back with memories that will last forever.

It was certainly not all fun and games for us in Spain. We worked. And we worked hard. Our usual schedule was (including our two-hour commute) 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday, but we would often work well beyond that time. Our hard work and hours of research have been worth it. During our time in Spain we created a microsite, interactive maps, information sheets, a poster and digital identity materials for our client the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) liaison offices in Europe.

When we were not working, we enjoyed the gorgeous city of Barcelona and the beautiful little town of La Garriga where we lived for a month. On the weekends we traveled by plane across Spain to Bilbao and Palma, Mallorca. We even made it over to Venice, Italy one weekend. Venice was the unanimous choice for favorite side trip.

We were exposed to all kinds of new and different cultures, art, places and people. We saw Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia and Casa Batlló. We walked up and down La Rambla. We saw the collected works of Picasso and Dalí. We waded in the salty Mediterranean Sea and were burned by the Mediterranean sun. We tasted and enjoyed patatas bravas, Spanish tortillas, and fish (a new concept to most of us). We attempted to understand, Catalan, Castilian, Euskara, Italian and German. We saw where FC Barcelona plays and cheered on Spain’s national fútbol team with the locals. We witnessed history as Catalonia was declared a nation. We saw the Guggenheim in Bilbao, traveled around Venetian canals and vacationed with the Germans. We explored lands that we could never dream we would have seen in our lives. And we’re pretty sure that we finally mastered the Metro system.

I could go on forever about all the amazing experiences we had during our short month abroad, but I still have a bit of work to finalize.

Remember to look through all of our pictures and watch our videos on our website. If you want to read more about our month abroad, check out the rest of this blog and our team blogs.

¡Adéu! (That’s “goodbye” in Catalan)

Our Imagewest appreciation dinner on the island of Mallorca.

I can’t believe it. I’m back. It feels like just yesterday I left on that jet plane for Spain and now I’m already back. A lot is different, but that’s for another entry. Right now, let’s go back, back to my last week in Spain. We worked, a whole lot, after returning from Venice, to get all of our work done in time. Wednesday I worked from 8am until 10pm, I just had to finish my work.

Thankfully, I did get to enjoy my last weekend in Barcelona. Friday after work, Rachel and I accompanied Mark and Heather to the Picasso museum. I enjoyed seeing his work from his early life into the later stages. My favorite artwork was classic advertising posters, I believe it was one of his friend’s artwork. After the museum, we walked toward the beach and went to a Mexican restaurant that Heather and Mark had previously visited. I had a delicious LIT and burrito. And I was happy to have some guacamole in my life, not to mention the tortilla chips. After dinner, we caught the train back to La Garriga and met some very interesting characters in the station that wanted us to go to the Ah-Beh-Cey discotheque. We thankfully convinced them to get off at their stop and not follow us back to La Garriga.

The next morning we got an early start to head to Figuerres to see the Dalí museum. This was a very anticipated part of the trip for me as, although I’m not really an art connoisseur, Dalí and surrealism top my list. After a two hour train ride through what looked like Indiana, we arrived in Figuerres, which is where Dalí lived. We must have looked like tourists because before we could even ask a woman we encountered for directions, she told us where the Dalí museum was. The museum was incredible, I loved everything I saw and was stunned that I was allowed to take pictures within the museum.

After the museum, Rachel and I headed back to Barcelona to see Tibidabo. We were told we were not allowed to leave Barcelona without seeing it and this was our last chance. Thank god we made the effort to go up there. After correctly navigating the metro lines, we took a trolley halfway up, where we got on a funicular that took us to the top. At the top of Tibidabo, after leaving the funicular, you see a church, which was apparently a very popular site for weddings (who doesn’t want to get married almost 2000 feet in the air?). We saw at least three brides while we were up there.

Someone also decided, oh, hey, let’s put an amusement park almost 2000 feet in the air. That makes sense, right? So, church, amusement park, and then a breathtaking view that I will remember for the rest of my life. Sprawled out before me at the top of this mountain is all of Barcelona. The view was so beautiful that it almost brought me to tears, no wonder people were getting married up there.

Before we left Tibidabo, we decided to buy a cotton candy, little did we know this would literally the largest cotton candy we have ever consumed in our entire lives. However, it was delicious. After making the journey all the way back down the mountain and back through the metro lines, we made our way through La Rambla to find Stephanie and Courtney at a bar called Cheers to watch the Spain vs. Paraguay match. We did find them and it was packed to the brim, just the way I wanted to see a world cup match in Spain! I was excited for the match to begin. It was amazing! The whole bar was full of excitement and Spain won! Definitely a moment I will not forget for a long time. Plus, I was wearing my Villa jersey and everyone who noticed said something. I felt like I was part of it.

Unfortunately because we stayed in town to see the match, we had to catch the night bus back to La Garriga. The night bus was our least favorite thing, but, it did get us home when we wanted to be in town after 10pm. And, we did have delicious gyros, so that made up for it. The night bus did get us back to La Garriga where we crashed into bed because we had an early journey to the airport in the morning.

Our flight was only slightly delayed, thankfully (we have not had the best luck with flights). I noticed very quickly the German allegiance in Mallorca before I even got there. When the plane landed at the airport, from the terminal I saw the pilot’s window open and out popped a German flag. You see, Spain was playing Germany in a world cup match in a few days and the pilot obviously was for Germany. In the pilot’s defense… we were flying Air Berlin. Still, not cool.

Mallorca, despite the Germans, was and is the most gorgeous beach I have ever been to. The water was crystal clear and as blue as, something that is quite blue. The sand was soft and created a sand bed when my towel was laid upon it. The amazing Mediterranean sunset was just that, amazing. And our beach front hotel was a definite plus. All I did in Palma, Mallorca was rest. It was all I needed to do and I loved every minute of it.

On Monday, aka my 22nd birthday, we went to an Imagewest Appreciation dinner and investigated Palma de Playa’s (our beach resort) nightlife. I ate monkfish in almond sauce for dinner and it was certainly the best-tasting fish I have ever consumed. For dessert I had CHEESEcake. Much emphasis on the cheese. It was not so pleasant. After dinner, we had a bucket of vodka and límon, and I mean bucket. It was a common practice to buy a blue bucket complete with drink and massive straws, to just drink on the boardwalk. The six of us quite enjoyed our bucket. After the bucket was gone, we went to explore the discotheques. Let me just say, I will never, ever forget my 22nd birthday in Palma, Mallorca, Spain in the Balearic Islands.

The next day I avoided the sun as much as possible, because I had gotten a little crispy the previous day (even with sunscreen). The Mediterranean sun is apparently quite hot…

After we left the resort, it was travel, travel and more travel. Before I knew it we were crossing the figurative border at the Barcelona airport and walking into international limbo awaiting our plane’s departure. And just like that, a short 10 or so hours later, we were back and I was running to my boyfriend’s arms at the Nashville airport.

Now that it’s all over, I am ready to go back. At first I was happy to be home, now I miss Spain. I’m now convinced that I should have been born in Europe. I will never forget what I will now consider as my second home.

Last weekend we went to a place that truly stole my heart. Sure, Barcelona captured it, but Venice immediately seized it from Barcelona. There are not words sufficient to describe the beauty of Venice. Therefore, here is a picture that will attempt to explain its beauty.

After our plane landed I could not wait to get out and explore. Although we first had to get from the airport to the island of Lido, where our hotel was located. How does one get places on a city located on water? By boat, of course! Metro boats were the main method of transportation and it was amazing. I was meant to live on a city surrounded by water.

The first day we explored the beach-y island where our hotel was after checking in. It was a beautiful beach community, although I never even went to the beach because there was not much point since you do not really go to Venice for the beach. I had gnocchi for dinner and I was so excited because it was already one of my favorite foods. Rachel and Courtney got the Italian version of the “menu del día,” which was a four-course meal, complete with dessert. It looked like a whole lot of food, but they somehow conquered it.

After dinner we walked around the island and found a place to watch the sun set. Just so you know, Venetian sunsets are UNREAL. The entire time we were watching I had that, “pinch me, I’m dreaming,” feeling. I even had Rachel pinch me at least three times… only to discover, that yes, this really was, really, real.

The next day we woke up early to find the biggest complimentary breakfast I had ever seen. It was quite large and quite filling and of course, delicious. Next, we set out to board the metro boat to Venice and we were almost there. The entire time I had the, “I must be dreaming,” feeling, but especially driving toward St. Mark’s that morning.

We never actually went into St. Mark’s because the line was so long to get in, but it was gorgeous from the outside. However, it was much more beautiful at night. There were even musicians playing at various restaurants. I believe I have mentioned that Venice is absolutely unreal, correct? It is certainly the most amazing city I have ever been to.

During the day Rachel and I did what the various travel resources told us to do in Venice, get lost. However, Rachel and I have such a good sense of direction that we somehow found our way to the Grand Canal. By chance, we were not even aiming to get there. That is just how awesome we are. Getting lost was an excellent opportunity to explore the areas of Venice that were off the beaten path. We even ran into some guy that, we’re pretty sure, thought Rachel was a fountain. It had some interesting characters, but Venice was, by far, my favorite part of the trip so far.

The end of the road. The street ended and this is all that was left.

Burano and Murano were two other islands that we ventured to via the metro boat. Have I mentioned how awesome the metro boat was? Well, Murano is known around the world for it’s beautiful glasswork, while Burano is known for hand-made masks and lace. Murano was really interesting because of all the stunning things that can be done with glass. This included breathtaking chandeliers that were so expensive I almost felt I could not afford to look at them. Burano was the most colorful place I have ever been to in my entire life (and I could certainly live there). I could not stop taking pictures, even though my battery began to blink that it was running on empty. The colors were just so bright and wonderful that I wanted to share them with everyone.

There is no other way to explain the beauty of Venice except for, it is unlike anything I will ever see and have ever seen. Our second night in Venice, Rachel and I found the perfect place to watch the sun set once more. I will never forget listening to the water lapping the edges of the street as boats flew by and the sun was setting my last beautiful summer in Venice, Italy. So many moments that will last a lifetime.

Completely unreal.

The only bad things about Venice were the intense heat, humidity, and the Venetian mosquitoes (with their giant mosquito bites). Other than that, Venice was perfect, and I vow to make it back there again one day and hopefully share the experience with others. Rachel and I were admittedly starting to feel a little home sick in the most gorgeous city we have ever seen. Little things kept reminding us of home and we almost cried a few times.

Now we’re going through our last week in Barcelona and we have our nose to the grindstone if we want to get everything done on time. We’re excited for the Spain/Paraguay game this weekend and we’re excited for a little more time in Barcelona. The Picasso and Dali museum are certainly on the menu. And Rachel and I are planning on venturing up to Tibidabo (we were told we could not leave Barcelona without seeing it).