Update from Fethiye

Hello family, friends, and random readers I have picked up along the way.

It has been forever since my last true update about travel, what I've been doing, and how things are going... so I feel it is time to catch the blog up to date... be warned... THIS COULD GET LENGTH-Y.

It's a rainy day here in Fethiye, I have soup heating on our stove, and Matthew has gone out in the rain to pick us up our "friday pizza date" pizzas.  We are paying 10 dollars a night/per person for our own private studio apartment with a fridge, stove top, and balcony with a view of the sea and surrounding mountains.  This is the first time we have had privacy in MONTHS, and we are enjoying it beyond what words can describe.

We are enjoying it so much that we have pretty much locked ourselves up in this room, and only go out to pick up groceries or water.  We have been in Fethiye for two weeks.  Though people barely speak English, most of the time, they are extremely nice and helpful.  This place is like paradise.

As we reach the tail end of our trip (we have entered our last month), thoughts of home and what my life will be like constantly enter my head.  I don't try to think too hard on the answer to this, but I have learned a lot while travelling, and have lived different mini-lifestyles in each city we have stayed in, and I know I have a clearer idea of who I am, and what makes me happy and passionate.

It really is a huge coincidence that we ended up in Fethiye; I will spare you the story, but a series of events have caused us to have the ability to remain here longer than we originally anticipated... but to be honest, and you'll excuse my spirituality here, I feel the universe wanted us to stay here in this quiet, happy, beautiful city by the sea.  I truly believe that.

The hectic travel lifestyle was definitely an interesting experience, but bunk beds, shared bathrooms and kitchens, and always being surrounded by hussle and bussle, and literally having your sleep interrupted every single night starts to really wear you down.  You really don't have time to think; you are constantly forced to interract, meet people, and go, go, go.

Fethiye has offered us something we didn't even know we needed... stillness.   Oh my god... stillness.  I haven't seen that in YEARS!  When was the last time where you literally spent a week learning to cook, coloring pictures, watching television, and day-dreaming without having some "TO-DO LIST" quietly hassling you?  For me, its been years.  And this has been LUXURY.. I mean, no hot shower, and we wash our dishes with body wash... but LUXURY!

I may not know what exactly life has in store for me, but I have let go of this "GOTTA GET STUFF DONE.  THERE'S NO TIME TO STOP, MUST GO GO GO GO GO" attitude that I held onto for so long.  It was suffocating me, not allowing me to truly think about the things that really matter.  I have been exploring things that I have been too busy/too proud to stop and enjoy since my teenage years, and I am feeling more passionate, more happy, and more ALIVE, like truly present, than I have since childhood.  I feel like the haze has vanished, and I can clearly see what happiness is for myself.

The best part is that we get to (hopefully) enjoy this CHILL-PILL life-style for another week, and I am going to make sure I remember how important this is, so I can bring this lesson home with me.  I must STOP with the desire to be busy and distracted, and must enjoy life thoroughly, because it's the only one I have, and there may be nothing on the other side once my final day approaches.

For those who may be interested, this is what I have been doing:
(because I am not encouraging people to become a couch potato, but rather, to look for inspiration, and to just stop and enjoy being alive. I now see it's the best way for passion to reach the surface.)

Learning to draw manga, anime, and realism.  I want to make my own original characters and make a "graphic novel" of some sort... or sell some stuff online.

Watching DIGIMON on youtube... you must watch this show, it is way better than pokemon, way better character development, season 2 gets really good, ill post a link:



I have been day-dreaming of the fun things I want to do with this blog once I get home, and have resources... and costumes. ;)

Day-dreaming the next things to cross off the bucket list. Indulge in what makes you feel alive and passionate.

I have been re-arranging our home mentally, we want to make it an awesome hang out place where we can focus on all of our hobbies like drawing, knitting, video editing, and enjoying life.

And I have been thinking a lot about my parents, family, friends, co-workers, and clients (I bet every single one of you has entered my head more than once), and how appreciative I truly am, and how BLESSED I am to have the life and love I do.

So Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Lots of love from Fethiye, Turkey. :)

The Sea Turtle in Fethiye

☆★  ☆★  ☆★  ☆★  ☆★  ☆★  ☆★  ☆★  ☆★  ☆★  ☆★  ☆★  ☆★ 

 

Today after lunch, Matthew and Elliot took their usual route “home” along the edge of the yacht dock.  Matthew prefers taking this route because he thoroughly enjoys watching the fish and feeds them any bread left over from his lunch. But today, they were in for a special treat! After stopping briefly to look into the shallow waters near the edge, they inspected the small fish that were hanging out, per usual.  But, as they begun to walk onward, Elliot spotted a huge sea turtle surfacing the water for a breath, and quickly plunging back into the depths.  He screamed and pointed and insisted Matthew look immediately!  Matthew only caught the last moments of the turtle being visible, but was eager to see him again.  The two watched intensely as this beautiful sea creature came to the surface several more times in different places.  He was yellow & orange and had algae growing on his giant shell.

 

  FETHIYE IS MAGICAL!  We LOVE Turkey!

 

Fethiye, Turkey: 12 Island Boat Tour

Cats in Istanbul

Today's Japanese word of the day is  ねこ (neko) meaning CAT. 

Walking down a street in Istanbul, it doesnt take long to see several 'stray' cats. I know what you're thinking: "Every big city has stray animals."  But oh contrare my friend, these cats are different. The strays here are taken care of as if they are pets.  In fact, in 2004 they passed an animal rights law protecting all street animals.  Also, Islam preaches respect toward all animals, especially for cats.  Cats are mentioned several times in the Kuran, even mentioned for once saving the life of the Prophet Mohammad. Don't worry mom... these animals are given shots, so they are safe to touch.

As they say...
“If you kill a cat, you need to build a mosque to be forgiven by God!” :)

SOOOOOOOOOO...
Celestial Elliot and Matthew Mowgli decided to explore our neighborhood in Istanbul to see how many cats we could meet... and it was not hard. (p.s. right now as I type this I am listening to a cat fight out of our hostel window)

She caught me!

She doesn't really look interested in playing..



Look at her looking at his butt.

 

Sunbathing.

Luxury Condos

Whats up there?

 

sideways cat.

GURL, you need a bath.

nap time in kitty-condo

He was angry.

 

Happy Halloween!

Pussy Prison

 

Strike a pose for me, girl.

I see a fur ball in your new future.

:P~~~~~~~

 

:P~~~~~~~

LOOK BEHIND YOU!!!!

KARATE KITTY

 

 

We found the sea during our walk!

Fine dining

TRY SMILIN' NEXT TIME, KAY?

 

lololol. Matthew is actually scared of cats, and right after this photograph the cat was chasing him and he was screaming like a girl.

sideways cat.

And because no blog entry is complete without a picture of ~ME~

 

 

 

 

 

Prague: One of my favorite buildings in Europe

This is the Muzeum in Prague.  It is definitely my favorite/one of my favorite buildings in Europe.

Preparing to Leave Budapest

Home is such an abstract word.  Ask anyone where "home" is, and you'll get a variety of answers; some people find home on the rode, some people find it where they were born, others where they have spent the majority of their life, where their parents live, where their spouse is, and so on...  While travelling and daily uttering the question: "Where are you from?", I have come to realize that a better question is "Where are you headed?"

But for me, it took travelling clear across the ocean to realize where home is... and its where I came from.  It's those streets I can navigate so well, its the sparkle in my moms eyes, its my dads smile, its Stella's hair all over our sofa.  Home is my sisters laugh, my friend Rachel's wit, my Grandma's stories while I do her hair.  For me, home is where I came from.  And I NEVER would have guessed how much I would miss it.

I have decided to make this entry a little different.  After three weeks of having a semi-permanent dwelling at Zen Hostel, and before we head on that open road again, I would like to tell you what I have learned, thought about, and realized while having time to ponder.  And I will follow up with pictures of some stuff we have done while here:


1- I don't like ladders.  We went caving yesterday and the worst part of the experience was entering and leaving the cave... it was a ladder going approximately 20 meters down a dark hole.... hell no. Not cute.

2- Grandma's don't lie, knitting is neat! That's right, I learned to knit while in Budapest.  I already knit a very large scarf, or by Matthew's standard, it is more of a blanket-kind-of-scarf-thing.  And now I am working on a hat!


3-  CHICKENS (are neat)! We have decided that when we get home, we would like raise a few hens in our backyard... This way, we will have fresh organic eggs and some cute pets! We're planning to convert the Stella House into the Stella farm!

 

4-  FISH (are neat)! Beyond hens, we plan on doing some aquaponics (keeping a fish tank with a garden growing above it.. Dad, we need your expertise here). Also we are going to turn our living room into grow room to sprout seeds, grow herbs, and keep vegetable plants (prepare yourselves roomies).  And most exciting, we will be keeping a vermi-compost bin (over 1000 worms in a bin) to eat our left overs and produce fertile soil.  We are going to have a full circle of life in our home: Grow plants, eat plants, feed scraps to worms, make soil, grow plants, eat plants, etc.

5- Home is where the heart is. Family is SO IMPORTANT.  I miss my family so much.  I vow that I am going to spend as much time with them as possible.  I appreciate them more than I can put into words.

6- Sniffles, migraines and coughs... oh my! Going from a beach city to cold central Europe is an abrupt weather change.  I have had an on-again-off-again cold for about three weeks and it is like a damn wave, it gets better and worse as it pleases.


7-  STUFF (is not-so-neat)! For me, the more "stuff" I have, the more I'm a prisoner to it.... "Buy a car to drive to work. Drive to work to pay for the car."  Just yesterday before our caving adventure, we met a mother who works only 15 hours a week when she is back home, and has saved to travel the world with her 11-year-old daughter for an entire year. They are doing Europe, Turkey, South America, etc.  Talk about the best home schooling!  Even more unconventional/amazing, this dynamic duo is "couchsurfing", so everywhere they go, they get to meet locals, learn the cuisine, live in their environment... Most importantly, the daughter is learning that it's possible to make honest and life-changing connections with people, no matter their race, region, religion, etc..  She explained that traveling is a necessary part of their lives and she's willing to cut out other aspects of her life to make room for it. They live without a car, fancy televisions, fine dining, and so on, but as a result, they get to explore the world.  Meeting these two was incredibly serendipitous. Matthew and I have been reading multiple books on a self-sustaining lifestyle (you know, the chickens, the plants that live off of fish feces, the worms that poop out our nutritious soil, all that strange stuff) and her determination to minimize spending on superfluous expenses has definitely inspired our journey to become minimalists...  Happiness is different for everyone, but for me, happiness is having the free time for hobbies, and travel, and loved ones! (By the way, here is a link to her daughter's travel blog, which is part of English/Language Arts homeschooling curriculum: rileybella: My year trip)

Okay, that is probably enough for now.  ;)  But stay tuned as we travel outside of Europe to more culturally unique places.  I can't believe we are only half way through this trip.  I am curious to see how I will have changed, and it will be impossible to tell until I am thrown back into the environment I come from.

 

Budapest

Goodmorning world...
And what a beautiful morning it is.

Time is such a bizarre thing.  I was just pondering on how fast it seems to move, yet I realize how much has happened since my last entry.  Time seems to move so quickly when you aren't paying attention, but on a second thought, a whole lifetime of events can feel like it took place within a few weeks time span.  On that note, lets get back to our story...

Reluctantly, after ten days spent at our cozy hostel in the forest in Barcelona, the time had come to leave.  The last several evenings were spent making good acquitances with our lovely French bunk-mates, Pauline and Lucile, and teaching them words such as "Goofy" and "Done-zo!" Also, realizing my overuse of the word "cool", as every time I said it, it was repeated, "Kew-el" in their cute french accents.  Which brings us to the rainy morning of September 8th.  We were returning to the city of Barcelona for two nights to prepare for our flight to Budapest.  It was a chilly and rainy morning, after several cups of coffee at an outdoor table protected from the rain, we realized the rain had no intentions of stopping, and we must begin our trek regardless. Goofy Lucile, and Kew-el Pauline came to wish us farewell, and we were off!

We returned to our very first hostel we stayed at in Barcelona, Paradiso Hostel.  We planned on saying ADIOS to all of the familiar sights of Barcelona since this may be our last moments of ever seeing the city. Yet something so much better happened... On our first evening there whilst preparing dinner I made my first English friends: A corky trio of young-adults who are in "uni" together and are sharing a "flat". (Or as Americans may understand it: They go to the same college and live together).  That night, we were introduced to the lovely Lucy, Xander, and Bethany.  They were leaving the same morning as us, and on our final night we all made a delicious Mexican dinner, drank wine, and talked the evening away.  The next day we all ventured to the airport together.  Yet again, as quickly as we made our friends, we had to wish them farewell...






AND WE ARE OFF!  Our first flight within Europe: Barcelona to Budapest!


Getting off the plane, we were quite aware we were no longer in Barcelona.  The sky is grey... there is a melancholy in the air.  This place feels forgotten.  Hungary has been under political shift for several generations, and now the people have been left struggling to keep afloat.  Ask someone if they like living here, and they are quick to say "Yes!" but after a pause, you can see a shift in their face as they say "but it is not an easy life..." The Parliament building is decadent and under renovation to add to its beauty; yet, the public transport had its glory days many decades ago, during a time of communist rule.  Now the buses tremble and shake, and are masked in graffiti. Nevertheless, the city is a beautiful yet stoic labrynth of towering brick buildings and narrow streets.  It has natural thermal baths with hot mineral water spewing from the earth, and elaborate caves systems hiding below the surface.  There is even a church built into the entrance of a cave.  The city is torn in half by a giant river, which was used to divide two great cities many centuries ago.

We said goodbye to our tank tops and beach towel, and have covered ourselves with jackets and scarves.  Our first hostel was on the first floor of a huge brick building, and the entrance is a huge heavy wooden door.  Here we met our first American friends: Casey and Bryan from Buffalo, New York.  They are both in their early twenties, and they have decided to uproot themselves and get lost in the world for a year: Europe, the East, and Africa.  They have been volunteering on Monastaries making tea bags, organic farms harvesting plants for gourmet restaurants, and next an animal conservatory in Turkey.

It was at this point that Casey saved us from becoming illegal immigrants.  I will spare you from the details, but basically, as an American, you cannot spend as much time in Europe as you wish.  So in order to return to Europe in December to catch our flight home, we must adventure out of the continent before the end of October.  So we have set a new path:  we will be flying to Istanbul, Turkey October 17th, and must remain out of Europe until December.  But that is still some time away, and we still have lots to do and see before then...

Which brings me to this current moment... Matthew is preparing me breakfast in the lovely and peaceful Zen Hostel, our second dwelling in Budapest.  Matthew has joined the gym across the street, we have found the local farmers market with delicious fresh produce, the hostel has a fully equipt kitchen, and has only two bedrooms with six beds each, and for once... I feel like we have found a cozy temporary home for next few weeks...

Meeting Alex from Australia

It is our final day here in Collserola National Park, outside of Barcelona.  Tomorrow morning we will return to the madness of the Barcelona for two days, and then we head to our next country.

Staying out here has been refreshing.  In every direction we are surrounded by giant hills covered in trees.  Every morning we sit outside on the terrace of the restaurant and watch the fog clear away, to once again, reveal the beauty of our surroundings.  Afternoons are spent lounging in chairs, chatting and reading, watching the resident cats climb trees, or feeding the wild pigs portions of our meals.  It is silent here; there is a stillness that only nature can provide, and I am a bit reluctant to return to city life.

Besides meeting some friendly, curious animals up here in the hills secluded from Barcelona, we also met an amazing human named Alex.... Alex is the kind of person who fills a room with vibrant energy before she even speaks.  She is so alive and present.  Life is her playground, and let me tell you, she intends to play hard.  She is also extremely introspective and thoughtful; we spent a whole evening drinking wine and discussing philosophy and spirituality... she even enjoys watching TedTalks! 

Alex is adventuring through Europe by herself, and is saying 'YES!' to any new experience she can.  She is a thrill seeker, and has a fire burning inside of her that makes her YEARN to never be idle, and it burns continuously.  I am so happy that I had the honor of crossing paths with this amazing spirit.  Sure, I can say I am proud of myself for being 'brave' and going to explore the world, but when you say goodbye to your new friend as she prepares to hitch-hike spontaneously to her next location with a girl she met yesterday, you understand what it really means to be 'brave'.  And the funny thing is Alex doesn't feel 'brave'; she isn't even scared... because really, what's their to be scared of?  She wants to embrace as many new adventures as she can.  To her, the scariest idea is to not be able to explore anymore, and to be forced into a life of daily routines.

So cheers to Alex!  I will not forget her.  She has forged into my brain to not be scared of life, and to live it to the fullest.  That you don't have to be a restless soul, you can become wild fire and burn, burn, burn!  You can live free, and nothing can stop you.. only yourself.

The view from the top.

Brief update since my last entry:
Pardon the delay in posting another update; the previous hostel only had WIFI in a small, non-air conditioned room, which was always crowded and noisy.  Obviously, this was not really an inspiring environment to think or write.  After our stay at Paraiso Hostel, Matthew and I had a mere ten minute walk to our next hostel, Sun and Moon Hostel, which was positioned on the busiest street of Barcelona, La Rambla.  We stayed at this hostel for ten days, until today, September 1, 2013, we checked out, and took the metro to our next temporary home called INOUT Hostel.  This hostel is amongst some large hills within one of Spain’s national parks.  It contains a swimming pool, a restaurant, a café, and beautiful views in every direction.  Most importantly, it is an escape from the madness of city life, which leads me to my entry…

 

One day whilst staying on La Rambla Street, we decided to explore in a new direction, as we had grown tired of the beach, and were eager to experience something new.  We began walking toward what appeared to be a small mountain (I am not sure if it is simply a giant hill or a mountain; I am ignorant to the differences).  Upon approaching the side of the hill which faced the bay, we found a wide stone stairway which steeply crawled up the mountain.  Curiosity beckoned; we started climbing. It was beautiful… It was the first moment we had escaped city life since arriving in Barcelona, and it was so rejuvinating to have some fresh air.  Approaching the top, the path of nature ceased and before our eyes, were man-made gardens that were meticulously arranged and stone square ponds filled to the brink with lily-pads and lotus flowers. Tiny circle bushes were arranged in rows, while large stone statues of women towered over them.  We walked down a path and found ourselves gazing at Barcelona from on top of the world, a view of the city which we have spent the last two weeks living in.  For me, this was more than just an opportunity for a good picture…

 

You see, we have spent the last two weeks getting lost in the chaos of Barcelona, surrounded by buildings too close together, and too high, to see anything beyond the present street.  You pass block after block, yet never look above the street level view which entraps you… the bums and beggars, the noisy cars, the weird smells, the herds of people stomping down the street; it’s just too much. But here I was, staring at this chaotic city from above, mesmerized by its beauty, in disbelief that this has been the same Barcelona that I was beginning to resent.  How did I miss its beauty?  How is the sight of a city that has been testing my temper able to almost draw tears out of my eyes? 

Ever since the climb back down from that mountain, I feel different about this city by the sea, with its rich history, and beautiful architecture.  When your environment remains the same for so long, it begins to become familiar to you and it seems to lose any magic or mystery it may have possessed before.  The bigger picture is pushed into your peripheral, and the details become the object of obsession.  The mind begins to focus only on the errors and defects.  Sometimes it takes looking up, walking away, or climbing to a new place to get a fresh of perspective.  The flaws may not disappear, but you are reminded that the though they remain, that in proportion to the beauty of the whole, they are simply minor details.

This was a profound, metaphorical moment for me. Not only did it change my perspective of Barcelona, but it changed my perspective on my life.  In leaving home and beginning this voyage, there was so much I was excited to experience and see that I was forgetting one of the greatest things the trip was inevitably going to offer… a new perspective of the old, along with an experience of the new.  Now that I’m climbing up, I have a beautiful new perspective of where I have come from… home: who I was there, the people surrounding me, and the places I know so well.  I am now standing on high grounds with fresh air and gazing at the beauty of the life I live.  No longer do I obsessively fret over the small daily details, but rather, stand in appreciation for the beautiful thing I call my life. 

Lots of love from Barcelona. XOXOXO. 

Seashells

Disclaimer:  As of late, I have become obsessed with Jane Austen, and her genius writing style, specifically in her novel Pride and Prejudice.  I believe her to be a true artist with her use of words and descriptions. She has the ability to make writing clean, digestable, and enjoyable for the reader.  So pardon my use of language which may be close to antiquity, for from hither I have decided to include said language, lest it expire completely!

 

Upon the sun's awakening, Matthew and I made our merry way to the beach.  We have acclimated quite well to the heat, as we are nearing a complete week which lacked any sort of air conditioning.  Our skin has healed, so we were ready to expose our bodies, once again, to the fierce rays of the sun.  We spent a good part of the morning watching the tide.  On its way toward the shore, it exposed and carried a number of seashells, and on its way back out to sea it hid them once more.  With close attention paid, and with close accuracy, one can dive his hand into the water and fetch a seashell.  Doing so became the amusement of the morning, persisting into the early afternoon.  We ended up with quite a few seashells; alas, space upon us for said collection is limited, and only the finest, most interesting shells could be borrowed from the sea.  The remaining unselected shells were re-gifted back to the sea.  So came the afternoon sun, also came time for reflection and thought.  My mind returned to one of my favorite books, Walden, by Thoreau.  Only after several weeks of living on the edge of a pond called Walden, does Thoreau truly become aware of the exquisiteness it beholds.  In turn, he writes a whole chapter in his book, seemingly awe-struck by this pond, which had been so casually mentioned and discussed before.  My eyes now fixated upon the Mediteranean Sea, I became conscious of how I am so near a grandeur place upon this earth, and I had yet to let my vision truly take it in.   How beautiful something is if you gaze at it long enough to appreciate the intricacy it may possess. How much you deny your spirit to experience if you let your mind wonder elsewhere beyond the fleeting present moment. 

 

That is all I wish to share.  Until we meet again, farewell.

Bienvenido a España

 As of current, I am sitting on the terrace of our first hostel Paraiso Travellers Hostel located on Ronda de Sant Pau 55-57, Ppal. 1°, Barcelona, 08015, Spain.  Today is Tuesday, and the local time is 10 am, and this is our third day here.  After our 26-hour bus ride from Amsterdam, we arrived Saturday morning at 11:30 am.  Our bus took us through all of France with only two main stops of 30 minutes.  The bus was practically empty when we started in Amsterdam, but by the time we arrived in Barcelona every seat was taken.  It was actually a lot nicer of a ride than I anticipated.   I was forced to sit in my thoughts and look out the window, while I watched the terrain change from the lush summer greens of The Netherlands to the more desert-style plants of Spain...  I watched morning turn into darkness and back to dawn again. 

 

When we arrived, the afternoon sun was blazing; any rain and coolness we passed along the way was long gone.  We arrived at a train/bus station full of chaos, which made the claustrophobia I was beginning to feel on the long bus ride now seem a safe haven, a place of quiet and peace.  The bus driver opened the bottom of the bus to display our luggage, and I placed my two backpacks upon my shoulders and set out to explore a new country, with a new language, and a new set of silent rules to learn to abide by.  In Amsterdam, unlike Barcelona, everyone speaks Dutch, as well as English (possibly better than I do).  In Barcelona, to find signage in English is a rare gift, and communication relies on hand gestures and simple words that you hope sound similar enough in English and Spanish .

 

We reached our hostel by using the metro and walking a few blocks; it is in an old Spanish building with gorgeous architecture.  They have painted the walls with intense shades of orange and fuchsia and saturated blues.  Each room contains three sets of bunk beds, six small beds in total.  A private bathroom is in each room, and a small locker is provided to each guest.  We spent about an hour in the room letting our minds rest and prepared to navigate the city to find the beach.  After several days of roaming and thorough study of the map, we have discovered a route. It is slightly out of the way but is a direct route to the beach, lest us from entering the madness of the city centre.  Before we determined said route, we spent each day lost for hours.

 

So here is an update on our first day... After finding the beach by two in the afternoon, we were determined to morph our pale bodies into beautiful shades of caramel and brown.  Alas, upon evening's approach, we left with red, fried skin that was hot to the touch even after a cool shower.  We have willed to stay in the shadows of the day until this burnt skin settles into a nice tan, at which point, we will return to beach life.

 

The beaches are filled with life and laughter that only the hot sun and waves can create.  Nudity is allowed, but there are specific beaches designated for this option.  These beaches are the most crowded of all; they are filled with anything from romantic couples sitting naked on beach towels while feeding each other, to families with young children completely nude frolicking in the sand, to middle-aged women who simply don't want tan lines.  For those of you who know me, getting naked and sun-bathing on a nude beach is something that has been on my bucket list as long as anything has.  The liberation you feel stripping completely bare in front of hundreds of people is not describable, but is something which must be experienced to understand.  This is not a place full of hot models; these are normal people of all shapes, sizes, and ages.  There is no reason to be insecure.  Don't get me wrong, it's human nature to be curious enough to look around at all times, but when everyone is naked and vulnerable, confidence is less of a concern than in any other life situation.  I walk through the crowds right into the water and allow the waves to wash over my body.  After I have cooled off from the several-hour walk to this magical place, I disregard my beach towel, spread my wet body on to the beach, and move around until the sand is glued to every part of me.  In my mind, I check a box on my bucket list. 

 

In other news, everywhere at all times of day and night, Barcelona is filled with life and madness.  Unlike Amsterdam, where fashion and appearance and organization is a focus, here people walk on the bike lane, ride bikes on the walking path, wear short shorts and tank tops, and there are many more people robust in body size.  It is a strange blend of city and beach life: swim suits and a quick pace! 

 

Well, Adios, much love from Barcelona.  Matthew and I are madly in love and are reading great works of literature together and intensely analyzing them.  We work on our vocabulary and dream up our next big adventures.  We stretch and eat as healthy as we can (which is a challenge here, as pastries and sandwiches are so cheap).  We are determined to have sharp minds and healthy bodies.  We hope to

be winded as old age approaches, having a mind full of memories saturated in wild adventures and beautiful stories.    Thanks again for tuning in.  XOXOXOXOXO.  MUAH MUAH MUAH!!!trav