Last Days

So we come to the end of this journey. Gianna leaves this (Saturday) morning, but I won't go until tomorrow night. The last few days have been spent exploring Barcelona, which is a beautiful city, but much harder for me to navigate, since they like to speak Catalan here. It's something of a combination of Spanish and French. Plus they like to use a lot of x's. The Picasso museum was pretty cool, and today I will go check out some of the areas of the city designed by Gaudi. I have to say that Barcelona's architecture is more attractive and consistent than Madrid's. But I liked the food in madrid better.

Because this was my first trip to Europe (oxford doesn't count), I learned a lot of things. I learned you don't need nearly as much stuff as you think you do. I learned that subways and trains are a pretty handy way of getting around, and they aren't hard to figure out. I learned that food is definitely regional. And I learned how completely odd a new culture can seem. It's just a different way of putting together the puzzle pieces. Food, family, entertainment, language, social interaction. We definitely have our own style in the US (especially Texas!), and to be honest, I kinda miss it after only a week. I guess it becomes part of who we are - at least the nuture side anyway.

You know, the most romantic thing I saw on this whole trip wasn't the kids making out on the subway (that was gross actually). It wasn't the newly weds sharing breakfast or holding hands. It wasn't even the couples re-uniting at the airports and train stations. Nope, the most romantic thing I saw was an old couple, probably in their late 60's, walking past me outside of a coffee shop. I was just sitting, waiting for a moment. They walked by in lockstep, arms around each other. They walked slowly, deliberately, and weren't even talking, just smiling. They moved so easily, it looked like one body with 4 legs. It looked like the rest of the noisy, chaotic world didn't matter to them; they were truly lost in each other's embrace. I'm sure their partnership hasn't always been so rosy, but they looked so happy and peaceful in that one moment, I don't think I will ever forget it.