When I was in grade school, I fell in love with the Spanish language.  I’m still trying to determine if my admiration was a result of my ability to conjugate verbs quickly or if my teachers just brought in way too many Spanish dishes for the class to try.  By the time I graduated, I had spent five years learning a foreign language and made it my goal to one day travel to Spain to see one of the cathedrals from the books and indulge myself with authentic paella.  Well, in 2012, I finally made it!  By then, my Spanish skills were quite rusty, but I remembered enough to read signs, order food, and get directions.  When I look back on that trip, I still can’t believe how much we were able to see and experience in such a short period of time.  In fact, I was just laughing with my cousin the other day about how she had to buy another pair of shoes to save her feet from misery, lol.  We stayed in Barcelona, but also took a day trip to two surrounding cities, including the birthplace of Salvador Dalí.  As a lover of architectural design and eclectic style, I was truly amazed by the depth and detail of so many of the sites in these cities, particularly La Sagrada Familia (Just beautiful, and to this day, not finished!).  And at some point, I lost count of the cups of gelato and café sandwiches I consumed.  This was my first trip to Europe, and I’m grateful for all the fun and crazy memories with my cousin.  We make good travel partners!