¡ESPAÑA!: My Last Week Abroad pt. 3

Very early flight this morning...6:45am. Thankfully the flight went very smoothly, I was a bit worried at first because the weather in Stuttgart this morning was a tad unpleasant; once we got above the initial rain clouds during takeoff the rest of the flight was perfect. I was tired so I as soon as I got back to Barcelona I went back to sleep!

I spent tonight watching my last FC Barcelona Game in Barcelona at a local cafe/bar.. unfortunately Barca lost but it was still a nice way to spend the evening.

So what will I miss from Europe in general...

For starters the priority of the pedestrian...over here pedestrians rule the streets. It is much safer and easier to navigate the crowed city with all of the automobiles. I will also miss the public transportation systems....the Metro systems (Barcelona especially) and bus systems are light years ahead of any American counterpart I have experienced. I'll miss the antiquity of everything over here....the small side alleys and meandering streets, nooks, and crannies to the heavy stone walls. The retail stores are in buildings that are beautiful and magnificent, not like the warehouse style boxes that our retail stores occupy. I will also miss the cafes....who needs an overpriced Starbucks when you have local cafes with great tea and pastries that Starbucks can only dream to create. Also the concept of ordering a "Viente" actually means something over here haha. Surprisingly I will miss the Euro; the Euro makes shopping and buying groceries easy! What you see on the price tag is what you will pay at the cashier, the tax is already incorporated into the product....back home you have to mentally tally your purchase total keeping in mind that somewhere around a 7% tax will be added! I will also miss the dress/fashion over here; everyone dresses to impress on a daily basis even when they go to "Wal-mart" like stores. Casual over here takes on a completely different meaning; this sense of style forces you to take people seriously!

Tomorrow is my last day...I haven't fully figured out how I am going to spend it but I do know I won't waste any minute of it...it is about that time.