Back to Austin

I've been home for a week and already this past year already feels like a distant memory. It's weird. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving being home, seeing my friends and family, eating my favorite foods (I've probably had tacos for half my meals), driving, chatting with all the random, friendly Texans I encounter everyday (I forgot how open we are down here in the south! I love it), but it is very strange how quickly things just feel...the same. Right now it's nice, comforting, but I can already tell that the itch to leave will not stay dormant for long. Coming home really is one of the best feelings in the world though. I guess if things felt difference it wouldn't be home anymore.

Anyways, let's see if I can dust off my memories. This past month I did continue to travel around a bit before I came home and probably went to my two favorite places of the semester, Begur, a small town in Costa Brava north of Barcelona and Dubrovnik, Croatia. I'm pretty sure I've said this before but one of the benefits of studying coastal engineering is the fact that any visit to a coastline can also be described as "research."

The trip to Begur was just a spontaneous trip up the coast because I needed to get out of the city and many people had told me that Costa Brava, with its natural pocket beaches surrounded by hills and cliffs, was a must see. So after one afternoon of trying to figure out how to spend my remaining days in Spain, I booked bus and was on my way for a short two day vacation. Costa Brava, which I think translates to "Rugged Coast" is literally just that, the coastline in northeast Spain in Catalonia known for its cliffs and a mixture of sandy and pebble beaches. It's a place where the Spanish go when they want to vacation and I heard it's a region where a lot of landlocked Madrid city folks have second homes. Along the coast there is a variety of towns, some more built up than others, and after a bit of research I chose Begur, about a 2 1/2 hour bus ride from Barcelona. I immediately fell in love with the little town as I walked from the bus stop to my Airbnb, mainly because I had to walk across the town to get there and it took me only 10 minutes. The town itself is perched in the hills near to three different beach areas, Aigua Blava, Aiguafreda & Sa Tuna, and Sa Riera. It's very small, cute, traditionally Catalan, and not accustomed to many English speaking tourists. In fact, I think these two days were the only days of my entire semester where I spoke Spanish and only Spanish all day. It was a fun confidence booster. However, the one bad thing about Costa Brava is the minimal public transport. Because of the topography, trains are unfeasible in many areas and buses tend to only go between the larger towns. It's really an area where having your own car is the best method for getting around. As I did not have a car and was left with two options to get around to the beaches, cabs, or hike. Of course, I am not one to turn away from a scenic hike and I decided on the latter. My first day there I arrived at noon, dropped off my bag, bought some water, and headed off to find the trail to Aigua Blava, the furthest beach from Begur, but, as my host assured me, the one with the best hike. My host failed to mention to me though that apparently NO ONE ELSE hikes. It look me around 4 hours to get to the beach and the entire time I did not see one person on the trail; beautiful but slightly haunting abandoned buildings, yes, people, no. Granted, the hike was only supposed to take three hours but I got slightly lost and wandered in the wrong direction for a bit until I came to a very steep, impassable cliff and realized my mistake. I felt a little bit like I was reenacting scenes from "Wild." So no, probably not the smartest idea to be out there climbing around by myself but at least the scenery was worth it, as well as the final destination. Plus, I was able to take a cab back.

"The lookout of the crazy. Do you have balls?"

The second day was more of the same but less intense (and there were other people on the trail!) which was for the best. The hiking from the previous day, even though it wasn't for that long, completely wiped me out.  Begur and it's surrounding beaches is really something special. In the town itself, I actually felt a little out of place as a tourist because we were rare and doing our best not to stand out. It was charming. The beach areas, as you can see from the pictures were absolutely beautiful, pebble beaches with crisp, clear water, and again, not very many people. I really found my happy place on this short trip. I can only hope that the logistics of traveling and getting around the area continue to keep the larger hoards from Barcelona away from this area, especially Begur. A few more pictures from the second day before I move on....

After the trip up the coast, I came back with about two weeks left in Barcelona. I honestly did not do much those last two weeks but go to my favorite places, discovered some new favorites, and attempted to absorb as much of the city as possible before leaving. It was tough to say goodbye to such an amazing city and Spain in general. What an amazing country, I will be back.

Don't worry, the stories don't end there; that would be have been a boring end to the semester. Before coming home I was finally able to check off a place that has been on my list for a while now, Dubrovnik. I was there for 10 days on my own and discovered that traveling by myself is really fun! I only do whatever I want, when I what, and I meet WAY more people when I am on my own. The only downside is that I tend to completely throw any form of budget out the window when I'm by myself. This isn't a big downside, I think I deserve wine and oysters almost every day, but maybe I shouldn't take these trips all the time. You know, living within your means and what not.

I stayed in an Airbnb about a 30 minute walk from the old medieval town and about a 10 minute walk from a nearby beach and harbor. It was a perfect location though Dubrovnik is very small and has a good bus system so pretty much anywhere is a good location but I liked that this apartment put most of the city within walkable radius. I splurged a little and got an apartment for myself rather than a room in someone's house and this was one of my favorite parts of the trip, my own apartment. After living with 7 other girls for 5 months, having your own bathroom is one of the highest forms of luxury.
My first day I walked around the old town and the city walls. I didn't take any of the Game of Thrones tours because after walking around for five minuted you realize the whole place has probably been used in the show at some point or another. It's beautiful though, I mean immediately you understand why it was chosen to be King's Landing the minute you walk through the main gate.

From the nearby mountain lookout

The following days I alternated between going on tours and just hanging out at one of the beaches near the city. It is worth noting the loose definition of a "beach" in Croatia. Pretty much anywhere that a person can climb in and out of the water is a beach. Some of my favorite "beaches" that I stumbled upon:

The water in Dubrovnik is by far the best I have ever swam in, clear, crisp, and clean. I think that's why the oysters from nearby Ston are soooooooooooooooooooo good. It was hard to control myself.....

Nom nom nom

Other than eating oysters, I went on a couple of kayaking tours, a tour to Montenegro, and one extremely awesome food and wine tour of the nearby Peljesac Peninsula. We started out the morning on a boat with a breakfast of oysters, pulled from the sea and shucked right there on the boat, and wine.

The day continued with a visit to five vineyards and finished with a late lunch included more wine. Best. Day. Ever.

All in all, it was a great vacation. I chatted with locals (scored a couple of freebies from waiters through the powers of my immense charm), met many fellow travelers, drank new wine, ate good, fresh food... It was the perfect way to end this year in Europe.

Well, I believe we've come to end. I honestly thought this would be a short post but a couple hours later, here I am, still writing. Luckily, I am running out of things to say. I don't have any travel plans for the summer but who knows, maybe I'll take a weekend trip somewhere. I have to go back to Houston in order to get my visa for the UK but I doubt the details of that excursion will warrant a new blog post. So, I think this is the last post for a few months, at least until September when I move to London and start another journey. I wish everyone a great summer! Hasta luego!