I’m still alive! Since your last visit with me, I have been
in 3 countries, slept in 7 different beds, taken well over 20 bus, train, or
taxi rides, and even hang glided over the Alps! Needles to say, I have been going 100mph so my apologies for
the lull in writing. Have
yah missed me?! I have a lot to
write about, but I’m just going to post in small segments…kinda like ‘One Tree
Hill’. I’ll keep yah hangin’! (Don’t act like you are shocked I threw
that reference in there. Abbs, that was for you.)
First off, I just want to say what a creative, good humored,
and big God we serve! Seriously
y’all. And he did it all in 6
days! One time I tried to write my
final thesis paper in a class in 6 days, and let’s just say it didn’t turn out
nearly as beautiful as this world we live in did.
Humbled. That
is the word I will use to describe myself right now. I am humbled by the powerfulness of such a big God and how
He cares about little ol’ me. He cares about me finding my place in His
creation. He has been faithful to
humble me.
Do you now how many people there are in the world? Over 7 billion to be exact. And did you know that there are also
over 1,000 languages spoken around the world? Those are just official languages. Studies show that there could be up to 5,000 different
languages all with different dialects.
Also, there are so many ethnicities represented around the world toady
that experts can’t even put a number on it. Spread out between the 180 countries around the world, there
could be well over 4,000 different ethnicities. These numbers are changing everyday, due to things like
globalization and cultural diffusion.
Eureka! I have good
news! There is one number that is
the most consistent stat out there; in fact it has never changed. Not once. One God created all 7
billion people, one God gave all
7 billion of them different tongues, and one God created them all in His image. Gosh, how good is that?! God knew it was good. He even said so (Genesis 1:31 “And God
saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.”).
Recap on my adventures. I left you packing for Spain, right? So, Barcelona, Spain. You were so very good to me. I thank you for that, senor. Barcelona is for sure on my “Dude,
if I don’t make it back to that city before I die I’ll cry” list.
That list is not very long so that is saying a lot. We didn’t arrive to the city until
around 8:00pm, but luckily B-Town is a city that never sleeps. My Facebook album is appropriately
titled, ‘Planes, Trains, and Autobuses’, because that is literally how we had
to get there. We were beat, but
then the big blue public bus we were on makes a sharp right and then we saw it. Angels descended with trumpets from the
skies singing the most beautiful song ever sung. There it was.
In all its glory.
Starbucks. Yes, yes you
heard me correctly people. We
practically skipped inside, I ordered my grande iced chi latte and inhaled that
heavenly nectar so fast Im shocked I didn’t get sick. The odds were definitely in our favor for this trip. You try going a month with out a decent
cup of Starbucks, and you see how you react! B. Price…I know you are feelin’ me girl.
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| We had a little scare and almost missed our flight. But...we made it. A little out of breath, but we were there. |
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| I told you. Angels. |
With a new pep in our step, we found our hostel and a fun
restaurant. We didn’t finish
dinner until 1:00am and people were still rolling in the door. They. Never. Sleep.
I had researched the city some and knew some of the best
ways to get around, so we purchased our T-10 pass to get around the Metro all
weekend and headed to the port. If
you are one of those people who has to have every detail of your trip planed
out…you need to not be one of those people on the ASAP or you will miss out. Or, if you are so type A that it hurts,
you need to pick a lower letter of the alphabet to be for the weekend and go
sometime to a fun city with just a map in your pocket…and a camera of
course. Just try it. Basically that is what we did and the
day turned out so great! We
knocked around the port for a bit and watched rowers and other such aquatic
athletics happening around. We got
Starbucks for the second time that morning, then walked La Rambla. La Rambla is their famous street full
of markets, vendors, street performers, florist shops, animals, all kinds of
foods, and it stretched about a mile from the port up into the city. We spent about an hour there just
people watching…and not spending a dime!
NOT! Who do you think I
am?!
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| Daniel found her fanny pack. |
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| Typical La Rambla. These women paid for this... |
The day was really from them on just full of taking turns
and seeing what we saw. There is
not bad place to end up!
Everything was so different and fun to see. Gauti is the famous artist that designed a lot of parks and
buildings in the city. It is from
there that we get the term, ‘gaughty’.
Good fact. Bettcha didn’t know that!
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| A famous house by Gauti. Supposed to look like a dragon with scales. |
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| At the Parc Guell, the mosaic park designed by Gauti |
That night may have been one of my most favorite nights of
the trip. As you know, I love
food. I like to consider myself a
food protégé, or a food critic in training. I researched fun restaurants and found one right on the
beach called ‘Aqua’. Made
reservations for 12 people about a week before we left. I may go to foreign countries with out
a plan, but I will not be left in the dust when it comes to meals. Priorities people.
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| On the shore at sunset. |
Oh it was so fun!
We ordered sangria which Spain is known for, watched the sun set on the
beach while I ate, hands down, the best steak in all the land. It was a perfect way to end a perfect
day! This was just my début to the
city. Hasta luego Barcelona!
This is just episode 1 of a few. I have about 2 weeks to catch up on, so bare with me! This summer really is proving to be one
of the, if not the most wonderful experience of my life! Ok, let’s be real. I’m 22, so some of you out there are
like, “Poor girl, she thinks she has lived a lot of life. She is just getting started.” I am. I am just getting stared. And how cool is it that I am just getting stared with all of
these experiences in my pocket. I
understand I am young. But this
trip is teaching me more about myself in 3 months than most people don’t even
get in a lifetime. I am so very
thankful for that. I am humbled by
the life I have been blessed with, and the parents who have taught me to be
independent and who have not only shown me, but taught me that leaning on my
Savior is the only thing worth doing in this tricky, sticky, icky, beautiful
world. One God. There are many ways to say one, and
there is only one way to say God.
And to do anything but see Him when you look around the world, no matter
were you are, is impossible.
peace.
leigh
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