December 14-17, 2009- Barcelona, ES- Hotel Allegro with Travel Buddy, Steve Nowak On December 14th, travel salvation came in the form of Michigander Man, Steve Nowak. For a month and a half I had been making new connections, and through them, discovering more about the greater world and the unearthing the undiscovered in my soul- gathering and growing with each step. But at some point, the novelty of it all became a bit much, I was feeling the drain from infor...

December 11-14, 2009- Pamplona, ES- Apartment of Jaione Lovely Jaione, I still see her bright smile clear as day in my mind. A Navarra native who studied abroad in Cheboygan, MI, she has ties to old and dear friends of mine and excitedly agreed to host me without even a second thought. It was a night of misses, but despite the fact that I had major bus issues, making her have to go to the bus station several times at the station (during her exam study time) an...

December 3- December 11, 2009- Granada, ES (with an unforgettable holiday in Huescar, ES)- Apartment of Haley Barrette Haley and I just clicked. From the moment she collected me from the train station, conversation was easy- there was no doubt that we shared a common perspective. She had fallen in love with Granada years before and had now found a way to live and work in a city that, although in a foreign country, felt like home- felt right. To dream about doi...

December 3- December 11, 2009- Granada, ES (with an unforgettable holiday in Huescar, ES)- Apartment of Haley Barrette Haley and I just clicked. From the moment she collected me from the train station, conversation was easy- there was no doubt that we shared a common perspective. She had fallen in love with Granada years before and had now found a way to live and work in a city that, although in a foreign country, felt like home- felt right. To dream about doi...

December 2- December 3, 2009- Malaga, ES (day trip to Ronda, ES)- Apartment of Suzanne I felt uplifted after my coastal bus ride and grateful after I received a warm bienvenidos into Malaga by Suzanne who was waiting for me at the station. We made the trek to the center of Malaga with my bag in tow- the weight of which felt like nothing when I saw a familiar glimmer off in the distance. Finally, Christmas lights in all their glory! From Madrid on, I had walked...