One of the most amazing parts of travelling is the people you meet and because I'm travelling for so long I have had the opportunity of reconnecting with people later in the year. Back in April, dad and I stayed at a small hotel located across the road from the Pyramids in Cairo, Egypt. The second night we were there we met this Brazilian family who had been living in Portugal, South Africa and now Spain and who had travelled all over the world including to Australia.

The daughter Ana is just a couple years younger than me so I instantly connected with her as she explained that one of the best burgers she had ever eaten in her life was from Moo Burgers opposite Bondi Beach! I knew I liked this girl! The dad Sergio is so smart, friendly and has such worldly experience that I couldn't help but want to hear more of. The mum Olga is a bubbly, easy-going, very welcoming woman who has an accent like Sofia Vergara (Gloria from Modern Family) which just makes me want to hear more of. But the littlest person in the family who has the biggest personality is Luis. Luis is 10 years old and is probably the most intelligent kid I've ever met. His English is amazing for a kid fluent in Spanish and Catalan and evens knows some Afrikaans. He astounded dad and me in Egypt when he came out with all the facts he knew about the most random of subjects like the population of certain cities, or the economic status of a country, or the top 10 most expensive cars in exact order. Luis made me question my intelligence as he is a kid genius with the most passionate but lovable personality. His mind races at 100km/hr so it can be challenging to keep up but his energy is incredible, making his mum, dad and sister's patience very commendable haha.

When I found out they lived in Barcelona, the first day I met them, I jokingly asked if they had a couch to crash on for a night. Little did I expect them to take me seriously and come out with an offer of even picking me up from the airport. I couldn't believe it; they had known me for less than an hour. I have never experienced such a fast friendship in my life. Olga later explained it was like an instant connection she felt with dad and I - and we couldn't agree more. We stayed up talking for hours late into the evening that first night in Eygpt but to actually offer for me to stay at their home and to pick me up from the airport was the most heart-warming thing I think anybody (who had just met me) has ever done for me. And that's exactly what happened!

2 months later my flight arrived from Nice into Barcelona and there was Olga and Luis at the arrivals gate waiting to take me "home." I choose the word "home" because I have not felt more at home for this whole entire year.

Unfortunately Ana went back to South Africa for a holiday to see her friends who I knew she had so desperately missed so even though I was sad I didn't get to see her, I was so happy she got to go. Sergio was also working in Norway at the time I was staying at his home. (However I was lucky enough to catch him the night before I flew out of Barcelona … when Sergio and Olga took me and Luis out to an all-you-can-eat ready-made Spanish Tapas dinner - So amazing but that's another story!)

But with Ana gone, it meant I got to stay in her room which was just so pleasant. I had room to put my stuff, an amazingly comfy bed and pillow and reading light, a desk, my own bathroom and shower, plus Olga got her cleaner to wash and iron all my clothes. This was amazing. To be living out of a backpack for so long and then to finally have everything clean and room to easily pack it and access to a hot strong shower whenever I wanted. Not to mention there was a huge grass area and pool. I had a really hard time getting back to the reality of backpacking after the four days I spent with them. Not to mention the food - OMG the food! Sergio warned me in Egypt to diet before coming to their house because Olga's cooking was nothing short of delicious. Everything she cooked I loved. I loved the fact I didn't have to order anything but OMG easily the best food I've eaten all year.

We spent the days at the beach, pool, playing monopoly, watching Brazil in the world cup on TV, exploring Casteldefells (where they live), going to late night markets and watching traditional Spanish dancing performances, heading into Barcelona city to exchange FIFA player cards, eating as a "family" and catching up on a lot of much needed rest. I really am so so appreciative that I met this family and not just because they were so accommodating of me (picking me up, dropping me to the hostel to meet my friends, taking me out to dinner, showing me around the city) but because I really loved their company. Luis and I had so much fun just playing UNO or monopoly and Olga made me feel like family.

After an incredible 4 day home-stay experience, Olga dropped me into Barcelona city (about 20 mins from Casteldefells) where the one month holiday with Maggie and Jose that I had been ever so eager to start, finally began.

Barcelona is easily one of my most favourite places in the world. Maggie and Jose had planned, researched and booked all the July itinerary when I was travelling Asia with Georgina, which I couldn't have been more grateful for. To not have to do the research, and to sort of be "taken care of" was such a nice change as even though I enjoy it, it can be exhausting because you never know if you're booking the right areas or what the reviews are or if it's the right prices. So I was so happy that they took care of this month for me. Despite missing the girls from home dearly, we all soon came to realise that we were living different "holidays." That has probably been the hardest thing to come to terms with over the one month I've been with Mags and Jose. Travelling with anyone for that long can be hard, but it's even harder when you're on totally different budgets, motivation levels, and experiences. Not going to lie - none of us expected it to be as challenging as it was for me to adjust to spending a little more money than I was used to, and for Mags and Jose to accept that I actually couldn't afford to do everything they wanted me to do. Finding the balance between their holiday and my current "lifestyle" was the cause of many disagreements and challenges but at the end of the day, the things we all saw together made any argument worth overcoming.

Back to Barcelona, the city is beautiful. So easy to be a tourist in and so much to see and do. We walked Las Ramblas so many times and did bus turistica and went to the Sagrada Familia, climbed to the top of Park Guell to see a view of the city, visited the football stadium, swam at the beach, the girls went shopping (I couldn't cause anything I buy I have to carry but judging on what they bought it looked pretty amazing), ate Spanish tapas, drank sangria, just enjoyed discovering new places really. We did actually sign up to a booze cruise which ended up being a total disaster as the seas were insanely rough - like I thought we were actually going to capsize. People were sea-sick, drinks were flying and you had to hold onto something or someone at all times. It was easily the funniest hour of my life - although it was the worst the sea has ever been while I've been on a boat - and Maggie will disagree that it was funny as she looked like she was going to throw up for the whole hour. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger haha !! I definitely have learnt to not expect everything to work out the way you want it to. Even though the booze cruise was a complete disaster, I will definitely look back and laugh at it so much.

A few days later we flew out of Barcelona and onto the island Ibiza. Jose had a very good way of looking at this one month as every time we got on a plane she said it was like going on another mini holiday. Which was true. The girls had planned it so we had between 4-6 days at each place so we weren't moving around too much as that can be so tiresome. We had enough time to learn where the good cafes were and the quickest way to the beach and the best clubs etc.

We stayed in Playa dem Bossa in Ibiza and our hotel was so great! We had our own apartment - something I haven't had at all this year and because there were three of us, it suited the situation really well. We had a fridge and mini kitchenette, a great pool overlooking the beach, and really great cafes and supermarkets at easy convenience. It was easy to walk around - despite getting hassled constantly by club promoters and the weather was perfect. I loved reading my book by the pool and just soaking up the sun. We all agreed that this was the type of "holiday" we all were excited for. Ibiza is famous for partying and of course I love a good night out but I've gotta say - one of the things both George and I learnt in Asia was that the hangovers sometimes just weren't worth the night out. When I get hangovers I suffer badly and it pretty much wipes out the whole next day for me making me s***ty and possibly miss some sight seeing or be really sick for some type of activity. We went out one night and I was so hung over the next day on a boat for an hour and a half that I felt like I was going to throw up the whole time. I was seriously remembering that it's just not worth it sometimes. And people say "you can party and just not drink" … I'm calling bulls*** on this because in Ibiza everyone is drunk. Haha it's ok - I learn something new about myself all the time and I think I've just learnt that I don't particularly like "going hard" all night more than the occasional birthday celebration or significant event. But the girls had the most amazing nights out seeing DJs that they love and having so much fun at clubs that are just so much more amazing then Sydney. All the artists playing in Ibiza were people that cost like double to see at home and you have to wait like 8 months for a festival or something. Here they were just casually DJ-ing at a club on a Tuesday. It was so crazy!!

We did a day trip to Formentera which was another island next to Ibiza and we rented bicycles and rode around the island discovering beaches with the most amazingly clear blue water. It was such a great day and remained high on all of our lists of one of the best days in Spain.

Next is Croatia!! Gracias Española (thank you Spain)! It's been amazing!!

Catch you on the flipside !