Europe Diary - Post #12 by Rebecca

Since I last posted in Switzerland, we’ve driven through Italy, France, and Spain. These days have been more of our “vacation of our vacation.” We’ve had a good few days of rest and relaxation before we hit the center of France.

We didn’t see much of France; we just stayed a few nights in an abbey in Carcassonne on our way from Italy to Spain. It was nice seeing all the old historical buildings, but this is a very touristy city. We visited the castle on the night we arrived, and I felt it was a much better experience because the crowds that consisted of half of France and their entire extended families were gone. This made it easier to see the castle, but harder to take pictures.

In the Cinque Terre, the thing that struck me most was how it was just so incredibly beautiful. The whole city of Manarola, where we were staying, was built on a cliff face. The city also came right up to the sparkling, blue Mediterranean Sea. The pastel houses looked beautiful against it. There were hiking trails everywhere that took you through thick grass dotted with wildflowers. Most of the trees were citrus, and the smell, mixing with the sea air, was sweeter than the scent of our food. Mostly because everyone but myself got seafood when we went out to dinner at Trattoria dal Billy on our first night there. I don’t like seafood. My pesto was great though!

I’d probably say that Spain has been my favorite place we’ve been so far. I consider myself to be a very urban girl and Bilbao is the perfect city for me. Don’t get me wrong, though, this isn’t one of those cities with gas-polluted air, traffic backed up three blocks, and LED lighted signs everywhere like LA, Las Vegas, or New York. Bilbao has hundreds of little shops lining their walking-only roads which we walked in the beautiful, cloudy weather. It also has little parks with lots of trees nestled between intersections. It has a very interesting mix of old and new in its art and architecture. It also has the perk of the new Guggenheim Bilbao. I saw many stores for independent fashion, interior, chair, and rug designers plus a few others that have slipped my mind. It’s a very artsy little town. I was also impressed by the street musicians. One person was playing their soprano saxophone on a bridge when we were walking one morning -- a perfect start to my day. Everyone I saw seemed happy and I couldn’t blame them. I was also one of those happy people after I visited Bilbao. I’m glad we took the detour to see it.

It’s been a nice break and we’re heading to France now. I’m not sure that I’m quite ready for the excitement of Paris, but here we go! In the overall of the things we’ve done on our little weekend, I’ve realized that I must go back to Spain.