I can’t believe the day is finally here!! I’ve been counting down days since 784 days out and although it felt like an eternity, we finally got to the end.

The morning was bittersweet with goodbyes to H and Cat but I’m excited to see them in 6 weeks to have our family vacation together!
I got through security in less than 10 minutes and was able to relax, people watch, enjoy saying farewell to everyone on text and Facebook and just breathe as prepping to leave has been very crazy. I have to say I felt a lot of love and positive vibes this morning. Thank you to everyone who reached out!

I was asked to switch seats on the first leg and was moved to the exit row! Leg room….yes please! The flight was uneventful and we got to Philly on time. My name was announced on the loud speaker before boarding to Barcelona and was informed that they needed to change my seat and moved me to the front of the plane. Not first class but it cut my disembarking time substantially! I’ll take it! I spoke to the most interesting lady while boarding for Barcelona. She was flying to Barcelona to meet a horse broker to purchase horses to bring back to the states. Who knew that each horse that travels gets their own attendant to take care of them on the flight. We discussed star signs, personality traits and kids and the time flew by!
I got to Barcelona and caught a cab to the hotel. Of course I practiced my Spanish on the driver! We drove by the biggest cemetery (Cementiri de Montjuic), that I have ever seen! I wish I had taken a picture because it was stunning and just kept going. I tried to tell the driver my dads favorite cemetery joke but it definitely got lost in translation. I then tried to explain the joke but it didn’t go over as I was hoping! The joke:

Dad: Nicole, do you know how many dead people are in that cemetery?
Me: (Mentally trying to figure out space vs plot space) I don’t know Dad, how many?

Dad: All of them! (And he starts laughing because he thinks he is so funny!)

That joke still makes me smile whenever I hear it.

There was tons of traffic and the driver got really frustrated. He dropped me off 1.5 miles away from the hotel and pointed to it in the distance. I thought to take a picture after walking for 15 minutes!

Normally I would have been so mad but I can’t really complain about walking with my pack right now can I? It was a great walk along the boardwalk with tons of great people watching. It felt a bit like Venice Beach (guys working out in short shorts and so many people roller blading, biking, running.) I checked into the hotel and made friends with the front desk manager. Lovely guy who really took care of me. Marriott people take care of each other and I feel really lucky about how things have gone so far.
So in summary, I made it to Barcelona safely, have met some fun people, the universe has taken care of me, I have given away 4 rocks, I have had my first cafe con leche and glass of wine and lunch, and am feeling super content! I am going to nap a bit and then hit the town to go exploring!