Today I leave Spain.
I’ve been here since October 2020 - arriving right smack in the middle of the COVID kerfuffle - so my time here definitely wasn’t as exciting and tour-filled as it would have been otherwise. I learned a lot about Spain’s alternative experiences during the 1930-1940s, tending their own fascist fires and only peripherially exposed to the brand of totalitarianism that swept much of Europe. I learned a lot about the Basque region’s desires to become their own country - and I learned that the absolute best food to be had in Spain will be found in Bilbao and San Sebastian (usually cooked by men, escaping the matriarchy of the home)..
I met lots of really great people, and made inroads into the language. I found a work family that I hope I can keep for the next few years, no matter where my travels may take me. And I’ve learned so much about teaching English, plus a lot of new technical skills.
Now it’s time to go.
I'm currently in Barcelona, a fabulous city I didn't visit enough. This afternoon I begin a 10 day meander through the French Riviera, meeting up with a friend next Saturday. The following Tuesday we drive back to her home in Milan.
Before she heads off to the States (and I hang out, babysitting her puppy), we hit a few of the northern Italy sites Imissed while I was here before - Verona, Venice, maybe we’ll go George-peeping in Lake Como.
Late August, after my friend returns from the US, I’ll take a whirlwind ‘heritage tour’ through Edinburgh and Dublin, including whiskey tours into the hinterlands. And then a direct flight Dublin to CLT in September.
Plans are to be in the States for 6 weeks or so (please, don't let the Gilead coup happen until after I'm safely away!), and then head back to Costa Rica - the land of fresh food, beautiful beaches, and warm feet year round.
I’m excited to get this party started.
(I saw that The Handmaid's Tale is being banned in some school districts. I guess only the fathers are allowed to read this bit of prophesy - if they can read, that is.)
Terrifying read from 2020.