New continents (weeks 16 & 17)
Five weeks back home ended up feeling like a little lifetime. We eased uncomfortably back into an Ottawa pace (minus our jobs and our house) and almost immediately our first adventure started fading from our minds, feeling like it was all a dream (funny how that happens so quickly). The return to default: it's almost always a bigger deal than expected. Travel put us in a different mindset, and we felt a bit out of gear with people around us. We switched from being mostly isolated to having to socialize almost constantly; from carrying our home around with us to being homeless. It was an interesting contrast. Luckily, we both have loving friends and family who we missed greatly, which certainly made the stop in town worthwhile.
Next stop: Spain, where we expected much less rain. Sure enough, our 10 days in Spain were sun- and heat-filled; we wandered windy old city roads, watched otters and herons fishing, saw the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba and the Alhambra in Granada, checked out a labyrinth park and Gaudi architecture in Barcelona, had some tasty (and not so tasty) tapas, and found some delicious Moroccan food (yay!)
Next stop: Spain, where we expected much less rain. Sure enough, our 10 days in Spain were sun- and heat-filled; we wandered windy old city roads, watched otters and herons fishing, saw the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba and the Alhambra in Granada, checked out a labyrinth park and Gaudi architecture in Barcelona, had some tasty (and not so tasty) tapas, and found some delicious Moroccan food (yay!)
Spain Spanish was harder to understand than I'd anticipated, even before getting to the Catalan-speaking region. The majority of interactions we had, even with customer service, felt abrupt and abrasive. It became apparent that many people aren't too keen on tourism in Spain. In any case, we still met some friendly people, and enjoyed our time there.
After a brief stop in Paris to visit my family, we continued south, way way way south, for the next portion of our travels: Africa.
After a brief stop in Paris to visit my family, we continued south, way way way south, for the next portion of our travels: Africa.