S is for Spain

3 ways Spain has influenced my life

 

1.  While walking along Las Ramblas with Abra on our aforementioned college students backpacking around Europe trip, we found the inspiration for the tattoo we would get to commemorate our trip.  It was the various moonscapes of the many spray paint artists along the street which motivated us to create a tattoo of a world with wings. It displays Europe most prominently and rests on my back with beautiful wings on either side. It was this tattoo that inspired me to get more tattoos of my various trips and travels. Though this only lasted through one more trip, Semester at Sea, for which I got waves surrounding the world. It simply became impossible to pay tribute to every place I traveled. I’d have run out of space quickly.

 

 

2. My novel, What We Let Go, is largely influenced by my Europe trip.  It is set in Spain and includes several scenes which were first created by Abra and I in Spain, including a train strike somewhere between Spain and France, a few curious hostel incidents and one incredible night of dancing.  It has been amazing to relive those days full of awe and wonder while writing my novel and I am grateful to have the material.

 

 

3.   I consider my trip in Europe the catalyst for the rest of my traveling life in a sense. It was the first trip I took without my folks and the first budget traveling I ever did.  I fell in love with the idea of moving, taking trains, staying in hostels, exploring museums and gardens and generally living life on a whim. There is no better way to do it!