Today is one month before we leave Barcelona. We won’t say goodbye because both Food and I have every intention of returning, but it’s more of a “see you down the road” sort of deal. On one of our recent bi-monthly Skype sessions with our parents (which tend to be drawn out because we barely message them once a week) our dad was gleefully reminding us that we were returning to the land of the free and the home of the $5 footlong instead of the 5€ thirty centimeters (it just doesn’t have the same ring). When I told him I’m likely going to collapse into a puddle upon saying goodbye to my home for the last ten months, he was shocked. “But you’re coming home to us; why would you cry?”

Because I’ll be sad to bid adieu to the city that welcomed us with open arms and then gave us wild stories from awesome adventures and opportunities.

I’ll be sad to say goodbye to amazing history, architecture, and buildings older than the country I call home.

I’ll be sad to call a pause on the never-ending travel, and, along with it, meeting people from all over the world, which was a dream come true.

And the never-ending eating – come to think of it, that’s probably a good thing.

I’ll dearly miss both the friends we’re leaving back here in Europe and the ones who are moving on to something new elsewhere.

But, while I’m (already) sad to be leaving, I’m saying a temporary goodbye to Barcelona to enter into a new and exciting stage in my life – one in which I cram in as many college classes as possible to get my degree so I can come back to Europe. 

And yes, massive family of mine, I (still) love you too. So here’s a montage of us being more happy with you – even though we may only have seen you less than two weeks out of the last year –  than there are words to describe.