Girona

Packing for an 8-day trip around Europe proved to be a bit more difficult than I expected, especially with Ryanair's strict size/weight limits for carry-ons. This was the first trip I had ever been on where overpacking simply wasn't an option, unless I wanted to pay £60 at the airport to check a bag. Needless to say I managed to fit everything into a suitcase that was half the size (and a third of the weight) of my original carry on. I was so proud of myself. The flights are incredibly cheap, but it's a very no-frills airline company -- your purse and camera and everything else has to fit in a small carry-on, and there aren't any reserved seats so you have to queue at the gate to get a good seat. As soon as we flew over the channel I knew I was going to like Spain -- I saw real, snow-capped mountains for the first time in months! Katie met me at the Barcelona-Girona airport, which was just fabulous seeing her wonderful self! However, getting some euros out of the ATM machine was not-so-fabulous; none of my cards would work for whatever reason. After a 9-minute, £15 phone call with my bank, I learned that Spain was off-limits because of a high traffic of fraud in the country, and I would have to wait until I got to France and Italy before I could have any money. Luckily I was able to keep a running tab with Katie while in Spain. Brilliant.

Aside from completely stressing out about that wee little euro problem, Girona was absolutely beautiful. It felt like a quaint little Spanish town. We took a bus from the airport to the Girona city center and dropped the luggage off at the hostel before exploring the city. There was a giant wall with great views that wrapped around the city according to the hostel receptionist, and it definitely exceeded my expectations! Spanish architecture is radically different from everything I had seen in England. Every balcony and terrace had a clothes line with laundry blowing in the breeze. Gorgeous wisteria and other vines grew up and down and around the buildings. The tall, skinny trees looked like they belonged in a Dr. Suess book, and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. The Girona Cathedral ended our wall walk, and we grabbed a late lunch/early dinner of margherita pizza (not alcoholic, just cheesy) before being chased inside by the looming storm front. A few Wii games and 20 minutes of free Internet later, we met our Australian roommate and headed to bed.