We're Going to Spain! (And France!)

Ten years ago this week, Barry and I traveled to Maine to help our good friend Dean and his new husband Antonio celebrate their marriage. Dean and Antonio met on vacation and found themselves in a long-distance relationship, as Dean lived in the Boston area and Antonio lived in Spain. But back in those days, same-gender marriage was legal in Spain and not in the U.S., so off went Dean to live with Antonio in his home town of Torrijos. Ever since then we've wanted to visit the couple, and Spain has been very high on our "to do" list. Actually, Spain has been very high on my list ever since I saw the 1999 film "All About My Mother" which is largely set in Barcelona. Throw in the Modernista architecture, Spain's national football team winning the 2010 World Cup, and Lionel Messi at FC Barcelona, and Spain rises to the top of the list!

We surely would have visited earlier if it weren't for that third trip to South Africa we took, almost unexpectedly. Following that, Spain once again became our "next up" travel destination. Then one day last November, I saw a Facebook post from a former student: Airlines were having a sale on travel to Spain and other European countries, for certain dates in 2017. A few clicks later, we had purchased flights to Barcelona for less than it costs to fly to Arizona.

Sagrada Familia in Barcelona - still under construction.

We waited for la Liga to announce the soccer schedule before making any specific plans for the trip. Once tickets went on sale July 22 we could finally purchase our FC Barcelona tickets and our planning commenced. On September 22, Barry, his mother, and I will head off to Europe for a two week vacation. We will land in Barcelona during their big festival La Merce. After two nights there, we're taking the high-speed train to Perpignan, France - just because we can. Then we will take the train to Toledo, Spain to connect with Dean and Antonio, and to stay with them and their family during the big annual festival in Torrijos, la Sementera. We will head back to Barcelona in time for the FC Barcelona match vs. Las Palmas in Camp Nuo, will see more of the sites there (including Montserrat and Flamenco!), and spend some time in Sitges before returning home.

We're really looking forward to the time off and the opportunity to travel together again. Stay tuned!

Montserrat Monastery outside Barcelona.