The beginning is always the hardest, and this trip is no different. I left Monday afternoon, flying to Iceland, and hopped three consecutive flights before I made it to Barcelona. I’m just going to say: 2\3 of those flights I almost missed…which has NEVER happened before. But I think my lack of preparation for this trip showed in my sluggishness to get it underway.

The reality of jet lag after traveling that long hit me like a ton of bricks last night when I fell asleep at 6pm, and didn’t wake up until 6am this morning. The good news is that this is actually what I suggest for getting over jet lag, because it beats the alternative of forcing yourself to stay up for 12 hours straight. This morning I feel so much more refreshed. And this hostel has Nutella and toast for breakfast so really things are quite good at the moment.

This trip was not planned as much as my past adventures because I bought the plane ticket back in March; during a year that would turn out to be one of my most shifting. When I bought this plane ticket all I wanted to do was get away. I felt trapped in a dead end job, I had just escaped a terrible relationship and I just wanted to get out of Seattle. That is hardly the case anymore, and I think it really is a testiment to how much your life can change in six months.

Whereas I thought this trip would be the perfect escape when I bought the tickets, I’m now feeling some of the most severe homesickness I’ve ever had on a backpacking trip. Like I said, I know that it’s always worse in the beginning and the feeling will subside as I start to explore more, but I also think it’s important to write about: travel bloggers get homesick too.

So what am I doing on this trip? Well, I currently have 10 days of madness ahead of me, with two more in Barcelona and then on to Morocco and London. I’m so excited for London I can barely contain myself so it’s going to be hard to keep focused on my other two destinations before then. I’m also super excited to add my fourth continent, Africa, to my passport during this trip!

Today, in Barcelona, I’ll be taking a day tour up to Girona which is a Medeivel town that has been used in the filming of Game of Thrones. The whole tour is Game of Thrones themed so I’m pretty happy about getting my geek on. Tomorrow I’m going to go explore museums, so overall I think hanging out in Spain will be pretty fun.
More updates to come!