Day 8: Adiós, España! (I'll be back, I promise.)
Traveling helps you understand yourself as much as it allows you to better understand others. To travel is to remake yourself, to re-imagine the world around you and your place in it. You step beyond the boundaries of your established routines, your everyday cultural norms, and familiar comfort zones. In its best form, I think travel should challenge and humble you in the most incredible ways. I always find that when I return, my perspective has shifted yet again, my knowledge of the world infinitely expanded, and I've been enriched by my displacement and immersion, if only temporarily, in a world different from my own. In this, I wholeheartedly embrace Rick Steves' philosophy of the backdoor traveler: simplify, find the silver linings in all situations, and seek out adventure - make your own magic and be open to learning, listening, and conversing. Be curious - the world is your oyster and there's so much room to grow. As Rick Steve aptly puts it, "The world is a cultural yarn shop. Back Door Travelers are weaving the ultimate tapestry." My favorite souvenirs are the stories I return with, lots and lots of stories, brimming with seemingly mundane moments and unexpected adventures big and small.
Speaking of stories, here's a funny one: we almost missed our flight back home to the United States. We arrived at the Madrid airport appropriately early (about 2 hours) for our international flight. Unfortunately, no one accounted for the fact that we left the day after World Pride ended, so my mom and I were two of the 3 million people trying to leave Madrid at that very moment. Plus, we quickly discovered that due to the way Madrid's airport works, it takes more than 20 minutes (with no crowds) and multiple checkpoints to get from baggage check to an actual terminal with gates. As you can imagine, pure chaos ensued! After waiting for over an hour in yet another checkpoint line, we sprinted through a gigantic foreign airport, staggering under the weight of our bags, wondering if we should head to Portugal next if our flight left without us and we were stranded in Europe (I'd gladly get stranded in Europe any day). I'll go on record to note that we were most likely the second-to-last people on our flight - we were relieved to see two of our fellow tour friends, who also happened to be on our flight and were stuck in line behind us in the airport, just make it onto the plane behind us with not a minute to spare. There's nothing like two hours of packed lines, 20+ minutes of good cardio, and sheer panic to get your first 7-hour international flight off on the right footing.
Word of advice: be prepared for anything when you travel. Flexibility is key. It's all a part of the ride. Oh, and bring good walking shoes....walking many, many miles is an integral part of a Rick Steves tour. And to be honest, I wouldn't travel any other way.
Adiós, España! I'll see you again soon.
With all my love,
Marissa
Speaking of stories, here's a funny one: we almost missed our flight back home to the United States. We arrived at the Madrid airport appropriately early (about 2 hours) for our international flight. Unfortunately, no one accounted for the fact that we left the day after World Pride ended, so my mom and I were two of the 3 million people trying to leave Madrid at that very moment. Plus, we quickly discovered that due to the way Madrid's airport works, it takes more than 20 minutes (with no crowds) and multiple checkpoints to get from baggage check to an actual terminal with gates. As you can imagine, pure chaos ensued! After waiting for over an hour in yet another checkpoint line, we sprinted through a gigantic foreign airport, staggering under the weight of our bags, wondering if we should head to Portugal next if our flight left without us and we were stranded in Europe (I'd gladly get stranded in Europe any day). I'll go on record to note that we were most likely the second-to-last people on our flight - we were relieved to see two of our fellow tour friends, who also happened to be on our flight and were stuck in line behind us in the airport, just make it onto the plane behind us with not a minute to spare. There's nothing like two hours of packed lines, 20+ minutes of good cardio, and sheer panic to get your first 7-hour international flight off on the right footing.
Word of advice: be prepared for anything when you travel. Flexibility is key. It's all a part of the ride. Oh, and bring good walking shoes....walking many, many miles is an integral part of a Rick Steves tour. And to be honest, I wouldn't travel any other way.
Adiós, España! I'll see you again soon.
With all my love,
Marissa