My love for traveling officially sparked when I went to Spain in April of 2024, and it was the trip of a lifetime.
I was in my junior year of high school when I went on the trip with my Spanish class. I cannot even describe how amazing the trip was, but I will try my best to sum it up. We visited five cities: Toledo, Granada, Sevilla, Cordoba, and Madrid.
First, we went to Toledo; it is a very old and historic city. We walked along the cobblestone paths and saw the many amazing views. We even took a pit stop and went ziplining over a river, then had some world-famous Paella for dinner. We saw many beautiful cathedrals, and to end both of our nights there, we got to Gelato and watched the sunset over the historic city.
Our second stop was Granada, the city of Flamenco. We started our time there by having a delicious lunch and we walked through the city to see more cathedrals; we even got to go to La Alhambra, which is an amazing castle with gardens that seem like they will go on forever.Â
At the end of the night, we got to go and watch a Flamenco show and have a big group dinner. We even had to dance ourselves at one point. It was awkward at first, but it ended up being a lot of fun. It was so amazing being able to see that show in person. We also walked back to La Alhambra at night to see it under the moonlight and, of course, got more gelato.
We then headed to our third city of the trip: Sevilla. While we were there, we took a tour of the Plaza de Sevilla and all its beautiful water fountains. We toured the Sevilla soccer stadium and saw all its soccer glory and, of course, ended the night with gelato.
Now, for my favorite part of the trip, Cordoba. Although we only stayed there for about six hours, it was by far my favorite. We saw another amazing cathedral, along with the famous Mezquita, a beautiful Mosque that was built with arches of red and white stone; words can’t even describe how it was to see them in real life.
After our tour was over, we got to explore the city alone. My group went and walked through the narrow alleys with the painted blue walls that were lined with flowers. Perfect for all of our many pictures. We went into countless little shops where I got postcards and goods for my family. It was just an amazing city, and if I ever have a chance to go back, I will 100 percent.
Last but not least was Madrid. Although I was sad because Madrid meant the trip was coming to an end, I could not wait to see the city. It was a much bigger city than the ones that we had been to, and it almost had a New York City feel. We got to see many famous pieces of art in museums, including Picasso’s Guernica. Then, we saw a famous bullfighting arena. To end our trip, we went to San Gines to get some famous churros and chocolate.
This was a very brief overview, but I will never forget this trip for as long as I live. I made so many memories, ate a lot of gelato, and made some of my best friends that I still talk to today.
It quite honestly has influenced my life a lot. Now, as I start my freshmen year of college, I am already planning to study abroad this summer. This trip has inspired me to do more, and I hope to write about even more trips that I will be taking.