Day 29: Going “Home”
We’ve been in España for four full weeks, and yesterday gave me the opportunity to feel like we were coming home, here, for the first time.
Our getaway to Sevilla (I just learned that I’ve been spelling it in English instead of in Spanish) came to an end. We spent a quiet morning packing up the Airbnb (ok, Bill had done most of the packing the night before because he’s like that), found our way to coffee (what we think was the first taste of what everyone talks about when they poo poo Spanish coffee), and to the train station (this time via public transit instead of a cab). It was a normal end-of-vacation morning and I had all the normal end-of-vacation feelings: reviewing the awesome bits of the trip, saying farewell to the apartment that was our borrowed home, and thinking about what was waiting for me on the other side.
I have big memories from the trip like the Flamenco (ok, and another clip because they were so, so awesome), our first views of a fancy Spanish city, and my culinary adventures (shark and an orange, not together…both things I probably should have tried in Valencia first but here we are). I also have small memories like our sweet airbnb, the little moist towelettes they hand out on the train, and the random Vespa parade. Most importantly, as my first vacation *from* Valencia, this trip marked my first time going home *to* Valencia.
The travel was pretty uneventful. Sevilla to Madrid by one fast train, then Madrid to Valencia on another. We did actually leave the station in Madrid thanks to a longer-than-necessary break between trains and were rewarded with random baby heads, so that was something. Needing to rush home to teach was another not-the-best-decision-in-travel-planning moment, but we made it home with 30 minutes to spare.
As we traveled from the train station to the Hobbit House (on two busses) and I looked through the windows, I saw the differences between Valencia and Sevilla and, more importantly, felt at home. It was more than just recognizing landmarks and streets (though that felt really good), it was feeling like I was back where I belong. I was home.
