This is it... the longest I´ve ever been away from home

My sister always reminds me of a scene from Lord of the Rings when we´re traveling, the scene when Sam stops to note that "if I take one more step, it will be the farthest I've ever been from home."

138 days.  3300 hours, 198,000 minutes, 11 million seconds. That´s the longest I´ve ever been away from home. Until now. (Well technically about a week ago but close enough.)

I guess it explains why I've been more homesick this week, can't stop thinking about people and memories, home. This road has swept me up off to some incredible and unexpected places in these 138 days, and I know more await me. So to celebrate my longest stay yet in Spain, here's a list of the 9 things I love most about Spain, the things that will make it so difficult to ever say goodbye to my adopted country.

10) Tomates feos (ugly tomatoes). These are a game-changer in the tomato field. I was never particularly fond about tomatoes but these bad boys changed that. Now I would eat them breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I could. Huge, ugly, but loaded with delicious flavor and none of that seedy watery stuff you find in regular tomatoes.

Less seeds and mushiness, more tomatoy goodness

Yes that is a normal sized wine bottle,
yes they really are that big

9) Drinking culture. I love how alcohol is so destigmatized here. It´s no big deal to see groups of old men having a beer at the neighborhood café at 11 am, and wine with lunch is acceptable and even expected. Even when 6 or 7 am rolls around and the night comes to an end, you won´t see anyone stumbling home or even visibly drunk. Drinking is about socializing, not getting drunk. They even sell zuritos, tiny little glasses of beer so you can tapas crawl your way around the city without drinking too much. It´s much healthier than the US prohibition mentality.

8) Eating schedule. Lunch at 3 and dinner at 10 just makes more sense.

7) Walkability. I love the town layouts here. Even though I live in a small town, there are lots of buildings that are 6 or 7 stories tall and everything is organized in city blocks with sidewalks, parks, stores and shopping. It feels like a neighborhood from a larger city was picked up and dropped here in southern Navarra! I love how compact everything is and how walkable towns are here. I live across the street from the post office, next door to a bakery and coffee shop, a block away from the gym, two or three blocks away from my school, two supermarkets, a fruit/vegetable shop, a fish market and several more cafés. The city center and most of the shopping is still only a maybe 10-minute walk away. The thought of needing a car to get to the supermarket or to work every day is just crazy!

Small town charm, big city feel

 6) Good, cheap wine. The thought of spending more than 3 euros for a bottle of wine kills me. Maybe if it's a special occasion I splurge and spend 5.

5) Cafeterias. Coffee culture here is amazing. First, there's the cafe con leche, which ruins all other coffee for me. It doesn´t matter where you go. It´s almost impossible to get a bad  coffee. Then there's the price, 1.20 for a cup of coffee is the norm here (the one place that charges 1.30 gives you a free croissant so I'm ok with that). Mostly I just love the cafeterias themselves though. There's no to-go coffee (or at least it's rare). Every one sits down, chats, reads a paper, and stops to enjoy their morning coffee (or other beverage of choice).

Madrid coffee break

4) The weather. There are many things I love about New England, but there is just no competition here. Spring, summer, and fall here mean beautiful blue skies, lots of sun, and lots of time spent outdoors. And cold winter means 40s every day (although windy and foggy, which makes it feel colder!) with no snow. The thought of a New England winter makes me want to curl up under every blanket I own and hibernate.

An OCTOBER day in Northern Spain

3) The scenery. My absolute favorite thing to do in Spain is take long train rides around the country. The variety of scenery, the constant mountains, olive groves, cute villages, I don't know if I'd ever tire of it.

2) The history around every corner. I love that there is a nearly 1000-year-old church within walking distance of my apartment. The history is inescapable. Everything is old, the streets are still cobble-stoned, I love it.

Iglesia de Santa María Magdalena, 12th century

1) Jamón bocadillos. Jamón is Spain´s gift to the world, and the best way to enjoy it is with a hunk of fresh bread, some olive oil, and the previously mentioned fantastic tomatoes. Heaven.