I am and always will be a lover of the Spanish.

It is just something that constantly makes me smile. The people, the music, the FOOOD. In nutshell, Spain is one of the most amazing, cultural experiences I have ever had the chance of immersing myself in.

My family, the original travel crew, once again made a trip around the globe to a new place.

This time, the plane landed in Barcelona, Spain.

I remember in middle school, my art teacher was teaching about the different types of art and their individual movements. The second I put my eyes Pablo Picasso's work, I knew wherever that art came from, was a place I needed to see for myself.

I wrote Barcelona on the top of my journal entry about 'Places To Go Soon'.

We stayed a bit off the regular path, as we usually do, in a small part of town known as Sant Marti. It was a crossover between historical Barcelona and the technological district.

Our taxi zipped along the side of the cliffs that surround the valley in Catalonia. Thousands of tiny homes seemed to be strategically glued to the side of the hills. Each with two shutters and a small, glow of light.

The main avenue in Sant Marti was lined with trees and led you to the downtown area. Our first night, we walked amongst the street lamps and found a small place to eat fresh, seafood paella.

The pan was massive, but we finished it as a team until our bellies were full.

Every part of Barcelona was breathtaking.

My dad was fascinated by architecture. Each time you turned your head, it was a new, funky-looking building. We walked along the base of La Sagrada Familia, the unfinished cathedral by visionary Antoni Gaudi. We climbed the many steps of another Gaudi creation, his home Casa Mila, to the top that over-looked the most amazing parts of the city.

Fountains high in the air, birds soaring. It was as if it was described in a fiction story on my bookshelf.

Each morning we woke to a new place and a new face.

My most favorite place in Barcelona is known as the Gothic Quarter.

All the corners are covered in plane trees and bloom unusual buds. It is home to the best tapas, the best espresso, and small delicacies that embody the Spaniard's and their home. Try the papas bravas anywhere you stop, thank me later!

After five days exploring the regal city of Barci, as the locals call it, we made the last-minute decision to pack our bags and head to Madrid, Spain. It isn't a Kuester family vacation if we don't make a change and end up somewhere random in the process.

A small jet took us from the north of Spain to the center of Castilla La Mancha.

A land filled with Visigothic castles and crops, rich with saffron and olives. And of course, the capital city of Madrid. I remember landing in Madrid and it reminded me of the desert in Arizona. It was very dry and covered in spots of dirt and grass.

Madrid was like any other metropolitan city. Bustling and people everywhere, yet that is the type of energy I live for. People being people and living their lives. As a family, we explored the city center. It was covered in shops and train stations. We enjoyed the findings of El Mercado, a large indoor market filled with fresh produce and meals being cooked in front of you.

Spanish was yelled across the streets. I loved it.

We even took a bike ride through the Spanish equivalent of 'Central Park'. It was large with various ponds and trails. The greenery was vibrant in ways I never thought possible. Clean and pristine.

Unfortunately, our time in Madrid was cut very short.

That first night, my mom fell, fractured a toe, and broke the opposite ankle. It landed us a Spanish hospital for the entire day, watching her foot be bandaged in a cement cast by three doctors. An experience I feel was too real to be true HA.

My heart still has so much love Spain and its culture. I cannot wait to make my depute return.

Sydney Kuester

Sydney Kuester

Sydney Kuester