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  • View Post: Stuck & Burnt Out

    I guess I kinda got burnt out writing posts everyday in Spain, but it was pretty fun for those first few days. Part of it was that I was so exhausted everyday cuz of the horrible allergies I had out there. By Monday those were basically all gone (which was SO nice!) but I still didn’t feel like writing again. I’m also still trying to figure out quite a bit with WordPress and what types of posts I want to write, how I want to organize, categorize, and segment different types of posts. Which people I want to share my digital identity and content with and so many other questions so I’m kinda back in creativity mode and strategizing about things.

    There’s also some gaps within WordPress that I’ve tried multiple methods to fill but keep running into blocks. If I wanted to be more technical and maintain my own plugins or something then, sure, maybe I could remove the blocks without needing other people to create solutions, but that’s not what I want to do right now. I don’t even think I have the skills I would need for that yet and that’s a whole other topic. So I’m trying to find of about when certain features might be developed or how I might be able to help the conversations but it’s tricky there too.

    I know what I want and I like this process of creation and working within very specific guidelines that I set up for myself. I’m excited for it, it’s just gonna take more than I thought it would. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep moving in other areas and experimenting with different ideas until then. 🤞

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  • View Post: Valencia Día 6/Day 6

    I’m feeling pretty exhausted in general, mostly cuz of these allergies. 🫠 Honestly I don’t get how these are so horrible 😒 and I really want to explore the city so much more but I just get drained so fast.

    Anyway, I’m not quite sure what else to explore out here. I really wanna go to Ruzafa again cuz that was a cool area so that’s probably where we’ll start today.

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  • View Post: Valencia Día 5/Day 5

    I was really excited about today before we left our place! Today was a beach day and I was stoked to debut my new swim trunks from Charlie. The lighting in the picture doesn’t do it justice, but the shorts have a super cool retro aesthetic and color palette that’s really nice!

    And then I added some regular shorts and buttoned up to complete the look and make it easy to swap between city exploring and beach time. 😎

    But sadly my allergies keep getting worse and I’m getting exhausted. 🫠 I still love this city and I’m excited to explore what we can but it’s definitely a huge bummer that these allergies showed up.

    I still enjoyed the beach and ended up chilling instead, which was perfect for the situation. We also had a very challenging time with getting lunch, the most frustrating experience in Spain yet. We found a place that was fine in the end and learned more about Spanish restaurant culture (especially on the weekends).

    I really hope these allergies will calm down so that I can explore more and enjoy things more deeply but that’s all I’ve got for today. Here’s a beach photo of my cool sandals. 😎

    Also loved this 👇

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  • View Post: Things I Love About Spain

    Just wanted to write about some things I’m really enjoying in Spain.

    First, (cuz I’m thinking about it while it’s sleepy time 😴), it’s seriously so quiet and beautiful during the night. 🤩 In the places I’ve lived in the US, there’s often too many loud sounds happening during the night. Especially where I live now, there’s way too many interruptions happening all through the night with things like fast cars and bikes, ambulances and fire trucks racing past with their sirens blaring, and who knows what else. Here I’ve only been disturbed by the Bachata school next door blasting their loud music (which as much as I don’t like it’s understandable for what they’re doing and only until 11:00pm). 11:00 is too late for me, but I could easily avoid that noise by finding a place not next to a Bachata school.

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  • View Post: Valencia Día 4/Day 4

    Today was a really fun day cuz we found more Spanish gatos! 😻 The most yet. Travis found some gardens to explore and we decided that today was the day we wanted to scope ’em out. 👀

    We saw on Google Maps some photos of cats at one of them so we were on the lookout! After a while of not seeing any, some finally showed up! A whole little family!

    We also saw a couple others doing their own thing and that was really fun.

    We found this other garden and they had TONS of different kinds of plants and greenhouses. It was SO cool, but sadly my allergies were spikin out the wazoo so we didn’t get to explore all of it. 😮‍💨 I seriously can’t believe how many tissues I used and we ran out so I really needed to get outta that park and find a mercado. 😳 But while were there found some really cool plants that I hadn’t seen. A lily flower, some type of red succulent and a plant I like to call the dragy tongue! 🐉 👅

    Found some more cool art and went back to El Carmen in the evening to explore even more! It’s so much fun how vast even just one part of a city can be. With so much to explore and see or do. I’m super excited that if I do move to Valencia that there’ll be so many beautiful and amazing things to do and see and that I can easily navigate to them and explore like I love! With so many walking streets and better infrastructure for people it makes me excited to explore so much deeper than I often do in the US.

    Here’s the last photos of the day.

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  • View Post: Valencia Día 3/Day 3

    I’m feeling much better today and we had a really fun day! One of the highlights of the day was getting a new jacket at a thrift shop we found. It was in a really cool area called Ruzafa (or Russafa, depending). I really like the jacket 🤩 and it’s the first jean jacket I’ve owned which I’m excited for.

    Another pretty cool thing we did (and the most touristy thing planned for this trip) was visiting an orange orchard. It’s called El Huerto Ribera.

    Old Schoolhouse
    Citrus Orchards
    Processing Oranges 1/2
    Processing Oranges 2/2
    View of Carcaixent from Huerto Ribera

    It was cool and pretty chill which was nice, but definitely tourist vibes. We got some nice jam and honey though which I like. 😋

    Before visiting the Huerto, we came early to check out the surrounding town called Carcaixent. It was cool to see how different it is from Valencia and get a feel for other parts of Spain. I definitely enjoy the more open feel that Valencia has with lots more walking streets, bigger sidewalks, large parks and green areas, and so much more vibrancy and diversity, but I could definitely imagine hopping on a train any time to explore other regions outside of Valencia and it’s incredible that we could so seamlessly plan a day trip like that.

    “The White Trees of Gondor”
    Bird Mural
    Carcaixent Fountcin
    A street in Carcaixent
    Sculpture in Carcaixent
    Their mail symbol which I’m obsessed with 😍
    A rainbow bench in Carcaixent??

    Omg, we also had one of the best meals of my LIFE (and probably the best on this trip). Tried Moroccan food for the first time and WOAH. It has similar vibes to Indian but not quite as intense (sometimes Indian is a bit too much for me), but this! 😍 We got a Chicken Tagine, Veggie Briwat, and Zaaluk with Moroccan bread. We also tried a bunch of small traditional sweets. I wanted to order more of the chicken but I was full. 😕

    Zaaluk
    Moroccan Bread
    Veggie Briwat

    One of the best parts of the trip is that my boyfriend and I are always pointing out hot guys and cute guys for each other so that we can enjoy them together. 🤤 It’s a total blast and we’ve gotten to do it a ton on this trip! Idk what it is but these Spaniards and Europeans 🥵 yow-zah! I wish I had pictures but I haven’t perfected my stealth photo taking yet. 🙃

    That’s a pretty good recap of the day. So glad we still have quite a few days left cuz this has been so incredible. 😁

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  • View Post: Valencia Día 2/Day 2

    I was gonna write something about today, but when I started writing I just felt overwhelmed. 🫠 I’m just exhausted and trying to fight off some sort of allergies or maybe a sickness of some kind, idk. Whatever it is I think is draining me and making my throat feel scratchy plus some nose clogged. 😣 I’ll update this post later with more details once I’m feeling better though.

    Update: Here’s some of the cool things that happened today. 😁

    Explored a super cool graffiti wall in the morning.

    Then we explored a huge portion of this really cool park/walking trail area an stumbled on a rally happening which was fun (yes there were a couple rainbow flags and that was the main reason we stopped 😂) but it was about equality as a whole with a specific focus on improved labor practices and treatment of people. Today is “Día de trabajadores” or basically “Labor Day” in Spain. It was awesome to hear and see people who were so passionately advocating for improved lives and conditions and I want to figure out how to support movements like this better. Here’s me at the rally.  🎉

    Me at the rally

    Then found one of the best gelato flavors of my life!

    Pantera Rosa

    Pink Panther ftw! 🙌 I’ve always loved the Pink Panther since I was a kid (probably cuz my dad always played it for us and he loved it) and also cuz I mean they’re a panther who’s pink! So cool. I love cats and idk this one is really cool and also mischievous  plus it made the show approachable to me as a kid even though it was technically geared towards adults I think. Haven’t seen any of the new movies but 🤷‍♂️ maybe one day (only if they have the same cartoon style thrown in).

    After that we had an incredible 5 course meal! It was the best food we’ve had so far out here! 😋 I’m basically a food master and really good at finding great restaurants. ✌️ I didn’t take photos of the whole meal sadly but this was one of the desserts and my main.

    Best Baklava Ever (I’m serious)
    I don’t remember the name of this but it was kinda like a gyro or shawarma

    We found more walking streets in El Carmen and explored more. Plus these cool rainbow benches.

    Rainbow Bench 🤩

    And this giant tree in the middle of the city! Reminds me of a Baobab (maybe it is?🤷‍♂️).

    Giant Tree
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  • View Post: Valencia Día 1/Day 1

    Before leaving to Spain I decided that I wanted to focus on exploring and basically living in the moment rather than creating a list of specific places or things to do or an itinerary and schedule per day. Just cuz I’ve realized that matches better the way I like to live and I enjoy life more that way. 😁

    Yesterday we started the day by going to our first Spanish market which was fun. The meat section was definitely not for me, but it was well organized and separate from everything else. They had a lot of options and a really solid bakery(Horno) section which was cool.

    Later we just started walking and stumbled on a huge and really beautiful park, a zoo with a giant elephant statue out front, a bunch of graffiti art and our first Spanish cat! 😸

    Shy Spanish Cat Hiding

    A few other photos from the morning walk. 👇

    We found a nice lunch spot that I was nervous about but ended up being really good! The person serving us was really kind and friendly even when I was struggling through a bit of Spanish. We ended up staying for about 2 hours 😂 and they were just super chill and it seemed like we could stay all day if we wanted. Once we both realized it didn’t seem like they would be bringing us the check any time soon we asked and they brought it. It still took probably about 15 minutes after that to pay. It was funny, and we were confused (more later).

    We took a break back at our cozy little nook (Airbnb) and then went to a mall that was just a short walk away to see what that was like. Seemed like basically every department store in the US except everything was in Spanish.

    From there we wanted to visit a walking street area which we found and the supposed gayborhood. 🔥 We found out they have a cute place in that district called “La Casa de los Gatos”, which was a tiny little cat house. I don’t fully understand the story but I guess some cats used to live behind it. 🤷‍♂️

    La casa de los gatos

    The walking streets were absolutely beautiful and everything we had been dreaming of since we got here!! 🤩🤩 The area is called “El Carmen”. Plus having a decent amount of hot Spanish men looking at us (and being able to look at them) was incredibly fun! 😜 I’m pretty sure that’s the spot I would move to when I come out here. It’s definitely my favorite part of the city so far and I really wanna come back. Although we’re still trying to figure out what gay stuff they have besides a few bars/clubs which isn’t really our scene. 🤔 Here’s a few photos I took while out there.

    There’s SO many shops out there that we wanna explore, but we did stumble on one with some great postcards to lift the mood. 🤤

    To end the night we found an absolutely delicious vegetarian/vegan restaurant. 😋 I definitely want to go back there before we leave. The space was really nice and the food was all so incredible!! It’s honestly probably one of my favorite restaurants of all time (out of anywhere in the world I’ve been). While there I decided to check if there was something in the Spanish culture around asking for your check. And apparently there is! 🤯 I guess they usually wait for you to ask for the check so that they don’t interrupt your meal or conversation. I think it’s super cool and I think I prefer it to the kinda helicopter approach that restaurants take in the US. It’s so much more chill and respectful and puts the control back in your hands. Now that we know about it I’m excited to keep experimenting with it as a way to keep building my self confidence and sufficiency. 🎉 Also, check out this guac! 😍 It was probs the best guac I’ve ever had.

    That’s about it for the day, and we’re very excited for the next one.

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  • View Post: In Love & Death

    Last night I felt like death. 💀 But I was still deeply enamored with the city around me! 🤩 The quiet and open streets, the small amount of cars, all the unique shops and spaces, the cozy space we’re staying at. The train ride was probably about what I imagined it would be although sometimes it was slower moving and I was confused about that. But I really enjoyed the space to travel and also do whatever I want.

    Some things are also so weird. Part of the weirdness was tainted by the incredible lack of rest I had since leaving ‘merica. I would drift in an out of sleep even unknowingly at times while sitting on a slat wood bench in a restaurant at the train station, and while riding on the train. At that point I had been awake for well over 24 hours, and it was weird. 😅 The train was much older than I expected, but was still a really quiet and calm ride (more than others I’ve been on). I enjoyed it.

    I’m still enjoying speaking Spanish, but it’s also been stressful at times too cuz I don’t always know how to start the conversation or I get anxious about forgetting words or not knowing words. 😮‍💨 It’s because I want to look like I’m from here or at least be seen as a smart tourist (whatever that means). I don’t want it to be obvious where I’m from. But I think it’s probably obvious that at minimum I’m not from here as soon as I open my mouth or do something that’s not like a local (which is probs a lot). 😂 It’s funny cuz I know logically that I don’t need to look any specific way but I’m generally really good at performing and looking really polished most of the time. For the next bit while out here, I want to challenge the idea that I need to fit in or be something specific, and instead be the best version of me I can. Even if I don’t know words to say, even if I look like a tourist, or even a “dumb American”. Whatever people think of me they’re welcome to, cuz it doesn’t own me, it doesn’t control me or consume my energy unless I want it to or give it space. This will he a great place to try that more. 🎉

    The city is also not as polished as I expected it to be. Haha it sounds kinda funny and I’ve explored only a tiny portion. It’s really just like any other city with some well maintained spots, some worn down and forgotten. There’s still a lot of beauty in the nooks and all over that I’m excited to discover.

    I wanna go to the grocery store and see what that’s like! 😁 I wanna find snacks and try different brands and so many things.

    I wanna walk around so many places and see what the metro is like all over. I wanna try to get a metro pass that lasts more than a day! I wanna find favorite shops and maybe meet some friends.

    It’s 5:25am and I feel like I slept so deeply but not quite as long as I expected to since being so exhausted. 😴 But I feel about the same as I would any other morning. Even though part of me wants to get up and be full of energy and excitement 🤩 I’m gonna try to sleep a bit longer cuz I think my body needs it.

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  • View Post: Talking Spanish

    I absolutely love talking in Spanish with so many people and that I think I’m doing pretty well! 🎉 There’s a few small hiccups here and there so far but it’s really fun to be immersed in it like I’ve never been before. 😁

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  • View Post: Spain

    Going to Spain for the first time! 😱🤩

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  • View Post: Exhausted Sometimes

    Building a really minimal and personalized digital identity, brand, and system is so difficult and exhausting sometimes. But I’m very excited for it and love the possibilities I’m exploring! I definitely think it’ll be worth it, but some days, man, idk how to answer all the questions. 😅

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  • View Post: Stuck & Burnt Out

    I guess I kinda got burnt out writing posts everyday in Spain, but it was pretty fun for those first few days. Part of it was that I was so exhausted everyday cuz of the horrible allergies I had out there. By Monday those were basically all gone (which was SO nice!) but I still didn’t feel like writing again. I’m also still trying to figure out quite a bit with WordPress and what types of posts I want to write, how I want to organize, categorize, and segment different types of posts. Which people I want to share my digital identity and content with and so many other questions so I’m kinda back in creativity mode and strategizing about things.

    There’s also some gaps within WordPress that I’ve tried multiple methods to fill but keep running into blocks. If I wanted to be more technical and maintain my own plugins or something then, sure, maybe I could remove the blocks without needing other people to create solutions, but that’s not what I want to do right now. I don’t even think I have the skills I would need for that yet and that’s a whole other topic. So I’m trying to find of about when certain features might be developed or how I might be able to help the conversations but it’s tricky there too.

    I know what I want and I like this process of creation and working within very specific guidelines that I set up for myself. I’m excited for it, it’s just gonna take more than I thought it would. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep moving in other areas and experimenting with different ideas until then. 🤞

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  • View Post: Valencia Día 6/Day 6

    I’m feeling pretty exhausted in general, mostly cuz of these allergies. 🫠 Honestly I don’t get how these are so horrible 😒 and I really want to explore the city so much more but I just get drained so fast.

    Anyway, I’m not quite sure what else to explore out here. I really wanna go to Ruzafa again cuz that was a cool area so that’s probably where we’ll start today.

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  • View Post: Valencia Día 5/Day 5

    I was really excited about today before we left our place! Today was a beach day and I was stoked to debut my new swim trunks from Charlie. The lighting in the picture doesn’t do it justice, but the shorts have a super cool retro aesthetic and color palette that’s really nice!

    And then I added some regular shorts and buttoned up to complete the look and make it easy to swap between city exploring and beach time. 😎

    But sadly my allergies keep getting worse and I’m getting exhausted. 🫠 I still love this city and I’m excited to explore what we can but it’s definitely a huge bummer that these allergies showed up.

    I still enjoyed the beach and ended up chilling instead, which was perfect for the situation. We also had a very challenging time with getting lunch, the most frustrating experience in Spain yet. We found a place that was fine in the end and learned more about Spanish restaurant culture (especially on the weekends).

    I really hope these allergies will calm down so that I can explore more and enjoy things more deeply but that’s all I’ve got for today. Here’s a beach photo of my cool sandals. 😎

    Also loved this 👇

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  • View Post: Things I Love About Spain

    Just wanted to write about some things I’m really enjoying in Spain.

    First, (cuz I’m thinking about it while it’s sleepy time 😴), it’s seriously so quiet and beautiful during the night. 🤩 In the places I’ve lived in the US, there’s often too many loud sounds happening during the night. Especially where I live now, there’s way too many interruptions happening all through the night with things like fast cars and bikes, ambulances and fire trucks racing past with their sirens blaring, and who knows what else. Here I’ve only been disturbed by the Bachata school next door blasting their loud music (which as much as I don’t like it’s understandable for what they’re doing and only until 11:00pm). 11:00 is too late for me, but I could easily avoid that noise by finding a place not next to a Bachata school.

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  • View Post: Valencia Día 4/Day 4

    Today was a really fun day cuz we found more Spanish gatos! 😻 The most yet. Travis found some gardens to explore and we decided that today was the day we wanted to scope ’em out. 👀

    We saw on Google Maps some photos of cats at one of them so we were on the lookout! After a while of not seeing any, some finally showed up! A whole little family!

    We also saw a couple others doing their own thing and that was really fun.

    We found this other garden and they had TONS of different kinds of plants and greenhouses. It was SO cool, but sadly my allergies were spikin out the wazoo so we didn’t get to explore all of it. 😮‍💨 I seriously can’t believe how many tissues I used and we ran out so I really needed to get outta that park and find a mercado. 😳 But while were there found some really cool plants that I hadn’t seen. A lily flower, some type of red succulent and a plant I like to call the dragy tongue! 🐉 👅

    Found some more cool art and went back to El Carmen in the evening to explore even more! It’s so much fun how vast even just one part of a city can be. With so much to explore and see or do. I’m super excited that if I do move to Valencia that there’ll be so many beautiful and amazing things to do and see and that I can easily navigate to them and explore like I love! With so many walking streets and better infrastructure for people it makes me excited to explore so much deeper than I often do in the US.

    Here’s the last photos of the day.

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  • View Post: Valencia Día 3/Day 3

    I’m feeling much better today and we had a really fun day! One of the highlights of the day was getting a new jacket at a thrift shop we found. It was in a really cool area called Ruzafa (or Russafa, depending). I really like the jacket 🤩 and it’s the first jean jacket I’ve owned which I’m excited for.

    Another pretty cool thing we did (and the most touristy thing planned for this trip) was visiting an orange orchard. It’s called El Huerto Ribera.

    Old Schoolhouse
    Citrus Orchards
    Processing Oranges 1/2
    Processing Oranges 2/2
    View of Carcaixent from Huerto Ribera

    It was cool and pretty chill which was nice, but definitely tourist vibes. We got some nice jam and honey though which I like. 😋

    Before visiting the Huerto, we came early to check out the surrounding town called Carcaixent. It was cool to see how different it is from Valencia and get a feel for other parts of Spain. I definitely enjoy the more open feel that Valencia has with lots more walking streets, bigger sidewalks, large parks and green areas, and so much more vibrancy and diversity, but I could definitely imagine hopping on a train any time to explore other regions outside of Valencia and it’s incredible that we could so seamlessly plan a day trip like that.

    “The White Trees of Gondor”
    Bird Mural
    Carcaixent Fountcin
    A street in Carcaixent
    Sculpture in Carcaixent
    Their mail symbol which I’m obsessed with 😍
    A rainbow bench in Carcaixent??

    Omg, we also had one of the best meals of my LIFE (and probably the best on this trip). Tried Moroccan food for the first time and WOAH. It has similar vibes to Indian but not quite as intense (sometimes Indian is a bit too much for me), but this! 😍 We got a Chicken Tagine, Veggie Briwat, and Zaaluk with Moroccan bread. We also tried a bunch of small traditional sweets. I wanted to order more of the chicken but I was full. 😕

    Zaaluk
    Moroccan Bread
    Veggie Briwat

    One of the best parts of the trip is that my boyfriend and I are always pointing out hot guys and cute guys for each other so that we can enjoy them together. 🤤 It’s a total blast and we’ve gotten to do it a ton on this trip! Idk what it is but these Spaniards and Europeans 🥵 yow-zah! I wish I had pictures but I haven’t perfected my stealth photo taking yet. 🙃

    That’s a pretty good recap of the day. So glad we still have quite a few days left cuz this has been so incredible. 😁

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  • View Post: Valencia Día 2/Day 2

    I was gonna write something about today, but when I started writing I just felt overwhelmed. 🫠 I’m just exhausted and trying to fight off some sort of allergies or maybe a sickness of some kind, idk. Whatever it is I think is draining me and making my throat feel scratchy plus some nose clogged. 😣 I’ll update this post later with more details once I’m feeling better though.

    Update: Here’s some of the cool things that happened today. 😁

    Explored a super cool graffiti wall in the morning.

    Then we explored a huge portion of this really cool park/walking trail area an stumbled on a rally happening which was fun (yes there were a couple rainbow flags and that was the main reason we stopped 😂) but it was about equality as a whole with a specific focus on improved labor practices and treatment of people. Today is “Día de trabajadores” or basically “Labor Day” in Spain. It was awesome to hear and see people who were so passionately advocating for improved lives and conditions and I want to figure out how to support movements like this better. Here’s me at the rally.  🎉

    Me at the rally

    Then found one of the best gelato flavors of my life!

    Pantera Rosa

    Pink Panther ftw! 🙌 I’ve always loved the Pink Panther since I was a kid (probably cuz my dad always played it for us and he loved it) and also cuz I mean they’re a panther who’s pink! So cool. I love cats and idk this one is really cool and also mischievous  plus it made the show approachable to me as a kid even though it was technically geared towards adults I think. Haven’t seen any of the new movies but 🤷‍♂️ maybe one day (only if they have the same cartoon style thrown in).

    After that we had an incredible 5 course meal! It was the best food we’ve had so far out here! 😋 I’m basically a food master and really good at finding great restaurants. ✌️ I didn’t take photos of the whole meal sadly but this was one of the desserts and my main.

    Best Baklava Ever (I’m serious)
    I don’t remember the name of this but it was kinda like a gyro or shawarma

    We found more walking streets in El Carmen and explored more. Plus these cool rainbow benches.

    Rainbow Bench 🤩

    And this giant tree in the middle of the city! Reminds me of a Baobab (maybe it is?🤷‍♂️).

    Giant Tree
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  • View Post: Valencia Día 1/Day 1

    Before leaving to Spain I decided that I wanted to focus on exploring and basically living in the moment rather than creating a list of specific places or things to do or an itinerary and schedule per day. Just cuz I’ve realized that matches better the way I like to live and I enjoy life more that way. 😁

    Yesterday we started the day by going to our first Spanish market which was fun. The meat section was definitely not for me, but it was well organized and separate from everything else. They had a lot of options and a really solid bakery(Horno) section which was cool.

    Later we just started walking and stumbled on a huge and really beautiful park, a zoo with a giant elephant statue out front, a bunch of graffiti art and our first Spanish cat! 😸

    Shy Spanish Cat Hiding

    A few other photos from the morning walk. 👇

    We found a nice lunch spot that I was nervous about but ended up being really good! The person serving us was really kind and friendly even when I was struggling through a bit of Spanish. We ended up staying for about 2 hours 😂 and they were just super chill and it seemed like we could stay all day if we wanted. Once we both realized it didn’t seem like they would be bringing us the check any time soon we asked and they brought it. It still took probably about 15 minutes after that to pay. It was funny, and we were confused (more later).

    We took a break back at our cozy little nook (Airbnb) and then went to a mall that was just a short walk away to see what that was like. Seemed like basically every department store in the US except everything was in Spanish.

    From there we wanted to visit a walking street area which we found and the supposed gayborhood. 🔥 We found out they have a cute place in that district called “La Casa de los Gatos”, which was a tiny little cat house. I don’t fully understand the story but I guess some cats used to live behind it. 🤷‍♂️

    La casa de los gatos

    The walking streets were absolutely beautiful and everything we had been dreaming of since we got here!! 🤩🤩 The area is called “El Carmen”. Plus having a decent amount of hot Spanish men looking at us (and being able to look at them) was incredibly fun! 😜 I’m pretty sure that’s the spot I would move to when I come out here. It’s definitely my favorite part of the city so far and I really wanna come back. Although we’re still trying to figure out what gay stuff they have besides a few bars/clubs which isn’t really our scene. 🤔 Here’s a few photos I took while out there.

    There’s SO many shops out there that we wanna explore, but we did stumble on one with some great postcards to lift the mood. 🤤

    To end the night we found an absolutely delicious vegetarian/vegan restaurant. 😋 I definitely want to go back there before we leave. The space was really nice and the food was all so incredible!! It’s honestly probably one of my favorite restaurants of all time (out of anywhere in the world I’ve been). While there I decided to check if there was something in the Spanish culture around asking for your check. And apparently there is! 🤯 I guess they usually wait for you to ask for the check so that they don’t interrupt your meal or conversation. I think it’s super cool and I think I prefer it to the kinda helicopter approach that restaurants take in the US. It’s so much more chill and respectful and puts the control back in your hands. Now that we know about it I’m excited to keep experimenting with it as a way to keep building my self confidence and sufficiency. 🎉 Also, check out this guac! 😍 It was probs the best guac I’ve ever had.

    That’s about it for the day, and we’re very excited for the next one.

    #
  • View Post: In Love & Death

    Last night I felt like death. 💀 But I was still deeply enamored with the city around me! 🤩 The quiet and open streets, the small amount of cars, all the unique shops and spaces, the cozy space we’re staying at. The train ride was probably about what I imagined it would be although sometimes it was slower moving and I was confused about that. But I really enjoyed the space to travel and also do whatever I want.

    Some things are also so weird. Part of the weirdness was tainted by the incredible lack of rest I had since leaving ‘merica. I would drift in an out of sleep even unknowingly at times while sitting on a slat wood bench in a restaurant at the train station, and while riding on the train. At that point I had been awake for well over 24 hours, and it was weird. 😅 The train was much older than I expected, but was still a really quiet and calm ride (more than others I’ve been on). I enjoyed it.

    I’m still enjoying speaking Spanish, but it’s also been stressful at times too cuz I don’t always know how to start the conversation or I get anxious about forgetting words or not knowing words. 😮‍💨 It’s because I want to look like I’m from here or at least be seen as a smart tourist (whatever that means). I don’t want it to be obvious where I’m from. But I think it’s probably obvious that at minimum I’m not from here as soon as I open my mouth or do something that’s not like a local (which is probs a lot). 😂 It’s funny cuz I know logically that I don’t need to look any specific way but I’m generally really good at performing and looking really polished most of the time. For the next bit while out here, I want to challenge the idea that I need to fit in or be something specific, and instead be the best version of me I can. Even if I don’t know words to say, even if I look like a tourist, or even a “dumb American”. Whatever people think of me they’re welcome to, cuz it doesn’t own me, it doesn’t control me or consume my energy unless I want it to or give it space. This will he a great place to try that more. 🎉

    The city is also not as polished as I expected it to be. Haha it sounds kinda funny and I’ve explored only a tiny portion. It’s really just like any other city with some well maintained spots, some worn down and forgotten. There’s still a lot of beauty in the nooks and all over that I’m excited to discover.

    I wanna go to the grocery store and see what that’s like! 😁 I wanna find snacks and try different brands and so many things.

    I wanna walk around so many places and see what the metro is like all over. I wanna try to get a metro pass that lasts more than a day! I wanna find favorite shops and maybe meet some friends.

    It’s 5:25am and I feel like I slept so deeply but not quite as long as I expected to since being so exhausted. 😴 But I feel about the same as I would any other morning. Even though part of me wants to get up and be full of energy and excitement 🤩 I’m gonna try to sleep a bit longer cuz I think my body needs it.

    #
  • View Post: Talking Spanish

    I absolutely love talking in Spanish with so many people and that I think I’m doing pretty well! 🎉 There’s a few small hiccups here and there so far but it’s really fun to be immersed in it like I’ve never been before. 😁

    #
  • View Post: Spain

    Going to Spain for the first time! 😱🤩

    #
  • View Post: Exhausted Sometimes

    Building a really minimal and personalized digital identity, brand, and system is so difficult and exhausting sometimes. But I’m very excited for it and love the possibilities I’m exploring! I definitely think it’ll be worth it, but some days, man, idk how to answer all the questions. 😅

    #
Loading…Gimme More
Tenets

Form supports function

Curiosity is essential

Space for anyone

Most Formidable Strengths

Curiosity
Driven

Critical
Thinking

Detail
Oriented

Most Dire Flaws

Analysis
Paralysis

Foolish Idealism

Variant Maelstrom

What happens next on your magical adventure?

Simulacra

The illusory design system and brand guide of One Quest.

Teleport
The Wizard

Meet the Wizard and connect across digital realms.

Teleport

Designed & built with pocket computers

Proudly powered by WordPress Gutenberg

Tenets

Form supports function

Curiosity is essential

Space for anyone

Most Formidable Strengths

Curiosity
Driven

Critical
Thinking

Detail
Oriented

Most Dire Flaws

Analysis
Paralysis

Foolish Idealism

Variant Maelstrom

Design

What happens next on your magical adventure?

Simulacra

The illusory design system and brand guide of One Quest.

Teleport
The Wizard

Meet the Wizard and connect across digital realms.

Teleport

Designed & built with pocket computers

Proudly powered by WordPress Gutenberg