After making a vision board for 2023, I was constantly thinking about flying to another country. I also convinced a friend to join me and we decided to find a destination right away. We found a great deal for the tickets to Barcelona so we proceeded to secure them.

Me and my friend created the craziest itinerary for a two days' trip, but of course we did not manage to complete it 100%.

Ever since I stepped foot in that place I had the most amazing feeling, I felt surrounded by heaven. I never realized that I could love something so fast and easily. Every street and every corner was worth looking at. Huge palm trees growing along the streets. Pieces of art everywhere. Magnificent buildings with an architecture that I had never seen before.

I don't know how other people feel like when they see the sea (no pun intended) for the first time, but for me it was surreal. I'd never wanted to go to the sea in my country, so I wasn't really looking forward to do it somewhere else. But with every step that took me closer to the infinite blue, my heart grew bigger. I never understood what exactly made me feel that way, maybe the sound of waves, maybe the infinite blue with seagulls flying above, or maybe the whole picture.

We also went to some restaurants that were worth every penny, including a fascinating hidden bar and a huge market called "La Boqueria" with uncountable stalls of fresh fruits, vegetables, sea food, nuts, sweets etc.

A very meaningful moment of this trip was seeing the panoramic view of the city and the sea far away during sunset at "Bunkers del Carmel". Hundreds of people are gathering there every evening and play music, talk and watch the sunset together.

Other amazing places that weren't mentioned are: Barceloneta, Park Güell, Sagrada Familia, El Gòtic, La Rambla.

Little confession, after I came home I bawled my eyes out beacause after my first real trip, my life seemed so small and meaningless. I wasn't prepared for this trip's aftermath. Now I handle these emotions way better.

One thing that I didn't listen to when I chose this destination: other people. I definitely don't regret it. They said it is a dangerous place but I did my research before and after I came back I could also confirm it is a safe place to visit.

I planned this journey for weeks. There were more cities on the route this time, more accommodations, more things to do. Spoiler: it went very well.

It was more work than I thought it would be. I had to do a lot of research on different bus companies, trains and timetables in order to go from one city to another and at the same time to waste as little time as possible on transportation.

Fast forward, here we are, just me and my friend, on the biggest mediterranean island. We spent the nights in different hostels, which I always wanted to do. We carried our huge backpacks and discovered this new culture. We visited, in this order, the following places: Palermo, Cefalù, Catania, Taormina, Siracusa. It may seem like a lot in just 7 days, but was it worth it? Definitely!

The architecture, the vegetation, Etna vulcano, the public squares during the night, the blue sea, these are the images that are impregnated in my mind. Most of all, I won't forget about the most unexpected hike of my life. Long story short, we booked an accommodation that was 2 km away from the city of Taormina. From the train station, we couldn't find any bus to take us there so we decided to walk. After that we found out that it was on top of a hill, so we had to do incline walk for 2 hours with heavy backpacks under the hot sun. But the view was breathtaking, the blue sea was growing larger as we ascended and the endorphins (from the cardio as well haha) were overflowing. We stopped at an almond tree because we were hungry and then we continued hiking. The next surprise was finding out that we will spend the night in a medieval fortress/town in top of the hill. It was like a dream.

It would take too long to write about every day in Sicily, I will just say this trip was an amazing experience and so good for my soul and mental health.

It was a very long day, the first day of our journey: we took a bus to the airport, we took a plane, then we took a long ride with the bus from Beauvais to Paris, then we took some metros and trams and finally, very late, we arrived at the accommodation.

The second day was a little rainy, but our enthusiasm couldn't be bothered. We had a long itinerary ahead and we started with some inside spots, to avoid the rain. We visited some museums and palaces, we stopped at bakeries, cafes and one restaurant. Lastly, we hiked to the famous Sacré-Cœur and we were astonished by its grandeur. My sister and I listened to the nun's sweet singing. We explored the Montmartre neighborhood a little.

The third day was for outside exploring. We went to Tuileries Garden, such a beautiful and peaceful place, perfect for a relaxing day with fresh air for the brain. Then we went to see the Tour Eiffel and we searched for a famous picture spot that was so hard to find. We came to the conclusion that the tower area is way too crowded. We took a seat at restaurant nearby to enjoy a cheese platter and some Chardonnay like French people. Then we strolled along the Champs-Élysées, but of course we didn't shop there. My sister's knee started hurting so we had to head back to the accommodation, but we bought Maccies on our way, to celebrate the last night in Paris.

We had our tough moments during this trip, but we also learned a lot and made some good memories. Paris can be bad, but it also can be good, it depends on how you want to perceive it and how good are you at finding the right places.