Day 39-41: Spain Reflection, Ibiza tomorrow

Is it too late for me to study abroad in Salamanca? Maybe so because I'm now graduated but I remember considering staying abroad for another semester after Madrid to further improve my Spanish, and enjoy the easygoing, yet fun lifestyle in the Chapel Hill/ college town of Spain. While it would have been incredible to extend my stay, I'm happy I decided to come back to UNC because I ended up having a great semester getting back into things, building new/old friendships, taking on my major switch from business to econ and int'l studies after being away for a full year (Duke one semester, Madrid the next), and playing hockey again. It's crazy though to think how different things can turn out given the decisions you make. I feel like I couldn't go wrong with this one but still, things could have turned out very different otherwise. it's one of the reasons why my approach has always been to make the most of every situation you end up in (it might be the best, might be the worst).

Anyway, Salamanca was great. We have both done the touristy things there so we basically repeated the procedure of sleeping in, eating lunch, siesta'ing, going for tapas and enjoying the vibrant nightlife of the small city.

Post-Ibiza Italy with Ryan and my sister Rachel will be the time for the more go-go-go traveling, with plenty of unseen sights and great eating to do.

Cut the train super close today but we're in San Sebastian now, where Ryan and I just watched Spain own Italy in the Euro2012 finals. What a great experience viewing the match in the victorious country. 1st half with the hostel owner, 2nd half at a bar. We could go out and celebrate with the country but a rest before 4 nights in Ibiza (starting tmrw) is getting prioritized. Plus, I want to wake up a little early to go surfing before we have to bus it to the Bilbao airport, see if I still got it from Costa Rica

Pics of Salamanca's Plaza Mayor lit up last night in prep for the big match and Ryan and I at a fun bar in town.

Day 28- 3 countries in 1 day

If all went according to plan I would have had about 3.5 hours to head into Brussels, have an infamous waffle, check out some cool buildings, enjoy a beer and grab a little chocolate for the plane ride.

Plane touches down in Brussels and it's aggressively raining. All action in the airport was suspended so I had the privilege of spending an additional 45 minutes in my lovely middle seat before getting off the plane. Then I had to find a printer ASAP to print my RyanAir boarding pass to Croatia because, if you don't 4 hrs beforehand they charge you 50€, about $65US. After finding a printer and taking care of that I head to the information desk to get some quick words of wisdom on getting to downtown and whatnot. It's there I find out that my flight is out of the "other" Brussels airport, a casual hour plus to reach by train from downtown.

My time in Brussels went from a pit stop to a quick bathroom break. No time for beer (nowhere was really open anyways, 10-1045 am). I kind of just walked around in search of cool buildings then bought a couple waffles from a stand near the train.

All I have to show for the waffles is a quick picture and at least a pound of weight around the midsection.

Made it to Pula, Croatia / my hostel by 4pm. Settled in and went to the beach for the evening. Just not what I was expecting. It was gorgeous, but there were rocks, no sand. I went for a nice swim and then laid down for a rest "on the rocks."

I took the hostel Rec on dinner. Completely forgot to take a picture of the authentic Balkan dish but imagine 6 sausages, one much bigger than the others, and 2 pieces of pita and you get the idea. Saw the coliseum at night (picture) and watched Croatia lose to Spain in Euro2012 tonight with some fellow hostelers from Singapore, South Korea and Germany.

I have a travelathlon tmrw (traveling by air, ground and water) to make it to Hvar. Time to shut eye for a bit.