Spring Break Recap

May 4, 2025

The past few weeks I’ve been on Easter break (shout out to Catholic school for giving us such a long time off!). I spent week 1 binging shows, movies, and books and consuming all sorts of media. I rarely left my bed, and it was amazing. I kicked off week 2 by visiting Florence and Bologna with my aunt and uncle and cousin, then spent the rest of the days resting and reading and soaking up sun. I spent week 3 on a school trip through the south of France and Spain, where we visited wineries and universities and research centers and spent a whole lot of time on a bus.

I could write about what I did each day, but really don’t find that fun, so instead I will talk about all the little highlights. I’ve spent the past few weeks being a sponge. I’ve been absorbing all sorts of art and stories and knowledge and experiences, and now I think it’s about time to wring myself out and share them. This will not be a pretty post; it will be a brain dump. So, buckle in, I guess!

Art and Words

I spent a lot of time consuming art all forms, and I don’t know if it was because I had excessive time alone with my thoughts, but I felt very moved and inspired by it all.

When I studied abroad, I lived less than a block away from Michaelangelo’s David, yet I never went to the Galleria dell’Accademia to go see it. I finally went on Easter weekend and was in awe. I’ve seen copies of the statue before, and I honestly didn’t expect the original to be all that different, but it was incredible to see the amount of detail that is captured in an almost simple-looking sculpture (note: it’s not simple at all). I am no artist; I have never studied art; art is not my expertise. But I loved how the statue of David reflected his life. Michaelangelo took an unassuming block of marble and turned it into one of the greatest works of art of all time. God took an unassuming shepherd boy and shaped him into a great soldier/poet/king. Wow!

One of my favorite authors, Emily Henry, came out with a new book on April 22nd called Great Big Beautiful Life. It’s a romance, but it’s so much more than that. I kicked my feet, I laughed, I cried. I love reading books that make me want to write. Words are so powerful! Stories are so important! To me, there’s no greater form of art than words on a page.

Family time

I haven’t spent time with my cousin, Jaxon, since we were kids really. In Bologna, we stayed up past 2am giggling and sharing stories and experiences. It was such a sweet time reconnecting and getting to know each other as adults and I was so thankful for it! I didn’t realize how much I needed some family time.

I got pretty homesick last weekend, because my dad was inducted into the Washington State Basketball Coaching Hall of Fame (Go Dad!) and many of my family members were there to cheer him on. I had lots of FOMO! But it made me all the more grateful that I could see some family over here, and it made me just a little more excited to get to move home and be closer to everyone again.

Food

I’ve had some of the best meals of my life over the past few weeks. Florentine steak in Florence; lasagna in Bologna; calamari and pesto pasta in Cinque Terre; escargot-style mussels in the south of France; tapas and paella in Spain; buttery baguette sandwiches and pain au chocolat each morning for breakfast… I probably gained 5 pounds and I don’t even care.

Night Tours

The trip was so busy, we didn’t get to spend much time being tourists. One night, however, after a late dinner, a few of us took to the streets of Barcelona. We ran to the beach and put our toes in the sand, we went and saw buildings designed by Gaudi, we stopped at a 24-hour bottega to grab Cacaolat, and of course we saw La Sagrada Familia. I was exhausted when I finally went to bed around 3 that night, but it was so worth it to stay up and run around the city.

Old Men

We had a few old men who led us through tours and tastings on the trip, and they were so cute I wanted to keep them in my pocket. One was Senator Grillo, who now runs a winery and restaurant in Monterosso. If I had to pick one person to represent Italy as a country, it would be him. He hosted us for a tour of the estate and a three-course meal. He acted out soccer games he once played in and told lots of stories about his youth. He picked lemons from his lemon grove and handed them out to each of us.

The other man showed us Tarragona University’s experimental vineyard and winery, and he wore a cute little scarf and spoke so softly while telling us all about the work he was doing. My friend Sam and I kept looking at each other and tearing up because he was just so cute and wise!

The Sea

Nothing is better than salt water. We had a few hours during our day in Tarragona to go to the beach, and the girls and I immediately ran to the water. We body surfed as all the Italians in our program stayed on the shore, bundled in their jackets, complaining about the wind and the weather. I came out of the water the best kind of fatigued, but I felt more alive than I had in weeks. Salt water heals!!

Soccer Culture

While we were in Spain, there was an Inter Milan v. Barcelona match. This was a big deal. Mariana has been a Barcelona fan her entire life, so she was thrilled to watch the game with her people. The rest of the class, however, was obviously cheering for Inter Milan. We found a square in the city where all the tapa bars had the game on, and it was crazy watching how into the game people got. There were kids kicking a ball around in the center as their parents were eating and drinking and yelling at the TV, and there seemed to be an electric charge in the air.

The game ended in a draw, leaving everyone buzzing, and the boys in my program ended up having a little soccer match of their own in the middle of the city walkway. They kicked around an empty water bottle until one of the teams scored three goals, and the celebrations after each goal rivaled those that might happen in a professional game. I was cracking up.

AOP

One of the best stops on the trip was in Laurens, France. We went into a small, rundown building, which felt like where a small town might have community meetings, and a committee of winemakers poured us chardonnay from a few different wineries in the area while talking about how they are working to make their little region an AOP (a distinguished French winemaking area). There are currently 12 wineries in the region, 10 of which are pushing for this change in denomination, and they are hoping that their Vallee de l’Orb is going to become a new Burgundy of sorts.

I loved listening to these humble vine growers and winemakers talking about their dreams, and how they are focused on tradition while still trying to make waves in the industry. It was such a cool and unique experience.

Tears

The hours we spent on the bus meant lots of time for laughing so hard we cried, as well as a little time for good-old-fashioned crying.

We played a lot of games to help the time pass, and one of my favorite little moments was when my friend Pietro read a game-code aloud for us to sign in on our phones and said: “N like Napoli; B like Bologna; O like… Oh cazzo”. It might be a you-had-to-be-there moment, but I had tears streaming down my face because I found it so funny.

The sad tears came on May 1st, when I realized I only have two full months left in Europe. I had a mini breakdown. Sam and I sat and talked and cried as the rest of the bus napped. It was so cathartic to reminisce on the past couple of years and to think about whatever will come next.

The End

I can’t describe how thankful I am for all these experiences. If you made it this far, thanks for reading!