I'm never leaving Spain.

Today, after our last language exchange, I said goodbye to Javier and decided I was really craving patatas bravas and patatas aioli. So I walked over to a bar I had passed a hundred times, a little hole in the wall that seems like only really old people ever visit, the kind of place that hasn't been renovated in years and is dirty and old and vintage in an unironic way. And I went in and ordered the best deep fried potatoes slathered in sauce I'd ever tasted and was sitting there writing about things on my mind about Spain and leaving and learning and loving and all off a sudden I was trying not to cry. I'm 20 years old and it is in no way socially acceptable to cry in a bar in the middle of the day—especially not with only a glass of water and fried potatoes by my side. 

But I just didn't want to leave Spain and felt overwhelmed by the feeling that I was being forced to do so against my will, forced to go too soon before getting a chance to learn all that I have to learn. And what do you know, the universe decides now is a good time to play "Uptown Girl" on the crappy old TV in the bar, the kind that is too old and big to even be hooked up on the wall. And mild spoiler alert if you haven't seen Trainwreck (in which case, please get on that ASAP) but "Uptown Girl" is ~v important~ and ~eMoTiOnAl~ and I couldn't believe it was playing right at that moment. In the film, the song plays at moments of emotional upheaval and catharsis (by which I really just mean an 80s movie-esque musical number and confession of tru luv) and here in real life it played at my moment of kind of freaking out over having to leave and trying to hold it together in public. And I just stared at the TV and started laughing a little bit, and while I don't think my laugh was full-on maniacal in a somebody-get-this-girl-a-straightjacket kind of way, it must have been a little bit concerning guessing by the way the elderly couple sitting behind me me smiled at me sadly on their way out. 

And because I'm apparently a masochist I decided to listen to "Vienna" on my way back, and while I really don't understand why Vienna is waiting for me or what good it's going to do when it's Madrid I want, I do know that I've got so much to do and only so many hours in a day and only four days left at that, so that's where I'm at right now.

I mean I guess I should go back and finish my undergrad and see my friends and family or whatever. I'm just not going to pretend that leaving doesn't absolutely suck. Any advice for yr girl on dealing with this feeling? 

~ V 

Tennessee Travels: Road Trip to Nashville

{fried chicken galore}

      During my week in the underrated state of Tennessee, my friend Saher and I went on two amazing road trips. This was pretty exciting in and of itself, since neither of us had previously been on a road trip without our parents and because we've proven to be pretty good at entertaining ourselves for hours on end (Saher spent a lot of our drive to Atlanta singing along to Broadway songs). But what was even more fun was being able to see new places (and old faces) at the end of our long drives.

{signs for sale in Pangea}

      On one of our trips, Saher and I drove down to Roswell to visit my cousins. We had an amazing home-cooked Indian meal and got to spend some relaxing time with my family, but decided to skip the sightseeing in nearby Atlanta. We had both been there before, and couldn't find much left to do or see, so after a quick breakfast at the legendary Waffle House (my first time there!) we headed back to Knoxville.
      A few days later, we headed to Nashville, which was easily my favorite of the three cities we visited on our trip. It has a much more indie vibe than what I’ve seen of the rest of the South, but still manages to keep that Southern charm. We started off our visit with a leisurely walk around Baylor University. 

{Belmont Mansion}

      Afterwards, we spent a lot of time shopping (and window shopping) before grabbing popsicles at Las Paletas and the most amazing dinner and dessert at Pinewood Social. We started off thrifting through Local Honey, but found nothing we wanted. Next we went to Pangea, which is one of the coolest shops I've ever been to, and I'm so glad we stopped by. I also loved A Village of Flowers and had to remind myself multiple times that succulents cannot be taken on planes.

 {local honey}

 {thrift shopping}

 {Pangea}

 {lovely flowers, lovelier words}

{baby succulents}

      After dinner, we drove around downtown for a bit before heading back. On a side note, there is a Kanye Avenue in Nashville, and I may or may not have screamed upon seeing so. But what's even better, THERE IS A KANYE AVENUE BAPTIST CHURCH (not to be confused with the Kanye Westboro Baptist Church), AKA THERE IS A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN FIND YEEZUS. Needless to say, I kind of love Nashville. Good food, cool shops, and Yeezus are really all I need in life. I don’t think I’d ever live in the South again, but Nashville is definitely worth traveling to.
      Here are a few more photos from our Nashville day trip: 

 {dinner & bowling}

{you know you're down South when}

 {vases galore at A Village of Flowers}

 {staircase between the salon and shop}

{Belmont Mansion}

 {walking around campus}

      What are your favorite spots in Nashville? Let me know!

Thanks for reading!

~ V