My 2025 spring break was honestly one of the greatest vacations I’ve had, and it was all thanks to the incredible experience that I had on the Europe trip to Italy and Spain, hosted by Los Osos English teacher, Mrs. Villasenor. 

Our adventure began on March 21st, where we hopped on a flight to a quick layover in Miami before heading to our first destination, Barcelona, Spain. 

Despite the weather being a little cold and rainy, I enjoyed Barcelona. The architecture was really interesting, but I loved our second day the most, where we were able to go to Park Güell. The history and the buildings there fascinated me and I also loved seeing Sagrada Familia.

It was astonishing to discover that they had been building it since 1882 and to this day it is still unfinished. It was definitely cool to see the construction happening. 

Despite most of the stores being closed on our last day in Barcelona because of it being Sunday, a Holy Day, it was still fun. However, I was most eager to go to Madrid, which was our second city. Our train left early the next morning and our first stop was to find some lunch. 

Although I was a little sick from the Barcelona weather, my first day in Madrid was great. We ended up eating at a restaurant I no longer remember the name of, but I ordered a broth that I swear healed my sickness. 

If you’re ever heading to Europe, beware of where you eat and what you order, because we were charged an abnormal amount of Euros for some dry breadsticks and overly fancy water bottles. 

My favorite part of Madrid was when we went to see a flamenco show. As an ex-dancer, I love seeing all different types of dance and flamenco was one I wasn’t too familiar with. I loved the movement of the girls’ dresses and the sounds that came from their clicky heels and finger snaps. It was a super fun experience and I’m glad we got to see this additional show. 

Our second day in Madrid started off tiring as we biked through one of the largest parks in Spain. I loved seeing the gardens and it was a beautiful, sunny day. 

For lunch, I tagged along with one of our chaperones, another fellow Los Osos English teacher Mrs. Patton, and her family, to Mercado de San Miguel, where I had the best empanadas of my life. Then, we headed to the Royal Palace, where we got to see stunning architecture and intricate interior design, which all heavily reminded me of Bridgerton. 

I loved Spain and my absolute favorite part was being able to exercise the Spanish I’ve learned throughout high school. I love learning languages and I’ve been in Spanish for all four years so being able to speak it well and get by in Spain was really exciting and I was super proud of myself. 

As much as I loved Spain, I was so pumped to head to Italy. The first city we went to was Florence, where we spent most of our first day shopping. Florence was definitely a shopping center, and I loved being able to go to the different souvenir shops, where I discovered how famous Italy was for its leather and jewelry. 

It was in Florence that I fell in love with cannolis and I swear I had one every couple of hours. We also stopped by Venchi, an Italian brand of chocolates that smelled like chocolate heaven. 

We went on a guided tour throughout Florence and learning about Italian architecture and seeing the different landmarks was really fun as well. All of our tour guides were kind, informative, and made it more exciting to walk through the cities. 

Our final city was in Rome, which was the one I was most excited for as someone who grew up loving mythology and Roman architecture. Seeing iconic landmarks such as the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain, and the Pantheon was simply breathtaking and I loved hearing about the rich history of Rome. 

It was also astonishing to see the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel itself. This was one of those things that I grew up hearing about, but to see it in person and to think that these were all created by people thousands of years ago was really inspiring. 

My favorite part about the trip itself was being able to go around on our own during freetime and be able to hang out with my friends and get closer with them. 

Our tour director, Leslie, was another aspect that made the trip all the more fun and smoother. She was funny, welcoming, and so kind, always giving us her attention when we had questions or wanted to chat. An icon. 

Overall, the Europe trip was an incredible way to celebrate my 18th birthday, senior year, and just a fantastic vacation overall.