I’ve been to Europe several times, but have never been privileged enough to visit the same place twice. There are many spots I would love to go back to, particularly the city of Salamanca where I studied for a semester in university.
I did, however, have the chance to return to Spain several years ago. While I was visiting completely different regions of the country, it definitely still felt a little like coming home.
I was taking pictures of every little detail that reminded me of my previous visit: a grocery store I had shopped at, a favorite jewelry store (I had to make a quick stop there to pick up a pair of earrings).
I loved being able to converse in Spanish again; though I was a bit rusty, we were mostly in tourist areas, and I only had one confusing issue where a cafe asked for a PIN for a credit card, despite the fact that US credit cards didn’t have those at the time. I did my best not to get flustered, as I was used to a bit of miscommunication; during my studies, my friends had once ordered lemon juice instead of lemonade, and I had once stood in a phone store for about 10 minutes trying to explain which phone card I wanted to buy (one I had previously purchased at that exact store).
It was wonderful to be able to see castles and Gothic cathedrals and be able to view them with my previous knowledge of Spanish history and architecture. We were also happening to visit soon after the Great Recession, which hit Spain quite hard, so we tried to patronize local cafes as much as possible.
In the meantime, I had also picked up the habit of photographing sewer and utilities covers that were interesting.
You can find more second times at the original Lens-Artist challenge, which is hosted this week by guest host johnbo.
Jedi by Knight 
Thanks for sharing your trips to Spain. I love to visit old churches and cathedrals as their architecture is stunning. They are constructed with such love, often by some of the faithful who will be using them. Your cathedral image is very creative as taken from that angle.
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Thank you! Spain has the most gorgeous churches. The Sagrada Familia in Barcelona was particularly moving to me, a very spiritual experience.
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Fun to go “home” again Mei-Mei, and to brush up on your Spanish. There’s nothing like speaking to the natives in their own language.
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Yes, I have lost so much of my Spanish! It was nice to know it didn’t all go away
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Beautiful photos, Mei-Mei. We took a 14-day Spain tour a few years ago. I enjoyed the history, culture, and architecture.
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That sounds like a great tour, I would love to do something similar. You have hit on exactly what I find so appealing about Spain! And its regions are surprisingly diverse.
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Great photos. I certainly do recognise the place. I loved my time in Palma when I visited it last year – such a lovely place and very tourist-friendly, I thought.
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Yes! It wasn’t a place that was really on my list to visit, but our cruise happened to go there and I’m so glad it did! Definitely a lovely place. And the ensaimadas were delicious 🙂
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Love to see my country through your eyes.
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Un país hermoso, de verdad. I hope to see even more of it someday.
You will laugh, but I got so excited when I saw a Bimbo bread truck; we don’t have that brand here, probably because a bimbo is a word for a silly woman. But it was wonderful to see such familiar things.
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Hahaha Bimbo is a well-known brand in my country.
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Lovely photos! I’m also confused that they would even give you a glass of lemon juice. Do people order that regularly so they have it on hand? How strange
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Haha, the waitress definitely looked at us strangely but maybe just chalked it up to crazy Americans. They told us it would be a minute because they had to squeeze the lemons…that should have been our first clue!🤣
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Well kudos to them for excellent service 😂
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Hi, Mei-Mei. Your experiences in Spanish remind me of all those funny (and sometimes embarrassing) moments when you’re using a new language. I hope you get to return to Europe next year.
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I hope so, too!
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