HEMINGWAY'S SPAIN - PLANNING MY NEXT SPANISH ADVENTURE

"I would sooner be a foreigner in Spain than in most countries, how easy it is to make friends in Spain!"

  - George Orwell

I miss Spain every day, no really, EVERY DAMNED DAY, they say home is where the heart is, and my heart is forever locked into Spain. It has been 3 years since i was there last, far too long ago for my liking. Every morning i smell my partners cologne which he had started wearing when we were in staying in Figueres, now every time it hits the nose i am instantly transported to the balcony of our room with the taste of cold beer on my tongue and hot sun on my skin. I've recently picked up for whom the bell tolls to read again and have decided i can wait no longer. 

 The life of these lost generation expats looking for something they'll never find. It echoed in me so deeply,  i'm one of those people that think the answers to my problems lay in foreign lands much like the character of Robert Cohn, and i seem to think all my problems can and will be solved every time I visit Spain. When reading through the pages of the sun also rises or for whom the bell tolls I could feel myself back in the hot heat of Spain, sun beating down hard while cool tinto de verano runs down my throat.  As a history student, i focus on events such as the Spanish civil war in which Hemingway was a correspondent and Orwell fought, both of their documentation reveals all that makes Spain so uniquely special. Hemingway loved Spain truly, as do i. 

Anywho to the point of this post. I've decided to plan a trip dedicated to Hemingway's Spain adding Orwell's experiences, I'll follow the footsteps of Jake, Cohn, and Lady Brett Ashley and seek to see what is real of Robert Jordan's story from For Whom the bell tolls. And stopping in at all of his favorite bars and restaurants that weren't mentioned in his books. Being that I will be seeking out civil war sites where possible I am also going to incorporate some of Orwell's Spain into the trip as another of my favorite authors and another great observer of the war. I plan to visit Zaragoza to see where Orwell fought with the Republic, the inspiration for his book homage to Catalonia.

I'll be sharing my day to day itinerary as i make it. this trip will not be until next year so i have some time. This will be the first trip i've ever really planned to a t almost, i usually book my first few nights somewhere and take it as it comes. Usually, i would be going for a longer period of time, i only plan to go for two weeks max as this will be a solo trip. So follow me through my planning i'll be mentioning all the amazing places i'll be going, how i'm getting to there, costs, food, everything! hopefully even inspire someone else to do a similar trip. 

First stop will be San Sebastian.

Thanks for reading! any suggestions welcomed