On Monday night, I returned from a wonderful and relaxing 10-day trip to Spain, with my girlfriend Hannah. On Tuesday I started my exciting new job as a marketing strategist at Deep Focus. And now I'm gradually getting back up to speed back here in NYC.

Europe is old.
I mean really old. As someone who's born and raised in the US, it's quite a feeling to walk on streets and see buildings that were built thousands of years ago. Barcelona had already been built, ransacked, and re-built several times over before our fore-fathers were even glimmers in our grand-fore-fathers' eyes.

If you give yourself enough space, it will take less time than you might think to shed your anxieties.
On the flight over to Spain, I felt like I had a third carry-on item. The job search and anxiousness about leaving a job that I had been at for so long had taken its toll. I wondered if the vacation would actually be able to make a difference. It did. The distraction of being in a completely different environment, along with copious amounts of excellent tapas and great wine quickly disintegrated the concerns that I had brought with me.

5 Star hotels are worth every penny (especially if they cost considerably less pennies than most 5 Star hotels).
Between Barcelona and our stops on the northern coast, we decided to make a surprise stop in Pamplona, the city famed for its yearly San Fermin Festival and the Running of the Bulls. On the first night we had unknowingly made reservations at what turned out to be a very low-budget and not centrally located hotel about 10 minutes outside of the downtown. Hannah described it as the hotel that all of the traveling salesmen stay at when they come through Pamplona. So on the second night we decided to treat ourselves by staying at the La Perla Hotel. This hotel is right on the main city square, and has rear rooms with balconies overlooking the path of the Running of the Bulls. It's an old hotel, which Hemingway stayed at when he used to frequent Pamplona . It was also just remodeled this spring into a beautiful, modern, and luxurious 5 Star hotel. And it was worth every penny. When I go back to Pamplona for the Running of the Bulls, I dont care even if they jack up the prices to 1,000 euros a night, I'm staying at this place.

I really do have Basque blood.
My last name is Arauz. My father was born and raised in Nicaragua. And I've been told that the name actually can be traced back to the Basque region of northern Spain. Well, when we rode the bus from San Sebastion to our next hotel in the seaside village of Getaria, we passed through a little resort town by the name of Zarautz. Arauz. Zarautz. You're welcome to judge for yourself, but I've made up my mind.

Tapas, or pinxtos as the Basque people say, are like really great hors d'oeuvres at a wedding.
Tapas are the primary type of meal eaten in Spain. Lunch and dinner, and even breakfast sometimes, usually consists of small croquettes, sandwiches, and all kinds of little delicious morsels of fancy snack food. As we hopped from bar to bar, we basically felt like we were at a great week-long wedding with excellent hors d'oeuvres.

I like anchovies and sardines.
I didn't like them before I went to Spain; but they're so good there, and they're available at every tapas bar and every meal.

San Sebastian's beach is everything everyone says it is.
It's a huge sprawling semi-circle. Because it's kind-of enclosed the waves are mild. The beach gently slopes out to the ocean, you could probably walk 100 yds into the water without your head going under. Unfortunately it was a little too cold for swimming the day we were there, but we're eager to go back during the summer.

I enjoy taking photos.
For some reason I've been feeling disheartened and disinterested in photography this year. I think I probably just had too much other stuff on my mind. I needed some creative space. Well I found it in Spain. I've got five rolls, and I'll be putting a lot of it up on Flickr soon (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikearauz).

New York is still the best.
I've been to more cities than most, but fewer than many; and in my humble opinion New York's still the best. Most cities, at their best, can offer visitors a thorough and sophisticated experience of only one specific culture, but none can match New York's cultural diversity.