My apartment in Manhattan was right above the avenue where all the parades start. In the summer there was a parade every weekend, and the music would wake me up at 6am when they started practicing. Puerto Rican day parade, Mexican, Irish, all the countries, with their music and dancing. All summer long.
Then one day I slept till noon. I was surprised, “oh i guess no parade today.” I left for lunch later and turns out there *was a parade that day, but for one of the Nordic countries. I guess they celebrate calmly and quietly? 😅
I still dream about my time in Barcelona 10 years ago. A city, with public transportation, beautiful architecture, museums, cultural events, delicious food, cheap wine, cafe culture, and yet I could walk to the beach every weekend. Nicer beach towns were a train a few hours away.
It wasn’t real though … I was working there as part of my master’s degree, so my tuition paid my rent and intern stipend paid for breakfast & lunches in the office cafeteria. If I had actually stayed as a resident and gotten a job at the same company, my salary would have been less than what I had budgeted out of my savings for monthly spending. I had to leave because I couldn’t justify a pay cut like that. When I left I moved to NYC.