Travelogue to Asturias

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In summer of 2013, as every year, we packed our stuff and prepared for a long exhausting trip to Madrid, capital of Spain. When we arrived to Mexico's city airport I was very excited as we had the opportunity to travel again and visit my aunt Carmen. But at the same time I was really scared, as I am afraid of long airplane trips. We said goodbye to my grandfather who took us to there and boarded the airplane. I hate the long wait to arrive and I never sleep in the flight to Madrid, so when we get there I am always very tired. After taking a second flight and a 2 hour car trip, we arrived to Ruenes, a small village at the mountains where my grandparents lived in their childhood. When I saw Ruenes I felt very relaxed and relieved and I was happy to see my aunt, who received us with a delicious dinner. The following days I greeted the people around, something I don't like to do because my mother always makes us give them gifts. The views at Ruenes remind me of my childhood, they are calm and inspiring, the word beautiful is not enough

to describe them. Sometimes my brother and me got angry with my mom, who took us pictures every time she found the opportunity. We accustom to go shopping to Santander which stresses me a lot. My mom took us a picture, identical to the one she has taken us in past 9 years. It is always touching and I feel like a little kid again even though we felt embarrassed when people looked at us, but no one can take that moment away. That summer we met our distant cousins, Montserrat and Andrea. Together we spent great times. There is a beach nearby Ruenes called La Franca surrounded by mountains and caves that we explored. I enjoyed the day because it was sunny and hot. My brother and my cousins swam but I did not because I hate the cold water, so I stayed at the shore. Each year we visit the city of Llanes, that year they remodeled the dock and cleaned it. It was really pleasant to see how good they built it. Later that day we ate some churros but due to the bad weather we returned to Ruenes. One Saturday we travelled to Covadonga, I was bored but at the end I was satisfied.

That year was really special, my mom and dad bought some airplane tickets to Paris. We stayed for 4 days but we did not rest a lot of time. We walked and visited every important or interesting place at the city. At the museum of the Louvre I saw the Mona Lisa, all the paintings and sculptures were attractive and astonishing. I felt fantastic walking down the streets of Paris, sometimes it would be overwhelming but I was more interested to know the history of Paris and its buildings than the fatigue I felt. There were lots of tourists at every point of Paris from different countries. I could not talk to the people because I did not know how to speak French, my mom helped us to communicate, she was the most excited for this trip and my father and me would make fun of her excitement. Among the places we visited was the Eiffel Tower, the Notre Dame cathedral and the Arc de Triomphe. When we returned David and Jose, sons of my parent’s friends were waiting for us and we were enthusiastic to play with them. We

always ended very tired from a long game. One of the advantages to have the Mexican time zone was that we would not get tired at night and our cousins, my brother and me would chat all night long. Each night was unique and amusing. When the pilgrimage of Ruenes got closer we knew the time of our vacation was coming to an end. We enjoyed to meet at the park when the locals practiced for the pilgrimage, it was entertaining and I felt part of a family. When we were leaving I was melancholic and depressed. Saying goodbye is always very sad and I would not leave if I could stay. Anyways, each trip to Ruenes is extraordinary and unique.

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