I was getting tired of moving every few days, so I spent an extra couple of days here - I figured there'd be plenty to do. What I'm realising however is that I'm becoming less inclined to the do's and more so to the who's - and making meaningful connections with people. Not sure if that's a sign of my age or something that I've picked up through my involvement in things such as The School of Life conference.

Luckily, I found this. Whilst at the conference in Lisbon I met Victor, and he encouraged me to contact him when I arrived in Barcelona. When I arrived he gave me plenty of tips on how to navigate the city, and we spent a few great nights out on the town with his mate Andres - full of fantastic food, wine, conversation and laughs. This to me is more important than sightseeing - and it gives the city, the trip and my experiences geniune meaning.

Casa Batlló, one of Antoni Gaudí’s masterpieces

I did tick off a few sightseeing "must-do's", which mainly revolved around Gaudí architecture. While I'm not an architecture buff by any means, I felt a sincere and precise moment of awe when I walked inside Sagrada Família that I won't forget for a long time.

Well I wasn't planning on blogging this trip, but I had a few requests from friends, family, and even someone from the other side of the world who had been following it and wanted to show their friends.

I'm feeding the travel bug again, this time for 3 months across Europe, Asia, and I've left a good chunk of it unplanned to allow for some surprises.

The 30+ hour journey took me to Málaga where I was picked up by Adam, a good mate of mine from school and football back home in Perth. After spending the day in Torre del Mar and Nerja, we spent this night in the centre of Málaga, getting about 3 hours sleep before hopping on another plane, this time to the Canary Islands.

Having our own car meant we could explore a fair chunk of the island, although as they drive on the other side of the road, it took my brain a few hours to stop reaching down with my left-hand for the non-existent gear stick. The other thing that took getting used to was the amount of nude beaches in Maspalomas, I actually felt a little self-conscious by having clothes on.

The highlight of the Canaries for me was Roque Nublo. I experience for the first time in a while that transcendent feeling of being awestruck by nature. The trek to it from the entrance was an arduous rocky ascent taking about 25 minutes, which was even harder the second time around after I ran back to get my camera that I'd left in the car.

Barcelona, Spain

Málaga and Las Palmas, Spain