Barcelona.

I rented a BMW and drove around Catalonia in the fall, in the countryside. Absolutely gorgeous trees - one of the most beautiful settings I've ever been in.

I found a lone Airbnb in the middle of a forest. Dark, quiet, no other people - I spent the night hoping I'd be fine in the morning. When I woke up and walked around the side of the house: 600 condominiums on the hillside. I was not alone at all.

I drove back to Barcelona and spent the rest of the semester there. No better morning than waking up to explore Catalonia - meandering through the protests against the Spanish government, eating tapas everywhere you go, talking to Spanish people who are so friendly.

I made pieces in Barcelona across different trips - one in El Born with a pottery teacher, one with another teacher near the Sagrada Familia. I was in over my head with the throw wheel, but if you finally make it to the kiln, they can come out really nice. It was just so much fun learning how to do pottery.

The corners of these streets are 45-degree angles - the old electric buses couldn't turn 90, so the city got superblocks and large walking areas. Ocean, city, and mountains in one place, which you rarely get. I would always recommend getting a little scooter to scoot through the streets.