Spain, Galacia, Catalonia, Valencia, Portugal and Morocco as the five senses I experienced this summer.

Taste

Salty tomato jam and crispy baguettes that cut the roof of your mouth, smokey meats and sweet sangria, savory paella that you can barely eat because you’re so sick and salty sea air, chunky orange juice, sweet shisha, greasy snails and plump mussels, cheesy pizza that bookers bought for your show, bright fruits and spicy olives, effervescent vino verde and cheap red wine, knock off Doritos on the road and custard tarts from castle towns.

Sight
Car windows and chasing windmills and mountain castles in the distance, brown and green, colorful graffiti lines the drive, blue skies and low clouds, bright building balconies with lush gardens, rows of orange trees and grapevines, flowers toppling over walls, people walking downtown and sitting in cafe's and restaurants all day, dull streets and dirty walls, alleys and beaches, trees and buildings competing in height, big skies and crowded bars, stained glass in castles and broken glass in the mornings.

Sound
Rolling r’s and fast paced words overlapping each other, horns honking and people clapping, melodic songs that echo and bounce between alleys at 3am like a drunken lullaby from the city, rock and roll clubs and crashing waves, heated voices explaining why America is the enemy and why Fascism still exists. What’s App dinging and guys yelling to you from the street as you drink wine on the balcony, the bass of techno music thumping constantly in your brain as you nurse a hang over.

Touch
Soft sand and hard cobblestone streets, silky vintage clothing and bumping into strangers on the street, light kisses on the cheeks and cramped car rides up the coast, it feels like learning to be patient again, hot sun burning your shoulders but cold shadows that make you put your jacket back on, salt water moving around you as it makes you more buoyant while you float weightless in the sea.

Smell
Hand rolled cigarettes and drunk urination on the streets, perfumed flowers blooming and perfumed women walking quickly by, paella cooking all day and tagine in the afternoon, spices float through the air and exhaust makes you cough, salty air mixed with coconut sunscreen and hints of spliffs float around the beaches, seafood and meat lingers in your skin after eating and a sharp sting of white wine first thing in the morning because it’s cheaper than buying water.