Ed. Note: “Tales From the Trail” is our new feature wherein a real-life, honest-to-goodness Parallel traveler gives our readers a trail-side perspective on their Parallel experience. First up, Lexington, Virginia’s, own Julie T. – seasoned traveler and thrice-over Parallel alum. She (and her three awesome sisters) joined our May 2025 Spain’s Costa Brava trip and was gracious enough to share her thoughts here!
I am not sure that my sister knew what she agreed to when she said she would wake up to see the sunrise, as our hotel window was facing east and it would be easy to see from our room. She soon found out, however, that I meant that we had to get out of bed, get dressed, and go down to the dark, chilly, rocky beach outside of our hotel to really see the sunrise. It started out as one of those “iffy” sunrises- is this going to be good? Was it worth it to get up early? Indeed it was – the sky rewarded us as it turned from black to navy blue to purple to bright orange.
Our trip has been hiking among ruins inland during the day and staying at coastal villages at night. Today was an extra day at Cadaques, so we could do anything we wanted. I chose to do a day hike to a light house while the rest of the group explored the quaint town of Cadaques looking for souvenirs, thick hot chocolate, the best gelato, or the latest fad of pistachio drinks and food. We regrouped for an afternoon boat ride along the coast. Our fun-loving Parallel facilitator had made a bet on how to spell “the check” in Spanish (“la cuenta…”) – he lost and had to buy my fare for the boat ride.
Parallel trips go to small, quaint places that are off the beaten path. We get the chance to interact with locals and try our Duolingo Catalonian. We are spoiled in the afternoons and evening by our facilitators with wine and cheese, delicious local cuisine, and sometimes late night dancing. (Spain means LATE nights! The dancing doesn’t start until midnight!) During the hikes, I feel carefree knowing I have a backup person to help if needed.
These trips are all of my favorite things combined- adventure, travel, sightseeing and all of the details being taken care of by Parallel!
