Everybody loves visitors. Nothing feels better than knowing that someone is excited to see you. I know I’m blessed that thus far in my semester abroad I’ve had visits from three of my closest friends.

Near the beginning of February, my roommate from freshman year, Susanna Spurgis, spent a weekend in Barcelona. She was the same girl who I initially thought I had little in common with, yet, after one big door-slamming fight, played a huge role in making my freshman year experience in Weston Hall an insane amount of fun.

Two and a half years later, I still love to overanalyze life with her during the hours-long talks we have to catch up. It was a weekend of those kinds of talks, boxed wine and sangria, nights dancing and days strolling the streets of Barcelona that made our “roomie reunion” in Spain so memorable.

It was after Susanna’s visit from Bilbao that my senora and my two roommates probably realized that I would talk incessantly about my visitors for days before they arrived and days after they left.

The next person to visit was Jason Clark, who flew over from Illinois to spend spring break with me in Barcelona and Paris. Jason has been my on-again, off-again boyfriend since freshman year. Regardless of what happens between us, he’s one of my best friends – the kind who knows more about you than almost anyone else because you talked with him until sunrise on numerous occasions.

It was Jason and his infamous luck that managed to miss his layover on the way to Barcelona and arrived four hours later – without his luggage. His luck continued as his bags were delivered to our hostel later that night – without his father’s digital camera. Unfortunately, jet lag prevented him from seeing many of the sights in Barcelona – though he did see some of my favorites – but we had a great time in Paris.

The city was gorgeous and the tourist attractions definitely lived up to their reputation. We had amazing views of the city from Sacre Coeur (the church on the hill), the towers of Notre Dame and the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Yet the week of terrible traveling culminated in the cancellation of our flight back to Barcelona, a frantic trek around town to find alternate modes of transportation, a six-hour-long wait in the Charles de Gaulle airport, and, well I’ll spare you the rest of the details.

Yet I can’t explain how grateful I was that one of my best friends was there to hold my hand when I thought we were going to have to pay 700 euros to get back to Barcelona and the tears of frustration finally came. Now that I’m back in Barcelona, he’s back in Champaign, and neither one of us are broke, it’s safe to say it was an amazing spring break.

Less than a week after Jason left, one of my roommates from first semester and for next year, Lauren, was in Barcelona for a day as part of her Mediterranean cruise. My roommate Annie, despite being sick, finally got to meet one of my closest friends from home after hearing so much about her.

I’ll never forget how short my day with Lauren seemed. We met near the port about an hour after her ship docked – a perfect example of our notorious tardiness. We spent our seven hours together traipsing across the entire city of Barcelona and back. She loved Park Guell, designed by Gaudi, and the beautiful view of the city from its elevated altitude. We could see all the way to the Mediterranean Sea.

We ended up having a late lunch of a variety of tapas, which are typical Spanish appetizers. Lauren and I sampled the Catalan, Basque and Spanish food and enjoyed a bottle of vino rosado.

We also enjoyed the kind of conversation that only people who have lived together can have. At several instances we had tears in our eyes because it felt so good to sit down and talk with a close friend. We ended our day with a sprint down the half-mile-long Las Ramblas since we had – surprise, surprise – lost track of time yet again.

One of my roommates in Barcelona always comments on how much I glow when I talk about my friends and family from home. My friends here are amazing and I truly enjoy every day I have in this gorgeous city. Yet it’s great when people can visit and see the place I love to brag about.

I sit here at the arrival gate of the El Prat airport about two hours after my aunt and cousin’s flight landed, and I have no idea where they are. Yet as I’m reminded how much patience travel requires, I’m also excited to share the city I’ve become enamored with with people I love.