I enjoyed your post! Italy was my first trip abroad. The small towns were my favorite because the locals and the town itself seem to have a calmness. Yes! The stress! I did not do well on a test in my Spanish class at the university and I started to cry. My professor was from Madrid. She put her hands on my desk and said, "What did you learn? This is more important than a grade." Every since that day, I have wanted to go to Spain. Are you far from Madrid, Valencia or Barcelona? I'm thinking about writing about my trips to Italy and France.