After four weeks in Europe, I am back in San Diego and slowly adjusting to being back on Pacific Standard Time. I will give myself a few weeks to pour over my notes, edit my photos and relive yet another inspiring and expansive experience abroad.

When I’ve conquered the jet lag, deciphered the scribbles in my journal and find the right words to paint the best picture I can of my brief time in Spain, Portugal and Germany, I hope you will find humor, motivation and curiosity about the world through some of my favorite moments, including:

• Trading cultural insights with new and old friends on rooftop bars in Madrid, around the common room dining table in hostels in Lisbon, riding the S-bahn (U-bahn?) to the East Side Gallery in Berlin and through several slightly hungover breakfasts of mostly ham and cheese toast

• Daily microconnections with high impact; the thing about travel is most of us aren’t in one place for too long, yet even the briefest of meetings can be meaningful

• How running into some construction workers in Lisbon’s Alfama neighborhood introduced me to my theme song for the rest of the trip

• Dancing in the streets, losing track of the afternoon in a park, surfing what would become my favorite side of the Atlantic, stuffing myself silly with tapas, fresh seafood and washing down the wine with more wine, and much, much more

For now, the photo above will be these stories placeholder. It was taken from the top of Rua Augusta Arch, which fronts the Tagus River in Lisbon. From this viewpoint, you can admire the teeming streets of Baixa/Chiado, the Lisbon Cathedral poking up from Alfama and the 25 de Abril bridge.

More soon!

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Saturated Saturday is a new photo series highlighting some of my favorite images, with enhanced vibrant colors courtesy of the photo editing apps I like at the moment. These include: VSCO, Instagram, A Color Story. Most photos taken with iPhone 6s.