BARCELONA
What a cool city! I had a long weekend the first weekend of Febuary (seriously backtracking right now), so I hopped a flight to the coastal city of Barcelona. It was so much fun! We arrived at the airport early evening on Friday and settled into our hostel right away. We checked out the beautiful port, which was only a 5 minute walk from the hostel, and explored Las Ramblas, a bustling street with all kinds of strange people. It is the ultimate tourist street, and I was on guard at all times to steer clear of the pickpocketers, who suposively run rampant in this area. There were so many different types of people, I felt like I was in a completely different country! First, the people mainly speak Catalan, so I was unable to read most of the signs or understand the passersby. Also, the pepole even looked different! They seemed to have darker hair and darker facial features than those from southern Spain and the people were much more alternative. It was so different from southern Spain, but I enjoyed the international vibe.
Around dinner time I was lucky enough to meet up with my friend Sean Murphy from Feehan! I haven't seen Sean in what seems like two years now, so it was so great to meet with him! We ate dinner at an Italian restaurant. I ordered risotto, which turned out to be a mistake since the pizzas which everyone else got were so much bigger! My portion was very small, and I was a little disappointed. Nevertheless, Sean and I were able to catch up and he told me his likes and dislikes about Barcelona and his arquitecture program. Taking trips to Rome, Istanbul and other cities with incredible arquitecture seems like the perfect setting for his major. I wish I could draw! After dinner, Sean showed us a Gaudi building nearby- his work is all over the city and is very different, but also very cool. The colorful lights in the windows at night added to its beauty.
After dinner we met our other friends at a huge bar nearby called Oveja Negra. It was enormous! Afterwards we headed to the biggest club in Barcelona Razzmitaz which had 5 enormous floors. My friend Will was so excited to hear the DJs playing house music because he had already been a fan for years. I am new house music, but I really liked it and we had a great time dancing all night.
The next day we explored the city more. We went to Sagrada Familia, an enormous church, which Gaudi started, but never finished. It has been undergoing construction for decades now and won't be done for another 10 years! It's massive and the arquitecture is amazing. After that we went to Park de Geul, another Gaudi masterpiece. The park was so beautiful with amazing views! I would have loved to go for a run up there...
That night we also went to a futbol match! It was so much fun! Barcelona beat Malaga and the crowd did not disappoint. The next day we went to the Picasso Museum and then to the beach. It was so nice to relax and eat a delicious ham and cheese crepe. MMmmmm. That night my friend Will and I went to an American bar to watch the USA v. Canada hockey game with the beta boys! It was so fun to hang out with familiar faces.
Barcelona was amazing and I definitely want to go back sometime soon...
PRAHA(hahaha)
Two weeks ago I traveled to Prague, Czech Republic. This was one of the best trips I have taken to date. I traveled alone from Sevilla and met Allie, Caroline, Schuyler and Kyle at the bus stop. It was sooo great to see them, especially my twin Allie! Later, Brittany and Zoey met us at a really cool club called Lacerna. It was such a fun night spent with so many Colgate kids!
The next morning I woke up in the hostel to Mica, Jenna, Zoe, Grace, and their friend Daisy in my room along with Becca and Steph in Brittany and Zoey's room! SO MANY FRIENDS. It was the perfect weekend. We saw all the sights (more than once): The Charles Bridge, an old castle, the lock bridge, the Lennon wall, the Communism Museum, the astronomical clock in the old town square... and of course Bohemia Bagel (O how I missed bagels and veggie cream cheese... and eggs... and homefries... and BREAKFAST SAUSAGE). It was one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited and the snow made it magical, as my host mother says (Prague is her FAVORITE city in the world).
Spending the whole weekend with best friends turned out to be a lot harder than I thought. When I left the girls for my gate alone, I started bawling my eyes out over the phone with my dad. It was just so great to be with my best friends from school and leaving them was so so hard. But, returning to SUNNY Sevilla was better than expected...
SEVILLA
The past two weeks I have been falling in love with this city all over again. It is SO beautiful when it is nice out, and lately it has been sunny and HOT every single day. This is the real Sevilla, or so they say. Typical days as of late have been filled with sitting by the river in the sun drinking tinto, sitting at a kiosk in the sun, also drinking tinto, running by the river in the sun, eating gelato in the sun.... Life here has been so amazing.
This week, however, I had exams, so my leisure time turned out to be limited. The exams were not bad and since I only need to pass, I am not too worried. I finished my last exam at 4:30 and now am getting ready for a week traveling to Paris (with Brittany, Mica and Zoey) and London (with my friend here Victoria!). I am soexcited for all that I still have left, but sad it is all going by so fast.
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