Ferris Wheels, Palaces, and Schnitzel (aka Vienna)

Our train ride to Vienna was quite an experience in itself. We got to the train station, exchanged the leftover Czech crowns we had, bought our tickets, and found our platform. The train was running late by around 30 minutes, but eventually it got there and we got on. Turns out, they had overbooked the “second class” (coach) section of the train, so we either had to sit on the floor for the entirety of the 6-hour train ride, or pay a little extra and get bumped up to business class. So we paid the little extra and got our own little room on the train with comfy seats, which was pretty great.

We finally got to Vienna around 7pm and took a bus and a metro to our hostel (which was not nearly as nice as the hostel in Prague, but still acceptable. Even though besides us, it was filled with random families and teenagers, which was kind of weird).

Anyways, we were STARVING after our long train ride where they had RUN OUT OF FOOD somehow in the dining car, so we walked a few blocks from our hostel and found an Italian restaurant and got some delicious pizzas for dinner. We sat for a while, then went back to the hostel, where we decided we were too exhausted to go out, and that instead we would just go to bed and get up early for a day packed with sightseeing.

And so we did! On Saturday, we got up, had our complimentary breakfast at the hostel, and set out to see the city. We started by going to Naschmarkt, which is this huge outdoor market in the center of the city. On Saturdays, they also have a MASSIVE flea market there, so we went and walked around. While we were there, we happened to run into the girls we had met at the bar in Prague that were friends with Carolyn, which was really crazy since the place was PACKED!

After the market (where we spent a couple hours), we went to see the famous opera house and also the Hofsburg Palace, both of which were cool to look at from the outside. The palace had a gorgeous park with fountains that we walked around it. There was also a butterfly conservation house that I really wanted to go in, but we decided it was too much money (ahh, the life of poor college students…).

We were all hungry again so we decided to find a café where we could eat lunch, but the area we were in was very touristy and therefore very expensive, so we decided to take the metro towards our next destination, the Freud museum, where food would be cheaper. It worked out and we found a café near the metro exit where we got a delicious and cheap lunch. After lunch, we walked to the Freud museum. My friend Nicole is a psychology major so she was enthralled with all of the information, and it was really cool to see the place where Freud used to live and work. It brought me back a little to AP Psych from senior year of high school!

After the Freud museum, we hopped back on to the very convenient metro and headed to Praterstern, a amusment park/carnival in the middle of Vienna! We went on the famous ferris wheel and a few other rides, it was so much fun. After that, we were pretty worn out so we went back to the hostel to relax for a little while before dinner.

For dinner, we went to a restaurant that my Europe guide book recommended (thanks again for that book, Mimi! It is wonderful!) that is famous for its schnitzels. We wanted to try some local cuisine, so we decided to check it out. It was DELICIOUS and had a great atmosphere, we sat in an outdoor courtyard at picnic tables. Plus, it was really cheap, which made it even more awesome!

After dinner and couple glasses of wine, we decided to check out another recommendation of my book, a bar/club called Babu. Now, the main nightlife scene in Vienna is a long line of clubs and bars built underneath the arches of one of the Vienna metro lines. Babu was one of these. We found it, and managed to convince the bouncer to let us in for free so we didn’t have to pay the 5 euro entrance fee! We got a table because it was still fairly early and not very crowded, and had a few drinks. We stayed for a while and listened to music and had a pretty good time, then, after some unwanted attention from some creepy guys, we decided it was time to leave.

The next morning, Easter Sunday, we got up and headed to the other palace in Vienna, Schonnbrun. It was BEAUTIFUL! There were gardens and fountains and so many flowers…amazing. We didn’t go inside because there was a long line and we only had a little time before we had to get to the airport, but we walked around outside and in the Easter festival that was going on there. We sampled some apple strudel and took a lot of pictures, and then headed back to the hostel to get our bags and head to the airport.

What an awesome spring break! I am again amazed that I have been this lucky; to be able to travel all over to the places I have always wanted to see has been a dream come true!

I can’t believe I have less than two weeks of classes left, then a week of finals, and then my program is over. There is so much I still want to do and see, so I will be cramming the next couple weekends with all sorts of adventures here in Barcelona!

I hope everyone is well and had a lovely Easter and is having a great week!

Czeching Out Prague

Hello all! Sorry it has taken me a while to post an update, and sorry pictures are still not up from the rest of my spring break. My laptop’s graphics card decided to die and my laptop is currently being repaired, so pictures will be posted as soon as I get it back!

I’ve decided to do this spring break in two separate entries, for the sake of organization, length, and time! This is the first one. Okay, here we go…

After one restful night in Barcelona after my Morocco program, my friends Hillary and Nicole and Nicole’s friend from another program, Carolyn, flew to Prague on Tuesday afternoon. We arrived pretty late in the day, around 5, and then spent an hour or so getting out of the airport, finding the right bus, transferring to a metro, getting momentarily lost, and eventually finding our hostel, The Mosaic House.

This was EASILY the nicest hostel I have stayed in. It was part of a 4-star hotel, so the hostel rooms were basically nice hotel rooms with bunk beds instead of regular beds. The bathroom was super nice and the beds were really comfortable…it was great! There was also a bar downstairs with live bands every night, AND a restaurant. And all for VERY cheap, especially since Carolyn happened to have a discount card that they applied to all three of us (Hillary was staying with friends, so not in the hostel)!

Anyways, we got our stuff settled in, then went out to find a place for dinner. We walked over to the river (everything was walking distance from the hostel, which was also really nice) and found a restaurant that looked promising. And we were certainly not disappointed…we all had HUGE delicious burgers and beers, which were great after a day of traveling.

After dinner, the three of us said goodbye to Hillary, who would spend the rest of the trip with friends in Prague, and went back to the hostel to change. We went out first to a bar called U Sudu. From the street, it looked like an average little bar, one room with a few bar stools and a table. Oh no. It ended up being a series of underground staircases, tunnels, and rooms…there must have been 10 different bars down there! It was CRAZY. We had a few drinks there and met up with some girls from Carolyn’s program, who were also traveling.

Next, we wanted to go find another bar, but instead found ourselves in the craziest club I have ever been in. I forget the name…it’s something very Czech, I’ll look it up later. This club had 5 floors, which all played music from different decades or genres. We had a blast, and ended up getting kicked out when the club closed at 5am! We found our way back to the hostel and passed out.

The next day, we slept in (of course) and then went out to brunch at a famous restaurant, The Globe. Famous expats and authors like Hemingway used to eat there, and there is a bookstore attached to the restaurant. We got a table outside and filled up on some delicious food, then headed out for a day of sightseeing.

We walked across the Charles Bridge (one of the most famous sights in Prague) and saw all of the vendors and musicians along the way. From there, we went to see the John Lennon wall, which is a wall where people paint messages of peace and hope. It is ever-changing, which is pretty cool. We took a lot of pictures of it and in front of it. Nearby, we also came across a lock bridge, like the one in Paris! It was a lot smaller but there were still tons of locks with peoples names and dates carved in (the oldest one we found was from 2007, so they must have to remove them every couple years to make room for more).

After that, we found a café and had drinks and snacks, then walked back across the bridge to see the Old Town. We walked around for a bit and saw the booths and stage set up for the Easter festival and decided to come back the next day for dinner there. Then, we hopped on the metro and headed to the “Baby Tower” on the other side of the city. This is one of the weirdest things I have seen. This tower is some sort of air traffic control or telecommunications tower or something like that, and for an art exhibition a bunch of years ago, an artist sculpted giant, black babies and placed them climbing all over the tower. The Czechs liked it so much that they left the babies there permanently. Real strange, but worth seeing! We sat in the park by the Baby Tower and people-watched for a while, then headed back to the hostel.

We went to dinner at a delicious Thai food restaurant right down the street and filled up on noodles. Still exhausted from the previous night’s adventures, we decided to take it easy and went searching for a bar. We had finished dinner and getting ready pretty late, however, so many of the bars were close to closing. Too tired to brave another club, we just went back to the hostel and went to sleep.

The next morning, we set out for some more sightseeing. We went to brunch at a bagel restaurant. I hadn’t had a bagel in so long, it was FANTASTIC. They don’t have bagels in Barcelona, really. After the bagels, we walked a bit and then went up the funicular (a weird uphill train thing) to Petrin Hill, where there are beautiful gardens, a tower that is a direct rip-off of the Eiffel Tower, and, my favorite, a mirror maze! We walked around for a while, then went back down the hill.

Afterwards, we walked up (up is the truth…it was more of a hike than a walk) to Prague Castle, which was actually more of a cathedral than a castle, but still beautiful. We stopped to sit for a while, then walked back down and across the Charles Bridge again to head to see the old Jewish part of the city. We wanted to see the famous Jewish cemetery, but it was crowded and cost money to go in, so we just peeked through the gates and continued on our way.

We went back to the center of the Old Town to the Easter festival and tried hot wine, a Czech specialty with our dinner. The hot wine was kind of strange at first but actually pretty good (especially once we added sugar!). We ate and then walked around the Easter festival booths for a while, then headed back to the hostel.

We were pretty wiped out, so we relaxed in our room for a while and met our new roommates who had just arrived, three American guys. After a while, we got ready and went down to the bar in our hostel to see the live band of the night (they were pretty good!) and have some drinks and snacks. After a while, we went out to a bar/club called Cross Club, which is an alternative-themed club. It was pretty cool…in one room all the tables, lamps, railings, and everything else was made out of car parts. In other room, the walls were decorated with computer parts. It was not very crowded (apparently Thursday night is not a big going-out night in Prague), but we had a drink and then went to find another club, which ended up being closed. We took a cab home and went to bed.

The next morning, we got up and went to the train station to catch our train to Vienna!
Vienna entry to come tomorrow! I need to go home and do laundry and go grocery shopping, since I am out of both food and clothes. 

The most amazing experience of my life (for real)

I don't know how to begin this blog post other than by saying that Morocco was easily the most amazing experience of my life. Putting into words exactly what I experienced is impossible, but I will try my best!

We (the 15 American students studying in Barcelona, 3 of us were from my program) arrived in Morocco on Friday afternoon after a pretty non-eventful flight. We were met at the airport by Colleen, our guide from the Morocco exchange program. We were immediately ushered onto a bus, driven by the smiley but quiet bus driver, Mohammed. We drove for a little under two hours to a small village called Amizmiz (pronounced ahs-meez). We went to the house of Latika, one of the more wealthy women in the village. That house was our meeting place for the time we were there. We met up with our host families at the house. Hillary and I were assigned to Sanaa (pronounced Sen-uh), a girl in her last year of their equivalent of high school. Sanaa lived with her mother.

We could tell by their house that they were very poor, and it was definitely a culture shock. They had no shower (they go to a public shower house once a week), and the toilet was, I kid you not, a hole in the ground. It was a little unnerving, but I told myself that it was all part of the adventure! Sanaa spoke some English and some French, which Hillary also speaks, so we were able to communicate fairly well. Her mother, however, only spoke Arabic and the local dialect, Bourbour, so Sanaa had to translate.

They were wonderful and caring people. Sanaa's mother (we never figured out her name) cooked an amazing meal that consisted of a "tajib," which is a clay dish with a sort of conical top that has some mixture of meat, broth, and vegetables in it, tons of bread, Moroccan salad (which is basically salsa - all peppers and tomatoes!), and beets. It was delicious.

After dinner, it was very late and we were exhausted from traveling, so we went to bed on the couch-bench things in Sanaa's living room (I even managed to make myself use the squat toilet before bed...I was very proud). I fell asleep for maybe 2 and a half hours before their rooster started cock-a-doodle-dooing at THREE IN THE MORNING and continued to do so every 20 minutes until we got up at 7:30. I dozed a little, but barely got any sleep.

I think I was so excited the next day that it made up for my lack of sleep, though. We met up at Latika's house again, and then took the bus up a mountain. We hiked down and around the mountain through some beautiful countryside and farms, and then through the nearby village. We also got to ride a donkey to cross the river!

In that town, we went to an association where old, widowed women work making couscous. We got to watch them work (very tedious!) and ask them questions with Latika translating. One of the things that moved me was when they were asked what they thought about Americans, and they said everyone was equal. One of the women said something along the lines of, "We are all going to die eventually, whether we are rich or poor. We might as well spend the time we have being kind and generous with everyone we meet." Truly unforgettable.

There was also the funny moment where we were asking the women about their lives, and we asked one of them, this tiny REALLY OLD lady, if she would marry again. She said, "Well, if I did, I'd marry him!" and pointed to Ryan, one of the guys on our program. It was hilarious...they posed for pictures together later on.

Afterwards, Mohammed met up with us with the bus, and we rode back to Amizmiz for lunch with our host families. My stomach wasn't doing great, as usual, but I had a little of the green bean, chicken, and olive tajib and a lot of bread. After lunch, our host siblings took us through Amizmiz. We saw the market, the place where they make the clay tajibs and other pottery, the blacksmith, and some other local places. On the way back, we walked along a river, since it was the fastest way back. Problem was, sometimes we were actually walking THROUGH the river since there was not enough space to walk on the sides! Our Moroccan friends found it pretty hilarious how we were attempting to not get wet.

We went back to Latika's and spent a couple hours talking, singing, and hanging out. We learned that for some reason, Moroccans LOVE the movie Titanic, so we all sang Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On." It was great. A bunch of the girls got henna tattoos (mine looks amazing!), as well. Somewhere along the line, our Moroccan friends thought it would be hilarious to put on a fake Moroccan wedding, so they grabbed my friend Hillary and Will, one of the guys in the exchange program. They got all dressed up and put on this whole fake wedding. I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe! It was so much fun.

After all of those shenanigans, Hillary and I went back with Sanaa to her house, and she cooked us some dinner (delicious omelets! My stomach was relieved to have something familiar). That night, there was a festival in the village because their soccer team had won some sort of local championship. There was music and awards and dancing...I barely understood any of it because it was all in Arabic, but it was fun nonetheless! One of the host brothers who spoke English very well even got up on stage and read a speech he had written for his "gorgeous and wonderful American friends." It was the sweetest thing ever, he talked about how much he loved us and would miss us when we left. Many of us were moved to tears.

It was really depressing to leave Amizmiz the next morning, because we had grown so close to our new Moroccan family in such a short amount of time. We took a ton of pictures and exchanged many hugs and kisses before we finally got on the bus to head to our next destination.

These people were flat out AMAZING. They knew us for approximately 48 hours and yet welcomed and loved us like we had been around for their entire lives. They were the friendliest and most charismatic and inspiring people I have ever met. They have so little, and yet so much to give. They also gave me a new way to look at Muslim people...some of the things we see in the media are so stereotypical, prejudiced, and just plain wrong. I am thinking about starting some sort of awareness program at RWU when I get back to the states about how the negative images of Muslim people are so unlike who they actually are. I was so touched by the people I met that I can't imagine people thinking negatively about them just because of the actions of a few individuals or their government. 

Anyway, we then headed to Marrakesh, a large Moroccan city. We were staying in a hotel with real toilets and showers (hooray!). We had a bit of time to finally shower, which was good because riding in that little bus with 15 other unwashed college students was not exactly a pleasant experience! After that, we went for lunch at a restaurant, which was delicious, and then with a tour guide to see the palace (which used to be used for the head of the Moroccan version of Parliament) and the mosque (from the outside). 

Later in the afternoon, we were divided up and shown around the city by Moroccan university students. They were very eager to practice their English with us. I had a long conversation with one girl, Dunia, about movies (they watch TONS of American movies!). They thought our accents were funny because they learn the British version of English from a Moroccan teacher, so the way we spoke was new for them! They took us through a huge covered market and taught us how to bargain with the shopkeepers (the best technique is to barter to the price you want, then when they say no, just say okay and walk away, then they chase after you and say its fine because they don't want you to go to another shop for the same item!). Afterwards, we went to a rooftop café and had a long conversation about the differences between relationships and marriages in the US and Morocco. It was really interesting seeing the viewpoint of people our age from a totally different culture. 

We went back to the hotel and had dinner at the hotel restaurant with some of the Moroccan students who had time to stay, then we had another couple hours to go explore the city on our own. It was SO CROWDED! Everyone was out and about, even on a Sunday night! I went out with Hillary and three other girls and the most terrifying thing was trying to cross the street. As pointed out by our guide earlier in the day, the crosswalks are basically "just decoration." We got some delicious ice cream, did some more shopping, and then headed back to the hotel. 

Our group had a reflection session about our experiences up on the roof of the hotel with the sounds and lights of the city all around us. We talked about how amazing and friendly all the people we had met were, and reflected on the moments that were most striking for us. It was a good way to end the night.

I slept very well in the hotel (no rooster!). We got up early to have breakfast and then head to the airport for our flight back to Barcelona. I wish I could have stayed in Morocco for longer, it was the most incredible place I have ever been!

I leave for Prague tomorrow in the early afternoon, so I just have tonight to recuperate and repack! 

My internet is not being very cooperative with posting pictures to this blog, so just check them out on Facebook!

Look for updates on the rest of my spring break adventures early next week (I get back from Vienna on Sunday night). 

Miss and love you all!

Life's a Beach (with a little Dalí thrown in)

Hello everyone!

I had a nice, relaxing time this past weekend in Barcelona. It was good to just spend the weekend hanging out and catching up on sleep! Last week was tough after my mom left, I was very homesick for a couple days. But all is well now!

On Friday, my program had our final day trip. We went to the Salvador Dali Musuem in Figueres (2 hours north up the coast from Barcelona, almost of the French border). I have always been really intrigued by Dali's work...he was one weird dude. His museum certainly proved it! Much as I am not a fan of guided museum tours, I actually enjoyed learning about some of the reasons behind Dali's supposed craziness. One of his most famous paintings is of a piece of bread in a basket...kind of nuts. Dali is also buried in the museum, which I found kind of odd, but I guess that makes sense because he was odd.

After the museum, we hopped back on the bus for an hour ride to Cadaques, the coastal town where Dali's family had a summer house. We ate lunch at a restuarant right on the beach, and then spent a couple hours soaking up the sun. It was 75 degrees and sunny out...fantastic!

Other than accidentally wading in to far and getting my shorts wet so that the 3-hour bus ride home was less than comfortable, it was a great trip!

On Saturday, I went to the beach in Barcelona for the first time. It was a gorgeous day...it got over 80 degrees! The beach, naturally, was packed with a mix of tourists and locals. There were a lot of topless women, which was a bit of a shock at first even though I had been warned. And there were a lot of Asian women walking around offering people massages for 5euro. It was a little odd, and nothing like the beaches at home, but it was great nonetheless!

On Saturday night, we were pretty worn out from being in the sun all day, so Caroline and I invited a couple friends over and we relaxed and watched a movie, then went to bed. 

I spent Sunday sleeping and doing homework, as usual. I have been getting an obnoxious amount of homework this past week. I guess it's that time of the semester when professors are starting to realize that they are behind and need to pile work onto us to make up for it.

Thank goodness spring break is next week! I leave for Morocco on Friday. I am really excited but at the same time pretty nervous about it. It's going to be a totally different environment than anywhere else I have ever been.

I will try to update my blog on Monday night when I get back, so there will not be one huge long entry about my entire spring break after Prague and Vienna!

I hope that everyone is well, I can't believe it's already almost mid-April! Crazy!

Oh, and happy birthday to my mom! :)

A Visit From Mi Madre!

[Note: There are some pictures in this entry, there should be more, but as usual my Internet is not cooperating so I'll upload them tomorrow!]

This past week was fantastic for many reasons, the best being that my mom was here in Spain visiting me! I loved having her here and I know she loved being here, so naturally we had a great time.

She arrived on Tuesday morning, and we headed over to the hotel she booked in the Old City section of Barcelona. The hotel was really nice, and I had decided to stay there with her and take advantage of the time with her and the shower! We spent most of Tuesday sightseeing. I took Mom to see the Gaudi houses, Sagrada Familia, and Park Guell. We also wandered around the Old City and saw the Cathedral as well as some other churches (there is a church every two feet in Spain, or so it seems) and the Roman ruins. We also walked all the way up and down Las Ramblas. For dinner, I took her to my favorite tapas restaurant, where we pigged out. We both slept great that night in the hotel...it was nice and quiet.

 

On Wednesday, we found a great little pastry shop/restaurant just a few meters from the hotel and had a delicious breakfast. I had to go to class, so Mom walked Las Ramblas and did some exploring. After I got out of class, we met up at the hotel and went to the Chocolate Museum, which was really interesting. We learned all about the history of chocolate and of course sampled some delicious dark chocolate. Afterwards, we walked around the old city a bit more, then went back to the hotel for a quick nap.

That night, I had bought concert tickets for Mom's birthday to the finale of a piano competition at Palau de la Musica. We went over early to pick up the tickets, then had to wait to go into the main theater. I snuck a couple pictures (photography wasn't allowed inside the building) before the security guard caught me. Once we finally were allowed into the concert hall, we found our seats and took in the beauty of the room. It was so cool. The concert was great, too! There were three contestants in the final, one from Poland and two from Russia. They played backed by a whole orchestra. It was beautiful! The guy from Poland ended up winning, and he was the youngest contestant at only 22, so that was pretty neat.

 

 

After the concert, we went to dinner at La Rosa Negra, an absolutely delicious Mexican restaurant right around the corner that I had been to a couple times. It was pretty busy for a weeknight, but once we finally ordered, the food came pretty quickly, and was as delicious as usual! Full and happy, we slept great again.

Thursday I had class in the morning again, so Mom went to the Picasso Museum (which she loved). We met up afterwards and brought all of our stuff back to my apartment, as we were leaving for Valencia that night. I had another class in the late afternoon, so Mom went up to Montjuic and looked around until I came home. We packed and went to an early dinner at Toscana, a great restaurant near my apartment. We drank an entire pitcher of sangria and ate some yummy pizzas, then headed to the airport!

Our adventure began when our 11:15pm flight was canceled. There were only 12 people on our flight, so the airport got us a bus to Valencia, which 8 of the 12 decided to take. It was a tiny little bus! After the four hour bus ride, we finally arrived at the hotel. Thank goodness we had booked a hotel near the Valencia airport for that night...we slept for 7 hours and then checked out!

We took a bus into the Valencia city center and then decided (stupidly) to walk to our hotel, which ended up being further outside the city center than we initially thought. Once we finally got there, we dropped off our bags and then walked down to Valencia's City of Arts and Sciences. It was really different than anything I have ever seen. The buildings looked straight out of Star Trek! We didn't go in, because the only one that was open had a high admission fee that we did not feel was worth it, but we walked all around and took a ton of pictures.

After that, we decided to walk through the old riverbed, which is now a huge garden and park. The river in Valencia had to be rerouted because they were having so many problems with flooding. It was a long but beautiful walk before we reached the city center once again.

We checked out Plaza de Toros and the train station, as well as the Cathedral and some other churches and sights including the Lonja, an old building that used to be used for trading silk. We also sampled some Horchata, which is apparently a popular drink in Valencia and other parts of Spain. I did not like it at all, and Mom wasn't really a fan of it either (though she drank her whole glass!). We were pretty exhausted but it was still too early for dinner, so we decided to go find the bus stop we would need to get back to the hotel. We couldn't figure the bus stops out at first but eventually found the one we needed, and by then it was a somewhat reasonable time for dinner.

We headed to a restaurant that both Mom's travel guide and the receptionist at our hotel had recommended for paella. We were the only ones there for a long time, but the waiter/owner was THRILLED that we spoke and understood Spanish, so he treated us like queens. We had some delicious sangria along with a HUGE plate of seafood paella (which we ate all of!) and a shared plate of flan (Spanish custard-type dish) for dessert. We were eating dessert when an American family came into the restaurant (a mother, father, and son probably around my age). They were the epitome of what we called "ugly Americans" because they spoke no Spanish but expected everyone in Spain to somehow understand them. The poor waiter had no idea what they were saying when they asked if the restaurant accepted credit cards, and I had to step in and help out. Mom and I got out of there before we lost it, and went back to the hotel, where we slept soundly after a LONG day of walking.

The next morning, we had signed up for a tour at the Lladró Museum in a town outside the city of Valencia called Tabernes Blanques. For those of you who don't know, Lladró is a company that makes beautiful porcelain figures and sculptures. My mom collects them, as do both of my grandmothers, so we wanted to see how they were made. It was really cool, we got to see the finished products of most of the pieces in the collection as well as how they are made. The craziest part, which we kept commenting on for the rest of the weekend, was the flower-making. These people literally sit there 8 hours a day and make tiny little clay flowers, averaging a hundred a day. Not only that, but they have to go through three years of school and training to do so! We thought that was nuts...at least the people who hand paint or assemble the porcelain have some variety in their lives. Can you imagine at a desk 8 hours a day making tiny clay flowers for the rest of your life? Wow.

After the museum, we took a bus back to the city center and had some bocadillos for lunch. We then walked over to the Illustration and Design museum, only to discover that it was about to close. Too tired to do any more walking, we went back to the hotel to rest for a couple hours. We then headed back into the city center and went out for gelato, then to the Ceramics museum. We walked around for a bit more, then decided to go back and have dinner near the hotel. Here is where our brief interlude of being ugly Americans happened. We were tired and just wanted a quiet dinner, so we were slightly annoyed that there was a soccer game on and therefore all the bar-restaurants near our hotel were crawling with men. We did not think that as two foreign women we should be going there to eat. We decided to eat at the hotel restaurant, only to find that it was closed because there was some sort of business conference. Annoyed because we had not been told this, we were kind of whiny to the receptionist, who gave us a recommendation for a restaurant a block from the hotel. Grumbling, we set off to the restaurant, which was empty but ended up being delicious. We felt so bad that we had been whiny so we went back and thanked the receptionist afterwards and said the food was great. With that, we went to bed.

Our flight was the next morning, so we got up, got ready, and took a taxi to the airport, where we had breakfast and waited for our flight. I was joking around saying wouldn't it be just our luck that this flight got canceled too, and Mom was not amused. She was even less amused when our scheduled boarding time came and went with no plane in sight. But the plane ended up being there, we just had to get bused to another part of the tarmac. So that was a relief!

We got back to Barcelona and hung out at my apartment for a little while, then went out to tapas at Cuidad Condal, a famous and delicious tapas restaurant on the same road as my school. Mom was dismayed to see that they did not have the tapa she wanted, gambas al ajillo, so we decided to go back to Toscana afterwards, where we knew they had it. Problem was, once we finished at Cuidad Condal, we were STUFFED. So we went to see the outside of my school (it is closed on Sundays) and then to see Casa Batilo again and Casa Mila, the other Gaudi-designed house to kill some time. I also showed her the University of Barcelona, which was also closed, but still pretty magnificent from the outside. Even though we were tired, we decided to walk the 20 minutes to Toscana to work up more of an appetite. It worked, and we got there and downed the gambas and a whole basket of bread. After, we headed back to my apartment where we talked with my roommate Caroline and then went to sleep (which was not very restful...I live on a very busy street where the sounds of traffic go late into the night. Mom was not used to it at all, and after a week of quiet hotels, I was not used to it anymore either).

I was very sad to say goodbye to Mom this morning. I loved being able to share Spain with her, and it was really comforting to have her here. But it's only another 7 weeks until I see her and the rest of my family and friends at home, so I have to make the most of it and enjoy the time I have left in Europe!

Next up in my travel adventures: Spring Break! I will be attending the Morocco program for four days, then venturing with a couple friends to Prague and taking a train from there to Vienna. Should be quite an experience, and it's less than two weeks away!

I am also going on a daytrip to the Dali Museum and Cadaques on Friday, which I am really excited about, so I will update you all after that!

Hope you are all happy and well. :)

Montserrat, Cava, and Late Nights/Early Mornings

Hola everyone! It's been yet another amazing weekend in Spain...this place never ceases to amaze me.

On Friday, my program had a daytrip to Montserrat and Codorniu Winery. Montserrat is up in the mountains of Catalonia and is absolutely gorgeous! I was freaking out on the bus ride the whole way up because we were driving around a twisty road on the edge of a cliff, slowly getting higher. But, boy, was it worth it once we were at the top. The views were amazing!

We went on a little hike up to a cross at the top of the mountain, which was beautiful. Afterwards, we went to the monastery and walked around, then went into the church to see the daily 1pm performance of the boys' choir there. There is a school for boys joined to the monastery, and the choir there is the longest running boys choir in Europe. The songs were beautiful. After the mini-concert, we went for a delicious lunch at the restaurant next to the monastery, then hopped back on the bus to head to the Codorniu Winery.

The winery and vineyards were amazing. We got a tour of the premises, which included a lot of history about the company, which has been family-run for hundreds of years. We also got to go down in the cellars and see the millions of bottles of cava (Catalonian champagne) fermenting down there. The best part was riding what we dubbed "The Cava Express," a little train that drove through the tunnels of the cellars at shockingly fast speeds.

At the end of the tour, we of course got to taste some cava, which was delicious. We learned the proper way to hold a cava glass, which is using two fingers to hold the bottom of the cup, so that the warmth from your hand does not warm up the cava's perfect temperature!

After that, we headed home to Barcelona and I took an amazing nap on the bus. That night, a bunch of us decided to go out to a club and dance the night away. I was out until 4am, which I thought was bad, only to stay out until 6am the next night! Saturday night we went to a bar called Xix, which is a gin bar that makes a bazillion different kinds of gin and tonics. I'm not a huge fan of gin an tonics, so I just got a glass of wine, but it was still fun to see. Afterwards, we went back to one of my friends' apartments and hung out before decided to try out a club called Elephant. It was a Persian-themed club...they had a lot of outdoor seating in tents with pillows and blankets. It was a great atmosphere but there were not that many people there, so I feel like it could have been more fun than it was. We still had a great time.

I slept all day Sunday and then did homework (I feel like I write this same thing about every weekend!). Tomorrow I have a lot to do to prepare for my mom's visit this week! She gets here Tuesday morning bright and early, and I am so excited for her visit! We're going to be in Barcelona during the week and then we're going to Valencia for the weekend. I'm sure we'll be enjoying some fantastic paella, since Valencia is where it originated!

I'll keep you informed with our adventures, of course. I hope everything is going well in the States. I can't believe I'll be home in less than two months...this semester is flying by! Miss and love you all!

Mallorca: Isla en el Sol

Hola! It was a wonderful weekend on the Spanish island of Mallorca. We were blessed with some beautiful sunshine and warm temperatures (I got to wear shorts in March! It was very exciting), and it was a relaxing weekend after the stress that was midterms week.

We flew to Mallorca VERY early on Friday morning (our flight was at 6:25 so we had to leave for the airport around 4am) and did not get any sleep that night, so the first thing we did upon arriving was check in and take a three-hour nap at the hostel. It was still before noon when we woke up, refreshed and ready to go. We headed into town for a delicious lunch at a tropical-themed restaurant. After that, we headed down to the harbor and walked along the water towards the historic center of the city (about a 20 minute walk from our hostel...perfect!). 

We lounged by the water for about an hour, then decided to go to Festival Park, an outlet mall. I wanted to go to see the AMC Theater that was supposed to be there, since that is the theater chain I work for at home. However, I was sad to see that another movie chain had taken over the theater, so it was no longer decorated with the AMC logo. I took a picture in front of it, anyways!

On the way to the outlets, we had taken a taxi with a driver named Rosa, who was really awesome. She gave us her personal cell number so we could call her to come pick us up when we were done, because taxis rarely go into Festival Park and the buses are apparently unreliable. We hit the outlets for a couple hours, then called Rosa and headed back to our hostel for another nap before dinner.

For dinner, we walked down the street by the water until we came across an Italian restaurant with good prices, which turned out to be delicious. We ended up going back there the second night, actually, because it was so good! After a long dinner, we decided we were too exhausted to hit the Mallorca party scene, so we went back to the hostel and went to bed. I slept so well, the combination of the sun, walking, and not sleeping the night before really did me in!

The next morning, we got up and, after a delicious breakfast of croissants and coffee (well, Coke for me), we trekked up to Castell de Bellver ("Castle of the Beautiful View"). The name doesn't lie, it was absolutely breathtaking! It was also over 70 degrees and sunny, which helped. 

After spending some time soaking in the view and the sun, we walked back down to the water and took a cruise around the harbor. We made friends with the onboard crew and drank some delicious sangria while soaking in the sun. After our cruise, we walked had lunch at a restaurant right on the water. In many ways, Mallorca reminded me of Florida, especially with all of the yachts and restaurants on the sea!

When we were done with yet another delicious meal, we walked around the city center for a couple hours and had some yummy gelato, then walked back to our hostel. We took a nice nap (naps are the best when you're on vacation) and then got ready for dinner. We looked around a while for an open restaurant that wasn't expensive, but it turns out that a lot of restaurants and other places are closed during the off season, so there wasn't much to choose from. We ended up at the same Italian restaurant from the night before, which was equally as delicious for a second time. We got two bottles of wine, so the waiter gave us free drink coupons for the club next door. We decided to head over there after another long meal. The club, however, was also dead. There are really not that many people around Mallorca during March, apparently! We did see a lot of high school-aged kids frequenting the hot dog place on the other side of the club, which we found really odd. After hanging out and having our free drinks, we decided to just head back and get some rest.

Sunday morning, we went to breakfast and then went looking for the beach. We ended up getting on a bus going in the wrong direction, so we got lost for a little while but finally found our way to the beach. We lounged in the sand and dipped our toes in the FREEZING COLD Mediterranean. It was a little overcast, but still nice enough to eat lunch at an outdoor restaurant on the beach. After lunch, we took a taxi to the airport to fly home.

Mallorca was one of my favorite trips so far, because it was just so nice and relaxing! We didn't spend the whole weekend trying to cram in various sights and must-sees, and instead just took it easy and enjoyed ourselves. It was a much needed vacation after midterm exams!

I can't believe I have only eight weeks left until my program ends, it's going by so fast! I'm looking forward to my mom coming to visit a week from tomorrow and our trip to Valencia. After that, it's only a couple weeks until spring break, when I'll be going to Morocco, Prague, and Vienna! I'm also looking forward to traveling with my friend Jennie from home at the end of the program, we're going to be spending a week in Greece!

I hope everyone is well! I would like to send a proud-sister shout out to my littlest brother, Jeff, who I heard was excellent in his musical production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" this weekend! 

Keep reading and I'll keep writing. Hasta luego!