Chapter Eight: Madrid, Some Irish Luck, and Spring Break is (Almost) Upon Us

Oh hey from the worst blogger ever,

The last few weeks have been crazy with traveling, work(i know study abroad shouldn't ACTUALLY involve studying right?) and all the other fun stuff included with being in Europe.

During the first week of April, I went to Madrid with my family, Elyssa, and got a chance to see Natalie and Emily which was amazing. Madrid is a cool city, but I do like Barca better. Still, it was awesome to see Madrid. The first day I landed and Elyssa unfortunately was delayed like 57 hours, so I met Natalie, checked into the beautiful hotel(transitioning back to hostels was a little sad) and then met up with Mom and Brian. Natalie, being the amazing tour guide she is, showed us around and took us for Falafel and later Churros. Afterward, we went to Retiro which is a huge and beautiful park and rented a row boat. Brian struggled a bit to row, but after my extreme athleticism(jokes but really I was SUCH a help) kicked in, we were able to move away from the dock. We rowed around for about 45 minutes and then Natalie and I headed to the airport to get Elyssa. This involved us running full speed in the heat after a bus(and making it because again, we're just natural athletes) and wandering around Madrid airport. Finally, we were reunited(and it did feel so good after being lost in the airport for G-d knows how long). We headed back to the hotel, freshened up, and went to try to watch Cub's opening day. Of course, this failed because it was on WGN which they clearly don't have in Europe so my family and I were a disappointed. Nevertheless, we went to dinner and then Elyssa and I went out with Natalie, Emily, and all the GW Madrid kids. It was really fun, but we were tired and went back a little early to get some rest.

The next day was jam packed. My family left and Elyssa and I spent the whole day on our feet managing to fit in the following:

•  a free walking tour-3.5 hours with our crazy, hippy, Israeli tour guide named OD was a little much. There is only so much we could take of his austin powers comparisons, the word groovy, and his acting out of the Spanish kings and their succession
•  the royal palace-so beautiful
• amazing food at the market consisting of bread tapas, croquettes, and the best froyo with turron EVER
• El Prado: amazing art, more paintings than I think i have ever seen

After this, we were obviously hungry so we went to an amazing dinner with Natalie and went out with everyone again. This is really just a summary, but it was a fantastic trip!

Last weekend, I went to Dublin. Dublin is great because the people are nice, the food is great, the drinks are awesome, the city is beautiful, and most importantly they have diet coke and forever 21(just kidding about the importance of forever 21...diet coke-I stand by what I said). Brittany, Becca, and I had an amazing time. Here are some of the highlights

• Guinness Storehouse: awesome tour!
• Free walking tour: saw many amazing sights
• fish and chips: delicious
• strawberry beer and amazing cider: great alternatives to the usual beer that i don't always love
• the people: so nice, so friendly
• the hostel: amazing irish breakfast
• diet coke: much needed

This is only really short because I am so tired and excited for ITALY tomorrow that I can't think(also why my writing sucks and is messy). Anyway, I can't believe abroad is going by so fast. It makes me so sad. However, on a happy note....

I CANNOT WAIT FOR SPRING BREAK TOMORROW!!!!


Overtired much? Well I will write after break. PEACE, LOVE, ITALY.

adios,

Lauren

Chapter Seven: Praha(haha)

Last weekend, we had two days off of school (which was amazing because I have been checked out of classes from the start) so we went to Prague. Prague is one of the most amazing cities I have visited. It is truly beautiful. Rachel and I landed in Prague on Wednesday night and decided to take the bus into the city. We were staying at Carly's apartment, who I know from home and camp, and is currently living in Prague(and was nice enough to host us for two nights). Anyway, the bus arrived at the main metro station and all the sudden everyone started running. People were literally sprinting into the station. Naturally, Rachel and I looked at each other confused and decided everyone was crazy. We casually strolled into the station, glanced at the metro map, and tried to find something in English to help us get our tickets. All of the sudden, we heard the announcement that the last train had left for the night. Yep, we are really smart. Because of our lack of critical thinking, we had to take a cab through the city, but luckily our driver was nice and spoke English. We got to Carly's great apartment, got settled, and went to be to get ready for our first day in Prague.

In the morning, we decided to go to Radost for Brunch. Radost is this club in Prague that Rihanna apparently filmed "Please Don't Stop The Music" at and Becca told me they had the best brunch ever. Unfortunately, I was being an idiot thinking that it would be open for brunch on a Thursday, so we settled for McFlurries instead(Barcelona's are better by far). After that, we wandered around and found our way to Old Town Square. After taking pictures and spending well over an hour looking for Bohemia Bagel, we found our way to breakfast/brunch/lunch and it was delicious. After our meal, we decided to sit on a curb in Old Town Square and wait for Becca and Caroline. At this point, many people approached us asking if we had a long night. We actually went to bed really early and didn't go out, so it was really reassuring to know we looked so great. After we found Becca and Caroline, we took them for bagels(I think we went there like 5 times in 4 days, naturally).

We spent our afternoon going to the Jewish Quarter and seeing 5 synagogues, The Jewish Cemetery, and the building that was about Ceremonial Hall. I really enjoyed my experience. There aren't very many Jews that I see in Barcelona, so that is really one of the only things I miss here. It was really nice to see both Jewish people and non-Jews interested in learning about Jewish history and seeing these amazing buildings that are centers of Jewish life in the past and present. The Spanish Synagogue was the first one that we visited. It had a lot of information about Jewish history including accounts of the Holocaust, literature, art, and more. It was obviously sad to read about the atrocities of the Holocaust, but I am very glad we got to see this synagogue. On the top floor, there was many torah crowns, yads, and more. The silver was gorgeous. This synagogue was gorgeous and I really enjoyed being able to see the beautiful decor. Afterwards, we say the Maisel Synagogue which had a lot of history of Jews in Bohemia and Moravia. It was interesting, but we didn't spend too much time there. We tried to go to Pinkas Synagogue next, but we couldn't get inside because there were so many tour groups. Later in our trip on our walking tour, we learned that Pinkas Synagogue hosts the artwork of children who were murdered by the Nazis. In addition, it has over 80,000 names inscribed inside of in memory of the victims from the Czech Republic. This would have been a very emotional experience, but I wish that we could have gone. Instead, we headed to the Cemetery, which is pretty much connected to the Synagogue. I learned that the Jewish burials were confined to such a small spot because they were in a ghetto. Because of this, they actually had to bring in extra land for burials so there is over 10 feet(I believe) of extra land. It is really sad that they had to literally bury people on top of others because they were too oppressed to have a sufficient amount of land. However, it was cool to see gravestones dating back centuries. We headed to the Ceremonial hall next to learn about Jewish Burial. It was interesting, but I felt like I had learned most of the stuff before in Hebrew School. We concluded our tour by visiting Klausen Synagogue, which had a lot of Jewish symbols and the Old-New Synagogue. This synagogue reminded me of my favorite Synagogue in Tzfat in Israel so it was a nice memory to reflect on.

After our day of Jewishness, we met Gabby and went to a delicious Czech dinner. My food was amazing. I had potatoes that tasted like scalloped potatoes and french onion soup. We sat at dinner for hours and met these people vacationing from the US, which was interesting. After dinner, we went to a bar and I tried Wildberry Cider. It was really delicious actually. On our way home, Rachel and I got on the wrong tram, ended up in God knows where outside of Prague, and had to cab back into the city. Lesson learned: if you don't know your way around a cities public transportation system, don't use it. You'll end up at the last stop and scarred for life.

The next day we hit up Bohemia Bagel, yet again and then headed over the bridge to the Castle, Lennon Wall, and see the Charles Bridge. It was a really nice day and I enjoyed seeing the sights. We went to dinner at a delicious place and then I met mom and Brian at our hotel. We took them out around town and it was a nice night.

The next morning we had AMAZING breakfast at the hotel. For study abroad students who stay in hostels, staying in a hotel was the nicest treat ever and a delicious breakfast complete with anything you can imagine was unbelievable. We went on a Sandeman's free walking tour of Prague after breakfast. These tours are the best. They are so informative, our guide was hilarious, and they are free(minus tips). I'm planning on doing them in Madrid, Dublin, and Paris because they were just that great. After our tour, I took mom and Brian to see some of the sights. We went to yet another great dinner and it was a great end to our trip. The next day, we walked around a bit and flew back around 3 pm. Prague is an unreal place and I would DEFINITELY go back there again sometime in life.

Class is ending(I'm such a great student), but I will update about Barcelona soon.

Adios for now,
Lauren

Chapter Six: When I Was Backpacking Through Western Europe

I have spent the last thee weekends in Barcelona and I have loved it. So much has happened, but I will try my best to remember all of it. This post is about the first weekend in March, when Becca came to visit. Unfortunately, it was a little rainy the first day, but that was made up for with our amazing meal at La Rita of bread, seared tuna with apples and onions, champagne, white wine, chocolate cake and cheesecake. They also gave us free calamari(Becca and I couldn't eat it obviously, but it was still really nice of them). Anywhere that gives free bread, champagne, and appetizers is great in my book.

On our way back to Gracia after dropping Becca at her hostel, we stopped at a small Spanish bar in Gracia in Plaza del Sol and met up with more of our friends. I love going to the bars that locals go to because it is such a better reflection of what day to day life is like Barcelona, rather than what it is like ot be a tourist. The next day, we hit up 2 for 1 specials for lunch at George Paynes and then headed to a cool bar by the beach. It took us about an hour to find it, but it was delicious and worth it to sit and relaz by the beach. Afterwards a few of us went to get cake from Lolita(so so so good) and walk around Parc Ciutadella. I really love it there. The gratto is beautiful and it always puts me in a good mood to go there. That night, we went for GREAT tapas at Cerveseria Catalona and then we had to show Becca our favorite bar, Ovella Negra.

On Saturday, we went on a beautiful hike to Tibidabo(hence the title of this blog) and it was gorgeous. We hiked off the trail and I felt like I was on PNW again, which is always a good feeling. Once we reached the top of Tibidabo, where there is an amusement park and a church(standard combination), we climbed to the top of the church and the view of the city was breathtaking. After taking a bus back to Catalunya and taking Becca to a typical lunch at Farggi, we headed back to get ready for our night. For dinner, we decided to go to Escriba with Brittany and Becca's parents. One of our professors, Xavi, had recommended it as "the best Paella in Barcelona".  Although the restaurant is almost directly on the beach, the walk from the metro to the beach was very reminiscent of some areas in DC that I don't particularly enjoy venturing to. We found our way to the beach though and enjoyed a delicious meal. Becca and I split Snow Pea(which they called asparagus) and mushroom Paella. It was delicious and we also got our favorite dish, Patatas Bravas, and some delicious bread. Afterwards, we took Becca to Chupitos and the we went to Margarita Blue, which is this amazing place for cocktails. It was a little expensive, but really worth it because it was really, really delicious.

The next day I took Becca to Parc Guell and then we went to Casa Mila, which is an amazing Gaudi house. It was an amazing trip and I'm SO SO glad she visited. Although I was planning to maybe go to Carnaval on Sunday night, I was so exhausted that I fell asleep at like 10 and decided I'd wait until Tuesday to begin my Carnaval experience.

On monday, a bunch of us went to Montserrat. Since pictures are worth 1000 words, here are just a few of what Montserrat has to offer.

Montserrat was clearly gorgeous. We did have a little difficulty finding the correct trails because the funicular was broke or something(so not fun), but I really enjoyed hiking and just seeing the beautiful scenery. Parts of it reminded me of Sedona, Az. which brought back great memories.

The next day, a bunch of us headed to Carnaval in Sitges at night. I thought Carnaval was really cool. The parade was a lot of fun and the floats were really interesting. There were superhero floats, an alice in wonderland float, and a bunch of other cool themed floats. The parade was filled with lots of music. Unfortunately, we couldn't make it to the actual beach because the tunnel that connects the main road to the beach was disgusting and really sketchy and after our first attempt to cut through it, it was vetoed for the rest of the night. Here's a picture of us on Carnaval with some new friends aka the randos who jumped into our picture.

Conclusion: Barcelona is amazing. More to come very, very soon! :)

Lauren

Chapter Five: ¡En Sevilla, perdió mi silla!

Two weeks late is better than never...

I guess there is really not a part two to my last post because Sevilla deserves it's own post because it is that amazing of a place. During our last weekend in Feb, a bunch of us(but actually there were like 18 of us total) went to Sevilla for an amazing weekend. We landed in sunny Sevilla early in the morning and got to our hostel before noon. The hostel had a sign greeting us which was really cute and we all documented it:

Once we got settled and checked in, we went to lunch because our first thoughts were obviously food. The tapas place we went to wasn't very good, but we got to sit outside and the weather was great so it was really nice to enjoy the sun. After lunch, we walked around for a little and looked in some cool stores with flamenco dresses. It was really nice out so instead of seeing the Cathedral(which i finally gave in to and ended up seeing on the last day) we sat outside by a fountain and I tried to tan. It didn't work too well, but at least I didn't turn into a tomato per usual. After our attempt to tan, we went to the Alcázar  and saw the gardens. They were beautiful and reminded me of the secret garden. It was really nice to walk around and I took about 100 pictures of it because it was that pretty.

I can't really remember what else we did during the day. I know we walked around a lot, got gelato, walked to the river, and somehow made it back to our hostel in time to get ready for dinner. We walked to this place called Colonial Taberna or something along those lines and ended up waiting around an hour and a half for dinner, but IT WAS SO WORTH IT. The honey eggplant was the most amazing dish ever and it was one of the best meals I've had so far. Also, the tinto de verano, which is basically like Sangria but even better was great. We were so full from our late dinner(that I think started at midnight or so) that we just went back and tried to hang out at the hostel. However, apparently it was quiet hours so we had to go to sleep. 

I was glad to get a good night of sleep though because the next day was actually one of my favorite days abroad to date. We woke up and seven of us went to go rent bikes by the river. I was SO happy to get the coolest turquoise bike ever to rent.

BEST BIKE EVER

We took our bikes and rode around by the river, to various parks, and through Plaza España. It sounds so cliché, but it was so liberating and made me feel just so purely happy to just be riding around this gorgeous city in 70 degree weather with my friends. It was such a great feeling and because of it, I would recommend to anyone studying abroad to rent bikes in any city, especially when its nice out.

After we sadly had to return our bikes, we got lunch(and delicious ice cream/gelato) and then met up with more friends to get drinks on a boat. Caroline, Brittany, and I decided that "tinto de naranja" or "orange wine" would be good, but obviously we chose the wrong beverage because it was disgusting and I couldn't even drink it. Fail for ordering beverages #500 of this trip. Still, it was nice to sit on the boat and relax.

After our relaxing boat experience, we headed to the bull fighting museum. We somehow ended up on a tour with a huge clique of people who loved bull fighting and had matching t-shirts to further elucidate their love for it. One of the men was nuts and actually climbed into the bull ring.

NEW BFF?

He was actually great and although the museum was kind of dull and traumatizing(dead bull heads are frightening), it was a cool experience. We went back and got ready for dinner and hung out on our roof terrace for awhile. For dinner, we went to a tapas restaurant and ate outside somehow finding a table for like 20 people which was impressive. After that, we went to a free flamenco show and it was so interesting. They sing and dance with such passion and it is all improvised. It was so great to see an authentic show.

After the show, we went to some bars on the river, even though I was exhausted, but how often are you in Sevilla? Somehow, we ended up at a gay bar that we didn't realize was a gay bar. Only us, but it was great.

The next day after an hour long search for breakfast food(rachel and I really wanted pancakes), we found a restaurant and had some brunch. Afterwards, Rachel and I wandered around Sevilla for like two hours trying to find our friends only to realize that they were at a restaurant right near our starting point. We enjoyed the day, saw the cathedral, got drinks and delicious sandwiches, and walked around the city. It was a great, relaxing ending to a great trip and I truly enjoyed it very much.

Oh and most importantly, on our bus ride back this kid stole this crazy mans seat and he started singing about how he lost his seat in Sevilla. Hence, the amazing blog post title.

Anyway, this probably has like 1000 spelling errors, but its almost two and I want to go to bed(aka watch glee).  Post soon about our amazing hikes and Becca visiting.

Peace, love, and can't wait for Heather to get here tomorrow. Hoping for a great, long weekend!

 

Adios!

-Lauren

PS: before I forget, here's an updated travel itinerary for the people who care(aka mom, nana, grandma and grandpa....just kidding hopefully my friends care )

This weekend: Long weekend in Barca #2

March 17-March 19: Dublin for St. Patty's

March 23-27: Prague(Mom and Brian come March 25 yay!)

April 1-3: Madrid with the fam and Elyssa :)

April 7-10: French Riviera: Nice, Monte Carlo, Cannes, St. Tropez(I think thats right?)

April 14-April 24: SB in Italy: Bergamo, Venice, Florence, Cinque Terre, Rome, Naples, Amalfi Coast. COULD NOT BE MORE EXCITED!

May 6-May 15: So sad it ends, but then off to Cologne, Brussels, and Paris. Coming home May 15th, but trying not to focus on that because me encanta europa!

okay thats all, good night!

Chapter Four: A Quick Summary of the Past 3 Weeks Part One

This is going to be really vague since I keep not having time to update this. Besides the typical days of long lunches at delicious establishments such as bo de b, walks around the beautiful city of Barcelona, and having a great time at night(when I am not extremely exhausted which seems to be a lot of the time), I really want to write about my travels in as concise of a way as possible.


We traveled to Amsterdam over our first long weekend from Feb. 17th until Feb 20th. I loved the city and had a nice time. When we got there, we headed to our hostel which was supposed to be right outside the Red Light District. It wasn't until the point when we saw our hostel sign right next to a sign for a live show that we realized they may have embellished a bit on hostelbookers.com: we we're staying in the heart of the Red Light District of Amsterdam. Besides being grossed out during the day and sketched out at night, our hostel was a little on the dirty side, but I want to not complain because it is all a part of the experience of traveling.

The first day in Amsterdam was great and filled with amazing free cheese samples, a great trip to the market, the best bagel ever(it was 9 euro though, Amsterdam is honestly so expensive that I would cry if everything wasn't so delicious), and an early night. By this, I mean Laura, Rachel, and I fell asleep to nap at eight and may have slept through dinner by accident. Shit happens when you have a 6:45 am flight and an eventful day in Amsterdam.

The next morning we woke up early to go to Sarah's Pancakes for breakfast. I got a cappuccino with the most amazing banana and nutella pancake EVER.  Then, we went to the Amsterdam sign I believe? I can't really remember the order of what we did, but the sign was really fun to climb on and take pictures. We also went to the Anne Frank Haus that day. It was really overwhelming and eerie, but I am glad that I had the opportunity to see something that is so important to history. It was much harder to see than I imagined though. I think it is a place that everyone definitely needs to go. We walked across the city to Heineken that day and it was closed because we have bad luck, so we went to a bar and went back the next day. It was fun and we also went to the Van Gogh Museum, which was great. I also went to DJ Tiesto which was a little much for me, but fun because I got to wear neon. Always a silver lining. Anyway, sorry this is actually the worst writing ever, but I am really tired and just wanted to get this one done before writing all about Sevilla tomorrow.

In summary, Amsterdam is really fun with great food and sights, but it was freezing and once we were done, I was thrilled to be back in sunny Barcelona.

Thats all for now, Adios!

Lauren

best pancakes ever

i amsterdam sign

Heineken 

DJ Tiesto

monster of a bagel

loving the free cheese

Chapter Three: Journey to the Land of Cake AKA Lisbon, Portugal

Last weekend, I went on my first non-school trip to Lisbon, Portugal. Although Lisbon may seem like the most random place ever, it is gorgeous and such a fun place to visit. It has great sights, beautiful weather, delicious cuisine, and is right on the Tagus River.

Becca, Brittany, Caroline, Lauren, and I left for the airport after our class on Friday. It is so annoying that we have class on Friday, seeing as I am pretty confident we are one of the only study abroad programs in the world that forces such a thing upon us. RIP 3 day weekends, miss you already.

Anyway, we took the bus to the airport and it was really easy to get there. Security in Europe seems so much more relaxed than in the US, which was very nice because as much as I enjoy the full body scanners at O'hare, I actually don't at all. I'm glad Barcelona seems more simple travel wise. We had a pretty long wait for the plane to arrive, so naturally I read on my nook which is my new favorite thing EVER(thanks mom!). The flight was good and easyjet is MUCH nicer than I ever expected(very similar to southwest where you choose your seat). When we arrived in Lisbon, we were all super excited for our passports to get stamped. However, they obviously don't have customs because that would make too much sense. Sadly, my passport will forever be missing its Lisbon stamp(although somehow the Americans we met in Barrio Alto all got theirs stamped and I am insanely jealous). Anyway, after my first passport disappointment of 2011, we headed to our hostel. We took a bus and proceeded to follow their "great" instructions of "look around and at the top of Av. Da Liberdade you can see a building with the inscriptions 'Diario de Noticias." After this, it explained that the hostel was on the street directly behind it. There were numerous problems with these directions, but the main ones being 1. When it is pitch black and you are on the opposite side of a square, you can't see signs 2. Look around is not an adequate means of describing how to locate monuments in foreign country. Thankfully, our lack of directions was a blessing in disguise because we happened to stop to ask for directions at one of the many bakeries in Lisbon. I got delicious cake for under a euro and we finally found our home for the next two nights.

As we opened the door to the Hostel, a friendly British man welcomed us. His crazy demeanor was funny for about 5 minutes until we realized the following:
1. He was 99.9% black out drunk seeing as he had presumably been drinking Ginja(a typical cherry infused liqueur) all day long.
2. He was the slowest moving man ever. Check in took an hour...totally normal right?
3. He made fun of my last name and when he tried to do this, it definitely sounded like he said "you have a crap name"...rude, black out brit, rude.

Black Out Brit: A picture is worth a thousand words

Finally, we checked in and dropped off our bags. We spent a great deal of time trying to find a restaurant from our detailed itinerary(see bellow because we are going into the itinerary making business to get some extra money for spring break...but for real. This also had directions on it, but they were deleted because this post is already ridiculously long(aka if you are still reading this and not related to me or someone who I went to Lisbon with, I'm impressed)

OUR LISBON ITINERARY

FRIDAY

6:45 PM: Land in Lisbon and go check in to our lovely Hostel.

8:00 PM: Go to dinner at Cais da Ribeira, Cais do Sodré Armz A-2, Lisbon

10:00 PM: Gloria Live Music at R. do Ferragial, 1200 Lisboa, Portugal.

11:30 PM: Barrio Alto: Bar hopping.

SATURDAY 

8:00 AM: Wake up and breakfast

9:00 AM: Leave Hostel (go to Alfama)

9:30 AM: Castle of Saint Jorge

10:30 AM: Explore Alfama and see Miradouro das Portas do Sol

11:30 AM: Bellhem Tower at Avenida da India, Belem.

12:30 PM: Find local café for lunch.

2:15 PM: Barardo Museum at Praça do Império, Belem.

4:00 PM: CAKE TIME/MORE EXPLORING.

5:00 PM: Go to ais do Sodré ferry terminal and hop one of the regular boats across the river to Cacilhas.

After debarking, walk to the right for about 10 minutes along the thin waterside path to arrive at Atira-Te Ao Rio on the rustic whitewashed riverfront restaurant is the perfect spot to sip a glass of white port (3 euros) while watching the sun cast its final rays on the 25 de Abril bridge and the venerable hilly cityscape of Lisbon(stolen from NY TIMES)

10:00 PM: Barrio Alto Round Two.

SUNDAY 

8:00 AM: Wake up and breakfast at Hostel

9:00 AM: Depart from Hostel.

9:30 AM: Santa Justa Elevator at Rua de Santa Justa.

11:30 PM: Pick up stuff, grab food at café, and go to airport.

For the most part, we stuck to this itinerary. For dinner, the restaurants name was changed so it was really difficult to find. However, although it was probably one of the most pricey dinners I've ever gone to without my family, it was worth it. We had delicious bread, white wine, and roasted cod with black olive pesto and parmigiano cheese.

After our delicious dinner, we attempted to find a Fado House where American music would be playing. We couldn't find it, so we decided to head to Barrio Alto for the night. Barrio Alto is amazing; it is very similar to Bourbon Street in New Orleans in the sense that there are no open container laws and the whole area is basically a party in the streets. I had the most delicious drink with fresh strawberries and sangria that only cost one euro. Life is good in Lisbon. After a fun night, we somehow got a cab with 5 people(They are really strict here about that, so its a big deal) and headed back to our hostel. At one point on the drive, a man tapped on our window and we all were pretty sure that we were going to die(turns out, he just wanted to tell us our door wasn't fully shut), but besides that it was great.

The next morning with got up and had our included breakfast that was pretty good. We walked to St George's Castle and hiked to the top. From the top, we could see a beautiful view of Lisbon. We also met a man who said he had 23 cats, which was really odd, but nothing surprises me anymore. After the castle, we went to Belem Tower which is the most beautiful sight in Lisbon, in my opinion.

After this, we went to a modern art museum and directly following had amazing falafel and these famous custard tarts that tasted like french toast. One thing we had heard about Portugal is that they have the best chocolate cake in the world and if you know me at all, you know I love Portillo's chocolate cake a little too much...aka Jamie Cohen and I frequent Portillo's solely because of the cake. I was determined to try it and see if it was as good and although it was delicious, it was not actually cake. It tasted like brownie batter mousse pie, which was fine by me and was definitely worth the time. After our great journey for cake, we walked along the river and took a ferry across the river at sunset. We went to a small restaurant recommended by The New York Times to try cheap Port Wine, which tastes nothing like wine and I thought it was disgusting, but worth the experience. The sunset was obviously gorgeous and afterwards, we went out for a nice, cheap dinner. Although we had planned to go out, we were way too tired and went to sleep early. The next day was spent walking around the city, grabbing food of course, and heading to the airport. Lisbon was an amazing first trip and definitely a place that everyone should consider going.

Since being back in Barcelona, a lot has happened. Watching the Super Bowl in Spain from midnight to four in the morning was definitely a worthwhile yet extremely tiring experience. Super Bowl Monday is a struggle, but it was interesting to watch such an important sporting event in America in Europe. The only problem is that Europe DOES NOT get American commercials, so I was devastated because nothing is worse than mediocre Spanish commercials when you are expecting to see the best commercials of the year. It was also so difficult to stay up until almost 5 a.m. after traveling for a weekend. I was really close to falling asleep and watching a bunch of locals and Green Bay fans cheer at the end of the game was almost as bad as being kept awake for so long(sorry I am a bad sport and still so mad they won), but even with all that being said, it was worth the experience.

Today, we went to Park Ciutadella for a field trip. It is pretty much the Central Park of Barcelona and gorgeous. When you are walking around a beautiful park on a sixty degree day instead of sitting in class, it is kind of hard to be upset about anything whatsoever. It's great. Since this post is a short novel, I am going to go do my spanish homework or at least attempt to and hopefully I'll write a shorter post after this weekend.

Adios!

-Lauren

Chapter Two: There's Really No Reason To Go To Tortosa

Hola from Barcelona!

With so much going on, it is so hard to actually find time to write about it all...which is why these posts aren't exactly frequent. Since so much has happened in the past 10 days, here are some highlights/the moments that are really worth sharing(in no particular order)

1. La Sagrada Familia

According to my research and what I can understand from Conchita, La Sagrada Familia(which means "Church of the Holy Family") is a one of Gaudi's most famous and visited creations. It has been under construction since 1882 and there is a huge contrast between the original materials which can be seen when comparing the front of the building to the back of the building. It is honestly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. From the amazing architecture to the beautiful stained glass and unique interior, it was definitely worth the trip. Conchita took us and it was her first time inside the building since about 30 years ago, if I remember what she said correctly. We were very grateful that she came with. She told us that on Saturdays in January, it is free to go inside, but the lines get outrageously long if you don't go early. We woke up at around 8 to be able to get ready and get there by 9:30ish and we didn't have to wait that long, even though the line was out of control. The only disappointing part of the trip was that the elevator to take us to the top was out of service, so I will have to try to go back again(hopefully with the family) to see the view from the top. Nevertheless, La Sagrada Familia is amazing.

2. Barca Game

 

Seeing as the only live soccer game I have seen in the past few years probably took place on the Camp Chi athletic field, I was really exciting to see what all the fuss about "fútbol"was. FC Barca is not only the most successful club in Spain, but one of the best teams in Europe with players like Lionel Messi who is one of the best players of this generation(at least according to Wikipedia when I looked all this up so I wouldn't sound like an id in my sports class because the only teams I actually know anything about are The Bears, The Bulls, The Hawks, and most importantly The Cubs. However, I am trying my best to expand my knowledge beyond the best city in the midwest/whole wide world).

Anyway, FC Barcelona plays in Camp Nou, which is kind of a trek, but thankfully you can take the metro. The stadium is HUGE. It seats almost 100,000 and is the largest stadium in Europe and the 14th largest in the whole world in terms of capacity (way to go Barca!) The game was really fun. Everyone has so much energy and they won per usual. It was FREEZING though, so I definitely want to go back in spring so I can enjoy the game in the sun.

3. Park Güell

PARK GUELL IS THE BEST PLACE EVER.  I realize this is completely cliché, but I do not even care because it so cool and we can walk there from our house which makes it even better. It is another Gaudi creation made in the early 1900's. It is basically a huge park that seems almost like a maze complete with tiles, pillars, twisting walkways, people selling lots of tchotchkes(gotta throw in that yiddish), people playing music, and amazing views of the city. It is honestly indescribable, but here are some of the amazing pictures from Park Güell.

Near the entrance

One of the views from the path as we walked to the top of the hill

This guy was blowing huge bubbles and obviously, I was fascinated just like him(It's blog worthy)

4. Valencia/ Tortosa/Study Journey with IES

Every semester, the IES Liberal Arts and Business Program in Barcelona goes on a study journey. I am not sure where they have gone in previous years, but we were fortunate enough to be the guinea pigs for Tortosa. According to our little guide, Tortosa is a historic town for Muslims, Jews, and Christians on the River Ebro and has "a special charm that makes it unique" with fortresses, churches, and palaces. IES may have exaggerated a little...don't get me wrong the view was absolutely amazing, but Tortosa sure lacked charm. It kind of seemed like a ghost town because there were very few people. It smelled kind of like sulfur and wet rabbits(our best description) and I'm pretty sure 10 of us eating lunch in a small café boosted their economy, making our waitresses day. This is not to sound bratty in the slightest because my group actually had a lot of funny joking around the whole time because we couldn't hear our tour guide(who was doing her first English tour ever, we think) but with all the breathtaking places in Spain, Tortosa was just extremely random and not worthwhile in comparison. However, this view was really amazing and if all of Tortosa was like this, it would've been a winner.

Actually, every time I look at this I realize even more, how gorgeous this view was

Anyway, after our exciting Tortosa trip, we headed to Valencia. Valencia is the 3rd largest city in Spain, which was shocking to me because I was expecting a tiny little town in Spain. It is famous for it's paella(yum!), orange trees, horchata, and apparently it's nightlife(although everywhere we went was empty, but we made our own fun). Valencia is actually really nice. It was unfortunate that it rained the whole time because Valencia is known for its great weather. While in Valencia, we saw the Catedral de Valencia which houses what some believe to be "The Holy Grail", the large market, a lot of the city, and this amazing aquarium called L'Oceanográfic that is is the largest aquarium in Europe. It was honestly really cool, but a lot of it is outside which was kind of sad because of the bad weather. The only disappointing part of Valencia was that they didn't label their food at the buffet so I had my first Kosher slip and accidently ate pork because it looked like fried fish. Shame on you Hotel Reina Victoria for not labeling your food, but I didn't get sick from it which is the silver lining(but I was really not happy and I'm pretty sure many people think I'm crazy for keeping kosher in what is basically land of traife.) Whatever, challenge accepted.

After Valencia, we headed to the Torres Winery on Friday morning. The tour of the Winery felt like the Haunted Mansion at Disney. It was really advanced technologically and much of it was in the pitch black with holograms that talked about the history. The wine was really good and after our tour, we went to the best meal ever. I am not even exaggerating in the slightest. I was full for almost 24 hours from it and I don't even eat meat, which was most of the meal. First, we had wine that you drink barbequed out of a spout. You get a bib because the whole meal is really messy. Then, we had calcots which are, milder onions that you dip in the most amazing sauce ever created. You take a calcot, peel it, dip it into the sauce and then eat it. It's so messy, but they are so good.

Caroline and I  enjoying our calcots and sauce

Oh, I also forgot, but on top of this we had outstanding bread and I ate a lot of it because I thought they wouldn't have veggie options...obvs was wrong because they did with potatoes, tomatoes, artichokes, and a roasted veggie pizza that I ate with garlic sauce and it was amazing(almost up to SGP standards). Actually, it was so delicious and I am getting hungry writing about it. For dessert(because we didn't eat enough?) we had amazing flan and a glass of cava. This concluded what probably was one of the best meals I ever had. Good work Catalonia! Props to you.

Much more has happened, but it is very hard to remember. Class is fine(I need to do my homework now...I guess) and tomorrow marks our first full week, which is going to be a struggle. However, nothing makes it more worth sitting through classes than amazing travel plans. Here is what we have booked so far in my attempt to visit as many places in Europe as possible.

Tentative Travel Schedule:

• Feb 4th-Feb 6th: Lisbon. Booked. Can't wait.
• Feb 11th-13th: Staying in Barcelona to celebrate Britt turning 21! Woooo :)
• Feb 17th-Feb 20th: Amsterdam. Hopefully going to Tiesto(which I just learned what this even was, but when in Amsterdam, might as well go dance to techno all night long). Can't wait for Anne Frank Haus, Heineken Experience, Seeing the City, and a great weekend with mis amigas.
• Feb 25-27: Sevilla. Booked. Also, very excited.
• March 4-March 7: TBD
• March 11th: HEATHER VISITS! YAY YOU BETTER BE READING THIS BECAUSE I CAN'T WAIT.
• March 17th-March 19th: Saint Patty's in DUBLIN. Booked. 
• March 23-March 27th: Prague with Rachel and meeting Brian and Mom before they come back to Barca.
• April 1-3:TBD
• April 7-10: Hopefully French Riviera! Still waiting to book.
• April 14th-April 25th: Crossing my fingers that we spend SPRING BREAK in Italy(in the process of figuring it out)
• April 29-May 3rd: Finals. Ew. Hopefully we can go to Ibiza after to celebrate?
• After that, I'll be in Europe until May 15th. Rachel and I are going to Germany, but hopefully to Paris too or anywhere really :)

SO EXCITED FOR WHAT IS ABOUT TO COME! I guess it's time to attempt to do homework and read about Catalan history. Woooo.

Until next time....adios!

Lauren

Chapter One: Byeeeee America, Hope You Find Your Dad!

Sorry for being the worst blogger ever...

My Internet did not work until Saturday and everything has been so busy since my arrival. The first week in Barcelona has been so amazing: great sights, people, nightlife, and clearly most importantly delicious food. So much has happened in the past week that I actually don't even know how to summarize it, but I will try my best.

Part One: Getting Here

When I travel, everything that can go wrong usually does and if something doesn't, I usually just end up embarrassing myself to the extreme. Why should traveling to Europe be any different? The day began with one of my bags being about a casual 25 pounds over. It was honestly a joke, but I managed to take some stuff out and make it under the maximum limit. I really deserve a pat on the back. However, in order to do this, my carry on bag was overstuffed making it look like it was literally about to explode, which it almost did on our flight to Newark. I couldn't get it to fit and was struggling beyond belief to shove it into the small overhead compartments, causing a scene and what seemed like the entire plane watch in disbelief. Somehow, we got it to fit and arrived safely in Newark. Our flight from Newark to Barcelona was really long and the plane was really small. In addition, the man next to Rachel was hacking up a lung. Success. After a long night of not being able to sleep, we arrived in Barcelona to find out of my suitcases missing. Following two days of calling, making my mom call, and worry, I finally got my luggage and was ready to relax and enjoy the beautiful city.

Part Two: Our Homestay

Although I was apprehensive at first, my homestay is a blessing. Conchita, our homestay mom, is amazing. She only speaks Spanish, which is improving my extreme lack of fluency. Conchita is really sweet, caring, funny, and works as a manicurist/pedicurist/facialist/etc. from our home, which is an added bonus! She cooks us dinner every night and allows us to prepare our own breakfast, which is usually muesli with yogurt, fruit, and toast. I have my own room and it definitely is starting to feel like home. We met Conchita's family last Saturday for a Spanish feast in honor of her 29-year-old daughter's birthday, which was also a really unique and fun experience. We ate and talked for almost five hours and I really enjoyed it. In addition, our apartment is in a really cool neighborhood in Barcelona called Gracia that is filled with many bars, cafes, famous plazas, and more. We live about a two minute walk from Casa Vicens, which is the first house built by Gaudi for a family.

 Tonight, I went to get wine and gelato in Gracia (well actually just gelato, but we ended up caving and buying wine as well) in Gracia. We sat outside in the famous Plaza de Revolucion until midnight when they made us come inside. This neighborhood is great to explore and I look forward to doing so.

Part Three: The City and the Experience

So far while here, I have had the chance to explore many areas of the city and go to many attractions such as La Boqueria(a huge outdoor market), Museu Picasso de Barcelona, Museu de la Xocolata, Port Olympic, and many additional neighborhoods. During the day, we have a lot of time to explore, eat, drink coffee, enjoy sangria, and really soak in the city. The nightlife is Barcelona is also great, but my favorite place so far is Chupitos, which is a really cool shot bar. They light basically every shot on fire and each is really unique, such as the "Bob Marley" which is yellow, green, and red layered or my personal favorite, the "Willy Wonka" that has a piece of chocolate in it and is delicious.

I have met amazing people so far and I am really excited for this semester. Classes started today and they are fine so far. Although I am taking all electives, my first two classes seemed highly reminiscent of Journalism and Poli Sci. Guess I can't escape GW even when I am across an ocean....typical.

Anyway, I will try to actually blog as often as possible from now on. 

Buenas Noche,

Lauren

PS: Its 1:30 and I am really tired so if this has any grammatical errors, ignore them and they'll be gone by tomorrow once I can keep my eyes open.

Prologue: My Medicine Needs Its Own Suitcase

I really wish I was kidding. My life is a joke per usual. Nevertheless, I can't wait for this semester to begin. Before I leave, the real challenge is fitting my plethora of clothes, shoes, medicine, and miscellaneous items that I can't part with into my suitcases(that I constantly wish were larger), my carry on, and my really trendy backpack that has come out of its summer hiding spot for this journey. Basically, tomorrow is going to be struggle if I've ever seen one.

Besides my disdain for packing, I am extremely excited for the next four months. I will be living with one of my best friends, Rachel(who I studied abroad with in High School) in a homestay with a lady named Cochita Sanchez. We actually have no idea who Conchita is, but if all else fails we have about 10 different variations of Frango mints, coffee, and hot cocoa to win her over and show her the best candy chi-town has to offer. I think it's a foolproof plan.

While in Barcelona, I am taking five classes: International Events in Barcelona: An Artistic Perspective, Catalan Cultural Studies, Language Culture and Communication: A Spanish Perspective, The Business of Sports in Europe, and Intermediate Spanish. I am honestly beyond thrilled to take a break from journalism classes and take electives. Besides class, I can't wait to experience Spanish culture, Barcelona nightlife, and eat delicious Spanish food. So far, my only trip booked is to Dublin for St. Patrick's Day with a big group of friends which will be an epic experience, but I look forward to traveling everywhere in Europe since I have never been there before.

I leave the arctic tundra of Chicago for Barcelona(which conveniently is about 40 degrees warmer, such a win) on Monday at 2 pm. I have to catch a flight that leaves around 7 pm from Newark and get to Barcelona by the morning of Tuesday January 11th. I can't wait for the next few months to come and I will send my next update from across the Atlantic.

Adios for now,
Lauren