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