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!