Well, I've now been back in good old Andover, MA for 3 days. I had the weekend to relax and indulge on all the food I missed (i.e. mac and cheese, calzones, etc.). Now, it's time to basically lay around and do nothing until I go to Israel in 6 weeks! I've really begun to miss Spain, nothing will ever be the same.
I'm extremely grateful I had the opportunity to go abroad. It was a once in a lifetime experience that changed me as a person. I took a huge risk, and no, I'm not talking about skydiving. I spent 5 months living in a country that does not speak my language, and with a family that is not my own. I am amazed at how quickly this foreign place became my home, and being here in America feels just as comfortable as I felt in Seville. This trip gave me a new sense of confidence, I feel as though if I got through that initially frightening experience, I can get through anything. I'm thankful for this, and realize how fortunate I am to have met the great friends I met, and see the great things I saw. How many people can say that in short 4-5 months, they made new friends that will last a lifetime, tried new foods weekly, saw the eiffel tower, stood outside the English royal palace, became close to fluency in a new language, overlooked the Atlantic while standing on the edge of Europe, stood in the place where Anne Frank was held hostage, and jumped from a plane? Not many, and that's just a short list of the things I did!
I know this experience will stay with me forever, and will probably affect me in ways I can't even imagine.
Anyone who is offered the opportunity to spend time abroad in the future should absolutely take advantage of this, whether it be in Spain, Italy, France, Australia, Asia, or South America. It's extremely beneficial to live in a new culture and learn how others live. Additionally, this is most likely the only time in my life I was able to have a 5 month break from reality. When September rolls around, it's back to difficult school work, internships, and preoccupation about the future. While in Spain, none of these thoughts cluttered my mind, and I only hope at some point I will have the chance to return to the place that has become my Paradise.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Monday, April 30, 2012
Lagos, Portugal
So this past weekend, a few of my friends and I went on an organized trip to Lagos, Portugal. The beaches were the most beautiful things I have ever seen, although the weather was not. The trip started off with an early 4 hour bus ride, where the annoying girls in front of us would not shut up and let me sleep. We soon found out that on this trip there was a giant group of 60 kids that were all best friends from the same program, and since they were sort of a cult (and seemed straight off the Jersey Shore), it was difficult for my friends and I to socialize with them, but we made the best of it.
Anyway, we first dropped our stuff off at the hotel. The hotel was actually pretty decent, and we were RIGHT on the beach. Then, we went on a Sangria Sailboat, which was a bit chilly but pretty fun. We had unlimited sangria and were on a boat in the beautiful water. We also took individual trips on a smaller boat where we weaved in and out of caves. Those were pretty neat. Later we went out for dinner at an AMAZING burger place, the only place I've had that's comparable to America. We then went to a club for a party thrown by our trip's organizers, which was also a good time.
The next day we went to some cliffs over the water, and then headed to one of the beaches of Lagos. This beach was gorgeous. We got lucky enough that we had about 2 hours of tanning, before it began to rain. Luckily, when the rain began, we had already gone inside a beach restaurant for lunch, but sadly we had to cut the beach time short.
That night, we went to Cabo San Vicente, which our trip refers to as "the end of the world" to watch the sunset. It was a bit cloudy, but we still got to see enough of the sunset to really appreciate its beauty. We then ate dinner, and went to another party.
The last day was scheduled as a beach day. Luckily, it didn't rain, however it was much too windy and cold to go to the beach. So, my friends and I decided to walk around the center. The center was nice, very quaint and pretty, right on the water. Many of the stores were closed due to the fact it was a Sunday, which was kind of a bummer.
I'm pretty sad this was my last trip, however it ended on a good note. Despite the weather, Lagos was definitely one of the prettiest places I've ever been, and I'd love to go back one day in the summer, when I can really take advantage of the beautiful beaches.
Anyway, we first dropped our stuff off at the hotel. The hotel was actually pretty decent, and we were RIGHT on the beach. Then, we went on a Sangria Sailboat, which was a bit chilly but pretty fun. We had unlimited sangria and were on a boat in the beautiful water. We also took individual trips on a smaller boat where we weaved in and out of caves. Those were pretty neat. Later we went out for dinner at an AMAZING burger place, the only place I've had that's comparable to America. We then went to a club for a party thrown by our trip's organizers, which was also a good time.
The next day we went to some cliffs over the water, and then headed to one of the beaches of Lagos. This beach was gorgeous. We got lucky enough that we had about 2 hours of tanning, before it began to rain. Luckily, when the rain began, we had already gone inside a beach restaurant for lunch, but sadly we had to cut the beach time short.
That night, we went to Cabo San Vicente, which our trip refers to as "the end of the world" to watch the sunset. It was a bit cloudy, but we still got to see enough of the sunset to really appreciate its beauty. We then ate dinner, and went to another party.
The last day was scheduled as a beach day. Luckily, it didn't rain, however it was much too windy and cold to go to the beach. So, my friends and I decided to walk around the center. The center was nice, very quaint and pretty, right on the water. Many of the stores were closed due to the fact it was a Sunday, which was kind of a bummer.
I'm pretty sad this was my last trip, however it ended on a good note. Despite the weather, Lagos was definitely one of the prettiest places I've ever been, and I'd love to go back one day in the summer, when I can really take advantage of the beautiful beaches.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Feria!
So this past week I didn't have school because of La Feria, a giant festival in Seville. I literally felt like I was in mideival times. Horses were galloping around the streets, women were in Feria dresses (no, I did not wear one, despite my Señora's requests), and men were in suits. It's 7 days and 7 nights of eating, drinking and dancing.
The festival started Sunday at midnight, when they turned the lights of the main gate on. Then, everyone rushed in to an area with over 1000 tents, each owned by individual families. These tents are exclusive, you need to have a connection to get in, which made it difficult for us at first, but then we met up with our Spanish friends. Needless to say, we had our fair share of Manzanilla, the alcohol they drink at feria, sort of a type of wine. We went a few times during the day, and a few times at night, and eventually we got tired of the flamenco music, and fled to Portugal for the weekend (which is my next post).
The festival started Sunday at midnight, when they turned the lights of the main gate on. Then, everyone rushed in to an area with over 1000 tents, each owned by individual families. These tents are exclusive, you need to have a connection to get in, which made it difficult for us at first, but then we met up with our Spanish friends. Needless to say, we had our fair share of Manzanilla, the alcohol they drink at feria, sort of a type of wine. We went a few times during the day, and a few times at night, and eventually we got tired of the flamenco music, and fled to Portugal for the weekend (which is my next post).
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Anything Goes...Amsterdam
Amsterdam was one of my favorite cities I've visited so far, and no, not just because of the legal system (or lack thereof, it seems like).
This city was much prettier than I expected it to be (although the weather, not so much). The buildings were gorgeous, and the entire city was built along a canal. I got to wander around and explore by myself for awhile since I arrived before my friends (somehow I managed to book the last seat on the flight we wanted, oops). Our hostel was in a great location (the only good thing about it), and everything we wanted to see was less than a 20 minute walk.
We spent the first day walking around. Besides the city's beauty, we were also extremely impressed by the food. This city had every single cuisine, and multiple restaurants of each. It was also delicious, at least the places we ate at. My favorite was Wok to Walk, a noodle bar. We also could not get over how prevalent drugs were. They literally sold all drugs, from marijuana to ecstasy and hallucinogens, in stores. They advertised them in the windows. I can't even imagine being part of a culture where this is acceptable. Needless to say, it was a much more relaxed culture than I am used to.
The next day we were productive. We started off at the Anne Frank House. I was a bit disappointed by how much of a museum this had been turned into, it didn't feel like I was in the original house. However, it was still emotional to see the whole thing, and to know that despite all the renovations and the museum exhibits, I was still standing in the very place the Franks hid. After this, we ate at the Pancake Bakery, a famous pancake place in Amsterdam recommended to us by all our friends. It lived up to it's rep.
We then walked along the canal until we got to the famous I AMSTERDAM sign, where we took the necessary touristy pictures before heading to the Heineken museum. This museum was very cool, I was impressed. We got to see the whole process of how they make beer, and my favorite part, of course, was the 3 free beers included in our admission.
We spent the rest of the night just exploring and walking around, taking it all in. We walked through the Red Light District for a bit, and this was truly a culture of it's own. Similar to Brussels, there were prostitutes, however there were also more cross dressers and, well, just interesting people in general.
The weekend went by fast, but it was one of my favorites. I'm glad I got to see a city that is so unlike anywhere else in the world. I highly recommend a visit.
This city was much prettier than I expected it to be (although the weather, not so much). The buildings were gorgeous, and the entire city was built along a canal. I got to wander around and explore by myself for awhile since I arrived before my friends (somehow I managed to book the last seat on the flight we wanted, oops). Our hostel was in a great location (the only good thing about it), and everything we wanted to see was less than a 20 minute walk.
We spent the first day walking around. Besides the city's beauty, we were also extremely impressed by the food. This city had every single cuisine, and multiple restaurants of each. It was also delicious, at least the places we ate at. My favorite was Wok to Walk, a noodle bar. We also could not get over how prevalent drugs were. They literally sold all drugs, from marijuana to ecstasy and hallucinogens, in stores. They advertised them in the windows. I can't even imagine being part of a culture where this is acceptable. Needless to say, it was a much more relaxed culture than I am used to.
The next day we were productive. We started off at the Anne Frank House. I was a bit disappointed by how much of a museum this had been turned into, it didn't feel like I was in the original house. However, it was still emotional to see the whole thing, and to know that despite all the renovations and the museum exhibits, I was still standing in the very place the Franks hid. After this, we ate at the Pancake Bakery, a famous pancake place in Amsterdam recommended to us by all our friends. It lived up to it's rep.
We then walked along the canal until we got to the famous I AMSTERDAM sign, where we took the necessary touristy pictures before heading to the Heineken museum. This museum was very cool, I was impressed. We got to see the whole process of how they make beer, and my favorite part, of course, was the 3 free beers included in our admission.
We spent the rest of the night just exploring and walking around, taking it all in. We walked through the Red Light District for a bit, and this was truly a culture of it's own. Similar to Brussels, there were prostitutes, however there were also more cross dressers and, well, just interesting people in general.
The weekend went by fast, but it was one of my favorites. I'm glad I got to see a city that is so unlike anywhere else in the world. I highly recommend a visit.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Mindy and Craig take Spain!
Last week was Semana Santa (holy week), so I had the first of my two spring breaks (I know, rough life, who knew I would get two breaks from my semester long break?). My lovely parents decided they missed their daughter oh so much, and hopped the pond to visit. Despite a few minor setbacks (they missed their connecting flight to Seville, the weather was horrible until the end of the week, and we learned that 8 full days of family bonding is a bit much), we had an excellent week. I was going to wait until my mother posted her pictures to write this, but who knows when that will be. I decided I'll write now and add pictures when she finally posts them. Unfortunately, you will not see any pictures from us in Seville. Mindy didn't realize that pressing the "Delete all pictures" button would delete all her pictures...I know, you're wondering where I get my intelligence from (just kidding, Mom).
After quickly dropping their stuff off at the hotel in Seville, my parents got to come to my host family's apartment and meet them. My señora made an EXCELLENT lunch (well, it was supposed to be lunch, but due to the delay, became an awkward meal in between lunch and dinner). At least, I think she did. I hardly got to eat due to the fact I had to translate the entire meal but hey, I think I did okay! After lunch I took my parents around Seville to show them my 'hood. We then went to my favorite restaurant for dinner. The next day, we did a bus tour which was nice because I saw parts of Seville I hadn't seen before. We saw Plaza de España and the Alcazar, places I wrote about in my first post, and some of my favorites. There were a million people here for Holy Week, as there are giant processions all over the city. It took us an hour and a half to walk from the restaurant we ate dinner to our hotel, a walk that should normally take 20 minutes. The processions were cool though, a bit too much Catholocism, but cool to see. The people in them wear outfits that look exactly like the KKK, good thing I was warned about this or I would have been pretty freaked out. On Monday, we got on the train to Madrid.
This was my first time in Madrid. It was pretty cool, kind of a European New York. We found 24 hour pizza, something I wish we had in Seville. We saw a Flamenco show, which was better than the first one I saw, however, confirmed the fact that Flamenco is not exactly my favorite thing to watch. We did a bus tour in Madrid as well. Madrid has some gorgeous parks, too bad the weather was too rainy to sit and enjoy. We did get to enjoy a few meals outside, which was nice. We also took a tour of the royal palace. this was really interesting, however, it literally never ended. This palace was huge! After this, we enjoyed a delicious lunch at TGI Fridays, I really had to satisfy my craving for American food. The next day we took a tour of Toledo, another really cool city. Old Toledo is up on a mountain and there's a gorgeous view. The city has a Jewish quarter, Catholic quarter, and Muslim quarter. Later, we visited the Reina Sofia museum; and well art is not my thing, it was very cool to see works of Picasso, Dali, and Miró, artists I actually know of. One of the highlights of Madrid was stumbling across a Llao Llao, my favorite frozen yogurt place in Seville! The best part was they were giving out free samples! I took two and proceeded to purchase my own yogurt later...I got my mother as obsessed with it as I am. After seeing everything we wanted to see in Madrid and Toledo, we got on train #2 to Barcelona.
view from Toledo... cute Toledo streets
Madrid's cathedral and Royal Palace
Time for the last leg of the vacation - Barcelona (round 2 for me). Let's just say, I got a lot more sleep this time. Don't worry, I offered Mom and Dad the opportunity to come clubbing with me, but they politely declined. We started off with a tapas and wine tour, which ended up being a great walking tour around Las Ramblas and the Gothic Quarter, a place I hadn't seen much of before (las Ramblas is the main touristy shopping strip, our hotel was right on it, it was great). Our tour guide showed us the place that would be the most important for our visit - the chocolate area. The chocolate was delicious. So were the tapas we ate at multiple restaurants. And so was the wine. Needless to say, the tour left me quite satisfied.
The next day we explored Barcelona on our own. The weather was bizarre. It would be sunny and beautiful one second, and downpour the next. We went to Park Guell, and I walked more of it than last time and got to see more of it's beauty, Sagrada Familia, where we went inside and were AMAZED at the intricacy and creativity of the decor inside, and walked down Gracia, which I refer to as the Newbury Street of Barcelona.
The last day, we took a half day tour to Montserrat. FINALLY the weather was beautiful. Montserrat is a mountain about an hour outside of Barcelona. The views from the top were unbelievable. The city wasn't much, but we got to hike a bit and enjoy a nice coffee overlooking the valley. When we returned to Barcelona, we went to the market (which I mentioned in my last Barcelona post), and enjoyed some delicious fruit, smoothies, and gelato. We then were fortunate enough to sit on the beach, which was beautiful. We concluded the vacation with a seafood dinner, per my father's request. He didn't expect the food to be staring at him when the waiter put his dish in front of him, but if you've ever met my father, you know he still ate every last bit (once he figured out how), and enjoyed it.
inside the Sagrada Familia
Park Guell...don't the clouds look nice?
Anyway, that about sums up the week. Check back soon for pictures that actually show our beautiful faces (If my mother learns how to put them online...she just got a facebook, lets see how that goes). I was really glad I got to share my experience with my parents, it was a great week.
After quickly dropping their stuff off at the hotel in Seville, my parents got to come to my host family's apartment and meet them. My señora made an EXCELLENT lunch (well, it was supposed to be lunch, but due to the delay, became an awkward meal in between lunch and dinner). At least, I think she did. I hardly got to eat due to the fact I had to translate the entire meal but hey, I think I did okay! After lunch I took my parents around Seville to show them my 'hood. We then went to my favorite restaurant for dinner. The next day, we did a bus tour which was nice because I saw parts of Seville I hadn't seen before. We saw Plaza de España and the Alcazar, places I wrote about in my first post, and some of my favorites. There were a million people here for Holy Week, as there are giant processions all over the city. It took us an hour and a half to walk from the restaurant we ate dinner to our hotel, a walk that should normally take 20 minutes. The processions were cool though, a bit too much Catholocism, but cool to see. The people in them wear outfits that look exactly like the KKK, good thing I was warned about this or I would have been pretty freaked out. On Monday, we got on the train to Madrid.
This was my first time in Madrid. It was pretty cool, kind of a European New York. We found 24 hour pizza, something I wish we had in Seville. We saw a Flamenco show, which was better than the first one I saw, however, confirmed the fact that Flamenco is not exactly my favorite thing to watch. We did a bus tour in Madrid as well. Madrid has some gorgeous parks, too bad the weather was too rainy to sit and enjoy. We did get to enjoy a few meals outside, which was nice. We also took a tour of the royal palace. this was really interesting, however, it literally never ended. This palace was huge! After this, we enjoyed a delicious lunch at TGI Fridays, I really had to satisfy my craving for American food. The next day we took a tour of Toledo, another really cool city. Old Toledo is up on a mountain and there's a gorgeous view. The city has a Jewish quarter, Catholic quarter, and Muslim quarter. Later, we visited the Reina Sofia museum; and well art is not my thing, it was very cool to see works of Picasso, Dali, and Miró, artists I actually know of. One of the highlights of Madrid was stumbling across a Llao Llao, my favorite frozen yogurt place in Seville! The best part was they were giving out free samples! I took two and proceeded to purchase my own yogurt later...I got my mother as obsessed with it as I am. After seeing everything we wanted to see in Madrid and Toledo, we got on train #2 to Barcelona.
view from Toledo... cute Toledo streets
Madrid's cathedral and Royal Palace
Time for the last leg of the vacation - Barcelona (round 2 for me). Let's just say, I got a lot more sleep this time. Don't worry, I offered Mom and Dad the opportunity to come clubbing with me, but they politely declined. We started off with a tapas and wine tour, which ended up being a great walking tour around Las Ramblas and the Gothic Quarter, a place I hadn't seen much of before (las Ramblas is the main touristy shopping strip, our hotel was right on it, it was great). Our tour guide showed us the place that would be the most important for our visit - the chocolate area. The chocolate was delicious. So were the tapas we ate at multiple restaurants. And so was the wine. Needless to say, the tour left me quite satisfied.
The next day we explored Barcelona on our own. The weather was bizarre. It would be sunny and beautiful one second, and downpour the next. We went to Park Guell, and I walked more of it than last time and got to see more of it's beauty, Sagrada Familia, where we went inside and were AMAZED at the intricacy and creativity of the decor inside, and walked down Gracia, which I refer to as the Newbury Street of Barcelona.
The last day, we took a half day tour to Montserrat. FINALLY the weather was beautiful. Montserrat is a mountain about an hour outside of Barcelona. The views from the top were unbelievable. The city wasn't much, but we got to hike a bit and enjoy a nice coffee overlooking the valley. When we returned to Barcelona, we went to the market (which I mentioned in my last Barcelona post), and enjoyed some delicious fruit, smoothies, and gelato. We then were fortunate enough to sit on the beach, which was beautiful. We concluded the vacation with a seafood dinner, per my father's request. He didn't expect the food to be staring at him when the waiter put his dish in front of him, but if you've ever met my father, you know he still ate every last bit (once he figured out how), and enjoyed it.
inside the Sagrada Familia
Park Guell...don't the clouds look nice?
Anyway, that about sums up the week. Check back soon for pictures that actually show our beautiful faces (If my mother learns how to put them online...she just got a facebook, lets see how that goes). I was really glad I got to share my experience with my parents, it was a great week.
Monday, March 19, 2012
the sensational land of chocolate, beer, and waffles... BELGIUM
This past weekend, my friends and I went to Belgium. The main reason we went was for a giant music festival there called Sensation, but I also wanted to go because my dad had told me it was one of his favorite European cities he had been to. It really is a cool city, it's very stereotypical european- the architecture, the streets, everything. Despite the mediocre weather (cloudy and gray, but luckily the rain held off til the end of the day Saturday), we still got to enjoy a nice walk around Brussels. Our hotel was close to the center, so the first night when we got there, we went to a bar Delirium, that everyone had told us to go to. Here, they have a billion beers (well, the most they've had at once was 2004) on tap. Belgian is known for its beer, so of course we tried a few. After, we went and got UNBELIEVABLE french fries, which apparently Belgian is also known for (frites, as they say. they speak some weird language, Flemish, a combination of French and Dutch. There were quite a few instances when communication was an issue). I am utterly confused as to why french fries are not called belgian fries, as these fries were 100 times better than any fries I ate in France.
Saturday we woke up and of course the first thing we wanted to do was get a Belgian waffle. We assumed that, like crepes in France, the best, most authentic waffles would be the ones sold at the stands in the streets. Well, I don't think we would have gone wrong anywhere we went, but the waffle I had was absolutely delicious. Drizzled in chocolate sauce with vanilla soft serve on top. Yum.
After enjoying our waffles (I think I got more on my face than in my mouth, but oh well), we shopped for a bit (mostly window shopping, and a few last minute items for Sensation that night) and walked around before heading over to the Chocolate Museum. Sadly, the chocolate museum was a letdown. I thought there would be more samples than there were, and there was basically nothing there at all. The museum was tiny. We didn't stay for the demonstration, which probably would have been interesting, but we got bored walking around before it was even close to starting. Oh well. We settled for stopping in some unreal chocolate shops and of course purchasing some belgian chocolate to take back.
After buying chocolate, we went to the only landmark I had heard of in Brussels, Mannekin Pis. Why is this such a huge attraction? I have no idea. It's hilarious, but bizarre. It is literally a statue of a young boy peeing. It's also tiny, I expected it to be bigger. Brussels is OBSESSED with Mannekin Pis. Every chocolate store has chocolate versions, some in a variety of colors. There's fake statues of it all over. It's very odd. The statue was dressed up for St. Patricks day, which was cute.
Before going back to the hotel to get ready for sensation, we explored the Red Light District. Now, I haven't been to Amsterdam yet (I am going in a few weeks), but I was told this area is comparable, mainly because of the prostitutes in the windows. This was the strangest thing I have ever seen, I literally could not stop staring, NOT because I was checking out the women, but because this concept fascinated me. This was basically a street consisting of stores with basically naked women standing posing and dancing in the windows. Unbelievable.
We then went back to the hotel and changed into our all white clothes. We were taking a train to Hasselt, for an electronic/house music festival called Sensation, where the dress code was white, except for neon accessories. This festival was UNREAL. the amount of people there was absurd. Thousands. Yet, of course, I still happened to bump into GW people. Really confused of how this keeps happening to me on the other side of the world, but hey I wont complain! Anyways, we then caught an early train back to Brussels before heading home. It was another exhausting, but terrific weekend.
the real mannekin pis .... a giant fake mannekin pis
yum yum yum
Saturday we woke up and of course the first thing we wanted to do was get a Belgian waffle. We assumed that, like crepes in France, the best, most authentic waffles would be the ones sold at the stands in the streets. Well, I don't think we would have gone wrong anywhere we went, but the waffle I had was absolutely delicious. Drizzled in chocolate sauce with vanilla soft serve on top. Yum.
After enjoying our waffles (I think I got more on my face than in my mouth, but oh well), we shopped for a bit (mostly window shopping, and a few last minute items for Sensation that night) and walked around before heading over to the Chocolate Museum. Sadly, the chocolate museum was a letdown. I thought there would be more samples than there were, and there was basically nothing there at all. The museum was tiny. We didn't stay for the demonstration, which probably would have been interesting, but we got bored walking around before it was even close to starting. Oh well. We settled for stopping in some unreal chocolate shops and of course purchasing some belgian chocolate to take back.
After buying chocolate, we went to the only landmark I had heard of in Brussels, Mannekin Pis. Why is this such a huge attraction? I have no idea. It's hilarious, but bizarre. It is literally a statue of a young boy peeing. It's also tiny, I expected it to be bigger. Brussels is OBSESSED with Mannekin Pis. Every chocolate store has chocolate versions, some in a variety of colors. There's fake statues of it all over. It's very odd. The statue was dressed up for St. Patricks day, which was cute.
Before going back to the hotel to get ready for sensation, we explored the Red Light District. Now, I haven't been to Amsterdam yet (I am going in a few weeks), but I was told this area is comparable, mainly because of the prostitutes in the windows. This was the strangest thing I have ever seen, I literally could not stop staring, NOT because I was checking out the women, but because this concept fascinated me. This was basically a street consisting of stores with basically naked women standing posing and dancing in the windows. Unbelievable.
We then went back to the hotel and changed into our all white clothes. We were taking a train to Hasselt, for an electronic/house music festival called Sensation, where the dress code was white, except for neon accessories. This festival was UNREAL. the amount of people there was absurd. Thousands. Yet, of course, I still happened to bump into GW people. Really confused of how this keeps happening to me on the other side of the world, but hey I wont complain! Anyways, we then caught an early train back to Brussels before heading home. It was another exhausting, but terrific weekend.
the real mannekin pis .... a giant fake mannekin pis
yum yum yum
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Barceloca (no, there is no typo)
This past weekend some friends and I went to Barcelona. While this was a super fun weekend, one of the best yet, I was very quickly reminded why I chose Seville over Barca (for those of you who don't know, I was very torn between the two), and reassured that I made the right decision because:
1) I saw more Americans than Spaniards. I'm not exaggerating. This was a very touristy city (as one could assume), and Spanish is barely even spoken. Even when we attempted to speak Spanish, everyone spoke to us in English. It was interesting.
2) I saw half of the GW population. While this was very nice to surprisingly bump into my GW friends in a city across the world, part of the reason I went abroad was to have a break from GW and make some new friends. It was great seeing people though, it was very weird to be sitting outside eating lunch when all of a sudden my friend from AEPhi walks by! And then this happened again at every bar and club I went to! I even saw people from my camp! It was unreal.
3) Barcelona is the real city that never sleeps. It probably wasn't my best idea to go there the weekend right before midterms, but oh well. The nightlife is insane, it is normal to be out until 6 am every night of the week. Sunday, our flight left at 6:55 am, so we went straight from the club to the airport (with a quick pit stop at the hostel just to pick up our stuff). I'm still catching up on sleep from this weekend, and returned with a pretty bad cold, so I don't think my body would have appreciated an entire semester there.
Now, I'll give a quick play-by-play of the weekend's events. Friday evening we arrived and checked into our hostel. It was our first legitimate hostel experience- bunk beds, one common bathroom, etc. Not exactly what we're used to, but it was clean and in a perfect location, and we weren't sleeping there much anyway (we slept there a total of 5 hours the whole weekend...). After getting settled, we walked around until we found a hole-in-the-wall tapas place, where we ate some great food for a surprisingly cheap price (unusual for Barcelona). That night, we met up with my friend's friends, and we all went to a club where I happened to see my friend from camp, as well as a bunch of people from GW. The club was huge, packed, and a great time.
Saturday, after waking up early to take advantage of the hostel's free breakfast (which was just toast, unfortunately), we headed out to sightsee. I have never done so much walking in my life, but we managed to see alot of the city. Barcelona is known for Gaudi's architecture, which is extremely beautiful and unique. We first went to La Sagrada Familia, a church Gaudi began to build, but died before finishing, so it is still unfinished. We didn't have the opportunity to go in, but the outside was gorgeous. We then walked to Parque Guell, which is basically on top of a mountain, and you get a gorgeous view of the whole city. After stopping to eat, we walked along Las Ramblas, a famous pedestrian street of shopping and restaurants. We walked around a really cool market with every type of food stand you can think of - fruits, juice, smoothies, candies, meats, etc. They even had a stand with animal body parts, including heads, tongues, brains, and hearts. It was disgusting, but fascinating. After this, some of our friends had told us about a beer festival by the beach that was supposed to be cool, so we walked for about an hour trying to find it. We finally found it, and the line was absurdly long, so we decided to pass after all that. At least we got to have a long walk along the water, which was very nice (and a bit chilly compared to Seville...).
Saturday night was another crazy one. We first went to this famous bar called "Chupitos" which is the Spanish word for "shots." Here, they had over 200 types of shots, and it's a secret of what is in each one. My favorites were the Pop Rock shots and the Boy Scout shots. The Boy Scout shot consisted of lighting the bar on fire, roasting a marshmallow, dipping it in a shot, then eating the marshmallow then taking the shot. The Pop Rock shot was when you put the candy pop rocks in your mouth then take a shot and listen to the pop rocks sizzle. It was an odd sensation. Their most famous shot is the "Monica Lowinski." This is a shot that i did NOT partake in, but had the lucky opportunity to witness. I am not going to get into details of what this is (use your imagination..), but let me just say it was hilarious to watch. After Chupitos, we went to Catwalk, a club right by the beach, which was just as cool as the club the night before.
shots at Chupitos...Bob Marley on the left, Boy Scout on the right.
the market on ramblas...don't those animal parts look appetizing?
the views from Parque Güell
La Sagrada Familia
In conclusion, while I am still recovering from my crazy weekend in Barcelona, it was definitely worth it. It certainly deserves the reputation that it has, and I'm excited to go back for longer with my parents in a few weeks so I can see what else the city has to offer.
1) I saw more Americans than Spaniards. I'm not exaggerating. This was a very touristy city (as one could assume), and Spanish is barely even spoken. Even when we attempted to speak Spanish, everyone spoke to us in English. It was interesting.
2) I saw half of the GW population. While this was very nice to surprisingly bump into my GW friends in a city across the world, part of the reason I went abroad was to have a break from GW and make some new friends. It was great seeing people though, it was very weird to be sitting outside eating lunch when all of a sudden my friend from AEPhi walks by! And then this happened again at every bar and club I went to! I even saw people from my camp! It was unreal.
3) Barcelona is the real city that never sleeps. It probably wasn't my best idea to go there the weekend right before midterms, but oh well. The nightlife is insane, it is normal to be out until 6 am every night of the week. Sunday, our flight left at 6:55 am, so we went straight from the club to the airport (with a quick pit stop at the hostel just to pick up our stuff). I'm still catching up on sleep from this weekend, and returned with a pretty bad cold, so I don't think my body would have appreciated an entire semester there.
Now, I'll give a quick play-by-play of the weekend's events. Friday evening we arrived and checked into our hostel. It was our first legitimate hostel experience- bunk beds, one common bathroom, etc. Not exactly what we're used to, but it was clean and in a perfect location, and we weren't sleeping there much anyway (we slept there a total of 5 hours the whole weekend...). After getting settled, we walked around until we found a hole-in-the-wall tapas place, where we ate some great food for a surprisingly cheap price (unusual for Barcelona). That night, we met up with my friend's friends, and we all went to a club where I happened to see my friend from camp, as well as a bunch of people from GW. The club was huge, packed, and a great time.
Saturday, after waking up early to take advantage of the hostel's free breakfast (which was just toast, unfortunately), we headed out to sightsee. I have never done so much walking in my life, but we managed to see alot of the city. Barcelona is known for Gaudi's architecture, which is extremely beautiful and unique. We first went to La Sagrada Familia, a church Gaudi began to build, but died before finishing, so it is still unfinished. We didn't have the opportunity to go in, but the outside was gorgeous. We then walked to Parque Guell, which is basically on top of a mountain, and you get a gorgeous view of the whole city. After stopping to eat, we walked along Las Ramblas, a famous pedestrian street of shopping and restaurants. We walked around a really cool market with every type of food stand you can think of - fruits, juice, smoothies, candies, meats, etc. They even had a stand with animal body parts, including heads, tongues, brains, and hearts. It was disgusting, but fascinating. After this, some of our friends had told us about a beer festival by the beach that was supposed to be cool, so we walked for about an hour trying to find it. We finally found it, and the line was absurdly long, so we decided to pass after all that. At least we got to have a long walk along the water, which was very nice (and a bit chilly compared to Seville...).
Saturday night was another crazy one. We first went to this famous bar called "Chupitos" which is the Spanish word for "shots." Here, they had over 200 types of shots, and it's a secret of what is in each one. My favorites were the Pop Rock shots and the Boy Scout shots. The Boy Scout shot consisted of lighting the bar on fire, roasting a marshmallow, dipping it in a shot, then eating the marshmallow then taking the shot. The Pop Rock shot was when you put the candy pop rocks in your mouth then take a shot and listen to the pop rocks sizzle. It was an odd sensation. Their most famous shot is the "Monica Lowinski." This is a shot that i did NOT partake in, but had the lucky opportunity to witness. I am not going to get into details of what this is (use your imagination..), but let me just say it was hilarious to watch. After Chupitos, we went to Catwalk, a club right by the beach, which was just as cool as the club the night before.
shots at Chupitos...Bob Marley on the left, Boy Scout on the right.
the market on ramblas...don't those animal parts look appetizing?
the views from Parque Güell
La Sagrada Familia
In conclusion, while I am still recovering from my crazy weekend in Barcelona, it was definitely worth it. It certainly deserves the reputation that it has, and I'm excited to go back for longer with my parents in a few weeks so I can see what else the city has to offer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)