Barcelona Bound

What a filled week. To start it off we went to a Real Madrid Soccer Game!!! HALA MADRID! We were only a few sections away from the 'real' fans that all wear matching jerseys, wave flags, and chant the entire game (no lying they never stopped). It was a pretty cool sight to see this kind of level of soccer played with these fans who were all on the edges of their seat, even though they blew the other team out 4-0. Also got to see my man Cristiano Ronaldo score a hat trick so my life is almost complete now. 

I'd talk about the rest of my week but nothing too exciting happened. Yes I went to class but you guys don't want to hear about that, it's boring. Did finish my second painting though! 

On to the fun part, BARCELONA! 

Day one: 

We arrived with a big crew of 15 of us early Thursday morning at our hostel. After a quick nap we grabbed a bite to eat and headed out around the city to explore. The streets are all filled with historically beautiful buildings and sights to see. Amongst the city are parks and attractions which we meandered. The big highlight was our walk along Port Vell on the shore and we saw huge boats and fancy cars. Next to the port we walked down their famously known market street called Las Ramblas. The street was lined with white tents that held paintings, gelato, incense, tapas, jewelry, souvenirs and more. We took our time and took a pit stop at each tent to see what they all had to offer.

After dinner it was time to explore the city by night. Our first stop was a famous Mojito bar, never had one before but these were delicious, definitely worth the hype. Then we joined in with the college kids at our hostel and headed to the clubs down by the beach. These clubs were three times the size of the ones in Madrid and were quite a good time with lots of crazy lights and dancing. 

Day two: 

Beach day!!! A few of us headed to the beach of Barceloneta to relax and enjoy the beautiful sun. Just a day of burying friends in the sand and taking naps on the beach. We also stopped at the famous market La Boqueria for some delicious hand grown food for dinner. The vibrant colors of fruits, vegetables, candies and more caught my eye around every corner. 

             

               

Of course the day did not end there as we had to try out two more famous bars in the city (sorry parents, i'm legal here and these were some famously cool bars!) First of the night was called "Chupitos" or shots bar because they had 200 shots to choose from (not that they tell you what they are though). While I'm not a fan of shots to begin with I had to try my luck and choose the Selfie Shot. Little fruity something wasn't bad but some of my friends weren't so lucky with their mysterious shots. Once we had all tried a crazy shot we headed to the Dow Jones bar. This one was famous because around the entire bar they had screens that showed the fluctuating prices of beer based upon the day's stock market. Suddenly there would be a crash of prices and it was a mad dash to get some beer cheap. We reconvened at the hostel and ended with some late night pizza. 

Day three:

Time to see some more sights! It didn't start off too hot because a friend made a little mishap and never bought our tickets to La Segrada Familia, so we had to be content with just seeing the outside (little bitter about it but I guess that means I'll have to visit again!) 

We took a break at an Alice in Wonderland themed coffee shop to reenergize for the rest of the day. Cute little cups of coffee and mini sandwiches did the trick. 

           

Off to Parc Guell for some Gothic themed architecture and one of the most amazing views I have ever seen. The landscape was intertwined with buildings and railings made with the mosaic like coverings throughout the entire park. We made our way up to the top to see a view of the entire city that reached down to the beach. We could see the huge buildings we had visited popping out of the skyline throughout the city. This is where our trip ended as we made our way to the bus station and headed back to Madrid. 

It was a huge success of a weekend and a place I will definitely have to travel a second time. The traveling never ends, Munich and Oktoberfest is up next weekend!

Weekend Getaway

DENOSTIA SAN SEBASTIAN 

What a weekend... After being in the bustling city of Madrid, Sarah, Greta and I ventured off to Denostia San Sebastian for a weekend of sights and the beach. We checked into our cute little apartment hostel and headed straight for the shore and my mouth immediately dropped to the ground it was so incredibly beautiful. I don't think I have ever been to such an amazing place (little did I know that each place I would travel to this semester would equally blow my mind). 

We spent the day on the beach enjoying the sun and eating tapas with the waves crashing against sand. The night was spent bopping around the city exploring different tents full of mini festivals and fun. Best discovery of the trip was Gelato. I thought it was only a thing in Italy but boy is it amazing (we had it every day of the trip) Apologies to my body in advance, the food, drinks, and gelato is far too good here. 

Day two: A bit cloudy but that didn't stop us from walking the entire city in just one day. We had to make it count! We would soon find out that even though the weather was not ideal the sights were utterly spectacular non the less. We started the day with a trip up a steep train to the top of one of the mountains that framed the beach. To our surprise we found a mini carnival with trampolines, boat rides and even a haunted house! Not to mention the view of the city was breathtaking. We walked the beach and grabbed a bite to eat at an Italian restaurant to refuel for the next climb of the day, the other mountain on the other side of the beach. This was a bit of a struggle to get up this steep hill but at the top there was a museum in a castle we roamed about Napoleon's battle and conquership of the city. The outside balcony of the castle was perfect for Barja and Laura's wedding that we conveniently crashed for a quick second (who could resist?) 

                     

The trip ended with more food and walking the city at night with some new friends we met at the hostel. I honestly don't think I have walked more than I have in the past 3 weeks. (More of a reason to eat more gelato right?) Another week of class and anticipation for a weekend in Barcelona!

Things are Happening

Well we officially have been in Madrid for a little over a week now, feels like it has been a month with all of the things that have happened. Highlights:

• Almost lost my host grandma’s dog Lola. Opened the gate one morning coming inside and she just sprinted out and ran away from me every time I went after her. It took 20 minutes from my roommate, Emma the dog whisperer, to get the dog back in the house. Scariest moment ever, dogs hate me.

• My classes are full of reading, which hopefully won’t be too terrible, but the best part is my painting class. It is a lot harder than we imagined, however the first day went fairly smoothly and after 3 hours we had a penciled outline of the sculpture in front of us… Felt pretty official with our painting box and canvases after dropping 80 Euro on our professional supplies.

• Experienced two infamous discotecas, JOY and Kapital. Kapital is a 7 story club with drinks and lights all around. I’m very surprised we didn’t lose each other that night seeing as it is a literal maze to get around. Best part of the night was being front row by the DJ stage while fog sprayed from the ceiling and we danced for hours. 

• Two days of exploring Madrid meant lots of sights of The Palace, Retiro Park and the Sabatini Garden. At Retiro Park, Greta, Shelby and I hopped in a rowboat and enjoyed some rays on the water. It is amazing how many beautiful sights you can merely bump into when you walk around the city.

Well that’s pretty much all the exciting stuff from this week! A trip to San Sebastian at the top of Spain is up next weekend!!