The Start of October and Dublin!

I can't believe it's already October! Time is flying by and it's terrifying! These past two weeks have flown by. Last weekend was pretty eventful. One afternoon my friends and I spent the day wandering the Gothic Quarter and doing a little shopping. We also went to this great restaurant called Bo D B. It was a little hole in the wall place with great vegetables and all these sauces like avocado sauce and dill sauce. It seemed really healthy and was cheap, which is always an added bonus. After that we took a cable car ride up Mount Juic. It was really beautiful and we spent the afternoon drinking sangria and taking pictures, rough life huh? Then on Sunday we had a picnic in Parc Ciutadella. It is definitely one of my favorite spots in all of Barcelona! It's absolutely beautiful with amazing gold fountains, ponds, and trees. The park is huge and we didn't have time to explore. There is also a zoo there, but we didn't have time to check it out. After our little picnic in the park we went to the FC Barcelona soccer game. It was a lot of fun and a very pretty night. I bought a cute FC Barcelona scarf. Speaking of soccer, one night this week I was out at a club and saw Gerard Pique... for those of you who don't know he is an FC Barcelona soccer player and was on Spain's team this summer when they won the World Cup. I wasn't really that interested in meeting him, but after I received a text message from Corey saying "GET A PICTURE" and Jack saying that "I won't be mad that you don't get a picture, I will just be disappointed." So I couldn't let them down. Hannah and I slowly danced our way over to him and after a few minutes of waiting around I finally tapped him on the shoulder and asked for a picture. He was very short and said later and stormed away. I never got a picture with him, but was able to take one of his side profile. Overall he was a bit of a jerk.

Then this past weekend, I went to Dublin to visit my best friend, Maggie Moran! We left Thursday evening and if you're thinking of ever flying Ryan Air, DON'T! It was a complete nightmare. The flight was delayed and while waiting to board the plane the woman told AK and I that we had to get our boarding passes "stamped?" all the way back at the ticketing counter. So we had to run through the very long terminal all the way back and then come back through security again to reach our stupid gate. Did I mention I was wearing knee high heeled boots? They were completely necessary for Dublin though! As we made our way back to the gate we were the last passengers to board and the women informs me that you cannot bring a purse and a bag. You have to stuff your purse in your bag? So as I'm trying to do this she then informs me that my carry on is too big (thanks Victorinox) and after several minutes of arguing I gave up and with MUCH dismay I gave her my debt card and thanked her for throwing 70 euros in the garbage. Despite the struggle with Ryan Air we made it to Dublin and the fall weather felt wonderful! Maggie greeted us with some Dutch Gold beers like any host should and we headed back to her apartment and then went out for the night with some of her friends. It was a ton of fun, but we were exhausted and I ended up falling asleep on the couch as soon as we got back. We woke up the next day and walked around Dublin all day. It was a cool autumn day and it was fun to see all of Dublin. We ended the day by getting dinner at YO! Sushi! It was so good and the first time I had sushi the whole time I've been abroad. I definitely miss it a lot! Saturday was a very lazy day. We all had a cold so struggled to do anything too exciting. We walked around Dublin and got bagels and diet coke. Two things I miss a lot! We then came home and showered and went out for a "traditional Irish meal" I'm not exactly sure what that is because I ended up getting pasta, but we ended the dinner with an Bailey's coffee which was excellent! Sunday we woke up and did a little more wandering and then made our way to the airport and big surprise...our flight was delayed. We ended up getting home at 2 am so we were exhausting. Overall, it was a fun weekend and on an even better note Maggie is coming to Barcelona on Thursday! Also about 6 other girls from my sorority are all coming this weekend so it should be a lot of fun. This week I'm going to lay low and prepare for an exciting weekend!

Pyrenees, Oktoberfest, and More!

Wow where has the time gone! The past week has been crazy! Last Thursday night all our roommates went out to a great dinner at a restaurant called Princessa 23. We have been talking about it for weeks now. It had great American style tapas at a great price. There were chicken wings, hummus, nachos, and much much more. It was a really fun not with great drinks and food. Then the following weekend we went on an overnight trip to the Pyrenees mountains. It was a 4 hour bus ride there and when we got there it was pouring rain and cold. We stayed in a little village with not much to do. We saw two beautiful churches and then went out for a group dinner. We then woke up early to head on our hike...Remember when I said I was excited for the hike? Well I think saying that was a little premature. The hike was very long and not as easy as they said it would be. It did end up being beautiful and we saw tons of cows and a beautiful lake. We then headed back to Barcelona and it was funny how much the city started to feel like home. Once back in Barcelona, my roommates and I decided we needed a fun night out. We went to this fun club called Elephant. We had been there before, but I think this night was especially fun because we had been away from Barcelona for what seemed like forever. The following day we went to the beach. After that it was just a regular week. Class, gym, walking around Barcelona a few nights we stayed in and cooked and my roommate Danielle made some AWESOME meals! It's hard to remember everything that has happened so I really need to make sure I blog every day. This past weekend was Oktoberfest! We left for Munich at 6 am Friday morning to learn that our flight was two hours delayed. The flight to Germany was only 2 hours and we got to the airport and got on a train. The little bit of Munich we saw was very cool. It is very modern, but then when we took the train to our hotel we saw a much more rural area. Our hotel ended up being a little off the beaten path and it was difficult figuring out how to get there, but we finally made it. We got to the hotel changed and then headed to Oktoberfest. It was gorgeous weather and very fun! We got there around 4 pm and walked around for a bit. What I don't think most people know is that Oktoberfest is very much like a carnival. There were tons of rides, food, and games. There were lots of families dressed up in German outfits with kids running all over the place. Then around 5 we headed over to the Lowenbrau tent. A family a babysit for was able to hook us up with VIP passes. When we walked into the tent and to the VIP area the guy was a little skeptical to let us in. The area was difficult to get into because it was all adults and it was funny to see a bunch of 20 year old girls there. We finally got in and got our own table with free food and beer. It was awesome! We stayed there till about 8ish and it was time for some of us to head to bed. Hannah and I fell asleep as soon as we got back to the hotel and ended up sleeping in till 11, which was a big mistake. It was pouring down rain and very cold when we got there. All our friends had woken up at 8am to get into the tent and so we were stuck standing outside waiting. Inside the tents is where you get the big mugs of beer to drink and it is just filled with people who are singing and cheering. After three hours of waiting we finally got in and had an awesome afternoon. Over the weekend, I ran into a bunch of random friends from New Jersey. It was so strange, but really exciting. The whole time we were in Germany we kept saying "Can you believe we are in Germany?!" The whole experience was surreal. Im happy to be back in Barcelona, it really feels like home, but I am looking forward to the other weekend trips in the future. I feel so blessed to have this experience and sometimes I have to pinch myself to belief that I'm living in Spain. Anyway, I'm exhausted and heading to bed. I'm sure that this post has tons of errors in it, I'm just to tired to edit it! Goodnight!

P.S. I'm having trouble uploading pictures, but I'll post some soon!

Family Style Dinner for Three

Yesterday, we finally were able to get up and work out! It took a lot of effort, but we were able to get out of bed at 10. How ridiculous are we? After we worked out, we came home, ate lunch, then headed to class. I had three classes today and my first communications class was actually interesting for once. It helped the time fly by, but the two others seemed to drag on. After that I came home and took a little nap. Each night we get facebook invites to all these clubs and programs made especially for kids studying abroad. We got one for this family style dinner that was 15 euros for great food and drinks. We decided to try it out to meet some new kids and have some good food. What ended up happening was our meeting spot turned out to be where a celebration for Mexican independence day was so there were hundreds upon hundreds of people there. It was pretty awesome and we hung out there for a little, but had difficulty meeting our group. Then just as we were about to leave we bumped into a guy who was running the dinner. The supposed group of 60 kids who were supposed to go to this dinner turned out to just be AK, Hannah, and I due to the crowded meeting spot. I'm not going to lie I felt a little awkward at first, but the dinner ended up being awesome. Chicken wings, caesar salad, croquettes, fajitas, and some sangria. After that it was already midnight. I planned on going out, but ended up just staying in and going to bed. Now it's Thursday and I just got back from my one class. Today I'm going to pack for my trip to the mountains and do some laundry and hopefully go to the gym. Apparently, the mountains are pretty cold so I may need to do a little shopping today!

A Great Beach Day!

Today I had only one class and it was very hard to stay focused. Afterwards we headed to the beach. We decided to try out a new beach called Barcelonetta. It was a little further walk from the metro station then usual, but it was an awesome street to walk down! On one side of us was the marina and on the other was a ton of great little restaurants, most of them were seafood tapas places and some great gelato shops. The beach was a little crowded, but the water was great! I ended up getting REALLY sunburnt, which was weird because we were only outside for two hours and I have not been burnt like this in years! Afterwards, Hannah and I decided to do some shopping and actually buy something. We've been shopping almost every day, but surprisingly not one of us has been able to make a purchase. The stores Zara and H & M here are great! I ended up getting an awesome pair of knee high boots from Zara. I know I won't wear them here for a few more weeks, but the sizes were running out and it was an impulse buy. Then Hannah and I decided to go out for a good, old Spanish tapas style dinner. We decided to try a bunch of new things because the menu was all in Spanish. We got some mushrooms, calamari, and two other things that I'm not exactly sure what they were. All in all the food was okay, but it was a good experience. Hannah and I tried to have a long dinner, similar to the Spanish and their 2 hour meals, but it didn't last. We ended up lasting an hour or so and got antsy and went for a walk. The evenings are starting to cool off here so it is awesome to just roam the streets. We came home did some homework and now I'm off to bed for a long day of classes tomorrow!

A Busy Monday

Today turned out to be a very productive day. We woke up this morning with the intentions of going to a yoga class, but decided to sleep in and work out after class. I had three classes today, which makes for a long day. After class, AK, Hannah, and I decided to do a little shopping and take a walk down Las Ramblas, which is one of the most well known streets in Barcelona. It is filled with people and street performers and has great shops and restaurants. Since we have been cooking a lot at home we decided to go out to eat tonight. We found a great Chinese restaurant, which was perfect because we had all been craving it. Unlike the portions of Chinese found in the US our plates were quite small so we decided to get some gelato for the first time while being here on the walk home. It was awesome! We sat on a bench and ate gelato and talked about how crazy it is that we aren't in little old Elon, North Carolina. Barcelona is truly unlike any place I have ever been before and I feel so fortunate that I get to spend three more months here. Even though it is only September it feels like it is flying by and it makes me a little nervous! After that we headed home and changed into our gym clothes and headed to the gym. It felt great to work out after Chinese food and gelato. Now I'm home just relaxing from the long day. Tomorrow we all have one class and want to go to the beach for a little because the beach season is ending soon. There is also this park that Hannah heard about that we might try to go to in the late afternoon, so we'll see!

First Two Weeks in Barcelona!

         After almost two weeks of being here I feel like I finally have a minute to sit down and relax. Being in Barcelona has been amazing. The city is absolutely beautiful and I feel so lucky to be here for a whole semester! In my apartment it’s my two friends and then three other girls from Elon who I didn’t know before. The apartment is great! It is so big with awesome high ceilings. There are two doubles, two singles, and two bathrooms. It is about three blocks from school and two blocks from the gym! A lot of people in the program have to take cabs and metros to get to class, but all we have to do is walk a few blocks. It is great! The apartment also has a washer and dryer, but of course the dryer has been broken. The only problem is there is no AC and the first week it got pretty hot, but now we have a great breeze.

Little by little we are learning more and more about the city. We have mastered the metro and at first it was a little overwhelming, but now it is so easy and a great way to save money. We’ve been down to the beach a bunch, which is great, but all the topless women are a major culture shock. The women who shouldn’t be topless are the ones who are most often without their tops and it’s hard to not stare and giggle. Also on the beach there are little Asian women who give great massages for 5 Euros. It’s so great being in a city with a beach near. We’ve spent a bunch of days walking for hours getting lost and the other day we found where my parent’s hotel is which is really nice. They are about a ten to fifteen minute walk from my apartment so it’s really convenient. There are so many great little outdoor cafes it’s so fun to sit outside and people watch and eat tapas. The food in Spain isn’t that great, but in a way that’s a good thing so I’m not just eating all day. On a good note there are Burger Kings and McDonalds everywhere and our school is right next to a Starbucks! What more do you need? Hopefully, I’ll step a little more out of my comfort zone and try new foods while I’m here. The whole overall schedule is insane. We eat dinner here at 10 or 11 and then go out to clubs till 6 am. It is literally insane and so fun! It’s getting exhausting and every night seems to be a party night. I’m thankful that today is Sunday and I can just lay low and relax.

Classes are going well. I have three on Monday and Wednesday and two on Tuesday and Thursday. I’m taking one communications course, a media and politics in Spain course, architecture in Barcelona, and sports and culture in Spain class. All of my teachers are engaging and really nice. I especially like my Sports and culture class. The other day for my communications course our assignment was to take the metro a few stops out of the city and go to a café and sit alone. It was a little nerve wrecking and I ended up doing it with some friends, but it was still a good experience. My Spanish is awful, but little by little I am able to pick up words and phrases.

Next weekend we are going to the Pyrenees Mountains for an overnight trip and this is so unlike me, but I’m actually looking forward to go hiking. Don’t quote me on this because I doubt you’ll ever hear me say I actually want to go hiking. Then in two weekends’ I’m going to Oktoberfest! I just learned that it’s the 200^th anniversary so I’m sure it will be insane! I have also booked a trip to Dublin to visit my friend, Maggie, in the beginning of October. There are so many other places I want to go, it’s so overwhelming!

Anyway, that’s all I can think of for now. I’ll try and blog way more often because I feel like I still have a lot to say and I don’t want to leave anything out!