This one will be quick, I'm thinking bullet notation quick...just a quick outline of the past week's happenings to keep everyone informed!
(1) Classes finished Tuesday! I cannot believe I'm done already...I guess it is time to study...this can probably wait till I get back from exploring Europe!
(2) Aron went on a tour of Stonehenge, Avebury, Lacock & Castle Combe and loved it! Well that might be an over exaggeration, but he did really enjoy it and highly recommended it.
(3) Enjoyed an Italian night dinner with some friends. I made a chicken alfredo pasta...it was very yummy!! I cannot wait to eat real Italian food from Italy in less than a week :)
(4) Went to London and toured around. Saw the Tower of London....the Crown Jewels are very impressive and worth the admission fee. Saw Wicked...really liked the musical...it was very fun seeing a production in London. Ate a traditional British meal with Aron at a local pub in town and finally toured around Westminster...wish I had actually went into the abbey...maybe next time. There are already camera crews in place for the Royal Wedding!
(5) Finally went on the walking tour around Bath! It was phenomenal and I learn't so much about the history of Bath...a must do if you every come to Bath...plus it's free...so it's always worth it!
(6) Explored Cheddar Caves and Gorge. We took a three mile hike around the gorge...I thought it was going to kill me...I am so out of shape! In the end, I made it out alive and although my legs are a little sore, I am very happy I completed the hike....which began with 274 steps up a giant hill! The hike was beautiful and since it was a clear day, I am pretty sure I could see into Wales. The caves were alright, but nothing too amazing...probably could have been skipped.
(7) Leaving in approximately 18 hours for the trip of my lifetime...at least thus far!!! I will be in Spain till April 28th, Italy till May 2nd, Paris till May 5th, and finally Ireland till May 9th. The trip should be amazing and I am so excited :)
This is all for now...I'll report back in mid May!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
A weekend in the fast lane!
This blog is going to be short and for all my non-horse friends out there, you probably won't understand it and it is just too difficult to explain (view my pictures and you might be able to get the idea). I just can't think what went on last week, so I am going to assume it was nothing of too much importance and skip right along to my weekend in Shrewsbury.
On Friday, I missed most of my classes so I could catch a ride up north to meet up with my brother to watch him ride (horses) and go camping! Mishap number one: I gave the woman who was lovely enough to pick me up and drive me up to the competition the wrong mobile number!! I was very embarrassed and felt so stupid. I also felt awful because the people picking me up had to wait for me and I really do try not to be late for everything!!! I think my lateness is inevitable....I blame the English weather...why not?? Then, I helped get the pony loaded and assisted however I could. Then, we drove about three hours north to Shrewsbury...I really like the name Shrewsbury...not sure why, but it sounds interesting.
After a little while, Aron arrived and we set up camp...well, we tried to set up a tent. In the end, we made a rather simple tent very hard to set up! The tent was very neat, it had two separate rooms and a common area. Then we sat around and enjoyed a relaxing Friday evening. The magnitude of the competition was intense! There were so many competitors...so much bigger than I ever imagined! There were over 30 Open teams. Not sure I mentioned this above...it was a Mounted Games competition. For those of you unfamiliar with the discipline, it is doing rely races on horseback...that's the most basic explanation I can think of. On Saturday the games began...the Open division had five heats of six or more lanes! The fairgrounds were filled with lorries and corals set up as stables. Saturday evening included a disco and some more relaxing. Sunday consisted of more games then packing up and heading home so I could have a nice long hot shower! Once I got home, I got to see how sunburn I was! My face and chest currently are as red as a tomato!! Well, at least now I have a little color :)
Today, Aron and I recovered from the long weekend and did some planning for our upcoming travels. I had my first final today! I can't believe this semester is coming to an end already...only three more finals and I am headed home, but I have three weeks of break/revision and then another three weeks of exams before I actually make the journey back across the atlantic. I leave this Sunday for my European Adventure and will be back May 9th...so no blog till then! (Well...maybe I'll write a short update this weekend depending if anything interesting happens this week!)
One last thing....I want to wish my roommate Kelsey Elizabeth Underwood a very happy 21st birthday and I am sooo sad I won't be home to help you celebrate!!!!!!!!!!!! Although, I will be laying on a beach in Spain, so maybe I won't be too sad ;)
On Friday, I missed most of my classes so I could catch a ride up north to meet up with my brother to watch him ride (horses) and go camping! Mishap number one: I gave the woman who was lovely enough to pick me up and drive me up to the competition the wrong mobile number!! I was very embarrassed and felt so stupid. I also felt awful because the people picking me up had to wait for me and I really do try not to be late for everything!!! I think my lateness is inevitable....I blame the English weather...why not?? Then, I helped get the pony loaded and assisted however I could. Then, we drove about three hours north to Shrewsbury...I really like the name Shrewsbury...not sure why, but it sounds interesting.
After a little while, Aron arrived and we set up camp...well, we tried to set up a tent. In the end, we made a rather simple tent very hard to set up! The tent was very neat, it had two separate rooms and a common area. Then we sat around and enjoyed a relaxing Friday evening. The magnitude of the competition was intense! There were so many competitors...so much bigger than I ever imagined! There were over 30 Open teams. Not sure I mentioned this above...it was a Mounted Games competition. For those of you unfamiliar with the discipline, it is doing rely races on horseback...that's the most basic explanation I can think of. On Saturday the games began...the Open division had five heats of six or more lanes! The fairgrounds were filled with lorries and corals set up as stables. Saturday evening included a disco and some more relaxing. Sunday consisted of more games then packing up and heading home so I could have a nice long hot shower! Once I got home, I got to see how sunburn I was! My face and chest currently are as red as a tomato!! Well, at least now I have a little color :)
Today, Aron and I recovered from the long weekend and did some planning for our upcoming travels. I had my first final today! I can't believe this semester is coming to an end already...only three more finals and I am headed home, but I have three weeks of break/revision and then another three weeks of exams before I actually make the journey back across the atlantic. I leave this Sunday for my European Adventure and will be back May 9th...so no blog till then! (Well...maybe I'll write a short update this weekend depending if anything interesting happens this week!)
One last thing....I want to wish my roommate Kelsey Elizabeth Underwood a very happy 21st birthday and I am sooo sad I won't be home to help you celebrate!!!!!!!!!!!! Although, I will be laying on a beach in Spain, so maybe I won't be too sad ;)
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
What is traditional Dutch food? Answer: Pancakes, Pancakes, and Pancakes!!!
The title of this week's blog post is in reference to my latest adventure in Holland and Belgium. While in Amsterdam this past weekend, I really wanted to try traditional Dutch cuisine, so I asked my tour guide for some recommendations. His response was "pancakes!" I then asked again about more dinner style options...again his response was "pancakes!" To my dismay, I did not get to eat a traditional Dutch dinner (I did eat pancakes for breakfast and they were delicious)...because I couldn't find a restaurant that served one! Therefore, I am just going to assume Holland does not have a traditional dinner dish, meaning I didn't miss out on anything!
This past week was full of fun stories! Starting off with a night out at the pub on Tuesday night. A friend of mine's mum was in town so we set out for a traditional English pub dinner. We got to a local pub and waited to order food till everyone joining us arrived. As soon as we decided what to order, we were told the kitchen was closed!!!! I think it is crazy to stop serving food at 7:30pm! I would think there is a lot more money to be made after this time in the evening, but oh well....on to the next pub. We quickly ordered because their kitchen was on the verge of closing for the night as well! I finally got to try my first steak and ale pie....it was scrumptious! I don't really know how I made it nearly two and a half months in England without trying a famous pie from a pub. Now that I have tried one, I am a big fan! On Thursday, the food craze continued and I went out for my first cream tea. The scones were delicious, but to my surprise I wasn't the biggest fan of the clotted cream...I think I would have preferred butter. Even my mom highly recommend clotted cream and she does not have the same sweet tooth I have!! Oh well, afternoon tea was a delightful experience (that statement sounds very British...one a side note I was speaking with one of my roommates from back home today and I couldn't remember what a coach was called in America aka a charter bus...I think I have been here too long!).
On Friday, my spur of the moment trip to Amsterdam commenced! I took the train into London Paddington and then the tube to Victoria. Another train to Brighton and finally boarded a coach to Amsterdam. We drove through the night which wasn't too bad, but I was stuck sitting next to the rudest person ever!! He sprawled out and took up more than his allotted portion of the row! We took the Eruostar across to France, which was neat to see the coach fit onto the train. Next think I knew, we arrived in Amsterdam! Since it was around 7:30am on a Saturday, meaning the activities of Friday night had recently ended the city was very dirty and I wasn't a huge fan. As the sun came up and more people on bikes emerged...I saw more of the city's unique character. All the canals were gorgeous. The city isn't too big and I think I was able to cover a large portion of it during the day. I also took a boat tour around the canals to see more of the sights...I think the best way to get good pictures! My only regret is I did not go inside the Anne Frank House...the line was long and at the time I didn't want to wait...oh well maybe on my next trip. That evening I went on a quick tour of the Red Light District to see the oldest profession in the world! It was....um....interesting...actually it wasn't as bad as I imagined. There really were girls in front of glass doors or on beds or chairs...but thankfully there were well covered, at least the important areas were clothed...for the most part.
The next morning I went to a local Dutch village named Zaanse Schans. It was a very touristy area, but worth seeing. I got to see how wooden clogs are make and taste the most amazing cheese! There was this one cheese that was pesto flavor and it looked like green playdough, but it tasted so good! I also got to see working windmills...I love windmills...I know it's a weird obsession, but they are so cool looking! I also learned that the Dutch are famous for their diamond cutting skills, therefore there were many diamond shops and I wish I had the spare money to make a purchase...oh well...maybe next time! Next on the trip, after a three hour drive, was the beautiful city of Bruges, Belgium. I loved it and I tried really hard to follow my aunt's recommendations of trying: waffles, chocolate, and beer while in Belgium. Unfortunately, I only had time for two out of the three things...I had to skip the beer. Although, I didn't realize Belgium is known for over a thousand different brews of beer! One day, I hope to try them all...I know I am ambitious :) The town was lovely and has persevered the Medieval architecture well. Bruges was by far my most favorite place I visited on this trip and ranks in the top five places I have been since I have been in Europe. Back to the food...the waffles...oh the waffles, they were so good!!! Just melted in my mouth...even better than my dad's homemade waffles and that is saying something. Then the chocolate...I would like to think of my self as a die-heart chocolate lover and I died and went to heaven when I tried fresh truffles from Belgium. Belgium chocolate really does live up to its reputation and surprisingly it wasn't too expensive! I would have liked to try the famous mussels or flemish stew while I was there, but there just wasn't enough time. The trip was worth it, but it went too fast! I could see myself visiting Bruges again and maybe even Amsterdam, I am glad I got to see both cities at least once. The ride back to England wasn't too bad and I now have three British visas! The only mishap was taking the wrong train from Gatwick to Victoria and having to pay for a new ticket...thankfully it wasn't too expensive.
I cannot believe I only have two more weeks of classes! I begin my trip to Spain-Italy-France-Ireland a week from Sunday and it seems unreal that it mid-April already. Aron comes in this week and I am so excited to see him. This weekend I am going to a riding competition and camping!! Then, I have my first final next Monday. WOW...I can not believe how fast this experience is going. Well, until next time....I should probably start preparing for my first final!
This past week was full of fun stories! Starting off with a night out at the pub on Tuesday night. A friend of mine's mum was in town so we set out for a traditional English pub dinner. We got to a local pub and waited to order food till everyone joining us arrived. As soon as we decided what to order, we were told the kitchen was closed!!!! I think it is crazy to stop serving food at 7:30pm! I would think there is a lot more money to be made after this time in the evening, but oh well....on to the next pub. We quickly ordered because their kitchen was on the verge of closing for the night as well! I finally got to try my first steak and ale pie....it was scrumptious! I don't really know how I made it nearly two and a half months in England without trying a famous pie from a pub. Now that I have tried one, I am a big fan! On Thursday, the food craze continued and I went out for my first cream tea. The scones were delicious, but to my surprise I wasn't the biggest fan of the clotted cream...I think I would have preferred butter. Even my mom highly recommend clotted cream and she does not have the same sweet tooth I have!! Oh well, afternoon tea was a delightful experience (that statement sounds very British...one a side note I was speaking with one of my roommates from back home today and I couldn't remember what a coach was called in America aka a charter bus...I think I have been here too long!).
On Friday, my spur of the moment trip to Amsterdam commenced! I took the train into London Paddington and then the tube to Victoria. Another train to Brighton and finally boarded a coach to Amsterdam. We drove through the night which wasn't too bad, but I was stuck sitting next to the rudest person ever!! He sprawled out and took up more than his allotted portion of the row! We took the Eruostar across to France, which was neat to see the coach fit onto the train. Next think I knew, we arrived in Amsterdam! Since it was around 7:30am on a Saturday, meaning the activities of Friday night had recently ended the city was very dirty and I wasn't a huge fan. As the sun came up and more people on bikes emerged...I saw more of the city's unique character. All the canals were gorgeous. The city isn't too big and I think I was able to cover a large portion of it during the day. I also took a boat tour around the canals to see more of the sights...I think the best way to get good pictures! My only regret is I did not go inside the Anne Frank House...the line was long and at the time I didn't want to wait...oh well maybe on my next trip. That evening I went on a quick tour of the Red Light District to see the oldest profession in the world! It was....um....interesting...actually it wasn't as bad as I imagined. There really were girls in front of glass doors or on beds or chairs...but thankfully there were well covered, at least the important areas were clothed...for the most part.
The next morning I went to a local Dutch village named Zaanse Schans. It was a very touristy area, but worth seeing. I got to see how wooden clogs are make and taste the most amazing cheese! There was this one cheese that was pesto flavor and it looked like green playdough, but it tasted so good! I also got to see working windmills...I love windmills...I know it's a weird obsession, but they are so cool looking! I also learned that the Dutch are famous for their diamond cutting skills, therefore there were many diamond shops and I wish I had the spare money to make a purchase...oh well...maybe next time! Next on the trip, after a three hour drive, was the beautiful city of Bruges, Belgium. I loved it and I tried really hard to follow my aunt's recommendations of trying: waffles, chocolate, and beer while in Belgium. Unfortunately, I only had time for two out of the three things...I had to skip the beer. Although, I didn't realize Belgium is known for over a thousand different brews of beer! One day, I hope to try them all...I know I am ambitious :) The town was lovely and has persevered the Medieval architecture well. Bruges was by far my most favorite place I visited on this trip and ranks in the top five places I have been since I have been in Europe. Back to the food...the waffles...oh the waffles, they were so good!!! Just melted in my mouth...even better than my dad's homemade waffles and that is saying something. Then the chocolate...I would like to think of my self as a die-heart chocolate lover and I died and went to heaven when I tried fresh truffles from Belgium. Belgium chocolate really does live up to its reputation and surprisingly it wasn't too expensive! I would have liked to try the famous mussels or flemish stew while I was there, but there just wasn't enough time. The trip was worth it, but it went too fast! I could see myself visiting Bruges again and maybe even Amsterdam, I am glad I got to see both cities at least once. The ride back to England wasn't too bad and I now have three British visas! The only mishap was taking the wrong train from Gatwick to Victoria and having to pay for a new ticket...thankfully it wasn't too expensive.
I cannot believe I only have two more weeks of classes! I begin my trip to Spain-Italy-France-Ireland a week from Sunday and it seems unreal that it mid-April already. Aron comes in this week and I am so excited to see him. This weekend I am going to a riding competition and camping!! Then, I have my first final next Monday. WOW...I can not believe how fast this experience is going. Well, until next time....I should probably start preparing for my first final!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
A weekend well spent in Barcelona!
First off, I must apologize that this week's blog is LATE! I blame the English weather...it is always a good thing to blame. I am just going to skip to the best part of the week because I honestly don't recall anything too exciting in the beginning of the week.
Around 1 AM on Saturday morning I was finally able to fall asleep. Then around 3:30 AM my alarm went off, my phone rang, and I got a text message. All of these disturbances happened to ensure I woke up in enough time to catch a 4:30 cab to the airport! Thankfully, I woke up got all my things together and head to the meeting spot to catch the cab. I was a bit ambitious and arrived about 10 minutes early (yes..I know, I was early!), it is kind of scary walking the streets of Bath at four in the morning...very quiet. Soon, the others arrived and the cab came. After a short forty minute ride we arrived at Bristol Airport and my first experience with Ryan Air began. I had to present my printed off boarding pass (if you don't print it off before hand it cost 40 pounds/euros to print it at the airport!) and have my passport checked. That didn't take too long, then we headed to security...much more relaxed compared to the States. Pretty much arriving an hour before your flight gives you enough time. Then we weaved around the airport to finally find our gate where we proceeded to wait in a "first come, first serve" line to board the airplane. When the gate was opened we walked outside to board the plane and it was beginning to rain! We managed to take over the back of the plane and I immediately feel asleep for the majority of the two hour flight. I personally did not test out the claim that the airline charged for using the bathroom, but I did hear that it is not true.
Next thing I knew we landed down in Girona, a small city about an hour north of Barcelona. The group of us took a coach into Barcelona and then attempted to find our hostel. The first sight we saw was the Arc de Triomf and it was magnificent! The arc was located night next to the closest metro stop, so we detoured for a few minutes and wondered around the arc. Then, we took the metro to our hostel. Once we arrived we walked on the left side of the street for maybe a good mile and a half and then realized that all the numbers were odd and we needed an even number, so we crossed the street. Once on the other side, we noticed that we walked about 100 building numbers too far. The walk was beautiful, but it was warm and carrying all our stuff wasn't too much fun! When we finally arrived at the right street address, we couldn't figure out how to get into the building to get to the correct floor. We ended up taking the back staircase, a rather scary experience, about half way up the stairway became dark! Plus, the Spanish have an odd labeling system for floor numbers it begins with ground, principal, first, second, and so on and we needed to walk to the fifth floor! We finally arrived, checked in, paid, and dropped our bags.
We then headed to La Rambla street and grabbed a quick lunch. We walked down the crowed, very touristy street and finally made it to the harbor. We sat for a little and enjoyed the warm sunshine and then continued walking to the beach. I put my feet in the water, which was so cold, and laid down on the beach for a while. Then, we headed to Parc de la Ciutadella.
The park was beautiful and had an incredible fountain in the middle of it. Everything was so beautiful! There were so many people laying down and kids kicking around balls...it seemed like a really nice way to spend a Saturday evening. We played around in the park for a while and then decided to go back to the hostel to rest for an hour or so before dinner. We wanted to have a late dinner and do it how the Spaniards do it, but by the time we finally agreed on a game plan and found an ideal restaurant that met everyone's requirements it was around 11:30 PM. We decided on a Tapas restaurant on some random street in some random direction, nevertheless we agreed on the place and I was starving and very tired! I shared four tapas dishes with a friend and they were all delicious!!! Spanish food blows British food out of the water, although I am sure that doesn't surprise anyone. Then the majority of the group decided to head back to the hostel because the whole two hours of sleep and walking around all day wasn't too ideal for a night out. The idea of going out and dancing on my very sore feet was not going over well! Finally, day one was over and I feel asleep the moment we arrived back in our room.
Day two began with a visit to Sagrada Familia. The church was absolutely unbelievably gorgeous. Gaudi's side was so amazing, it almost appeared that the building was dripped together with sand instead of built with usual materials. The church was huge and it still blow my mind that after a hundred years it still isn't finished! I would like to go back in 2026 (the latest date of predicted completion) to see the final product. Then we journeyed to Park Guell a park dedicated to Gaudi and eventually made it to the Casa-Museu Gaudi. The park was amazing, really everything was amazing and 'amazing' doesn't even give it justice! In the middle of the park was a sand plaza with street vendors selling various goods, music playing, and all around happy people. I think seeing this park was my favorite thing I did in Barcelona and I highly recommend it. After the park, we headed towards Placa d'Espanya. I actually separated from the group and met up with a friend for a quick lunch. It is always neat seeing people from home in other countries. I was very happy to see her and catch up! Then I reconvened with the group and we explored the Montjuic area. This is an elevated part of the city and provided beautiful views. From there we saw the Olympic stadium from 1992 and walked around another amazing park. We found a local coffee shop and had delicious pastries! (Note: the hot chocolate in Spain is amazing, but is more like hot chocolate pudding...not a drink) Then we went to see a fountain show, but it never happened :( so, we made our way back to La Rambla street and found a restaurant serving paella. It was so yummy and I cannot wait to go back to Spain and eat more. I accidently ate calamari and I liked it! The thought of eating squid still really grosses me out...but I really liked the texture. After dinner, we walked around La Rambla at night...a very different scene than the daytime and got some gelato (it was amazing, really amazing!!!). Then, we made our way back to our hostel and got a few hours of sleep before our early flight back to the UK the next day.
To sum it up, Spain is amazing!!! My only regret is that I didn't have sangria with fruit in it, I will try this when I am in Valencia in a few weeks. Weekend trips to other countries are very long and tiring, but worth it! Flying on Ryan Air isn't so bad...not amazing, but not awful...on the way back I managed to stay awake for a little bit and the airline tries to sell everything to their customers, there are non-stop advertisements! This next weekend I am going on an impromptu trip to Amsterdam and Bruges! I am really excited to go to Belgium so I can eat chocolate, waffles, and drink beer! The trip should be fun and it was a great deal. After visiting these two countries, my spring break trip, and a scotland trip in the middle of my exams, I think I will have seen almost everything I wanted to see while in Europe! The following weekend, Aron is coming to England and I am going up north to watch him ride in a Games competition and go camping :) This experience has been amazing and I highly recommend studying abroad to everyone if you have the chance!!!
Around 1 AM on Saturday morning I was finally able to fall asleep. Then around 3:30 AM my alarm went off, my phone rang, and I got a text message. All of these disturbances happened to ensure I woke up in enough time to catch a 4:30 cab to the airport! Thankfully, I woke up got all my things together and head to the meeting spot to catch the cab. I was a bit ambitious and arrived about 10 minutes early (yes..I know, I was early!), it is kind of scary walking the streets of Bath at four in the morning...very quiet. Soon, the others arrived and the cab came. After a short forty minute ride we arrived at Bristol Airport and my first experience with Ryan Air began. I had to present my printed off boarding pass (if you don't print it off before hand it cost 40 pounds/euros to print it at the airport!) and have my passport checked. That didn't take too long, then we headed to security...much more relaxed compared to the States. Pretty much arriving an hour before your flight gives you enough time. Then we weaved around the airport to finally find our gate where we proceeded to wait in a "first come, first serve" line to board the airplane. When the gate was opened we walked outside to board the plane and it was beginning to rain! We managed to take over the back of the plane and I immediately feel asleep for the majority of the two hour flight. I personally did not test out the claim that the airline charged for using the bathroom, but I did hear that it is not true.
Next thing I knew we landed down in Girona, a small city about an hour north of Barcelona. The group of us took a coach into Barcelona and then attempted to find our hostel. The first sight we saw was the Arc de Triomf and it was magnificent! The arc was located night next to the closest metro stop, so we detoured for a few minutes and wondered around the arc. Then, we took the metro to our hostel. Once we arrived we walked on the left side of the street for maybe a good mile and a half and then realized that all the numbers were odd and we needed an even number, so we crossed the street. Once on the other side, we noticed that we walked about 100 building numbers too far. The walk was beautiful, but it was warm and carrying all our stuff wasn't too much fun! When we finally arrived at the right street address, we couldn't figure out how to get into the building to get to the correct floor. We ended up taking the back staircase, a rather scary experience, about half way up the stairway became dark! Plus, the Spanish have an odd labeling system for floor numbers it begins with ground, principal, first, second, and so on and we needed to walk to the fifth floor! We finally arrived, checked in, paid, and dropped our bags.
We then headed to La Rambla street and grabbed a quick lunch. We walked down the crowed, very touristy street and finally made it to the harbor. We sat for a little and enjoyed the warm sunshine and then continued walking to the beach. I put my feet in the water, which was so cold, and laid down on the beach for a while. Then, we headed to Parc de la Ciutadella.
The park was beautiful and had an incredible fountain in the middle of it. Everything was so beautiful! There were so many people laying down and kids kicking around balls...it seemed like a really nice way to spend a Saturday evening. We played around in the park for a while and then decided to go back to the hostel to rest for an hour or so before dinner. We wanted to have a late dinner and do it how the Spaniards do it, but by the time we finally agreed on a game plan and found an ideal restaurant that met everyone's requirements it was around 11:30 PM. We decided on a Tapas restaurant on some random street in some random direction, nevertheless we agreed on the place and I was starving and very tired! I shared four tapas dishes with a friend and they were all delicious!!! Spanish food blows British food out of the water, although I am sure that doesn't surprise anyone. Then the majority of the group decided to head back to the hostel because the whole two hours of sleep and walking around all day wasn't too ideal for a night out. The idea of going out and dancing on my very sore feet was not going over well! Finally, day one was over and I feel asleep the moment we arrived back in our room.
Day two began with a visit to Sagrada Familia. The church was absolutely unbelievably gorgeous. Gaudi's side was so amazing, it almost appeared that the building was dripped together with sand instead of built with usual materials. The church was huge and it still blow my mind that after a hundred years it still isn't finished! I would like to go back in 2026 (the latest date of predicted completion) to see the final product. Then we journeyed to Park Guell a park dedicated to Gaudi and eventually made it to the Casa-Museu Gaudi. The park was amazing, really everything was amazing and 'amazing' doesn't even give it justice! In the middle of the park was a sand plaza with street vendors selling various goods, music playing, and all around happy people. I think seeing this park was my favorite thing I did in Barcelona and I highly recommend it. After the park, we headed towards Placa d'Espanya. I actually separated from the group and met up with a friend for a quick lunch. It is always neat seeing people from home in other countries. I was very happy to see her and catch up! Then I reconvened with the group and we explored the Montjuic area. This is an elevated part of the city and provided beautiful views. From there we saw the Olympic stadium from 1992 and walked around another amazing park. We found a local coffee shop and had delicious pastries! (Note: the hot chocolate in Spain is amazing, but is more like hot chocolate pudding...not a drink) Then we went to see a fountain show, but it never happened :( so, we made our way back to La Rambla street and found a restaurant serving paella. It was so yummy and I cannot wait to go back to Spain and eat more. I accidently ate calamari and I liked it! The thought of eating squid still really grosses me out...but I really liked the texture. After dinner, we walked around La Rambla at night...a very different scene than the daytime and got some gelato (it was amazing, really amazing!!!). Then, we made our way back to our hostel and got a few hours of sleep before our early flight back to the UK the next day.
To sum it up, Spain is amazing!!! My only regret is that I didn't have sangria with fruit in it, I will try this when I am in Valencia in a few weeks. Weekend trips to other countries are very long and tiring, but worth it! Flying on Ryan Air isn't so bad...not amazing, but not awful...on the way back I managed to stay awake for a little bit and the airline tries to sell everything to their customers, there are non-stop advertisements! This next weekend I am going on an impromptu trip to Amsterdam and Bruges! I am really excited to go to Belgium so I can eat chocolate, waffles, and drink beer! The trip should be fun and it was a great deal. After visiting these two countries, my spring break trip, and a scotland trip in the middle of my exams, I think I will have seen almost everything I wanted to see while in Europe! The following weekend, Aron is coming to England and I am going up north to watch him ride in a Games competition and go camping :) This experience has been amazing and I highly recommend studying abroad to everyone if you have the chance!!!
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