Two weeks down... Two to go!

This week was much different from the first week we were in Barcelona! We seemed to have taken a step back from doing "touristy" things every day and just went with the flow of the day... which led us to the beach many times. Here are a few of the highlights:

• On Tuesday night, we went to the "welcome dinner" and free tapas as Hotel Indigo. This is a weekly event hosted by our language program and another similar language program in Barcelona. It is a great way to meet new people, eat free (and delicious!) tapas, and grab a few drinks. I decided to not be boring this night and went out to a nightclub (or "discoteca" in Spanish). We went to a place near the beach called Shoko. It was quite an experience! Let's just say I was a little tired on Wednesday morning!
• On Thursday night, I met up with some friends to watch the Spain vs. Italy soccer math for the FIFA semi final. We went to and Irish Pub off of La Rambla with a big group and cheered on Spain. They ended up winning in penalty kicks! It was so much fun to watch the game with people who love soccer and Spain so much!
• On Friday, my brother and I decided to hike around Montjuic, an area of Barcelona with the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Olympic history, and gardens. We started at the bottom, at the magic fountain and the museum, which is a huge mistake because everything is uphill from there. The best way to see Montjuic is to take the cable car from the beach to the top and walk down. I plan to return with my mom when she comes to see all of Montjuic. Honestly, a 15-year old boy does not find it that interesting and doesn't want to just wander through a garden... but my mom will! 

• On Friday night, it was my friend's last night in Barcelona so we decided to go out as a group and have some fun! We went down the the W hotel on the beach, went up to the 26th floor to a really nice bar and had a few drinks. Then, we wandered down to the beach below the hotel to grab some dinner. We didn't end up eating until after midnight so I was really tired (and hungry) at that point! After dinner, I called it a night and went back to the residence hall.

(view from the top)

• I had to be well rested for... Cavas Freixenet tour and tasting on Saturday!!!!! This is one of my favorite things I've done so far. I've always wanted to go to a winery tour and tasting so getting to go in Spain, to taste cava, was one of the best experiences. Cava is sparkling wine (basically champagne... just from Spain). We got to learn the history of the winery and the family that started it, see the caves and cellars 30 meters below ground, and taste cava. The only thing is that the whole tour was in Spanish and the woman talked very fast. I was able to pick up some words/phrases but luckily there was a girl there with me who helped translate the main points after the lady was done talking. After the tasting, we were able to go to the gift shop to buy bottles or souvenirs. I ended up buy 3 bottles for only 16 euros! What a deal! I can't wait for my mom to get here to share it with me :) 

I would love to go to Museu Maritim tomorrow... let's just hope I can get my brother on board!

Love,

RLD

"Top 10" Update

So... before arriving in Barcelona, I made a "Top 10" list of the most important places I wanted to see while I am here. Here is how it's going...

10. Museu Picasso (possibly going on Sunday - it is free after 3PM)

9. Tibidabo

8. Montserrat

7. Port Olimpic

6. Barcelona Beaches still many more visits to come though!

5. Casa Mila

4. La Rambla 

3. Monjuic

2. Park Guell

1. Sagrada Familia (waiting for my mom and aunt to get here to experience the masterpiece with them)

In two weeks, I've had the chance to see so much on my list! However, there are more that I want to see and add to the list now that I'm here! A few on this list are places I have already been but enjoyed so much that I want them added to a list!

• Museu Maritim 
• Parc de la Ciutadella
• Mercat de la Boqueria (I'm going again tomorrow to shop for fruit, breads, and cheeses for the week)
• La Catedral
• Esglesia de Santa Maria del Mar

Hopefully, there will be more crossed off this list by next weekend!

Love,

RLD

Festival of Sant Joan

No classes today! Yesterday was the Festival of Sant Joan ("Night of Fire") and today is the "recovery" day in Barcelona so it is a holiday! All day yesterday and all through the night, the city was lit up by fireworks and bon fires to celebrate. We had been told by many people that the main party area, the beach, is extremely dangerous. Due to the amount of alcohol being consumed and everyone setting off fireworks within feet of one another, we decided to view the festivities from another location: a rooftop terrace on La Rambla. Before getting to the hotel, we saw some street performers. It was impressive!

 We ended up going to a hotel terrace called La Isabela and it was absolutely beautiful. From our couches and lounges, we were able to enjoy tapas and drinks while watching the fireworks go off all over the city. Every few seconds, we would see fireworks from a different place so it was a great experience!

 We also got to experience the crazy bon fires happening at almost every intersection throughout the city! Music was blaring, people were dancing a drinking, and the fires were getting bigger and bigger! It was quite an experience. 

Today, since it was a holiday and majority of the city was shut down, I decided to grab some lunch and walk to a park a few blocks away. It was so relaxing to read on a bench and enjoy being outside. After reading a bit, I walked around the park and found an area covered with purple flowers growing all over the walls and lamp posts. I can't wait to come back here and read some more! 

Then, I kept walking through the park and found a little cafe with drinks, sandwiches, and tapas. I ordered myself an Estrella and kept on reading, soaking up the sunshine! 

Next post: my "Top 10" update!

Love,

RLD

Montserrat, Sitges, and Tibidabo

Well, I crossed a lot off of my to-do list this weekend and it's not even over yet (tomorrow is a holiday!). On Saturday, I went on a day excursion with my school and another school to Montserrat and Sitges. The places are completely different but I'm so glad I was able to see both in one day! Let's start with Montserrat...

It is absolutely breath-taking there! Montserrat means "saw mountain" because the peaks look like saw teeth. It was so crazy because Montserrat is the ONLY place like it for as far as we could see (and probably everywhere)! All of the other mountains are beautiful but they just look like normal mountains. Montserrat is amazing!

 To get to the top, you either hike up an hour (steep incline) or take the Funicular. Because of the time we had before we needed to get back on the bus, we decided to take the Funicular to the top and then walk down. It was important that we had plenty of time to take pictures and didn't want to be rushed! The Funicular was an incredibly steep incline but had amazing views the entire way up. When we got to the top, we took pictures, hiked around a bit, and found some great views to soak in. 

While walking down from a peak where we took group picture (above), the woman in the picture slipped and fell and broke her ankle. She was so tough but had to be taken down the mountain in a 4WD ambulance where they were met by a real ambulance. She was taken into a local town and had surgery last night to fix her ankle. We are all hoping she has a quick recovery! 

After Montserrat, we headed to the coast to a town called Sitges. It is located on the Mediterranean, about 45 minutes south of Barcelona. Sitges is well known for an annual festival, as well as the beautiful beaches! We had a few hours to spend here so we went to the beach, had a drink and some lunch, then laid on the beach! 

The water was so pretty! I couldn't get enough of it! Also, there were tons of sailboats. If I had more time, I would have loved to go out on a Hobie Cat for a few hours in the clear water!

Last night, my brother and I went to Passeig de Gracia for tapas. We found a great restaurant and were able to sit outside to eat and drink (cerveza for me, Coke for him). I kept their business card so I can take my mom and aunt there in a few weeks.. it was THAT good! 

Today, my brother, a girl from my classes, and I went up to Tibidabo. Tibidabo is an amusement park/fun park located on the top of a mountain overlooking Barcelona. We had such a great time! One of my favorite things we did was a SCARY haunted house! It was so cool and such a great time... and very scary! 

I'm exhausted. This city is wearing me out!

Love,

RLD

Parc Guell and Gracia

Today we went up to Parc Guell for the day! And when I say up... I mean UP... it was basically on top of a mountain overlooking all of Barcelona! To get there, we took the metro and then had to walk up streets at a crazy incline to get to the entrance of the park. Here is one of the streets (and it's not even the worst one!)

When we finally made it to the top, our legs killing us, we continued to make our way to the top point with a fantastic overlook of the city and the Mediterranean. Parc Guell was created by Gaudi but is different from his other works because it focuses more on nature and landscape gardening. However, it still has the two gate houses at the Centre d'Interpretac, which are "typical" Gaudi style. It was such a great place to spend the day and enjoy the outdoors. It amazes me how unique the park is and how different sections can be so different when designed by the same architect. 

 (Tibidabo in the distance)

(Barcelona & La Sagrada Familia)

(Parc Guell)

While on that side of town, we also visited the Hospital de la Santa Creu I de Sant Pau, which was designed by the architect Domenech i Montaner. I was not expecting it to be so beautiful but it really impressed me! 

After all of that walking, we were hungry and thirsty so we made our way towards the Sagrada Familia for tapas and drinks. The Sagrada Familia is one of the places I'm most looking forward to touring... but for now I just get to see the outside. Hopefully next week I'll get to go inside and see the masterpiece up close! 

Plan for tonight: dinner then down to Barri Gotic for drinks with friends :) 

Love, 

RLD

La Rambla

Yesterday was not the best weather so we (my class group and my brother) decided to spend the day strolling La Rambla, one of the most famous streets in Barcelona. We had originally planned to have a "beach day" but it was quite chilly and cloudy so we had to be flexible! 

We started at the top of La Rambla and had tapas and cerveza. It was quite tasty and fun to order a bunch of tapas and share everything. I think the best part is that all of the restaurants and tapas bars have outdoor seating so we were in the center pathway between each side of the street. After that, we decided to stroll down La Rambla and take it all in. It was SO crowded and I heard it only gets worse as the night goes on! Here is a picture I took from the top looking into La Rambla:

All down the street, there are tapas bars, restaurants, shops, and people selling things (souvenirs, art, etc.). One of the guys we were with had already been down there and showed us Mercat de la Boqueria, a HUGE food market off La Rambla. It was absolutely amazing and such a great experience. I was mainly just looking and soaking in all of the culture but I couldn't help myself from getting some fresh strawberries! Below are a few picture from the market.

 (^ these cute clay pigs were at the meat stand with all the pork behind them...)

After that, we had a "welcome dinner" at a local hotel with free tapas. We couldn't say no to free tapas!! A group of us went (from my class) and enjoyed trying tons of different foods. I also enjoyed a delicious (and large) glass of sangria. I'm looking forward to going next Tuesday! 

Today after classes, we headed back to the beach to enjoy the BEAUTIFUL day! It was absolutely perfect. I could come here every day...

Upcoming adventures (hopefully in the next few days): Parc Guell, Tibidabo, and Monjuic. Also, we have an excursion with our program to go to Montserrat and Sitges on Saturday! So much to look forward to!

Love,

RLD

First Day of Classes

As you can tell from the post title, today was my first day of classes! Luckily, they are only about 7 blocks up the street so I was able to walk. That is one thing I already love about being here - being able to walk a TON!

Let's jump right in... I had to be there at 8AM for a placement test. Since I know ZERO spanish, I didn't have to take a placement test! Yay! AND... I wasn't the only one :) I got to meet some awesome people from all over the world and while everyone else was taking their tests, we got to sit in the courtyard and chat. My beginner group has 7 people in it this week (including me) and are from: Australia (2), Holland, Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden. I am the only one from the United States!

After everyone was done testing, we had a "Welcome to Barcelona" presentation where we found out about daily events and the nightlife. Because of the program we are in, we all can get put on a guest list and get free cover to some of the best clubs/bars in Barcelona. There is stuff going on every night! Then, we got sent off to our classrooms with our groups based on spanish levels and the placement test.

It was a little overwhelming at first because the professors will ONLY speak to us in Spanish but it got better as the day went on. We were in class from 9-10:45 then had a short break where we went to grab a sandwich. When we returned at 11:15, we had a different professor and learned until 13:00. I'm SO glad I am in the morning group this week so I'm not at school until 17:00 (that would cut into my beach time:) ).

After classes, my brother and I ventured out on the Metro to find a huge (8 floors!) department store, El Corte Ingles. I desperately need a hair drier and didn't bring my US one because of the outlet/voltage difference. I figured since I'm going to be in Europe for 7 weeks, it was worth it to be able to dry my hair and not feel gross all the time. I also got a mini travel-size straightener... shhh don't tell... I just couldn't help myself!! On our way back, we stopped to get giant (1.5 L) water bottles to stay hydrated.

After dropping off all of that at our student flat (basically a dorm), we ventured out again to explore some of Barri Gotic and walk around. I feel like a pro on the Metro now! We got off the Metro at the Arc de Triomf stop and walked through there towards the Parc de la Cuitadella. Below are a few pictures from there!

Well, I am completely exhausted and my legs kill! Time to rest up before dinner! 

Love, 

RLD

Hello, Barcelona!

We made it! Jared and I are currently in our hotel room, exhausted after a long day/night of travel and day of exploring the city!

Our travel plans didn't exactly go as expected... but the good thing is that we are here. We flew out of RDU and there was a delay leaving because of a weight issue on the plane. After giving people flight vouchers to take the next flight, we were finally in the air and headed for JFK. Now, JFK is a whole different story. We boarded our plane late (we were supposed to board at 4:50 and we didn't start until 5:20 - our flight was scheduled to leave at 5:30). Then, we stayed at the gate for about an hour because of mechanical issues. Isn't that always what you want to hear before flying over the ocean? As 6:30 rolls around, we are finally making our way to the runway. The runway was extremely backed up and it took us until 8:00 to get to the front of the line for take off. Luckily, I got a really pretty picture while waiting!

There we are... next in line to take off... and we hear the pilot over the speakers saying that we are returning to the gate for another maintenance check because of a "funny smell". It turns out that the smell was coming from the oven on the plane because it was dirty (gross!) and by 10:00, we were ready to take off again! On the positive side, it was much easier to sleep on the plane overnight. Also, I was really worried about flying over the ocean but since it was so dark outside, I couldn't even see anything!

Fast forward... we landed in Barcelona around 11:30AM (our time) and got our bags, got a taxi, and made our way to the hotel. Our hotel has a beautiful terrace that over looks the city! Warning: it is very hard to get Jared to smile for a picture.

We also enjoyed tapas outside on Passeig de Gracia. It was delicious! I loved getting to sit outside and relax and just be a part of the culture of Barcelona.

That pretty much concludes our fun for the day. One tidbit of information... do NOT forget sunscreen. Not only is it very easy to get burnt enjoying the wonderful sunshine but it also costs and arm and a leg to get one bottle of it!

More soon...

Love,
RLD