La Sangria Familia...BARCELONA

I spent this last weekend in Barcelona and loved every minute of it! The weather was beautiful, sunny everyday! A little too sunny at times considering we all got so sun burned and walked around the city looking like lobster tourists. I went with ten girls, which was a lot of fun. It was a group of girls I hadn't traveled with yet and I really had a lot of fun getting to know new people even within the last weeks of the program. I was also so thrilled because I met up with my friend Madie, from the U of M who is studying in London at one of the clubs. I was so happy about this since I didn't get a chance to visit her, it was so amazing seeing her!

On the first day we hung out at the beach and walked around the city a lot. We had a paella dinner and lots and lots of sangria which is a delicious fruit and wine drink. Late afternoon (on almost everyday I think) we had a siesta. Yes, you heard right. I knew that I couldn't go to Barcelona without experiencing their beach night life....which might I add the locals stay out until 6 am. I realize I do not have the stamina to be able to do that or study abroad in a city like Barcelona! We didn't make it out even close to that late, but it was fun to be able to go out, dance and have a good time. Plus, we were celebrating my friend Devon's 21st birthday. The next day we did a Gaudi tour around Barcelona which was really amazing. La Segrada Familia is the unfinished incredible Gaudi church. We didn't go inside because of time and money but it was great to hear stories about it, it was the last work of Gaudi before he died. He also knew he wouldn't finish it so he left tons of drawings for people to keep his work going. The whole tour was free and he told us really amazing pieces of information. Did you know George Lucas was inspired by chimney's on one of Gaudi's designs for the look of the Stormtrooper's in Star Wars? Thought my dad would enjoy knowing that.

 

One of my favorite things in Barcelona besides the beach and the food and all the Gaudi was the market La Boqueria (spelling). It was fabulous! I liked it because it had a lot of fresh fruit juices and mixed fruit cups, something you don't find much of in Italy. It was so delicious and so cheap! We wanted to go back there for lunch one day but it was closed, we were happy to have seen it while we did.

Again, the food was amazing. I was told a lot of things are fried but I didn't find that true. I had a lot of seafood, paella, different types of salads, and tapas! Tapas are their form of appetizers. These are what I heard was fried, but we ordered a lot of seafood, potatas bravas (potatoes with a paprika-garlic mayo type topping--so delicious but probably horrible for you...), and sauteed vegetables! I found most things to be quite healthy. We kept looking for churros, but I think they are more popular in Madrid. We also laughed at all the gelato stores because they can never live up to Italy gelato!

We spent 4 nights in Spain which was a long time. Usually, everyone is ready to go home to Florence by Sunday but we wanted to stay we loved it so much! It definitely felt like vacation though, probably because I associated vacation + hot weather together. I am now so much more curious about places like Sevilla, Toledo and Madrid that I have heard great things about and want to see all of Spain. Next weekend I will be going to the Amalfi Coast which is Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri and I cannot wait! I am hoping for beautiful weather and I am especially excited because it is my birthday! The days are diminishing while I am here and it's getting sad...not looking forward to going home broke and jobless. So that's why I have to enjoy it while it lasts and at least I have my parents to join me after my program ends. I am really really looking forward to that. Adios Amigos! Now I have to go back to saying Ciao...all these language changes make my brain hurt!