A week in the life of study abroad.
So I’m getting worse and worse at this whole blogging thing but all for good reasons! Since my last trip to Paris iv taken some time to recover and start up the adventures and fun again!
First, THE ONE AND ONLY JESSICA CHANEY CAME TO VISIT ME FOR A WEEK IN BARCELONA!!!! For the GWU spring break my wonderful best friend came all the way across the world just to see little old me….and boy was it a good time! First, after a jet-lagged Jessica had about 2 hours of beauty sleep we made our way down to the Gothic Quarter for a BEER FEST…because naturally every person after an 11 hour flight needs that? We sampled a lot of Spanish beers including one which tasted like cereal and another that was bacon and tobacco flavored (insert AMURICA). After this we walked to the beach and then made a little to trip to the MAGIC FOUNTAIN…which if you haven’t guessed, its magical. A huge fountain on Mount Montujic this beaut performs water dances as I will call it to the styling’s of composers from Beethoven to Beyonce. Colors, heights, swirls….it’s like fantasia in real life and during the night on a mountain overlooking all of Barcelona. If Jess flying all the way to see me wasn’t romantic enough…this sure was! We then had a night out on the town, leading to a VERY interesting morning in the Hotel Pultizer….thank you absinthe for the entertainment. That day we toured Parque Guell and the Sagrada Familia, knocking out two of the most beautiful Gaudi pieces and seeing what real Catalan architecture is all about. We got a delicious dinner and went to a local bar called Summon then to a club where we met up with our friend Nicky. The next morning we woke up, put on some sun clothes and headed to the beach in SITGES! There we indulged in the sun and sand while nomzing on a foccia pizza and bottle of rose on the cliffs. The festivities for the day included a old fashioned car parade complete with people decked out in 60s gear, a sand castle competition, and a tour of the Barcardi museum complete with 4 free drinks for 7 euros….bam. now that’s what I call fun in the sun. After an amazing day there we called it a night and woke up early again the next morning to tour some more! Shopping, more eating churros, tapas and jamon, seeing the Ciutadella park, Palau de Musica, and Cathedral, trips to the shots bar, the oldest bar in Barcelona, the beach, the champagneria, and the Boda B sandhich shop were the rest of the weeks shenanigans…making sure we hit all the must-sees of Barcelona. For my last night here with her before she left for the states and I left for Amsterdam was shared with the lovely Marissa Driscoll (My roomie from last semester!!!). We went to the most phenomenal meal at LA FLAUTA nomzing on fried egg meets French fries, freshly sliced jamon, croquettas, and to top it off, flan…all accompanied by two jugs of sangria obviously. After this feast I took the girls out to the famous CHUPITOS shots bar where I went for my bday. We enjoyed an array of shots involving fire, whipped cream, marshmallows, tobacco, and other interesting shot accessories. From there we moved onto meet friends at a bar close by where we ordered 1 liter pitchers of Sex on the Beach, Shakira, and Long Island Ice Tea…needless to say this was our final stop of our fantastic night. The next day Jess and I said our goodbyes after a fantastic week of fun, sun, drinks, food, and catching up!!!!
I couldn’t have asked for a better present than to have someone I love so much come here and share this wonderful experience and city with me. I know while the hangover and suntan will fade, the memories of our SBXII trip will last forever. Thank you again Jess for being such an amazing friend and giving me the BEST week I have had here in Europe!!!! While I can replace the city I live in…this week just reassure me more I won’t EVER be able to replace you girls!!
Following the best week of my time in Barcelona, I departed for Amsterdam with the wonderful Julia and met Nick and Jake there. Per usual we arrived late at night so we couldn’t see the city until morning…but it was worth the wait! We woke up to one of the most quintessential scenes of Europe I have seen. Bikes flood the city, trams run alone cables while hang across buildings, facades are crooked and look like their narrow and tall structures may collapse at any moment, streets are all cobblestone, and canals that wind across the streets. While the red light district and smoke shops are part of the allure of this Vegas-like city, the overall city is much more quaint and untouched than those two industries would allow one to believe. While I did indulge in the French fries, street shows, and tourist allure of it all the part I enjoyed the most was walking the streets. The way the city is laid out is a giant U with smaller Us inside. Each loop has a canal and walking along these is amazing continually crossing bridges and shops, seeing stacks of bikes parked and people strolling with dogs….SOOOO many dogs! NOTE: where there are dogs, there is dog shit. DON’T STEP IN IT…speaking from experience, twice. The architecture is dark, all brink and stones which are a range of browns with some white ones included. The streets are old and use the original cobblestone with tram lines placed into the street and essentially no curbs….a pedestrian’s worst nightmare. We learned quickly that bikers ride freely and quickly throughout the city after a few near death experiences of confusing the bike lane with the pedestrian. The food was what I anticipated, fried and delicious. Words were very funny and sounded like an American accent with awkward “shleevin” and “shloven” sounds. Night life was contained to specific areas of bars, two of which we saw…one called Rembrandt and the other Leidseplein. Both were restaurants turned bars with outdoor sitting. There were club/bar hybrid type options which were interesting but still fun. A recommendation: while the 10 for 10 euros shot deal may be cheap, it’s worth paying more money not to take the sugary disgusting shots they give you. Overall, the city was beautiful and worth travelling getting lost in the maze of canals and side streets just to experience that northern European feel I have yet to have seen.
Clearly I haven’t had a lot of time to blog through all these festivities but for good reason! The next week holds Budapest instore and then 3 days after a fiasco around Europe for my spring break starting in the land of my aggie….SCOTLAND! So off I go and I will be sure to let you know how the remainder of my adventures go. It’s amazing how time flies and how much you can grow in this period. Each city, each weekend, each day, adds just a little more to the experience and what I am coming to learn about this amazing country, continent, and planet. But most importantly myself, because in removing myself from all I know I am constantly being challenged to define who I am in a new setting with new people and customs.
HASTA LUEGO Y BESOS
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