Have I mentioned that I love traveling? Because I really,
really do. Paige said something that I thought was very philosophical today-she
said, “I’m so glad we got to spend the day seeing all these cool, new things. Wait.
We do that basically every day.” And it’s SO true! Maybe that’s why I’m
constantly in a state of exhaustion, because there is always something new to
look at everywhere I go.
In case you haven’t seen my Facebook in the past week or so,
let me fill you in on a couple of things. First, it rained even more, which I
thought was impossible. It rained so hard, in fact, that it soaked right
through my backpack and ruined all my lecture notes from my History of Art
class as well as my beloved Lilly Pulitzer planner, among other things.
Thankfully, I had just finished my Art History midterm earlier that day.
Second, I had a week of midterms which was stressful (who knew I’d have to do real schoolwork and studying while
abroad??!?) but they ended up going pretty well I think. Third, I reached my
halfway point for my time abroad! I can’t believe it’s here already...two
months from tomorrow, I go home! I think it’s really going to fly by. Being at
the halfway point is bizarre-it’s such a strange mixture of emotions, but I can
definitely say I’m truly lucky to have such amazing friends and family to make
going back home something to look forward to just as much as the rest of my
semester in Spain.
So other than that, I spent some time with Paige’s family
who was visiting for the past week (and so graciously let me spend two nights
with them!) and I tried to avoid the awful rain. I also bought a new umbrella.
Oh, and last Saturday I visited Sevilla, Spain with my program! It was
beautiful! I wish we could’ve spend more time there. You can see my pictures
from that trip here :
So that gets you pretty much up to date! Now it’s time to
recount all of my adventures from the first two days of my spring break! Paige
and I thought it was a great idea to take an 11 hour train overnight to get to
Barcelona on Friday morning because it was cheaper...if you’re traveling by
train for that long, make sure to have some sleeping meds. That’s all I have to
say about that. We arrived at our apartment that Paige’s mom rented for our
stay in Barcelona and our first stop was for some much-needed, strong, good ‘ole Starbucks. Once
Paige’s mom and sister arrived (by plane-the smart way) we wandered out into
the city to Plaza de Cataluña and found an awesome cathedral to go into, after
some yummy lunch outside in the sun. We strolled down the famous walk called La
Rambla and out onto the port/boardwalk area, where we decided to walk all the
way around to the other side to go up in these little cable cars, which would
take us to the top of the hill for some amazing views. The wait was long, but
the views were worth it! It was a gorgeous sunny day and we got to explore the
castle at the top of the hill as well.
On our way down on the bus, we could see
the tops of what looked like a huge cathedral or a palace or something, but we
all decided we were too tired after a long day to stop and see something else.
We quickly changed our minds as views of the front of the National Art Museum
came into sight. As soon as the bus stopped, we were off and admiring the
building and snapping photos left and right. It was one of those buildings that
take your breath away. Quite possibly one of the most beautiful buildings I’ve
seen. Of course we just had to stay for the water/lights show that was
to be starting in an hour, so even though it was cold, we plopped ourselves down
in front of the biggest fountain to enjoy the display. It was a great first
day.
Today, we set our alarms and had a full list of “must-see”
things on our list for the day. We started by being tacky tourists and
purchasing tickets for one of those “hop on, hop off” city tour buses (with
headphones and EVERYTHING!). We “hopped off” at the Sagrada Familia, probably
the most famous site to see in Barcelona. It’s a cathedral designed by the
legendary Gaudí and is just completely surreal! Unfortunately, the outside is
habitually under construction, but it still looks amazing. The entrance line
wound almost totally around the block, but went by pretty quickly. Once inside,
we were kind of in shock yet again. You can see a bit in the photos, but they
hardly do it justice. Apparently the architecture is meant to mimic nature and
specifically trees and a forest, which you can kind of tell if you look really
hard. I agree it’s a bit of a stretch.
After having our minds rocked by the Sagrada Familia, we
“hopped on” the tacky tourist bus and headed to Park Guell to see more of
Gaudí’s creations. The park was also absolutely surreal-it reminds me of
something out of Dr. Seuss, Alice in Wonderland, or just gingerbread houses. I
don’t know how someone could have designed something so cool! We inevitably got
lost in the park, but had time to wander around a lot and take in views of the
city from the top, as well as listen to some local performers.
Once again, I wish I could spend more time here...it’s an
awesome city-I highly recommend it! Of course we didn’t get to see everything,
but I loved all the Gaudí architecture and the city itself was just incredible.
I need to head off to bed soon to get up at 3 am for the next leg of our spring
break week...ROME! Stay tuned for updates. I’m hoping to post several times
throughout the week, but that might be too ambitious. We’ll see, I guess!
Anyone who has been to Italy, what are your suggestions for things to
see/eat/do? I’d love to hear them! Please leave a comment!
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