Barcelona

Barcelona's the place that everyone assumes you'll see when you go to Spain. But, sadly, Salamanca (my host city) is on the complete other side of the country. An 11 hour bus ride. It didn't seem worth it to spend half of my free weekend in transit.

A friend of mine, Shannon, had been dying to go to Barcelona all semester so we finally sat down and planned a last minute three day weekend trip.

It was incredible.

By far, the best time I've had in Spain. We stayed in a really fun hostel. Everyone was really friendly, met lots of people (TONS of Canadians, a Chilean, an Argentinean, Brazilians...), and the hostel took us out every night. I was amazed at how friendly a group of strangers could be. It was as if we were all old friends catching up.

And of course, Barcelona is a lively city full of art. It is unbelievably beautiful.

1) First stop on our trip was Sagrada Familia. An enormous Catholic church designed by Gaudí. Construction began in the late 1800's and it's anticipated completion date is 2026. Yes...it is that incredible.

The doors are written with  a chapter from the Bible.

CEILING

The pillars are supposed to resemble trees in a forest

2) Stop two was Parc Güell. Sadly, I was a little disappointed by this one. If you google the name, tons of mosaics come up with the infamous mosaic lizard. Which, of course, were there, but are only a section of the park. The rest is just a pretty park. But it definitely was one pretty park.

3) Gaudí buildings.

4) Beach! Sadly, it was a cloudy, lame, day. Not really any great pics. But look at all the kites!

5) Las Ramblas is a famous shopping street in Barcelona. There were tons of people and I even picked myself up some souvenirs!

Our second night, we went out with a group from the hostel to find a castle and the magic fountains.. It took us forever to find the castle. We practically hiked up a mountain over a couple hours to get to it. I did not come prepared. My black little jelly flats ended up ruining my feet for the next couple weeks. But it was worth it, I suppose. :)

View from the top of the mountain

6) Castle. FINALLY.

7) MAGIC FOUNTAINS. My favorite part. It's a 30 minute fountain show set to music. By the time it started, this crowd had doubled or tripled. And as we were all waiting anxiously for it to start, everyone on these steps started clapping and cheering. There had been a proposal on the other side. How cute :) 

These pics don't do this experience justice at all. But enjoy.

There you have it. Barcelona was a big ball of art and fun. I had a blast. Can't wait to return one day.

Family Weekend

FIRST, look at this tree: There are clumps of leaf explosions at the end of every branch! Incredible. I don't understand how this tree works. 

CÁDIZ:

So, last weekend, I had the wonderful experience of meeting my family in Madrid to begin our journey of southern Spain. With all of our busy schedules, it's near impossible to have family get-togethers in the States. Imagine my excitement when finding out that we were not only having a family vacation, but one in SPAIN of all places :)

First stop was Cádiz, an insanely beautiful and relaxed city on the beach. Where every court/plaza looked like this:

With INCREDIBLE Lion King-esque trees that look like this:

We enjoyed beautiful weather - sunny, warm days with some cool, breezy evenings - delicious food, and a gorgeous beach. Every meal was a mini adventure. We tried some cazón (recommended to me by both by host mom and intercambio) which I later found out was dogfish, gazpacho, and my favorite: tortillitas de camerones. They are fried potato dough things with seasonings and little shrimp inside. SO GOOD. We had to get them twice. The picture shown below is the first time and the fried part tasted just like Arby´s french fries. Mmmmmmm...

One either side of the beach was a fort and castle and it was really cool to check them out. On the edge near the fort, everyone had parked their boats. Just anchored them wherever they wanted. No big deal.

We strolled through this nice park area near the beach. There were some statues representing the city of Cádiz, one including fire, and sooooo much pretty vegetation! Ah! I love the plants that grow in this type of weather! So exotic and interesting. Here's a birds of paradise tree (shout out to my floral department friends):

Sunset with my mommy :) It was bright until about 10pm. Amazing. In Cádiz they get to watch it rise over the water and set over the water. 

SEVILLA:


Sevilla is about an hour inland and is a very beautiful and historic city. On day one we came across this outdoor,vintage flea market. Tons of people were selling coins and currency, stamps, or paintings. My brother got an old coin from some competition years ago.

This is the giant and gorgeous cathedral only two blocks from our hostel. The details of the interior were mesmerizing. The ceilings (my favorite), organs reaching from floor to ceiling, statues, and decorative borders all around. There was also a bell tower that we climbed not knowing that it was 34 RAMPS. It was never ending. But worth it. We were able to see some great views of the city and, of course, see the bells!

This was the best meal we had. The best dish at the top right is cheek of lamb (right, dad?), the middle is some spinach garpanzo bean deliciousness, bottom is some seafood paella. I also ordered a mega tastey hamburger. Boring, I know. But it was better than any I've had in the States = worth it.

The vending machines in Spain sell beer. Needless to say, my bro and padre were digging it. I love my family.

Day 2 we went to Alcazar Palace. I was most excited about this one. I had heard there was a giant garden in the back and I looooove pretty nature. The palace looked like a fort on the outside but inside there were tons of plazas, fountains, intricately decorated buildings, and almost everything outside had pretty painted tiles. 

First. Check out this other funky tree. It has hips?!? Why can't we have these trees in the states?

THE GARDENSSSS!!!

A vacation I'll never forget :)

Lisboa Portugal

My API study away went on a weekend trip to Lisbon, Portugal. It was a 7 hour bus ride (which I thankfully slept through almost entirely). But it was worth it. Portugal was absolutely stunning with rain being the only downfall! Bright colors, beach, greenery, peacocks...check it out!

DAY 1

At our lunch stop, this dirty cat wouldn't leave us alone. I caught it looking like a hungry cougar

All the sidewalks were designed :)

POST ITS

There were tons of beautiful outdoor patios. This one even had a piano player

BEACH (of the river...)

All of the buildings were colorful. Each one was covered in wall paper or beautiful tiles:

This is the entrance to Castillo de San Jorge. Around the corner was a man playing a homemade xylophone on the ground and another man posing as a knight taking pictures and waiting for donations. 

There was an opening plaza with a long walkway to reach the castle. It was full of statues, pretty views, and even peacocks!

Stud

Fountain in la Plaza del Comercia

None of the lights, outlets, or air conditioning worked without having the
 key in this switch. Coming home to a hot hotel room was not fun.

DAY 2

Monasterio de los Jerónimos

Check out this cool organ

Because we were in the Barrio (suburb) de Bélem, we HAD to go to this famous pastry shop to get some pasteles de Bélem. They were amazing! A burnt custard of sorts (reminded me of crème brulée) put in a pastry cup. SOOOOO GOOOOOOD.

And check this out: the door is to the right and LOOK AT THIS LINE. Goes well past the pole to the corner of the street. AND there was some standing room inside. Now this is my kind of place.

Google image. Yummm...

Monumento a los Navegantes. Look, it's a sword.

Torre de Bélem

This next one is probably one of my favorite sites ever. La Boca de Inferno (Mouth of Hell) is absolutely breathtaking! We were only there for 10-15 minutes but it was just enough time for me to run around and document my sights:

Stairs leading nowhere. And someone left their pool chair!

Cool cafe called Tintin and was even decorated with the children's theme The Adventures of Tintin. Sounds really lame but it was mega cool with a real chill vibe. If I lived in Lisbon, Portugal, this would be my go to. 

DAY 3

Entrance to a pueblo called Óbidos

Another castle

Chocolate cups filled with a cherry flavored liqueur called Ginja.
Chocolate covered cherry, yum

Incredibly beautiful monastery in Batalha. 

It started to downpour