Final Thoughts

Well the end of my 8 months abroad is coming to a close.

These past few months have been truly amazing and the best life experience I have ever had. I am so thankful for the people I met, the places I saw and the joy I had from every moment.

Now looking back I am amazed by the things I have done during this time. From climbing the 1,652 steps up to the Eiffel Tower to waking up to the sunrise on the way to Santorini to enjoying the simplest of moments of just being with my grandmother in Athens, I am stunned by all the beauty I have seen and witnessed abroad.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this dream come true. I couldn't have done it without you.

Vacation begins! Or have I already been on a 6-month vacation?

As of Wednesday at 1pm I finished with my finals! Freeedoooom!!! Now it is vacation time! So naturally we spent the entire day at the beach and ate at my favorite ice cream shop, VIOKO, literally the best. I actually am not sure what flavor I ordered, some exotic fruit, but it was delicious! I will definitely miss this shop a whole lot.

On another note, today is the feast day of Saint John and pretty much the entire city gathered on the Barcelona beaches last night to celebrate the shortest night of the year! It was crazy with bonfires, sparklers, fireworks and just a ton of people drinking in the streets, and actually very frightening with firecrackers going off and little toddlers playing with fire. But I managed out alive.

Tonight I will be baking apple crisp for all of my latin girlfriends to try! and then we are heading to probably the fanciest hotel in Barcelona, the W, for one really expensive drink. The hotel looks over the water and the bar is located at the top of the sailboat shaped building. Super excited!

And exactly one week left here.

Exams and Papers

Sorry I haven't been posting regularly! I have been writing essays and studying for finals as this week and next are my final exams! I can't believe I am taking exams in June but I suppose this is how trimesters work!

Also, friends from my program start leaving from Barcelona as early as this Friday! Bittersweet! Where did the time go!

Anyways, need to get back to studying Spanish literature!

Christina

Trip to Granada, Spain

This weekend I went to a class field trip to Granada, Spain. I was so impressed by this city! It is located in Southern Spain and is gorgeous!!!! The lifestyle is very laid back with plenty of time during the day to grab sangria and free tapas (yes for every drink you order in the city it comes with a free tapas plate!). The city is so unique being the last city the Muslims had hold over until Ferdinand and Isabel re-conquered Spain in 1492. Read below for some highlights:

Alhambra- the most well-known building in Granada. It used to be a Moorish Palace during the time that the Muslims conquered what is now modern-day Spain. It has acres of gardens in the Generalife, beautiful patios with fountains and gardens and typical arabic architecture with tons of succo and eleborate decorations. The Alhambra was unlike anything I have ever seen before. It was so unique to my eyes that I did not feel like I was in Spain but in some far away country in the Middle East. Here are a few photos of the parts of the Alhambra:

Flamenco Show- I saw my first Falmenco show in Granada!! It was probably one of the best experiences I have had here in Spain. They started off with guitarists and other musicians then added singers and finally had a Flamenco dancer on stage. The dancer was so passionate in all of her moves and simply fabulous.

The Cathedral of Granada - a stunning cathedral we entered and soon after we saw the tombs of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella

Switzerland!

This past weekend I went with a friend to visit Zurich, Switzerland! We also took a day trip to Lucerne as well. We spent most of our time walking around lakes, paddle boating on lake Zurich, biking throughout Lucerne and eating delicious bratwurst and chocolate!

Here a few photos from the trip:

Clock tower in Zurich

Another clock tower in Zurich

Swiss Chocolate Ice Cream, a new favorite

Lucerne

Lucerne

Quick Update

With only a few more weeks left in Spain, last night my friends and I created a major to-do list of all the sights and activities we have not yet seen or done in the city to make sure we make the most of our time left here.

Most of the activities include going to museums, walks around different parts of the city, new restaurants and day trips to nearby towns.

This week is rather busy with an exam tomorrow, the arrival of two friends on Wednesday and Saturday and a weekend trip to Zurich. And next week gets hectic too with my birthday! and with the championship soccer game of Barcelona vs. Manchester.

How exciting!

MADRID

This weekend I traveled the 8 hour bus ride to Spain's capital, Madrid!!

I had a wonderful time and especially enjoyed the art museums. Here are the highlights:

Museo Nacional Del Prado:

I got to visit Spain's most famous museum and admire famous works like:

Las Meninas by Velázquez

The Nude Maja by Goya

Adoration of the Shepherds by El Greco

Danae and the Shower of Gold by Titian

Charles IV of Spain and His Family by Goya

Christ Washing the Disciples' Feet by Tintoretto

The Annunciation by Fra Angelico

Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía:

For 3 years in my high school Spanish class, a copy of Picasso's Guernica hung above the blackboard. Now, just a few years later I saw the original Guernica in Madrid, Spain, wow! The Reina Sofía was a wonderful museum with works by Picasso, Miro, Dali and many others. I could spend days here.

Parque Del Buen Retiro:

Madrid's stunning park. There was a beautiful rose garden with rows and rows of roses, a pond with black swans, turtles, fish and a glass building in the middle of the park that is called the Crystal Palace. I wish this park was in Barcelona!!!

Plaza de Toros Las Ventas:

In this historic arena I witnessed my first Spanish bull fight. Surprisingly I really enjoyed the fight and would definitely go again.

Day Trip to Toledo:

Got a glimpse of Spanish history by seeing the Jewish, Muslim and Christian influences in this former capital of the Spanish Empire. The city included mosques, synagogues (two of the three remaining synagogues are in Toledo) and churches. In class we are learning about the architecture of mosques so it was really great pointing out arcs and other architectural features of the mosques while in Toledo!

I am now feeling so spoiled by all of the beauty I saw this weekend, so much art and beauty. I still can't believe I am living in Spain!

Less Than 2 Months!

How did this happen that I have less than 2 months here in Barcelona! I can't believe how quickly it has flown by!! I still have a ton I want to see and do, especially visit Barcelona's museums and go on a few day trips to nearby cities I have heard of. Also, my two good girlfriends (well more than good friends, you might even want to say best friends) are coming to visit me in May, ah this month!! I can't wait!!!!!! Will write back soon. Madrid this weekend!

Milan

Our final stop on our grand tour of Italy: Milan.

Honestly, I had heard mixed reactions about Milan and thought I wouldn't like it. Surprisingly the city was rather nice as it was clean, easy to navigate and had a beautiful Cathedral and center area.

My favorite part was seeing Leonardo Da Vinci's Last Supper. Through some great luck we were able to reserve tickets the day of, normally tickets are sold out weeks or months in advance. It was stunning and literally took my breath away although I only saw it for 15 minutes as visitors are only permitted to stay in the room for 15 minutes for preservation purposes.

This visit to the Last Supper marked the end of a wonderful two weeks touring around Italy. I saw so much, learned so much, went to cities people dream of going to. I am so grateful for my experience in Italy and all the experiences I have had thus far in Europe. It has been nothing less than amazing.

Milan Cathedral

Exploring the top of the Cathedral and seeing the sights of Milan from above

Vittorio Emanuele Gallery, a mall in Milan

The perfect ending to the perfect trip

Venice

Venice was my favorite!!!

I loved getting lost, standing in St. Mark's square and seeing Murano glass everywhere. It was such a beautiful location for Easter and I am so glad I found a Greek Orthodox Church to attend the night of Easter.

We also had the once in a lifetime opportunity to go on a gondola ride. Superb!! So serene and peaceful!

Venice is the most unique and romantic city I have ever seen. I wish I go back right now!

Pigeon feeding in St. Marks Square

The girls in the square

The 'streets' of Venice

Florence & Pisa

From Sorrento we took a train to Naples, switched lines, and then traveled through Tuscany to Florence.

I really loved Florence, it was a very pedestrian friendly city with the gorgeous Arno river. I loved walking around with my map in hand and going to the museums!!! We went to two museums while there: the Galleria dell'Accademia and the Uffizi Gallery. Although the lines to get in were super long, it was well worth the wait as I was in awe when I saw Michelangelo's David and Botticelli's The Birth of Venus. In awe!

One of my favorite moments in Florence was 1. buying a leather bag and 2. watching the sunset over the city from Michelangelo's Park.

We also did a half-day trip to Pisa. Mostly just to take some photos of us with the leaning tower for our facebook profiles!

The Birth of Venus

David

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

Sunset in the park in Florence

Arno River

Sorrento

Lemons, lemons, lemons. Lemon trees, lemon drinks, lemon gelato.

Sorrento is a small city on a hill with a ton of lemon-made products. It has stunning scenery of mountains and the ocean and is a key spot for travel to Pompeii and Capri.

While there we stayed at the most wonderful B&B with such friendly owners and literally saw the entire city in a day, it is really small, but so quaint.

Capri

For a day we took a ferry from Sorrento and traveled to the island of Capri.

It was a picturesque island with wonderful sights like...

-The Blue Grotto. A limestone cave that is illuminated by sunlight and creates a color blue that is so brilliant. I have never seen such a blue like that before.

-Faraglioni Rocks - huge rocks that protrude out of the water from the coast

-Pebbled beaches

One of my favorite parts of Capri was being able to swim off of the pebbled beach in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Although the water was cold and a jellyfish bit me, it was such an amazing time - swimming off the island of Capri.

Naples & Pompeii

I remember this past summer I was in Boston and fascinated by a History Channel program on Pompeii. Who would have thought that I would actually have the chance to visit Pompeii in just a few months!

I am so glad we made the half day stop to Pompeii. It was beautiful. I loved the large stones we walked on and all of the ancient ruins. It was as if I was walking back in history.

Naples on the hand was not my favorite. There were garbage piles lined up on street corners and you could just tell it was still developing. At the same time, I did have my favorite pizza there.

A few photos of Pompeii:

Rome and Vatican City

My first visit in Italy was to Rome. I loved it! Especially seeing the ancient Roman sites and imagining the grandeur of the Roman Empire. It was a packed 3 days with visits to tourist sites and of course gelato and coffee stops every day.

Here are a few of the highlights we saw:

The Colosseum, truly a gem

Vatican City (including St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel) The Chapel was breathtaking, I did not want to leave!

The Pantheon (here is a photo of the ceiling of the Pantheon) The Pantheon's dome inspired the dome in the Capitol building in DC, the dome in St. Peter's Basilica, and so many other buildings around the world. It was amazing to see the inspirational power of the Pantheon in person.

The Spanish Steps of Rome (and had a coffee break near by)

Trevi Fountain (I threw my penny into the fountain so I am guaranteed to return to Rome!)

Of course this is not everything, we also walked around the district of Trastevere, saw the wedding cake and had my first slice of Italian pizza! Rome was beautiful; a city filled with history and breathtaking sites.

Italy

As you all know I went to Italy for spring break!! I just got back tonight to Barcelona (home, sweet, home) and I plan on creating a blog on each city I went to! It will be some-what like a recap of what I did/saw/liked/disliked. This will be my way to re-gather all of my thoughts that I had during the trip and tell you about the AMAZING time I had!!!

I will be writing shortly...

In Love with Paris

Well this weekend I went to Paris and I LOVED IT!

It is such a beautiful city with so much to do!! My best friend's cousin showed me around and it was wonderful!

Here are some highlights of the trip:

Palais Garnier (Paris' Opera House):

Museum d'Orsay (couldn't take photos inside) But it is an old train station that now holds a fabulous museum.

The Louvre - and especially seeing the Code of Hammurabi (so many memories of my history classes: an eye for an eye...):

The gardens of Versaille - stunning. I have never seen anything like them:

Touring the Notre Dame - a must:

Climbing up the MANY steps to the top, top of the Effile Tower! It was exhausting but the views were rewarding:

Walking along the Seine:

And simply walking around Paris, relaxing, and eating crepes of all kinds, macaroons, chocolate mousse, beef stew, cheese, wine and my favorite french onion soup. Delicious. And there was so so much more that we saw!!!

And special thanks to my tour guide for showing me the real Paris!! I had such a fabulous time. I can't wait to go back! But for this week and next I am taking final exams... I will write back when things settle down!