Walks and Architecture

Hola,

This weekend was filled with a ton of walking and gorgeous architecture!

On Friday I walked the Modernism Route, which is similar to Boston's Freedom Trail in that you follow a path throughout the city. However, instead of seeing historic sites of America's early history, the Modernism Route takes you to all of the major architecture buildings throughout Barcelona. Such a nice way to spend a Friday! (to learn more:http://www.rutadelmodernisme.com)

On Saturday, I went with my program to see Gaudí's La Pedrera. It was built in 1906 for a very wealthy family and is the last residential building by Gaudí. It was stunning! My favorite part was the roof, you can see why in the pictures below!

Outside of La Pedrera

The roof of La Pedrera

A close-up

A beautiful church on the Modernism Route

I spotted an owl!

Probably one of my favorite buildings here

A building by the Parc Cituadella

Spring Break Plans, So Soon?!

April 15-25 are my dates for Spring Break! And it is time to start planning out my travels!! Tomorrow I am meeting with a friend to start brainstorming where we might want to travel during the 10 days.

I am really considering going to Italy and visiting the main cities including Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome and hopefully Pompeii or a part of the Amalfi Coast all via train. But of course this is just an idea! I know some kids who are thinking about going to the Greek islands and others who want to travel throughout Eastern Europe. The possibilities are endless!

If you have any suggestions for a 10 day travel itinerary let me know!! I can't wait to start planning!!!

A Weekend in the Land of Chocolate: Brussels, Belgium

Hello!

This past weekend I went to Brussels, Belgium with 6 other students. We had such a wonderful time!! I would definitely visit again! Below are some photos and comments on some of the highlights!

At the center of Brussels. A very ornate plaza with gothic styled buildings accented in gold. Around the plaza were cobblestone streets with small shops and of course some Belgian waffle stands.

On Friday we went on a tour of a traditional Belgian brewery that continues to brew beers the same way they did in 1900! We saw the cooper machines and old wooden barrels that are used in the process. So much history! Here is the link http://www.cantillon.be/br/3_1

Here is a photo of some of the free beer samples we had at the tour. This is Lambic beer which is traditional Belgian beer. We also tried Kriek beer which is a cherry flavored beer. Their beer is fermented for 3 years and had such a distinct taste!

The Manneken Pis, a famous Belgian landmark of a boy urinating into a fountain.

Went traveled an hour north of Brussels on Saturday for a day trip at Bruges, a gorgeous canal city. It was so relaxing and picturesque.

A beautiful Bruges even with the rainy weather

The group in Bruges!

And of course, Belgian CHOCOLATE! I went from chocolate shop to chocolate shop tasting chocolates. It was divine. A great way to celebrate one of my favorite chocolate holidays, Valentine's Day.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

#1 Fan Inspires

Hello Hello,

Through a special skype call a few hours ago, I found out that I have a #1 fan on my blog! From now on I will try my best to better update my blog with more and more blog posts for this fan and for anyone else who is following!!!

To start off, this week has been very low-key especially with classes beginning, but thankfully the school work has been minimal. This week my only written assignments were a 1.5 page paper on my favorite movie and a 5 minute presentation to prepare on a Spanish news article. This is WAY different than my busy class and homework schedule at BC! But I am not complaining!!!!

On another note, in cinema class today I watched this very interesting movie called El espíritu de la colmena (Víctor Erice, 1973). It is about a young girl that is deeply confused on what is reality and what is fiction. In a way, this first month here has been a fictional vacation: a time to explore, splurge (somewhat), meet new people, etc. etc. Just recently reality has set in for me. Reality: I am here in Barcelona to actually study and live, which includes doing daily activities like going food shopping, cleaning my room and doing laundry. Yet even though reality has set in, I still have many weekends left to relive vacation time! ¡Viva España and let the weekend trips begin!!!

Photos from my 'vacation weekend' in Andorra:

1 Month In!

I have been in Barcelona for officially 1 month!! I can't believe how quickly the time is going by!!

I just found out about my class schedule today! I will be taking 3 classes this semester, a Spanish language course, a literature course and lastly a cinema course! I am really excited for the cinema course as I will get the chance to watch a weekly Spanish film and analyze the film as well.

This weekend I went on a small two-day trip to Andorra with my residence hall. I decided to go last minute but I am very glad I went as I met a few really nice girls from Latin America. I practiced my Spanish with them, explored the main city and skied! Overall it was a very relaxing and enjoyable weekend!

This upcoming weekend I am off to Brussels, Belgium. I can't wait to eat chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!