Our EU Barcelona Experience

Well four months have come and gone, and tomorrow we’ll be leaving to go back home to Boston. It’s hard to believe time has already passed; it seems like only yesterday we were getting off the plane with butterflies in our stomachs.  We’ve lived an amazing life here, and have grown as people in every sense. This past month has been a crazy time for us.

We finished classes and finals almost two weeks ago now. Finals were a stressful time for both Amy and I; a lot of late nights studying. When we finished it was with a huge sigh of relief, but we’re both confident in how we did throughout the semester. School here is certainly a different experience and we are looking forward to being Seniors next year back at Nichols! We met some great new people in our residence also. There is Sergey, who lives in Vienna originally, and was here for his first year at university. He is very talkative, and has strong opinions about people. I wasn’t sure how I felt about him at first, but after spending 4 hours on our roof talking to him about anything and everything he started to grow on me. We certainly have different views and opinions, but he was open to listening to everything we had to say and had some really valid points on certain topics. We also met Imane who is a girl from Morocco also in her first year of university. It’s too bad we met her only recently because she is great! Amy and I met her while having dinner at a friends, and realized we all lived in the same complex. The three of us, along with Sergey stayed up for hours talking and had a good time getting to know eachother. She’s mature for her age, and is very honest about herself.

We’ve noticed how different people in Europe (for the most part) are about others. If someone doesn’t like you, they won’t pretend to. And their VERY honest. They don’t consider not saying something because it might come out the wrong way, they just say it and move on. It’s a nice change from how some people are back home in the states. We’ll miss a lot of the people we’ve met here; but we know we’re going homes with friends for life and people to visit from all around the world. It was just nice having them all to make our experience that much more enjoyable.

The past week Amy’s sister Hilary came in from Boston to visit and we took a trip to Ibiza with our friend Natasha who is studying in Madrid. It was the most amazing place we’ve visited yet, not only because it’s the worlds best party island , but also because it was absolutely beautiful. We stayed at Jet Apartments, and reccommend it to anyone who ever considers a trip to the island. It wasn’t expensive at all and was right on the beach with a pool in back. We spent our days lying on the beach and drinking fruity tropical drinks, and then enjoyed the party scene at night. The island has a lot of English visitors, and we spent a lot of time with a group of “futballers” there on vacation. We also took a day trip to another island known as Formentera, where we attempted to ride vespas and had to rent a car instead because we didn’t exactly know how to drive them haha. We got to explore a little and had a great time seeing the wildlife, clear blue water, and a great paella lunch.

Its hard to believe we’ll be leaving to be back in Boston tomorrow, but we’re also excited to be home and seeing everyone. It’s bittersweet having to leave this life we’ve grown so accustomed to, but we know we’ll be back again in the near future. We’ve been considering other trips, and hopefully friends will also be by the visit us! Studying abroad was the best decision Amy and I could have made. We would never take anything back, and I couldn’t have chose a better person to share the experience with. I just want to thank everyone who followed the blog, and also thank everyone who helped us get here!

Adios, Besos!

Hello Everyone! Hope all is well back at Nichols. I heard Spring Weekend got rained out, but I’m sure most you managed to enjoy it none the less. Things have been very busy for us since our amazing Spring Break. We have two more weeks of class, and then finals so school has taken precedent over going out and sightseeing.

I was lucky enough to have my parents visit me before things got too busy, and they left a week ago. It was so great seeing them, and it made me realize how much I missed being home! They were super excited to see me, and we spent the first night walking down La Rambla and having a delicious dinner.  They were impressed by how well Chrissy and I knew our way around, as well as how we were managing to communicate without speaking Spanish well. Since their trip counted as their vacation, they wanted to relax so we spent their visit by the beach and seeing some of the more touristy areas (Sagrada Familia, La Boqueria, Plaza Catalunya etc.). They had a fantastic time, and it felt good being able to show them how well Chrissy and I have adjusted here. Its almost like a second home.

Saturday we got to cross off Tibidabo, the oldest amusement park in Spain, from our big list of things to see before we leave Barcelona. We took a bus from Plaza Catalunya with three other friends, and it only cost 2.60 euro to get up to the top. Tibidabo sits at the top of a hill that overlooks the whole city. It is one of the oldest amusement parks in Europe and you can immediately tell by its charm and antiquity. It was a quirky place, with live performers dressed as various characters that would interact with visitors. The rides were typical of what you might find at a carnival, including the swings, and a ferris wheel. However that had some unique rides like an airplane that rotated high above the city, as well as a ride that provided amazing views, and then snaked through a creepy dark tunnel.  We rode the rollercoaster a few times, and Chrissy even bought the picture they took as we were coming around particularly sharp bend…not the most flattering of pictures, but funny. We toured the house of mirrors, ate cotton candy and played on the bumper cars. It was fun spending the day acting like kids, and we were also able to take some great pictures of the views.

We did have a few scary things happen that day though. As we were meeting by La Rambla, we saw a fight break out between two men. One of them pulled a knife out, and we watched them struggle as people around stopped to watch. One of the men almost got his throat slit, before people started screaming and the other man eventually walked away. It was the first truly scary thing we’ve seen since being here. Also, when my parents were visiting a man on the metro tried stealing my Dad’s wallet out of his pocket. Luckily, my Dad is always really aware of what is going on around him, and he slipped his hand into his pocket and started crushing the guy’s hand. Eventually he let him go right before the stop, after he made sure he had everything. Why anyone would choose to steal from a 6’7 man…

Anyways, some of our friends will be leaving Barcelona this weekend, so this will be our last week to spend time with them : ( It is weird to think that Chrissy and I have already been here for 3 months, and we only have one more to go. Luckily some of our friends live close back home, spreading from Connecticut to New York to California. Those will be the easy ones to visit. Hopefully one day we’ll make it back to Europe to visit the ones who don’t live so close.

Anyways, we still have a month left to explore and enjoy this wonderful city. Hopefully we’ll get a few more entries in before our flight home. Missing everyone from home, and we hope all is well!

Until next time….

PS. We’ve been uploading more pictures to our photobucket…check them out!

http://s801.photobucket.com/home/cward37/recentuploads

Wow, it’s been awhile since the last blog. I believe the last time Amy blogged was before our Spring Break, so I get the pleasure of talking all about the gorgeous beaches and towns we saw while on vacation!

First of all, we got two weeks vacation, which is longer than Nichols and much more rewarding when your in Europe! We started our vacation off in Malaga, which is a beach town located in Southern Spain. It was during Holy Week, so we had the pleasure of seeing the Semana Santa, which is a week long processional/celebration that is put on every year in the week leading up to Easter Sunday. It includes a parade that goes through the city’s center and can last later than 3 in the morning! Hundreds of people gather to see it in the streets while others watch from their balconies sometimes throwing flowers as the parade passes by. Semana Santa processionals have grown in tradition over hundreds of years, and is a large celebration all over Spain. The processional included men dressed in large robes which bears a resemblance to the White Supremacist group the KKK; although the robes worn in Semana Santa have been around much longer and are an old tradition. A large band also follows the processional playing religious songs, along with groups of children and adults carrying large incense or candles, swinging them as they pass the crowds (the wax from these candles are usually collected and given to children watching the processional). Finally, there are tronos (or floats) carried through the processional that symbolize religious scenes or figures; some of the tronos are so large they must be carried by up to 40 men! Stands are also set up all throughout the streets offering candy, delicious food, and drink for onlookers to the yearly processional.

Although Semana Santa was a great experience, it was not the only thing we did while in Malaga. We took a day trip to Nerja, which is a gorgeous beach town about an hour and a half away from our hostels. The streets were filled with jewelry shops, clothing shops, and many other places to get distracted (of course we ended up buying some very nice things )! As we walked down towards the beach, it opened up into a square with a balcony style view overlooking the water. We spent most of the day on the beach, later walking back into the town to do some shopping. A few of us each got marble stone jewelry specific to Nerja because the marble falls into the water and smooths over years eventually making its way to shore.  Another day trip included Marbella, which is a very popular beach town also under two hours away from Malaga. It was more of a tourist area, but still very enjoyable. We got massages on the beach, and spoiled ourselves with a spa day (it was vacation, so why not?!). After enjoying the beach we walked through the town, enjoying the sights and the people.

As our vacation week in Malaga was coming to an end, we got to celebrate Amy’s 21st birthday in style. We enjoyed Malaga’s clubs and great restaurants. It was a great week with great friends, and a birthday to remember forever! As our time to leave came closer; Amy, a friend, and I decided we weren’t ready for Spring Break to be over so we booked a last minute trip to Ireland. We planned to enjoy one night/day in Dublin and then continue to Galway for two nights.

After arriving back in Barcelona following the flight back from Malaga, we had less than 24 hours to re-pack a suitcase and catch the flight to Dublin. The day of the flight (it was a late flight), Amy and I went to buy smaller luggage so we could avoid baggage fees, and stopped at the Sagrada Familia to have coffee. We sat on a bench in the small park across the street, and 4 children around ages 10-13 came up to us speaking fast and shoving papers in our faces. They were saying something about making a donation, and as we reached for our bags Amy noticed one of the children trying to steal her wallet. We got the kids away and managed to avoid getting robbed, but other people weren’t so lucky. It was a wake up call for sure, and a reminder that something like that can happen in a split second.

Despite the craziness of the day, we made it to the flight and arrived in Dublin to meet our friend at about 11. We met some locals, and went to a pub around the corner from our hostel. If anyone ever goes to Dublin and is looking for a hostel, The Camden Place was great and had an awesome staff that was really helpful! The next day (Easter Sunday) we woke up and I got to say some quick prayers at a really nice local church, and afterwards the three of us took a bus tour around Dublin. We saw all the old churches, the Guinness Factory, the Dublin Zoo, and more. While on the tour, we had the pleasure of catching a glimpse of the president of Ireland as she was driving to the Easter Sunday Parade.

After our tour, we enjoyed some traditional Irish Breakfast which includes: sausage, eggs, black pudding, beans, toast, tomato, hams, and potatoes. Best breakfast out of this entire trip, hands down. After a couple cups of Irish tea we continued to walk down towards the Temple Bar area and took a look in some of the shops. We then decided to go to the bus station and catch the train to Galway, which is about a three and a half hour bus ride.  Towards the end of the ride, we met some great locals who ended up joining us for dinner and showing us to our hostel. Later that night we met up with them at a close pub and enjoyed some really good live music. Then we went to a club and enjoyed the rest of our night there. The next day we spent on the shop street (there seems to be a trend with shopping…) in Galway center and saw some of the local sights. We spent our last night doing a pub crawl, and made some great friends who plan to visit Barcelona in the future. The next day we enjoyed our last Irish Breakfast, and took the bus back to Dublin to catch our flight back to Barcelona.

Being back in Barcelona was a relief after all the traveling we did, but it was the Spring Break of a lifetime. I will be adding pictures to the photobucket soon, and reposting the link also. Amy’s parents arrive today to visit so we will be showing them around Barcelona for the week.

HOPE EVERYONE HAS A FUN AND SAFE SPRING WEEKEND

Once again, time has gotten the best of me and I realized it had been a while since we had posted anything.  So my apologies. However, it means I have a lot to update you on! We finally got our weekend trip plans in motion, and we leave for Malaga on Friday. This will be our first time leaving Barcelona since our arrival. Our Easter Holiday (not vacation, but holiday : ) starts after our last class tomorrow, and our flight is on Friday at 12. I’m super excited because we are meeting our friend Natasha, who is studying in Madrid this semester. We plan to spend our days laying on the beach, if weather permits, and exploring the city. Malaga is a coastal town in southern Spain, and is home to one of the most beautiful bull fighting rings in the country. We hope to get a chance to check that out at some point in between beach trips and nights out. There are also buses that run in and out of the city, to surround coastal towns including Gibraltar, which we hope to check out. We are there from March 26th until April 2nd, so we have time to see other towns near Malaga.

Another big thing I’m looking forward to is my 21st birthday, which is on the 31st. I’m excited to celebrate with the good friends I’ve made here, but will be missing my friends and family back home. I was a little bummed I wouldn’t get to have my first legal beer with my dad, but I get to turn 21 on a beach in Spain surrounded by new people and amazing scenery. Plus Chrissy has never disappointed me with her birthday surprises, so I know something fantastic is coming.

School has been picking up in workload and intensity. Mid terms spanned over a two week period, but went smoothly for both Chrissy and I. It has been an amazing opportunity to be able to speak with professors and students here. They come from all over Europe, and all over the world, giving them experiences that are unique to this University. Many have been interested in the differences of University here, and back in the U.S. So I’ve got to have some pretty interesting conversations with people.

Our good friend Alie came to visit us for a week, and it was so much fun. We got to show her around the city, and we realized how well we know it now. We showed her the usual touristy stuff like La Rambla, the Boqueria, Sagrada Familia and the beaches. We also took this fantastic boat tour of the coast, and we made friends with the captain, who thought we were hilarious. After Alie left, my boyfriend came to visit for a week. It was a nice reminder of home, but also of how much I missed people. Both of them fell in love with the city too, and it was hard for them to leave. We have a few more visits to look forwards to, including my parents mid April, our friend Steph the end of April, and finally my older sister mid May. Things seem to keep getting better and better.

Our next blog will be after our trip to Malaga, so we will be coming back with plenty of stories and new experiences. We are missing everyone from home, and wish everyone the best!

Tons of apologies for not posting quick enough. It’s been gorgeous out here, so we’ve been making the most of it. Also, we’ve met a lot of new people and have been spending a lot of time out with everyone. We recently went to a Barcelona futbol game! It was intense, the stadium was giant and must have fit about 100,000 people. Gillette doesn’t come anywhere near this! People were all over the refs when there was a bad call made, fans were out of their seats at every goal (or almost goal), and in the end Barcelona came out on top with a 2-1 win. Leaving the stadium was almost crazier than being in it. The streets were filled with an ocean of people, people chanting the Barcelona songs, waving flags, beaming with excitement. It was near impossible for the cars to get through, and no one seemed to care! Afterwards was a trip to Razzmatazz, one of Barcelona’s biggest clubs.

Also this week, we’ve been making a lot of plans for our weekend trips throughout Europe. So far we’re in the process of mapping out a trip to Prague and Vienna (we have a friend who owns an apartment in Vienna and offered us to stay), a trip to Malaga with our friend Natasha who is staying in Madrid , hopefully Amsterdam sometime in April, and Ibiza as soon as possible! Finding cheap flights here is so easy, there are tons of websites to use! And even staying in a hostel will save a lot of money.

Yesterday we took a bus tour, which was about two hours long. It was a bit chilly, but well worth it! The bus stops multiple times throughout the city, explaining each landmark as we pass. If at any time you wish to get off the bus and explore, feel free because you can hop on the next one that comes around! There are also two different bus tours, so you can see different parts of the city. Our tour took us through “retail” area of Barcelona as well as up to Montjuic which is up on the top of a mountain. It holds Barcelona’s Olympic Stadium as well as a botanical garden and more. The tour then goes back down through Barcelona towards La Rambla.

http://s801.photobucket.com/albums/yy297/cward37/Barcelona%202010/

Here’s the link to the pictures! Not all of them are up, so make sure to check again in a few days!