Barcelona, Espana!

¡El fin de semana pasada fuimos a Barcelona de España!
(Last weekend (November 7-9) we went to Barcelona, Spain!)

This trip was literally the very first trip we booked, way back in September, during our second week in London. We were all really excited to see the country and city and couldn't wait to experience the Spanish culture, even if it was months away when we planned it!

This last summer, I finished my foreign language requirement which included four semesters of Spanish. I now have had 2 years of classes in high school and the equivalent of four semesters of college-level. In other words, I was thrilled to be able to talk with locals, granted not fluently, but using my broken Spanish. A few of my friends also knew quite a bit so it was cool to be able to translate menus (even if they gave us English versions), order using Spanish phrases, and just being able to communicate in the countries language.

Bienvenida a Espana! y la Girona - Costa Brava aeropuerto.

If anyone has been to Mexico and feels that Spain would be a lot similar, you are wrong. (Don't worry, I was too.) Most of the people who went on this trip have been to Mexico and I think we were all expecting something of the sort, but we were definitely mistaken. Spanish people are still very European, they simply just speak another language and have their own customs. I do not think I would be able to tell an Italian, Spanish or French person apart if they were all three standing in front of me (not speaking, of course.) It was very cool to realize this misconception upon arrival. My first realization that I was in Spain was when the passport control officer started with "Hola" and ended with "Gracias." So great.

We checked into our hostel and then went to Las Ramblas (a major market/shopping street in the middle of Barcelona), making our way to la playa y el mar (the beach and the sea.)

They had pigeons caged for sale on Las Ramblas. Other free pigeons wandered around right next to the caged ones.

There were A TON of street performers and actors. So many people were just dressed up similar to these girls and sat on the side of the street, expecting people to take pictures with them and give them money. It was such an odd concept - this is what they do for a living? I couldn't really wrap my mind around that one.

A market off of one of the streets of Las Ramblas. There was also a Dunkin' Donuts to the left of this. Apparently in Massachusetts Dunkin' Donuts is THE place to get your coffee, etc. and the girls were SO happy to be able to have their favorite iced coffees again. Closer to the water is this really nice government/military building.
We were told to look "royal." I'm not sure we got it.

El Colon! Around this is where the previous picture with the lion was taken. There were lions guarding this statue, which is a tribute to Christopher Columbus. (The man on top is pointing to America!)We finally made it to the water! I, very carefully, climbed down some steps to the absolute bottom one where the water meets the concrete, took off my shoes and put my feet in the water. It was freezing, but the view was wonderful.

We walked across the bridge you see in the background of the previous picture (that wavy, roller-coaster looking thing) and stopped for a moment to watch the sun setting.We also discovered a mall and a few other cool shops/views. We then went back to where we were and around to the other side and found these:

Now, we didn't do a formal tour of Spain or anything, so I have no idea what these are for or represent. They were pretty cool to look at, though.

More on Barcelona is still to come!

Kanye West!

A few of my flat-mates and I found out that Kanye West was putting on a concert in London and, since we all love concerts and haven't been to many here in London, we decided to get tickets and go! So here are a few pictures from Tuesday night.

Andrea and I at our flat getting ready to go!

Mary Kate and I waiting in line to pick up our tickets!

The two opening acts were Mr. Hudson and the Library and Santogold. Pictured is Santogold - both were really good.

Andrea and I and Mary Kate's great picture-taking skills at the 02 in London!

Kanye was the only one on stage throughout the entire concert. Makes sense considering he's Kanye.

Then, right at the end of the concert, he brought out Estelle and they sang "American Boy!" It was so great.

He really engaged the crowd the entire time. It was such a great concert - one of the best ones I have been to!

Halloween Weekend

We started out last weekend with a Halloween party with some other CAPA students!

Mary Kate as a Masquerade-ian, Andrea as Pocahontas, Veronica as a stoplight and me as a cat!

Sunday, we all wanted to explore more of London, as it was one of the few weekends we were staying in the city. So, we got up and went to a wonderful place named "The Breakfast Club" for breakfast. We had to wait in a line outside for quite a while before we got in, but it was definitely worth it. And with a reference to one of my favorite movies, how could I go wrong?The inside of the restaurant was decorated in all sorts of old photos and memorabilia. They also had posters from the restaurant's conception that included quotes from old movies, and one of them was from my absolute favorite movie, Dirty Dancing. ("Look, spaghetti arms. This is my dance space. This is your dance space. I don't go into yours, you don't go into mine.")

Afterwards we headed to the oh so famous Abbey Road! For those of you who really don't know, this is the famous road that the Beatles walked over for their 11th CD cover.

The Beatles crossing Abbey Road

Where we got left off at by the bus was right outside of this area. Everyone signed their names or Beatles' song lyrics, etc all over this entire building.

So you know I did too. I signed my name with a little shout out to SD!
If your name is Paul, you should probably give Lucy a call.
Abbey Road is actually really busy..even on Sundays. Vehicles had to stop for people to walk across (that is what the yellow lights and the large white lines on the road indicate.) But, they really didn't care if you wanted a picture...they wanted to get where they were going. So, Amy and I took a nice little photo on the road during a big surge of traffic.And there I go! Strutting across good 'ol Abbey Road just like the Beatles. In case you are feeling nostalgic, here is one of the songs from the Abbey Road cd:


"Here Comes the Sun" by the Beatles.

Jump Around!

"Pack it up, Pack it in
Let me begin...."

Wicklow National Park outside of Dublin, Ireland!

"I'm the cream of the crop, I rise to the top"

Overlooking Galway Bay on our Cliffs of Moher tour!

"So get up, stand up, come on throw your hands up,

If you've got the feelin', jump across the ceiling"

In the Botanical Gardens in Bordeaux, France!

"I came to get down, I came to get down
So get out your seats and jump around"

In front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France!

"Jump around, Jump around
Jump up and get down"

In front of the Pantheon in Paris, France!

"Jump, Jump, Jump
Jump, Jump, Jump
Jump, Jump, Jump!"

Song here!

The Last Days of Break

Saturday the 25 of October we decided to do a "Hop-On Hop-Off" tour of France's capital city. This was the perfect way for us to get where we wanted to go efficiently and without having to figure out all of the traffic. We got to see so many more things than we thought we would, which made it so worth it.

First stop: Moulin Rouge!

The place where the can-can was invented and mastered. Andrea, me, Erica, Veronica and Mary Kate re-enacting some great dancing!

The Madeleine Cathedral (spelt Magdalenae on the top.) Of course, I also have a picture of just the "Nae!" This is Erica, Andrea, MK and Veronica.

We then went on to Notre Dame! It was so beautiful. Seeing the gargoyles and, of course, talks about the Disney movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame was all in the cards.

Here we are! It was very cold this day - hence the scarfs on people's heads! You had to stand in line to get in, but the interior is gorgeous with a ton of stained glass windows, carvings, and beautiful woodwork.

The entire day was spent getting on and off the bus, hearing all sorts of history about the city while on the bus. We were supplied with headphones and put it in our own language; they had about 10 different languages to choose from, showing just how international the city is. This is very common in London, as well.

We got off at a stop after seeing Notre Dame for lunch and to explore a little bit and then got back on and went to the Pantheon!

There were all sorts of these human-esque statues around the Pantheon. It was some form of exhibit where the statues were all in different colors/textures and different body shapes. Very interesting. This is Heather, me, MK, Erica and Veronica with the statue and the Pantheon in the background.

We walked down the street that the Pantheon is on and found Luxembourg Gardens!

The day had warmed up quite a bit by the time we walked through the Gardens so we went in and sat for awhile. Since it was a Saturday afternoon, Parisians were very relaxed around the area, children were poking at sailboats in the water that we are sitting next to, parents are making sure their children are being fair and keeping the sailboats afloat, couples were lounging in chairs that were scattered about. It was just a really calm area. Right before we had gone into this, Heather and I went into a chocolate store and bought something we had been salivating over since we got to Paris - a tart. We chose a strawberry and raspberry tart and it was one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten.

See? Doesn't that look delicious?

After our great, long, busy day we got a bus back to an area near ours and walked the rest of the way to our hotel. Everyone got ready and we went out that night and met a Paris college student whose mother was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin! How random, right? His name was Sam and he and his friends hung out with us for the rest of the night. They all spoke very good English and we ended up meeting more Americans who were studying abroad in France at the club we went to. It seems as though there are more Americans outside of the country than in when things like this happen!

Sunday, most of the girls had an early flight so we got up and checked out of our hotel and they went to have some lunch and headed to the airport. Heather and I had booked our flights for a little bit later as it was cheaper at the time, so we spent the day at the Louvre!

Very pretty. There was a concert going on outside of the Louvre, and one outside of the Opera House, as well. The Opera House was very near our hotel.Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. I really think that it is as cool as it is hyped up to be. Her eyes follow you no matter where you are!The Last Supper in its full view. This painting is SO large - and my picture is not very good. Sorry!

After our stay at the Lourve, we went to the airport and finally went back to London. The trip seemed so long yet so short. It's funny how that always happens. I do, however, have an incredibly increased amount of respect for those people who travel around for months. We met so many people who were taking off the semester to travel the world in Rome, and they had my envy and now so much more respect.

The trip documenting is over, but come back again tomorrow for one more fun post on it!