Adventure is Out There!

Some reflections... Things I Regret Bringing On My Trip: Most of my jewelry: Back home I accessorize a lot, but here it's too hot to care about bracelets etc. so I barely wore any of it.  My watch, a pair of studs and one ring was more than enough. Books: I brought my mom's Nook and three thick comic books, but I didn't touch any of them.  I didn't have time! Extra hair products: Hair gel, hair lightener... Columbia fleece jacket: I don't know what I was thinking. Things I Regret Not Bringing: Running sneakers: I walked more in the past month than I have in the past three months back home. Camelbak water bottle: We spent probably at least €15 a week here on water alone. Scissors Running shorts and sports bras An emergency credit card Things I'm Glad I Brought: A photocopy of my license Ibuprofen: and lots of it! Deodorant and body spray: My roommate and friends were constantly stealing my body spray. Sunscreen: I had to reapply sunscreen ...

       Bri and I had a layover in London for about nine hours.  Our flight from Barcelona to London was amazingly smooth.  We took the Heathrow Express into Central London. We were both hungry so we stopped at a McDonalds (How American) and walked for a bit to see some sights.  We had initially said because we were so tired, that we did not want to rush and see any landmarks.  So we spent some time just walking and bombing around.  We then changed our minds and hopped on a bus that took us south. I wonder where we are... We finally figured out that the flags are for the Olympics. So pretty!      The bus dropped us off near Parliament Square, where we were able to see Westminster Abbey and St Margaret's Church, the Middlesex Guildhall (home of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom), Government Offices Great George Street serving HM Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs, and Portcullis House.  We a...

     It's 6:30 am. We are seated in the Barcelona airport, waiting to board. We left the apartment at 4:30 this morning. We were mostly packed but we knew it would be a slow start (Bri slept through FIVE alarms). I got home at about midnight and had hoped to be home earlier than that. I spent the night completely wide awake though. I couldn't stop, my mind was racing. Last sunrise in Barcelona   Bri kissing Barcelona goodbye      We had our farewell dinner last night and while nothing significant or crazy happened, it was fun to hang out and have one last meal together with everyone. It was sad saying goodbye to people I have only known for a few short weeks but have grown so close to. My roomie was crying as we said goodbye this morning. Lauren and our friend Nibhay also said goodbye to us this morning as Bri, Marissa and I got in our cab. I didn't expect to feel such intense emotions for people I literally met four weeks ago. And I certa...

I never want to leave.

     I'm ready to go home.  I love Barcelona.  I do, I really do.  But you know when you have a terrible day and nothing seems to go right, and you just want to curl up in your bed and never leave?  (That was the worse run-on sentence in the history of writing).  I have three days left here.  Tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday.  I'm running around on my own, thinking to myself, "Look at me, I'm independent!  I'm a local!"  And then WHAM!  I get pickpocketed.  Wallet gone.  License, cash, debit card, credit card, bank account numbers, apartment keys - all gone.      I practically ran home and started frantically trying to contact my mom.  I couldn't just cancel the cards myself because I didn't know the actual card numbers and I stupidly never wrote them down.  I called the emergency contact number for my program and she was told me to have my mom cancel my cards.  I finally got a hold o...

     I can't explain to you how it feels to know that I'm going to have to say goodbye to this incredible city in a matter of 4 very short days. Yesterday I got done with classes at 4:30 as usual, threw in a final load of laundry, Facetimed my sister, and set off to explore alone. One of the really great things to do here is just get lost. Wander, with no idea where you're headed. You find all these magical little surprises :) They only speak French in this café; no English, Spanish or Catalan!  It's one of the most adorable things I've seen in my time here. I loved the contrast of this angular, modern building next to these rustic, old-Spanish apartment buildings. That angular building turned out to the be the Museum of Contemporary Art.  Who knew? This woman probably thought I was weird for taking a picture of her apartment building but I couldn't help it!  It was too cool to pass up!      I swear, all roads l...

Week 2 Video!  2 down, 2 to go!

     Our program organized a weekend trip for us to Costa Brava.  For those of you who don't know, Costa Brava is a coastal region of northeastern Catalonia, Spain.  It's known mostly as a tourist and holiday location.     Friday at 1:15 pm we all piled onto a bus and headed to Figueres.  The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Teatre-Museu Gala Salvador Dalí, a large museum designed by Dalí himself.  We spent about two hours in the museum.  Usually I prefer to wander museums on my own, but I was glad we had a tour guide because I know nothing about art and she pointed out a lot of things I would have missed.     After the museum, we hopped back onto the bus for another hour and half ride to Besalú.  We had about an hour of free time to do whatever we would like.  I think my friends found it boring, but I'm the kind of person who loves just walking and looki...