Barca

I'd like to start this blog post by apologizing for blogging as little as I do. It's hard to keep up with. BUT I am now officially done with classes for junior year and only have a weekend trip to Palma de Mallorca (an island off of Spain), one paper, three finals, and a visit from my parents to distract me until my return to the states on May 21st.

Now back to Barcelona... Where to begin?

Courtney and I arrived at the airport at about 9:50 p.m. and immediately hopped on the aerobus to get to the main city area.  We were surprised at how many places were open so we decided to wander the streets a bit to grab some food before heading to our hostel.  We wandered... and ended up empty-handed and at a metro station one stop further away from our hostel than we had began.  Courtney had printed out pretty easy instructions on how to get to the hostel but we somehow managed to get lost. 

"Ok, we're looking for a petrol station called Ubash."

"A what called what?"

"It's like a gas station... called Ubash... And it's by a big blue building."

"I don't see a blue building..."

So we stopped inside a hotel, used a little Spanglish to try to figure out if we were walking the correct direction. We were, so we walked further. When we finally saw a gas station, Court insisted it was the wrong one because it wasn't called Ubash. I agreed because the sign said something else and there was still no sign of the blue building. About half an hour later, we found our hostel. Turns out we only saw part of the sign. Woops! The blue building is still a mystery... 

We woke up the next morning feeling refreshed after a full night's sleep and were out exploring Barcelona by 9 or 10 a.m.  The combination of the beach, warm sun, palm trees, and the fact that we were wearing shorts and flip flops had me and Courtney sitting contently on Cloud 9.  We walked up and down the vendors that lined the famous street called Las Ramblas.  Jewelers, street performers, souvenir stands and tourists crowded the area.  In the middle of our walk, we discovered the Mercat de La Boqueria which might have been my favorite part of the city.  La Boqueria is a giant market filled with permanent stands that sell fresh fruit, fresh fruit smoothies, chocolate, candies, coffee, meats, fish, nuts, and more! Court and I each ordered smoothies the first morning we were there - I got strawberry coconut, she got strawberry pineapple - and were surprised when we were not only handed our smoothies, but a glass of pure strawberry juice! All for 1.50 euro!! YUM!

Walking down Las Ramblas

We also split something delicious from a little cafe at the front of the market.  I asked the guy what it was called but it's name escapes me... It was something like "chuchu" but it was spelled with x's. Whatever it was, it was heaven.  The pastry was light and flakey and covered in cinnamon sugar.  The inside had a little bit of cream but it was more hollow than full so the texture wasn't overwhelming like it is in a cream-filled donut.  Double yum. 

We spent the rest of the day enjoying the sunshine and getting our bearings of the area. That night, we followed my friend Erika's specific instructions to go to a supermercat, pick up a baguette, a wheel of brie and a box of sangria before going to see the fountain show at Parc de Montejuic.  I am so glad she recommended it because the evening was incredible.  It really goes to show that it's the little things in life that make it so great!

After the fountain show, Court and I met up with some girls we had met earlier in our hostel. Two of them were from Texas and studying abroad in Rome, the other was from Australia.  The night was spent bar hopping and learning about our new friends.  It's weird to think we'll probably never see them again because we had so much fun that night!

The next day, we switched to a hostel that was literally on the beach. We got lunch at Bo de B, which is kind of like a sandwich version of Chipotle, then shopped our way through Barcelona.

On our final day in Barca, we went to Parc Guell because the hippie behind the front desk of our hostel convinced us that Barcelona was three things "sex, drugs, and Parc Guell." We took his word for it, hopped on a metro, and began the trek to the top.  Already panting from the hike up, the view from the top is one that definitely takes your breath away. Not only could we see a majority of the city, but we had an astonishing view of the park's architecture by Antoni Gaudi.  We hiked back down to get a closer look at the unique buildings and took a quick Diet Coke break before heading to the airport.

A majority of our trip was spent wandering through the shops and eateries in Barcelona. Something about the palm trees and warm weather sparked a bit of homesickness for our lives in the West Coast, but the fun jewelry, fresh fruit, falafel, seafood dishes and the warm sun kept Courtney and I smiling! There were so many parts of the trip when I found myself wishing I could bottle up the moment and keep it forever.  The feeling of traveling and experiencing new things is one that is inexplainable.

Dinner on the harbor

Sangria in the sun

Parlez-vous Anglais?

I'm not going to lie, the Irish are pretty loud, and I know their reputation for excessive drinking precedes them, but I was taken aback when I arrived at the Dublin airport to young women shrieking Katy Perry songs and a bar FULL of people. It was 6 p.m. when I arrived at my gate and I felt silly buying a salad (pictured below) instead of a pint.

A legit vegetarian meal - a rarity in Ireland.

The plane ride wasn't much different, only this time I was surrounded by a bunch of French students who insisted on singing "happy birthday" when the cabin lights dimmed and screaming during take off and landing.  Luckily, the rest of my trip was far more similar to what I had initially expected.

After two buses and a plane ride, I arrived in Paris.  My friend Raphael, who I met at Chapman last semester (before he transferred back to Paris for the spring), was nice enough to let me crash with him at his childhood flat.  After staying in hostels, this felt like heaven!  That night, Raph and I caught up on each other's lives and then went to bed so I could wake up early to meet up with my cousin Suzy.

I made my way to the Louvre the next morning courtesy of Suzy's instructions on how to take the metro.  When we met up, I was pleased to find that museums are free for students! Suzy led me through two sections of the museum, which I was very grateful for because without her I would have wandered around aimlessly and known nothing about anything I was looking at.

The Mona Lisa... Way smaller than I expected!

Suzy

Outside of the Louvre

After a couple of hours at the Louvre, we went to a cute cafe for yummy, somewhat bland, French cuisine.

Then we walked through boutiques-galore, a French (and therefore really expensive) version of Ikea, and over toward the Notre Dame.  The line to get inside the cathedral was ridiculous so we enjoyed the outer architecture, then walked to a cool, old bookstore and finally ended at a cafe where we sat and people-watched with glasses of wine.

No sign of Quasimodo outside of The Notre Dame

I got stuck in a freakish downpour after Suzy and I said goodbye but made it back safely to Raphael's looking like a drowned rat.  Hey, I didn't think it rained outside of Ireland...

That night, Raph took me out to his favorite italian restaurant then we walked around the Eiffel Tower.  It is crazy how many vendors station themselves underneath the Eiffle Tower! It was almost impossible to walk around without being offered a touristy key chain or having a rose shoved into my hand!

On Sunday, Raphael and I tried to find a restaurant my friend Lea had recommended called Eggs & Co. but when we finally made it there, it was too full and they sent us out.  We were enjoying our walk, so we continued strolling around the area and finally sat down at a place called Cafe Louise.  Our lunch was amazing!! We left the restaurant as happy campers and walked over to the Musee D'Orsay, which I ended up enjoying a lot more than the Louvre. I recognized a lot more of the paintings and saw some of of my favorite artists' works, such as Van Gogh, Monet and Degas.

Once we were done at the museum, we met up with our mutual friend Hunter, who is studying abroad in Cannes, and one of Raphael's friends from the States.  The four of us went to a cafe and ate crepes that were to dieeee for, mine was filled with nutella and banana, and then walked over to see the Eiffel Tower in the daylight.

Hunter, Raphael and I made dinner at Raph's house that night then ventured into the city for a night out.  Unfortunately, a lot of places close on Sunday's so we ended up spending a majority of our night in a total American-style bar.

Hunter, Raphael and I

I left the next morning with a belly full of chocolate croissant and cappuccino.  It was definitely a weekend to remember!