Ruins, Churches, and everything in between

It's been almost 2 weeks since I've been here!! The time is flying by. Anyways, I'll do my best to recap the past week and a half the best I can.

Last weekend the whole program took a weekend trip to Tarragona and Valencia. Tarragona is about 1 1/2 outside of Barcelona. It's an old Roman city, which is why we went--to see the Roman ruins. It's a beautiful quaint little town, at least I felt like it was little and quaint. We took a tour of what was left of the old Roman wall, the cathedral, the circus, and the amphitheater where they use to have gladiator fights. Also, during the Spanish Civil Way, the amphitheater was used as a prison. The amphitheater is right on the Mediterranean. I would have loved to stay and spend some time at the beach, but we had to leave to go to Valencia.The Roman Amphitheater

Valencia is about 4 hours outside of Barcelona. It's the third largest city in Spain, population wise, next to Madrid and Barcelona. We got there about 7:30, had dinner, and then it was time to go out!! The Spanish like to go out late and stay out until the early morning--something I'm still adjusting too. We went to a bar and had super tasty mojitos. Then we went to a discoteca. It was PACKED, playing techno music, and a ton of people from the program were there.

The Cathedral in Valencia at night

The next day we toured the harbor where the America's Cup Sailing Race takes place. We also went around the old part of the city, saw some old churches, and went into the cathedral. All very beautiful. It was also the Saturday before Corpus Christi, so we got to see the floats for the parade on Sunday. They also had fireworks that night. Later that night we went out again to a really cool club by the beach. It was basically everyone from my program.

Sunday we went to the new part of the city--the opera house and the art museum. We didn't get a chance to go inside, but we did get to take some pretty cool pictures. Then we went to the aquarium--it was pretty cool, saw a dolphin show.The opera house in Valencia

Classes started on Monday. I have Contemporary History of Spain at 9 am (brutal) and then Modernism in Architecture and Comparative Design at 2:30, so I've got a four hour break in between. On Monday, I went with a friend who has the same break to Parque Montjuic. There we saw the Olympic Stadium, the National Museum, and some Greek theater. The park is ENORMOUS. I really want to go back and go into the National Museum and the Olympic museum. Free museum day is the first Sunday of the month--tomorrow, so I think my roommates and I are going to go to a few.The National Museum of Art

Olympic Stadium

Where they put the Olympic Torch

On Tuesday we saw Indiana Jones in English!! I haven't seen any of the other ones. It was alright, kind of weird. Tuesday night was also our first cultural activity. Our RA's cooked us a Spanish dinner. It was pretty tasty. I don't remember what the main dish was called, but we did have bread with tomato and olive--similar to bruschetta.

Wednesday we went and checked out Sargrada Familia--the church that has been under construction since 1882. I didn't have my camera with me, but don't worry I'm going back so I'll take pictures then. It was actually kind of nice not having a camera. I didn't feel like I had to constantly take pictures of everything. I just got to stand and stare and absorb. The detail is BREATHTAKING. It really is unreal. And there's people from all over--every language imaginable flying around. I can't really explain it. It's one of those places that you really just have to see. And after 126 years, it's just about 50% complete. I don't think it will ever be finished. I don't think it can be finished. I didn't get the chance to go up to the top--the wait was too long and we were on a time crunch, but I'm going back with my architecture class, so I'll take pictures then and hopefully go up to the top.

Thursday was wine tasting. I don't like wine, but I thought going to a wine class would help me appreciate it. We learned how to look at wine, smell it, and taste it. We tried a white, a rosetta, and two reds. I liked the white and the rosetta, not so much the reds. It was a fun class though, and I was right I definitely appreciate wine more.After wine tasting

Friday I dont have class, wohoo!! I slept in (very much needed) and then met my roommates to go to the beach! The beach was PACKED. It's funny, there are people walking around asking if you want a massage for 5 euro, a beer for 1 euro, or a henna tattoos. Unfortunately, the clouds started to roll in and it started raining, so we didnt get to stay for that long. I really don't understand this whole drought, because there have been more rainy days than sunny ones since I've been here.

Today we all slept very late after going out and staying out very late. Then we visited Camp Nou, the home of FC Barcelona. We got to see the locker rooms, the chapel where they pray before games, the actual soccer field, the press rooms. There was also a museum, and in true amusement park/tourist attraction fashion, you leave through the store. I did get an FC Barcelona hoodie because I didn't bring a hoodie with me and there has been a few cold days and chilly nights.Camp Nou- "More than a club"

This week I booked my trip to PARIS!!!!! I'm so excited. I'm going with my roommate Danielle, this guy Kris, and this girl Emily. We're leaving early in the morning on Friday, June 13th and coming back in the afternoon on Sunday the 14th. So we've got 2 1/2 days in Paris. I have a friend, Ivana, from school who's been studying there all semester, so I'm really excited to see her. We even found a cheap hotel that's really close to all the sights. I think it's in Montmarte.

I'm enjoying myself so much. I feel so incredibly lucky to be doing this. This really is one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and Barcelona is such a beautiful and amazing city.

I'll try and keep up with the blogging, but I'm not making any promises.