Hello, hello and happy holidays!
I feel like I wrote a post just last night instead of two weeks ago! I can't seem to grasp how quickly my time here is winding down. My flat mates and I finished up a family meeting a few minutes ago. We've planned a formal Christmas dinner for next Tuesday and picked names for Secret Santa! I've completed 2/4 essays so far and have begun researching for my final papers. My older sister arrives next Wednesday to spend a week traveling between London, Madrid, and Barcelona with me, so my goal is to have all of my course work completed before then. Speaking of Barcelona, I returned Saturday night from a weekend trip touring the city with my boyfriend. What an amazing atmosphere!! I'm so excited to return with my sister to see some other things we didn't have time to cover.
Steven and I left from London Southend Airport Thursday morning. We arrived in Barcelona in the early afternoon, then checked into our room in the Hotel Ramblas, a cozy hostel right off the central street in Barcelona, La Rambla. We walked down the avenue to stretch our legs enjoying the gorgeous weather and the fabulous street art. There were vendors set up selling souvenirs, post cards, fresh flowers, even small animals like chicks, bunnies, and hamsters! We made our way around el Gotic area and visited La Seu (el Gotic cathedral). We mosied around the Christmas market just outside the cathedral perusing the hand made jewelry, bags, ornaments, and clay nativity scenes.
The following morning, I picked up a delicious coffee from a small side-street cafe on the way to the Picasso Museum. Wow. That guy really was a child-artist prodigy. And that's a massive understatement! The pieces in the museum traced his life from age 14 when he mastered realistic paintings under the instructions of the Royal Academy of Madrid, to his unbelievable cubism works, all the way to his famous abstract pieces. I became lost in the asymmetrical lines, bright colors, and busied brush strokes. We both commented on how he must not have had much of a personal life since it seems like he was painting 24/7! After a few hours, we finished up at the museum and treated ourselves to a delectable lunch of lentil soup, pasta, grilled chicken, beef, potatoes, and fresh bread. Mmmm.
After wondering around Placa de Catalunya, we then found ourselves right in front of La Boqueria, a massive local farmer's market! It took my breath away. I was oo-ing and aw-ing at the varieties of fresh fruit, nuts, spices, meats, baked goods, smoothies, sea food, candies, chocolates, soups, seeds, etc, etc etc!! We were lucky we'd just eaten a huge meal or else we probably would have spent the majority of our money indulging in every food possible. We continued down Passeig de Gracia where we saw Gaudi's beautifully intricate architectural works including Casa Batllo, Casa Amatller, and La Pedrera, then we saw his massive Basilica, La Sagrada Familia! We also went to Park Guell to see his gorgeous tiled artwork. That evening, we gorged ourselves on two platters of Spanish Tapas with a glass of refreshing white wine. On our way out that night, we saw the Colombus monument before hitting up a club on La Barceloneta (the Barca Beach area). The club was jam-packed with people despite the 20 Euro entrance fee. At the end of the night, we took a long walk along the beach and enjoyed the festive city lights!
We came back early Saturday evening to give ourselves enough time to catch the trains from London to our universities. I've been in the library ever since researching sources for my essays. Tomorrow is my last day of classes, then I'll start packing up my room to ship the majority of my luggage home before my sister and I begin our travels. I think I'll be ready to get back to the US. There's just no place like the states, and coming abroad for an extended period of time definitely makes me appreciate everything I have at home. Unfortunately, I have exceeded my photo quota, so I can't post any pictures of Barcelona with this entry.
I take a quick day trip to London this Friday to have one last dinner with Robin, my study abroad coordinator, and some other students who are also studying in the UK through Globalinks Learning Abroad. I'll try to write again soon after that, but things will be getting pretty hectic around here so my posts will be a bit spotty. Until next time!
Cheers,
Kat
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