Ok, I can admit it, I've been neglected my blogging duties! I owe it to my 5.75 loyal readers (the number has increased since I left the country). Although, the good news behind this, is that I have been having so much fun, that I haven't had time to update.
Lets travel back in time....
Soon after my last update, I traveled to the far away (and cold) country of Switzerland to visit Jamie. I toured Geneva and Bern, ate delicious chocolate, pastries, cheese and Raclette (homemade by Jamie), a classic French-Swiss dish with cheese, potatoes and pickles, so in other words, perfect!
A few days after I got back from Switzerland was Fat Tuesday, so I felt obliged to celebrate Carnavale. I went to Sitges, a small and flamboyant town an hour outside of Barcelona for the celebrations. It was amazing, and I made a bunch of Spanish friends. They were dressed as the teenage mutant ninja turtles (los fabulosos tortugas ninjas).
The week after, I was visited by the best friends a girl could ask for, Cate and Jamie. We had a superfabuloso time in Barcelona. Above is the three of us in Parc Guell.
Then I went to Madrid for the weekend (I have been so busy!) Which was amazing, especially the Prado. The photo below is Jess, Emily and Me eating supposedly the best chocolate and churros in Madrid.
And finally, I am up to last weekend, when I went to Figueras to the Dali Musuem, which is amazingly bizarre, and I toured a little monatary in Barcelona that was gourgeous. I also got caught up in the Macro-Botellon, which was exciting (and a little scary). But no worries, everything is ok.
Sigh, I think that is everything for now. I will try to do better with the updating in the future.
!Hasta Pronto!

Labels: adventures in europe

So, I had a really awesome weekend, on Saturday I went to Penedes, the region in Catalunya that is known for its Cava (Spanish champagne) and visited two vineyards: Cordoniu and a small one in Sant Pere de Molanta. We had a great time touring the vineyards and learning how to properly taste wine (see the swirling and smelling picture of Billie and I to the left).
Then yesterday (Sunday) I celebrated the holiday of Sant Eulalia (La Laia), Barcelona's patron saint. It was really cool, especially the Castellers (see photo on the right), who competed in Plaza Sant Jaume. The giants also came out to parade, and almost all of the museums in the city were free. I love Catalonian holidays! See my pictures from Penedes and La Laia here.

Labels: adventures in europe

I just recently returned from a very nice weekend in Amsterdam where I saw lots of cool things:
-Anne Frank's House
-The Rijks Museum
-The Rembrandt House
-The Van Gogh Museum
-The Red Light District
-The Coster Diamond Factory
-The Botanical Gardens
-Dam Square
I also ate yummy Dutch food called "Hotchpotch" I think, which was mashed potatoes and carrots and onions. I loved it, an excuse to eat an entire plate of mashed potatoes! I also took a tour of the city by boat on the canals, which was beautiful. I also like that everyone rides bikes everywhere, it is so adorable. There are way more bikes than cars or motorcycles in the city. The picture on the right is me looking silly because it was so cold standing next to one of the canals. It is so gorgeous there!
PS - I am uploading my Amsterdam pictures to a different place because Webshots is being dumb. You can see them here: http://community.webshots.com/user/Rachel_Barcelona_2.

Labels: adventures in europe

!Hola!
So, I am just now completing week 3 of the Barcelona experience. So far, I am having a really good time. Last weekend I went to Montserrat, which is this mountain an hour outside the city that was created by volcanic activity, so it is really neat. It is also a really holy place for Catalonians because the Black Virgin was discovered there, this supposedly really old statue (modern day scientists have discovered that it is really not that old). However, no matter how legitimate a holy place Montserrat is, it is still really really beautiful. The picture on the right is me at the top of Montserrat looking tired from the climb (it was really steep!).
In other news, I have now been mistaken for a local many times, and twice now have I been able to give legimate answers to the questions. I am very proud.

Labels: adventures in europe

So, I´m starting to get into the swing of things here. I´ve started two of my classes, Gramática, Conversación y Composición and Las Guerras en la Literatura y las Artes Visuales. Starting soons is Imágenes de España en el cine contemporáneo, Barcelona la Historia y la Ciudad and Artistas Españoles. I´ve also seen ALOT of the city. Some of the highlights have been climbing to the top of La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi´s huge and unfinished church, Montjuic, a small mountain in the city that hosts gardens and museums, the Rembrandt exhibit in La Pedrera and the Caravaggio exposition in the Museo National de Arte de Catalunya. I´m also making plans to travel all over Europe, which is very exciting. Anyhow, must go to class now.

Labels: adventures in europe

Here are some of the highlights of my first week in Barcelona:
1.) Finding the little plastic king in my piece of cake on ¨Dia de los Reyes Magos¨(the 12th day of christmas) and being crowned queen and blessed with good luck.
2.) Seeing the Gaudi sites, namely Casa Batllo, La Perdrera and Casa de las Carolinas
3.) Sucessfully making my way to two classes
4.) Eating patatas bravas, yummmm...
5.) Going to my first discotecha and dancing to horrible american music!

Labels: adventures in europe

Some Pictures:

top left, my room at my homestay

top right, me on the balconey of my homestay

left, Parc de la Ciutadella

Labels: adventures in europe

So, here I am in Barcelona. I arrived safely and will begin posting pictures soon. I am living in a homestay with a woman named Josefina, who is very nice and a very good cook. I will start school on Monday and I hope that I will have more frequent internet access there. A few days ago was a holiday called El Dia de Los Reyes, which is the 12th day of Christmas. There is a tradition that everyone eats a big cake and inside there is a little plastic king (sort of like mardi gras) and whoever gets the king gets good luck. And guess what? I got the king! They put a paper crown on my head, it was very funny. I have a picture that I will try to post soon. Also, I bought a mobile which was very exciting for me. I feel much more secure now. Anyhow, I will report back soon. In the meanwhile, email me or leave a message telling me what is happening with you.

Labels: adventures in europe