Week 1: We're Here!

   It's officially been almost a week in my new home of Barcelona and I must admit that I am falling more in love with this city everyday. The first few days were the hardest, trying to get used to living in our home stay and navigating the metro system but we are certainly getting a handle on this whole abroad thing. The only things that aren't absolutely perfect is one, how expensive everything is here and two, our food at our home stay. I guess we were expecting gourmet Spanish cuisine but we will survive and my stomach might even shrink!
  We try and spend everyday on the go and are trying to see as much of the city as possible. We have taken a bus tour all around the city, seen Sagrada Familia, Las Ramblas, Park Guell, the fütbol stadium, Port Vell, and the list goes on. At night we have been exploring some of the more popular bars and clubs in Barcelona. All very fun, but they don't even go out until very late here so an evening nap is always essential. I have so much to share I could go on for pages so I will let my pictures do most of the talking!

The above picture and the two below are from Gaudí 's Park Guell. It is a beautiful garden complex with all different architecture. We spent the bulk of Sunday exploring this park. It is very beautiful and was a great day to explore!

The following pictures were taken on our bus tour around Barcelona! They are all works of the famous Antoni Gaudí. The most magnificent one is the Sagrada Familia. Gaudí devoted his entire life to it and it is still a work in progress. He claims, his client, God, has all of the time in the world. 

Today after class we walked down Las Ramblas, a street with all different types of food, produce, restaurants, and shops. We sat down for typical Spanish lunch. I had Las Patatas Bravas and vino and my friends had fajitas with sangria. After lunch we walked all the way down to Port Velle and explored the harbor. It was beautiful and we were all so excited to see water!

This weekend we are off to Tarragona for the weekend with our program and we just booked our trip to Prague for the first weekend in February! Keep posted and I promise to post some more very soon! Thanks for following!

-Jenn

Hola,

Now that I have settled into my new home of Barcelona, I can finally start my blog! Fourty-eight hours ago I was on my way to the airport, excited but nervous to embark on my semester abroad in Barcelona. After reluctantly saying good-bye to my parents and waiting in a few airport lines, five of my best friends and myself boarded our plane to London. As a side note I must say that this was one of my best flying experiences I've had in a long time. There were comfortable seats, entertainment, and two meals! Not to mention that everyone was much more polite than American airlines as we also saw in the Heathrow and Barcelona airports as well. After a short layover in Heathrow, London (their accents are awesome..) we were on the last leg of this trip and once again off to our final destination, Barcelona.

We landed in sunny skies and moderately warm weather, for a few seconds I forgot how sleep deprived I was but then came time to carry our suitcases. Niki and myself said bye to our friends and hopped in a cab to our homestay. We buzzed the apartment and could already tell that this was going to be a struggle, our señora didn't speak any English. The apartment is very nice and our room is pretty big with a desk and most importantly, wifi. After putting down our stuff we first and foremost, showered then followed our señora around the city as she showed us around, how to use the metro, and how to get to our school. We returned and at 9pm we had our dinner, which for me is going to be the biggest adjustment because at home a 6pm dinner is pushing it.

Nonetheless, we had a successful day and both decided that we were way too tired to go out so we hit our pillows hard. The very next morning (today), we woke up after our much needed 13 hour sleep  and went to orientations all day. In between the two we sat in an outdoor café in the middle of the city and drank some much needed Sangria all while planning our first night out. It has been a very long 48 hours and it is certainly going to take some adjustment, living in this brand new city. However it is absolutely beautiful and I can already tell that it is going to be a great semester!

Stay tuned for more stories and adventures to come!

Hasta Luego!