ESPAÑA!!!!!!!!!!

      So a couple weekends ago, Ali and I went to Barcelona for Easter weekend.  This trip was kinda on a whim…we originally planned to go to Germany for Easter to see all the cool castles but it was WAY to expensive….SO we decided on Barcelona.  It was the best decision we had ever made!  We sated with the family of a friend that I worked with out in Colorado the past few years.  They were absolutely amazing and did so much for us!  Jan, my friend from camp was still in the US but his sister, Xenia, was there.  It was great to see her again!  We met about four years ago when Jan and her stayed in Missouri with another friend. 

      To get to Barcelona, we had to fly RyanAir…lets just say that was an experience itself.  It is a cheap European airline that is mainly used for students traveling abroad.  We could only have one bag and it can’t be bigger than a backpack.  There are also no seat numbers so it is first come first serve on the seats, which is quite interesting.  I didn’t think everyone was going to fit but they manage to jam as many people on those flights as possible.  It was fun though!  

Once we arrived in Barcelona, Ariel, Xenia’s dad, picked us up and drove us to their house.  It was late but he was so nice, he took us on the scenic route to their house which goes over a mountain and we could see all of Barcelona and its lights!  It was beautiful!  The family lives in a smaller town just over the mountain, called Valldoreix.  It was a cute town with actual neighborhoods, something I haven’t seen in four months.

       Our first day in Spain was definitely a packed one.  We started off by the family letting us drive their car to the train station because that was how we got into Barcelona.  It was so weird driving, I hadn’t at all since I was at home.  But don’t worry, I did just fine!  Once into the city we walked up and down the main street, La Rambla.  It is a pedestrian street where they have all sorts of street vendors and performers all day long.  It was quite entertaining!  First we HAD to find a Starbuck for Ali, she was so excited because here in Italy they don’t have Starbucks.  After our fix of caffeine and flavored coffee, we went to check out the Gothic District, which is the old part of the city.  There, they have the Picasso Museum and the Barcelona Cathedral.  Both were very cool!  

       We also walked all the way to Sagrada Familia, which is a giant church designed by Gaudi, a famous Spanish architect.  The church actually isn’t even finished yet.  I would explain it to you but I think a picture will be better.  For lunch we HAD to go to the Hard Rock just because we hadn’t been around any sort of American food in the past four months and all we wanted was a cheeseburger!  After, we just walked around La Rambla some more before heading back to the house.  That night we went out to eat with Ariel, Susanna (the mom) and grandpa, who spoke hardly any English!  It was so fun to actually be with a family from there and be able to experience how they live there!  At dinner we had all sorts of delicious Tapas, which are sorta like finger food.  I think our first day was one of my favorites!

Sagrada Familia

       The next day, we got to hang out with Xenia all day which was SO fun!  She was such a fun girl and she taught us a lot about the city!  That day it was Catalan’s holiday “St. Jordi” which is kind of like our Valentine’s day.  As tradition goes, the men give the women roses and the women give the men a book.  There is a long story to why they give these things but I will leave that out!  Anyway, Ali and I were given three different roses that day, one from the dad, one from the grandpa, and one at the FC BARCELONA GAME!!!  I will get to that in a minute.  So, that day Xenia’s grandpa drove us into town.  We started out with checking out La Rambla again and the giant central market where we got fresh smoothies!  Next we headed up to Montjuic, which is an old fortress on the top of a mountain next to the coats.  The views were unbelievable!  There, we also walked to the 1992 Olympic stadium, which was SO cool!  There, the family picked us up and we went to the beach where we had paella for lunch! It was yummy!  By this time we were exhausted and stuffed so we headed back and rested before our big night at the soccer game!  Somehow, we got FRONT ROW tickets to the game and it was absolutely amazing!  Defiantly one of my top experiences here in Europe, of course after paragliding over the Swiss Alps. ;)  

   

At Montjuic with Xenia!

Parque Guell

                Our last day was great but the past two days had definitely worn us out.  We took the train again and then hiked up to Parque Guell, which is also designed by Gaudi.  It was so cool, tons of people and the architecture was so interesting! 

                By far, this trip is at the top of favorite places I have been while studying here, which says a lot because I have traveled a ton!  I love Italy but Spain is definitely a place I want to visit again someday!  And Jan and Xenia’s family we absolutely so great!  They defiantly made the trip worthwhile!

               

                

Mama Mia!

Ok so I know it has been a while since she was actually here but I am finally blogging about it.  It is a lot harder to sit down and blog here than I thought it was going to be, I guess there is just too much to do here, who would have thought!

Anyway, my MOM came to Florence and we had the best time!  She came here for my spring break so we had a whole week free to do whatever we wanted!  She was lucky because she had her own personal tour guide, ha!  She was supposed to get here mid-day but her flight from Springfield got cancelled and ended up having to fly through Amsterdam, so she didn’t get here till 10:00 at night.  It was funny when she finally got here because she just couldn’t believe she was actually in Florence! 

Our first couple of days, we hung out in Florence and I showed her all around, we went non-stop.  We did all the important museums, Pitti Palace and Boboli gardens, The Bargello, and the Uffizi all in one day!  We did and saw about everything there is to see here, well maybe not everything but we still did a ton.  We also went on a Chianti wine tour where we took a charter bus out to a local vineyard, got to see how they made the wine and also balsamico!  We had a wine tasting with several different kinds of wine, as well as truffle mushrooms, cheese, and vanilla ice cream with balsamic on     top!  A sound disgusting but it was so good! 

At the end of the week, we took the train up the coast to Cinque Terre.  However, on the way we had to stop and see the Leaning Tower!  Cinque Terre aka “The  Five Lands” is an area of coastline in Liguria, where all the five small towns are located on the cliffs.  You can only get there by train and boat, so it was pretty cool!   It is also known for its great hiking trails, so of course we hiked around a little.  It was absolutely beautiful, definitely one of my favorite places I have been here in Italy! 

I had the best time with my Mom and I am so happy she got to come over here and see how amazing it is!  We had so much fun!!!

ALEX COMES TO ITALY!!!

    FINALLY!!!

       It seemed like it had been forever since I had seen him and I was so excited!  Alex flew in and stayed for about ten days for his spring break!  We had such a great time!  I showed him all over Florence, (bypassing the museums since he wasn't too interested ha) then went to Bologna and Viareggio, a town on the Italian coast! 

 We went to Bologna the first weekend he was here and it was great!  The weather wasn’t so much but we still had fun!  We walked around the city center and climbed the huge tower, La Torre degli Asinelli.  It was kinda scary; the stairs were steep, dark, and small.  Once we got to the top it was definitely worth it though!  Afterwards, we walked around, got some gelato, and then went out to dinner! 

 That next week I had midterms in all my classes so it was hard to do everything we wanted and still have time to study but it all worked out!  I took him to all my favorite places to eat, the leather market, and the river!  I’m sure he got his fill of pasta and wine…welcome to Italy!  We also climbed the Duomo all the way to the top.  I got a little woozy because it was very tiny stairs that winded all the way up!

          Anyways, I couldn’t wait till midterms were over because we were going to Viareggio right after my last class!  Viareggio is a small city on the western coast of Italy on the Ligurian Sea!  It is known for its Carnivale where they have huge floats and parades for several weeks!  Sadly we just missed it.  However, we had a great time!  It was so fun to see the sea and walk along the beach!  There was a Ferris wheel that we also got to take a ride on!  The city was a nice get-a-way from the huge city of Florence.  It was quiet and hardly and tourists (Florence is overrun by them right now)!  We just walked along the boardwalk, harbor, and pier.  It was a beautiful day to be at the beach!  I want to go back already!

 Before I knew it, the week was over and Alex had to head home.  It was so great to see him and have him

see what my life is like here but I miss him even more now. 

    

          

It's been a while....

   Things have been super crazy around here, well not crazy but lots of stuff have been going on.  This month has been and still is the month of family and boyfriend visits!  Tate, Ali's boyfriend came last week when we were in Venice, then Alex came right after, now Shandie's boyfriend is here.  And then after all the boyfriends leave, the Moms are coming, Ali's first, then my mom, then Shandie's!  Its gonna be great!  Oh, and not to mention, midterms where right in the middle of all this! JOY!
     I last wrote about Switzerland and that was a WHILE ago.  So I will do my best to get you caught up!  Ok so lets go all the way back to Assisi, Siena, and San Gimignano.  ISA (our program) has several excursions included during our time here in Florence.  Our first two were to Assisi, then Siena and San Gimignano.  It was so much fun!  We all loaded up on two huge private coach buses and took off to Assisi.  If you have never heard of the twon, you should look it up.  It s a world heritage site and an important pilgrimage site, St. Francis is buried there, and it is also the world's only "City of Peace."  Picture the movie "Under The Tuscan Sun" and that is what this place loosed like.  Actually that movie was filmed about 20 minutes from Assisi.  The town is small, quiet, and very clean.  I loved every bit of our time there!
      The next day we headed to Siena and San Gimignano.  It was so much fun seeing all these places with so much history!  Siena is where they have the famous horse race in the town square called Il Palio, the opening of Quantum of Solace was filmed during the race!  It was a beautiful city with great shops and good food!  Later that day we went to San Gimignano which is smack dab in the middle of chianti region, only where the best wine in the world comes from!  It was absolutely beautiful!
    Thats all for now, I still have more to tell you but that will come later!
  

Photo Series

   So this was my first photography project here in Florence.  It is supposed to be about our first impression of Florence.  For mine, I decided to take a bus to the outskirts of the city and show the changes in landscape as well as architecture.