January 2-3
Started the morning of the 2nd finishing up packing and I then headed to MSP. Sat on the plane to Paris next to a fellow blogger moving there to start her her blog career. Unfortunately I did not sleep more than 15 minutes of this 7 hour plane ride. I read a book and then watched top gun instead. We had a quick layover in Paris. Thankfully, customs were quick and easy. We then grabbed a coffee and boarded a flight to Barcelona. Once we arrived we were taken to a hotel for our first session of orientation and then sent to unpack at our apartment.
We had a few hours to get settled then we headed out for sangria and paella.
The jet leg caught up to us afterwards and we fell fast asleep.
January 4
Today we woke up, got coffee and spent the majority of our morning at CIEE orientation. But first we were tasked with getting metro passes and learning our way around. Luckily the metro is much easier than I expected for someone who is directionally challenged. After we walked around and explored the Boqueria, which is like an indoor food market.
After that it was time for a siesta before heading out for tapas and such.
January 5
Today we had yet another orientation, this one more academic focused so we learned about our class policies and all the fun stuff. After this we hung out at home before going to the Cabalgata Reyes Magos (wise men parade). It was super cool to see a lot of people gathered to celebrate the night before three kings day.
January 6
Three kings day! The whole apartment slept til around noon- still getting used to the Spanish lifestyle and timing of things. We knew we wanted to hike what was called the “bunker” at sunset so we decide to explore before hand. Our first stop was walking around the arc di triompf.
Roomie pic! Me, Darby, Holly and Taylor
Next we made our way to the “bunker”. We were met with a 20 minute hike of only stairs on a steep incline. We wanted to look cute for pics but it became clear to us that jeans were the wrong choice. When we finally made it to the top the view of sunset over the city was very much worth the physical toll.
Some guy drew this picture of us at top.
Next, we decided to head to the “tik tok famous” Dow Jones bar. Basically, the drinks fluctuate based on supply and demand and a few times a night, the market crashes, bringing all the drinks down to their market value.
After a few hours, we decided to head back to the apartment and get ready for our day trip on Saturday.
January 7th
Today we had signed up for a day trip with our study abroad program to Monserrat. It was about an hour drive up the mountain, then we went on a hike and tour. Monserrat is a monastery and home to the Black Madonna, a version of the Virgin Mary.
January 8th
We all slept in once again. Then me, Darby and Taylor spent a couple hours shopping in the gothic quarter before visiting a rooftop near the cathedral for drinks.
Not much else from Sunday. Just kinda hung out in the apartment.
Ok well that all for now. I apologize my blogging isn’t as great as my dad’s but I will work on it! Class starts for me this week so that’s exciting. Check back next week for another update!
Awesome!!
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