Fat Tire Bike Tour

Hello all! I am so behind, it's inexcusable. But, I cannot move forward with this blog until I describe one of my favorite things that we have done so far...the Fat Tire Bike Tour of Barcelona! The Monday before our first official day of class was a national Spanish holiday, so Kelli and I were desperate to go on the fun bike tour that we had heard was fabulous! The tour began in the plaza where the government buildings for both Spain and Catalonia are located. Barcelona is the heart of Catalonia, and historically, the Catalan people have wanted their own identity. Truthfully, these people would always refer to themselves as Catalan first, Spanish second. Throughout history, they have been repressed and abused, so today there is a definite determination to keep the Catalan culture alive in Barcelona. We learned so much history on our trip- those tour guides are really knowledgeable! We got to see the Gothic, old parts of Barcelona, where the Roman walls once stood, the Barcelona Cathedral, and of course, the famous Sagrada Familia designed by the Spanish architect Gaudí. The story behind the gigantic cathedral is intricate and thoughtful. Gaudí predicted that it would take 200 years until its completion! The goal is to finish the cathedral by 2026, and Kelli and I agreed that we will DEFINITELY come back to see it! There will be twelve towers total when the cathedral is finished, one for each of Jesus' twelve disciples. There are three different sections of the cathedral, one each for Jesus' life, death, and Resurrection. Each section possesses different architectural techniques and is made from different materials. The final tower will be in the center of the other towers, and it will stand around 170 meters tall, which is twice as tall as the existing towers! It will be visible all over Barcelona, and I personally cannot wait to see it! For lunch, our tour stopped at a beachside restaurant called Ona, famous for its Sangria, though Kelli and I opted for some refreshing smoothies before completing our tour. Enjoy the pictures! 

 Barcelona Cathedral 

 Arc de Triomf

 Parc de Ciutadella...my personal favorite!

 Barcelona Zoo is home to the only 3 wooly mammoths in the world!

 The final tower will be twice as tall as those 4 towers!

Día Dos en Madrid

We made it. All night long. In Cat's. Kelli and I agreed that we should ditch that place as soon as we woke up in the morning, so we quickly got ready and headed to, believe it or not, McDonald's! Before you get a puzzled look on your face, let me explain the McDonald's of Madrid. It has free WiFi, two story seating, and a bakery! I enjoyed a delightful smoothie and berry muffin for breakfast and we set out through the streets of Madrid for day two of adventure! The first day, we focused on the Calle Mayor and connecting streets, so on Sunday, we decided to walk the opposite way toward Paseo del Prado to see the Jardín Botánico. The walk was so pleasant, especially early in the morning before the streets were too crowded. I don't think that I have ever seen a more beautiful park in my life. Everything was so green, lush, and quiet in the early morning hours. You could feel God's presence woven through each row of trees and flowers. The park is large, and it wraps around a large lake/pond. Many people were out running and exercising (such active people in Spain!). Kelli and I loved walking around the entire park and taking lots of fun pictures.

 A fun swing in the park!

 So many trees, and the best part was that there were so many different types, all growing together and creating a wonderful shaded pathway.

 A small version of Town Lake!

 Having fun taking pictures

 Serenity

After a long time enjoying the peace of the park, Kelli and I visited the National Library. Outside stood a statue of Miguel de Cervantes, the famous author of Don Quixote de la Mancha, which, being the Spanish major that I am, I was SO excited to see! At this point, Kelli and I were running low on fuel, but since it wasn't quite time to head to our lunch reservation, we enjoyed reading La Plaza de Colón. Finally, it was the moment we had been waiting for...lunch at the oldest restaurant in the world! It is called Botín, and you have to descend a tight spiral staircase to the basement to enjoy a delicious lunch- so cool! I had a chicken and rice dish, and the bread was so tasty, even though we had to pay for it! After a nice and relaxing meal, Kelli and I headed to the train station to return back home to Barcelona. I must say, it was such a fun weekend, and we experienced so much culture! 

 Don Quixote style

Kelli and Sarah Take Madrid: Day 1

I am a planner. Always have been. So last minute trips really tend to throw me off. But not in Spain! On Friday, Kelli and I decided that it was the perfect weekend to visit more of Spain- Madrid to be exact. We bought our Eurail Spain train pass, good for 5 trips, on Friday and at 8 AM Saturday morning we were off! Our first day in Madrid was perfect...except for our hostel. With a name like "Cat's", I am surprised that I ever booked it in the first place, honestly. But even though it was a little less than par, Kelli and I made the most of it. In reality, we were only going to use it for a few hours of sleep, so we agreed to push through and leave early the next morning.

 We began our day near the Puerta del Sol, a beautiful and bright plaza in Madrid. We had our first meal at a restaurant in Spain, called Cantina la Traviesa. The waiters were so funny and gave us a free appetizer of the traditional iberian ham, cheese, and bread. Delicious! Then Kelli and I shared this monster of a chicken paella! I am officially initiated as a Spaniard! The classic dish can be prepared with chicken, vegetables, shrimp, shellfish, or (gag) squid ink. We felt chicken was the safest choice, and it was so tasty! Since the waiters liked us so much, they brought us some free drinks after we ate, which we turned down for a non-alcoholic treat instead. After some fun laughs, pictures, and the usual Spanish double-cheek kiss, Kelli and I began our trek through the city! 

Luckily, Madrid is much smaller to navigate than Barcelona, with a lot of the sites close together. It seemed like we walked all over, from the Plaza Mayor down La Calle Mayor all the way to the beautiful cathedral and Royal Palace. It was such a gorgeous site! We read for a while on the lawn to recharge, and then returned to La Plaza Mayor for a light dinner (typical of Spain). Madrid has this really dynamic marketplace, kind of like Whole Foods in Austin, with many different stands selling various tapas (small appetizers), drinks, and morsels. I decided on two mini kabobs, one pork and one tomato and mozzarella, and a mint truffle for dessert. By that time, Kelli and I were worn out, so we (reluctantly) headed back to Cat's for the night. We made it out with nothing worse than a frown- but at least we got the experience of a hostel! Check!

 At the restaurant

 Chicken Paella

 Flirty waiter! 

 La Puerta del Sol

 El Mercado de San Miguel

 Delectable treats at the market!

 A Spanish favorite!

 Beautiful cathedral 

 Royal Palace

 View from the palace!

 Kabobs!

 Truffle and treats!

Cat's. Notice the lack of exclamatory punctuation.

La Playa

Sorry for the absence! Kelli and I have been so busy living the cultured life! But I haven't forgotten that I need to catch up on my blog posts. Last Thursday, Kelli had orientation again in the afternoon, so I went and hung out at the IES center, enjoying my peanut butter sandwich on their cool terrace. IES is a great program. It is so well run and the faculty is incredible. Not to mention the facility is one of a kind! After Kelli's orientation ended, we walked down the fun and busy Las Ramblas to visit a few stores. H&M is a clothing store that unfortunately is not as prevalent in the United States. Lucky for us, they are all over Spain! We also visitied El Corte Inglés, a nine story department store filled with everything from designer purses to a grocery store to microwaves! At six in the evening, we were scheduled to meet up with other IES students and two faculty members for a jog to the beach and back. I cannot even express how wonderful it was! We ran close to 6 miles, and although have not run that far in a while, it felt great! Spain is a very active country, and there are always people out running in Barcelona. It was fun to run in a group (there were 12 of us in all), and since the faculty led the way, we got to see some awesome Barcelona sites that Kelli and I agreed we will have to visit when we aren't sweating :). I think the highlight of the jog was the portion along the boardwalk by the Mediterranean Sea. The water was so blue! And while I am still loyal to my South Padre Island because of the perfect waves, water, and sand, the color of the Mediterranean cannot be beat! Needless to say, my Thursday was great!

Día Número Dos: Parc Güell!

Hola a todos! Yesterday, Kelli and I ran a quick errand to the grocery store when we woke up to buy some bread to make sandwiches. I even got to practice my Spanish when we had to ask a local storekeeper where the supermarket was! The store is very close to our dorm, so that will be great whenever we need to pick up something quickly. While Kelli went to her orientation, I enjoyed a relaxing lunch at the plaza right next to the IES center. It was a beautiful sight, and the peanut butter sandwich helped ease my American craving! In the afternoon, Kelli and I decided to visit the incredible Parc Güell, which was designed by the famous artist Gaudí, who had hoped to develop the land into a neighborhood. Unfortunately, he was unable to finish, but the park trails are open to the public, and his house is on top of the hill overlooking the city!

La casa de Gaudí

View from the top of the hill. Incredible architecture with the Mediterranean Sea in the background!

Entrance to the park

Me at the top!

All in all, it was a día fantástico! Today, we are going shopping in La Rambla and then going with other IES students and faculty on a beachside fun run. It should be a wonderful afternoon, and I can't wait to post more pictures. Hasta luego, y que se vayan bien!

Bon día, Barcelona!

We made it! Kelli and I arrived in Barcelona yesterday at 4 PM (Spain time), which is 9 AM back home. The flights were relatively harmless, just a couple of snoring neighbors, recliners, and noisy babies. But other than that, we were treated like royalty! The meals were surprisingly delicious...chicken, rice, salad, and a brownie for dinner, a gourmet chocolate bar as a late night snack, and a wonderful egg dish for breakfast. 

 Dinner on the plane...the block of cheese was my favorite part!

 The best chocolate!

Breakfast on the plane!

Our first day here was kind of crazy! We unpacked all of our luggage and set up our lovely dorm room. Then we met our wonderful RA, Flor (short for Florencia- she was so nice!). After buying the 50/30 subway passes (50 rides in a month period), Kelli and I were pretty TIRED. So, we hit the sack and slept great. 

Day two was just as fantastic. We woke up and had an amazing breakfast here at the dorm (we definitely got the SRD of España). It takes about half an hour to get to our school. We walk about 10 or 15 minutes to the metro and then the ride is about 15 minutes to arrive in La Rambla. There is so much activity in the center of this busy square, with lots of shopping, restaurants, and pigeons...I could do without the last! They are more aggressive than the Austin birds, which I did not think possible!

Our breakfast, complete with a delicious egg dish and their famous jamón ibérico!

Trees line the streets on our walk to the metro! It was kind of a grey day, but hopefully I'll get some sunny pictures up soon!

In the late afternoon, our school had a welcome party for us, with delightful tapas, which are small appetizers that the people in Spain frequently munch on during the large gap of time between lunch and dinner. They also had a refreshing juice  beverage (I think it was peach and strawberry...), and overall it was a great time to snack and meet some other students. It turns out there are around 70 UT students here! I guess we dominate in more places than just Texas... :). Before dinner, Kelli and I got our international phones...can you say flashback to middle school?

Dinner is so late here (8:30-10 at our dorm), but I think we are adjusting well. We used the last bit of time before dinner to start our "6 Week 6 Pack" workout video! Since we are here for about 6 weeks, we thought it would be a good way to get in a workout, and our dorm has a nice gym. All in all, day two was fabulous, and I can't wait for more! Hasta luego!