Buenos Dias,
Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been very busy exploring, traveling and with school. Well I think last i left off I was about to go to Valencia for my study journey with IES. Valencia was awesome...well minus the awful weather. The town is really pretty and it seems like it has a lot of offer, but since we were only there 2 days I didnt really get to see much. But we went to Torres vineyard first...which is more like a giant bottling factor than a vineyard. Its such a huge place and the tour felt like I was at disney world. Then we drove down to valencia...there were 8 buses of students and we were all split between 4 different hotels. The next day we went to the City of Arts and Sciences which is a huge complex in Valencia that was built a few years ago. It is beautiful and the buildings look like something from star wars. We went to the Aquarium (which is the largest in Europe) It was fun except a lot of the things were outside so by the time we were done we were soaking wet. So what better to warm you up than the best Paella in Valencia...it was amazing and the restaurant was right on the beach. Then I made my friends walk around all of the America's Cup buildings...I knew James would ask about it later. The next day we left Valencia and were supposed to go on another tour but it was just too cold and rainy so it got canceled.
The best part of the trip was the Calcotada...it is a traditional Spanish meal where they eat Calcots. Calcots are a very unique type of onion that are only grown for about 2 months out of the year. The onions are charred over an open flame and then rolled in newspaper and steamed. To eat them you peel off the burnt outer part and then dip them in this amazing romesco sauce. The calcots are just the started for the meal and you are later given a whole plate of different types of meats and beans. It was an amazing experience and I would recommend going to a Calcotada if you are in Catalunya in the winter months.
After Valencia I started school again. My friend from GWU, Lexi, who has been studying abroad in Tel Aviv since July came to visit me for a few days. It was awesome to see her and have a familiar face from School around. We did all the touristy things and I took her out to all the fun bars. After lexi left I got Pink eye so I was sort of out of commission for a few days.
This past weekend My friends and I went on an option trip to Monserrat with our program. Montserrrat is a mountain outside of Barcelona that is famous for its monastery really high up the mountain. We took the funicular up and then hiked all the way to the top and the view was incredible. We had an amazing view of the Pyrenees and then off in the distance could see the Med. We hiked back down to the Monastery where they have a really interesting art museum and a famous Cathedral. The Cathedral is home to the Black Madonna. A very famous sculpture of Mary, but she is painted black, and people rub the orb she is holding for good luck (and other things but I dont remember what). Monserrat is beautiful and a very unique place.
I'm sure your all dying to know if I watched the superbowl all the way across the ocean in Barcelona...OF COURSE! It was probably one of the funniest experiences of my life. We reserved tables at a bar that was playing that game, which started at 12:30am here. Well at around half time or like 2:30am here the bar legally has to close. So they gave you the option of A. Staying and watching the game all the way until the end or B. Leaving now and you wont be able to get back in. Well of course the game was just getting exciting so I decided to stay. They locked the front doors and closed the bar down. It felt like something out of prohibition. We had to sneak out the backdoor into the alley way when the game was over. I was soo excited and happy the Packers won the Superbowl but by the time it ended I was half asleep...so the celebration was limited. Even though I only got about 4 hours of sleep that night it was so worth it and probably one of the best nights of my life!
That pretty much explains my last two weeks here in Barcelona. These next two weekends i'm going to be traveling. I'm going to Madrid this weekend and then Venice next weekend. I love being in europe...flights and trains are so cheap. Why can't americans figure out how to make a flight cost $45?
Anyway I miss everyone at home and i'm starting to miss those silly american things...mostly food! Love you all and hope your all enjoying the freezing cold snowy weather in the US.
xoxo
Love
Hannah
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