Milan and Switzerland

• Canyoning. haha they made us jump like that!

• Castello Sfozesco in Milan

• The cathedral in Milan

• Interlaken.. so pretty!

• The fake looking river.. Interlaken is BEAUTIFUL

Ciao! 

I just got home from an amazing weekend in Milan, Italy and Interlaken, Switzerland. We didn't have school last Weds. so we had a four day weekend and decided to jet off to Milan for fashion week and Interlaken, the adventure sports capital of Europe. We flew into Milan on Weds. night and we didn't know what we were getting ourselves into! We took a taxi to ABC "hotel" more like a "hostel". It was pitch dark outside and inside. We had to buzz in and maze ourselves through the darkness and up some stairs to get to the reception. There was NO ONE in sight. My friends said it reminded them of the movie Hostel, but I refused to see that movie. We got ready real quick and hopped in a cab and managed to tell him to take us to the nicest/most lively restaurant in Milan. He took us to this place called Gininnios. The second we got there we saw Naomi Campbell!! The dinner was delicious, the best Italian food ever! The bill was very pricey but some how some Italians paid for it. The next day we went to Castello Sforzesco, a gorgeous Castle that was used as a military protection. We viewed the cathedral and the city and then we had to go shopping! We mostly window shopped, everything was sooo super expensive. The next day we took a train to Switzerland. We stayed in the most amazing little Hostel called Balmers. It was cute and was the happening place. We met people from all over the world, and even ran into some kids that are studying in Barcelona with us... so random. The next day we went canyon-ing. Interlaken is one of the only places to do it in the world. The best way to explain it is.. its like white water rafting but without the raft. You are constantly jumping off waterfalls, climbing through caves, and repelling down cliffs. It was amazing and soo beautiful. We wore three layers and a helmet.. it was soo cold! That night we got some mexican food... yes they have mexican food in switzerland.. it was soo good! The next day we spent traveling back to Barcelona. It was weird I got this feeling of being happy to go back, Barcelona is officially my home!!:)

My Trip to Pyrenees

• The Creek that ran through the entire walk.

• So pretty!

• The girls, my roommate and I on the ends and the girls in the middle we met here.

Hola!

As many of you don't know as part of my program we have organized trips and field trips. Two weekends ago was our first overnight trip to the Pyrenees Mountains in Northern Spain. It was beautiful, we stayed there for one night and it was so nice to be cold for once! (Barcelona is humid and hot). We left on a Friday and stayed in a very small town named Taull. The population was only 100 people!!! On Saturday we went on a 5 hour hike, more like a nature walk, but it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! Rivers snaked throughout and cows roamed throughout the beautiful greenery. It was nice to get out of the city and enjoy nature and the clean air. Our trip was two days and one night, but it was perfect all of you would have loved it!!

A Compilation

• My Room!

• This is our living room and dining room

• The roommates!

• The stair case of DEATH

Hello Family and Friends,

I am so sorry I haven't got this started I have been writing but now I can place them in the BLOG! Thanks Erin for reminding me! :)

Since I have been living here for some time, I will just recap on some things.

FIRST of all I would just like to stress how different the lifestyle is here, it is crazy! Lunch is at 2 and dinner is not until 10pm! First couple of days I was dying, going 8 hours without eating was killer! The nightlife here is also insane, people don't go out until 1am and get home at 5-6am, no wonder they have siesta!! hahah.

 

The first couple of days we stayed in a hotel and had orientation outside the city. We had the chance to meet everyone in our program and learn about what we had in front of us. They provided a bus tour throughout the city and I instantly fell in love. They dropped us off at Park Guell, which was created by Gaudi. It was amazing everything from mosaic ceilings to beautiful arches and lizard statues, I loved it all. The park was designed to be a neighborhood of 600 inhabitants, but the plan fell through. It was interesting to view what was supposed to be the town center and market place. The bus also took us to the Olympic games stadium, the Sagrada Familia, and the Old Port. The Sagrada Familia was first built and planned by Gaudi, it is amazing. Gaudi planned on never finishing the project but his plans caught fire and today there is a defining line between Gaudi's work and the work of others. It is still under construction.

The next day we moved in, and it was quite the trek. The stairs in my apartment are what a like to call the stairs of death. Straight up four flights, which I have gotten used to, but lugging two suitcases 70 pounds each was the hardest thing of my life! It may sound like I over packed, but surprising I didn't! You would all be proud! Anyways, my apartment is AMAZING and I couldn't be happier. We are in the center of Barcelona, in the Barri Gotic, which is the Gothic Quarters. We are a 5 minute walk to campus where as others are a 30 minute metro ride. We lucked out for sure!!! My room is also very spacious, I am sharing a room with my best friend/roommate from college. We each have a queen bed, a nice closet, and a balcony. There are 4 of us living here two singles and our double. One of the singles got jipped big time. She has a twin bed, basically living in a dungeon with one tiny window, you gotta love luck of the draw! hah.

We had a couple of days before we started classes so we spent our time getting organized. CLASSES were horrible at the beginning and definitely took some getting used to. I have class four times a week for four hours straight, and that is a long time for me to sit still!! hah. The classes I'm taking are high intermediate spanish (which pushes me a ton since I am HORRIBLE at spanish as we all know!), art and architecture of Barcelona (I love this one), international marketing, and European Union integration, which I am very interested in.

Stay tuned.. there is more to come on my vacation to pyrenees, milan and switzerland!!!!!!

gotta run but i love you all!