A Whirlwind Week in Barcelona and Paris-Semana Santa 2013

The last few weeks have been quite the thrill. After returning from the Pyrenees I met Isaac at his hostel in Barcelona. From there we ate dinner at a small cafe close to my Residencia with a small group of my friends. It was great to see someone from home, even better that it was him! I didn't get to spend as much time with him as I would have liked, as it was the week before spring break and classes were crazy, like usual.We did find time to do a few fun things, although with 2 presentations that week, it was tough to find free time. We went to Parc Guell, which was a park designed by the famous architect Antoni Gaudi. Gaudi is also the designer of Sagrada Familia, which Isaac was able to visit one day while I was in class. We also went to Laberint d'Horta, a labyrinth on the outskirts of Barcelona.

Isaac headed back to the US Friday morning. Luckily, I didn't have to wait long at the airport for Mom and Dad to arrive. It was wonderful to see them again! We had an action packed week planned and they didn't have much time to rest. We headed straight from the airport to my Residencia so they could drop off luggage and freshen up before heading out for the afternoon. They were surprised to see that I was not lying about the size of my shower or that laundry costs 5 euro a load...

After dropping off luggage, I took them to both of my campuses, although one of them is just a door into a building (not very exciting).

Then we were off to Plaza Catalunya for the Audi A3 Experience, which was not as exciting as we expected, but I did find my next car and learned the pigeons will most likely give me nightmares...

We stopped by the Arc de Triumph of Barcelona on the way back to the Residencia to pick up our things. It was a gorgeous day with beautiful blue skies, made even better by the fact that I got to spend it with family!

On Saturday we toured Sagrada Familia and went up the Passion Tower. The light inside of Sagrada was gorgeous. Dad managed to get some awesome pictures of our time inside the beautiful building.

The rooster pictures are for you Memaw! There are so many things to look at on the facades, every time you look, you will see something new! After touring Sagrada, we went and had a nice lunch at my usual Sunday cafe where Mom and I shared my usual pizza and Dad got a "bikini" sandwich, which is a grilled ham and cheese. It was yummy as usual!

On Sunday we went to Laberint d'Horta and Casa Batlló (another piece by Gaudi). It was another beautiful day and while the park was crowded, it was still very peaceful. We managed to finish the labyrinth in what I believe is a record time of 5 minutes (it is very possible that we somehow walked the perimeter), so we decided we would start from a different entrance and attempt to complete it again. This time we really completed it and managed to only run into a few dead ends.

Monday was possibly one of my favorite days. It wasn't originally planned, but we decided to take a train and go to Montserrat for a hike up the mountain. We were blessed with another gorgeous day, much better than my first trip to the monastery. We bought some bread and a meringue from one of the shops to eat once we had taken the funicular to the trails. The funicular gave us a wonderful view of the monastery, but the best views came from the top of the mountain where you could see everything from the Pyrenees to the Mediterranean. It was a great day and we managed to stay away from the crowds by hiking. We found a nice cove to sit and enjoy lunch in the warm sun.

(From the top!)

Tuesday was a very interesting day. We had scheduled a trail ride in a nature reserve through a company called LivingIt, which has a very cool concept. We headed out to the Pony Club and met some of the horses and our instructor. It was a neat day because the club had an international eventer who was Catalan instructing some of their riders. We got to take a few minutes and watch them work. It was great to be back on a farm after 3 months away (my legs were definitely sore the next day and my pony wouldn't trot). But I think Dad takes the cake for this day as he managed to hit the dirt. One of the horses behind him spooked causing Al Capone (Dad's horse) to spook as well. Well, Al zigged and Dad zagged and you can guess where that went...Mom didn't get off scot free either. Her horse Bob decided he wasn't really into the whole trail thing that day and decided to continuously pull the reins through Mom's hands; she sure did have some lovely blisters to show for her second time on a horse. She also decided that she does better being a Horse Show Mom instead of an equestrian. When I wasn't stressing out I was having a great time on my pony Carlota (who was supposed to be the spirited one...). 

Mom and Bob

After our little misadventure, we went back to the hotel to freshen up and headed to a yummy dinner at Milk (one of my favorite restaurants, even though it's American food). Wednesday was our flight to Paris. We got in to Paris around 5 and headed into the worst traffic jam I've been in in a long time (there aren't very many in Barcelona. Mass transportation is key). We checked into our room and then went downstairs to the restaurant for dinner, which was delicious! On Thursday we stopped by a bakery on the way to the metro station for breakfast, which we then took to eat in front of the Eiffel Tower. By the way, the weather in Barcelona was beautiful (as I've mentioned only a few times), sunny and warm (in the 60's). Well, the weather in Paris was freezing. It actually snowed while we were climbing the stairs to the top of the Eiffel Tower (yes, we climbed all 700 and something stairs of the Eiffel Tower).

 Someone riding at the Ecoile Militaire

After reaching the top of the Eiffel Tower and coming back down again (we used the lift this time), we headed to the Arc de Triomphe. It was so different to see in in the daylight, without the glow of the lights. 

After the Arc de Triomphe, we went on our merry way to the Notre Dame. On the way we stopped to look at the map. An older woman, who spoke no English, noticed that we were trying to find something on the map. She asked what we were looking for and we told her. She then pointed us in the right direction and then made sure that we were going in the right direction until she made it to her turn. The Notre Dame was just as pretty in the daylight as when the group of us went to see it at night. They were getting ready for Maundy Thursday mass, but were still allowing visitors. 

 (They're following me...) 

On Friday I finally got to go to the catacombs! We were going to attempt to go when we were in Paris back in January, but upon talking to our tour guide, found out they were closed and made other plans. Mom, Dad, and I waited in line for almost 2 hours, but it was so neat! The catacombs contain bones dating back to the early 1700's or before. Some of the bones are in patterns of crosses and arches. The mines where the catacombs are located were first used in the early 1700's as well. After the catacombs we went to Montmartre to see Sacre Coeur. Sacre Coeur was beautiful and Montmartre had a lot of beautiful pictures and paintings. Then we headed back into the middle of the city to hit the Louvre. We had hoped that the crowd would be lower since we were going around 6, but that definitely was not the case. It was great to go back and see some of the other exhibits. We went into the Mediterranean during the Roman Era section which was fascinating. We of course had to go see the Mona Lisa (I swear, we are going to be BFF's by the time I return to the US). We walked out of the Louvre just in time to see the Eiffel Tower light show!

Saturday we went to the Pantheon and L'hopital des Invalides where Napoleon is buried. At the Pantheon we saw the tombs of Voltaire, Rousseau, Louis Brailles, Marie Curie, Alexandre Dumas, and so many more. The Pantheon in Paris is currently undergoing reconstruction due to structural cracks and pieces of the roof falling off (I know, it was only slightly frightening).

 Dad thought they should showcase his eye...

After the Pantheon, we went to L'hopital des Invalides. We saw a neat exhibition on the different equestrian battalions the Napoleon created. We also saw Napoleon's tomb.

I had a wonderful two weeks with family! I can't wait to get home and spend time with everyone and finally be back in the saddle and on my wonderful mare. I have had a wonderful journey during my time in Barcelona and I am so thankful that I got the chance to experience everything I have. I return home in only 24 days. If you had asked me in my first month here if I would like it or enjoy my time here, I probably would have said no. But I have met some awesome people who have helped me through it and hopefully I've helped them some along the way. This study abroad experience has been great, definitely something I would recommend for other students. It is stressful, tough, and mentally draining, but you learn so much from the culture, the people, and the professors that makes the experience worthwhile.

Sorry for the exceptionally long post! A lot has happened since the last time I posted. Hope you enjoy the pictures (all thanks to Dad)! Can't wait to see everyone again!

xoxo
Kelcey