Long Overdue!

Well this post is extremely overdue - I haven't even updated since my trip to Barcelona, so I guess I'll start there.

Nina and I took the overnight train from Sevilla to Barca which was a 10 hour journey, but luckily for most off it we were sleeping - I say most of it because we would suddenly come to a stop to let people off, and it was burning hot in our cabin with many pressure changes, but I really enjoyed being able to take the train. We arrived in Barca on a Friday morning about 8:00 - the city was dead. I can honestly say if I had arrived at any other time I don't think I would have liked the city as much because without many people on the streets it gave us a chance to oriente ourselves and figure out a game plan. We spent the next 3 days doing all of the touristy things - we bought a bus pass that dropped us off and picked us back up which was really convient. We packed things in during the 3 days - we were out of the hotel by 8:45Am each day, which I say is pretty good for 4 girls (we had 2 other friends meet us later on Friday). I also got to experience my first futbol game - which was held in the Olympic Stadium from 1992. That was really neat.

I can probably say the biggest difference between Barcelona and Sevilla is the pace of life. In Sevilla when I'm walking, I'm doing the passing, but in Barca people were passing me right and left. Obviously the size is a given difference, but it is very manageable. Something that was very surprising to me was the amount of English spoken. I do not think I spoke Spanish to anyone - workers and people on the street would see us speaking English and immediately start themselves, no matter even if we tried to continue to speak in Spanish. The difference between Catalan and Spanish doesn't seem to be as hard as I thought it would be- I understood almost all of the Catalan words based on my Spanish knowledge, so long as I knew the Spanish equivalent!

I really enjoyed being able to see Antoni Gaudi's work in Barcelona - who knew one man could have such influence on one city. The Sagrada Familia is spectacular along with Casa Mila, Casa Battlo, and Park Guell. I think I have found a new favorite artist.

Nina and I took the train back to Sevilla on Sunday night and arrived in time on Monday morning to attend class (don't worry, I am still going to class!). :) It was a great way to spend a weekend. I never thought I would ever actually make it to Barcelona, but being able to explore the city made one of my dreams come true!

These are just a few of the over 500 pictures I took! The top one explains my excitement for the incredible country I am in; the middle one is of the Sagrada Familia and shows the construction; and to the right I'm reppin' the C-L-E! Go Tigers! :)