Hey everyone! I know i've been slacking with the blog for the past few weeks, so here's my travel update! The weekend after Paris I celebrated my 21st birthday and stayed in Barcelona for the weekend. It was so much fun, and I think it's best if we leave it at that! :) Then the next weekend, my family came in town for 5 days! It was so nice to have them here, but unfortunately, they got to experience just how much Barcelona can pour. The only really good day was Sunday, and we all did a bus tour around the city. It was actually very interesting for me to experience because they went to places I hadn't even thought existed in Barcelona. It was well worth it to get out of my normal paths and see some parts of the city I would have otherwise missed. We got off the bus to eat lunch, and then from there we went to Casa Batllo, one of Gaudi's many houses in the city. Later in the afternoon on Sunday I took the family to Park Guell, which is Gaudi's park. It looks like a candyland with the different architecture and different colors. We took pictures by the famous lizard, and it was so nice to be outside when it wasn't raining.
My family arrived late Friday night and we all went out for tapas across the street. Some members of the fam weren't exactly thrilled with tapas, but I think that's because they are usually used to eating large dinner-like meals 6 times a day. It rained all day on Saturday, so we went to see the Picasso musuem. It was very interesting to see Picasso's work from before his well-known stuff, and I liked the paintings from the blue period the best. His more famous works, like Guernica, is housed in La Reina Sofia Musuem in downtown Madrid. Then I took everyone grocery shopping through La Boqueria, a must see for any tourist. It wasn't as crowded as it normally is (again, probably due to the rain), and we were able to get fresh fruit, vegetables, cheese, and sample of jamon serrano. Dad was funny; he wanted American-style bacon (which I have yet to see in Spain), so instead of using the jamon serrano like a lunch meat you just put on a sandwich, he tried to fry it up like bacon. It was a different flavor, but he was happy because it was warm like bacon! lol. I decided to make Saturday a Picassso Day, and since we had already seen his musuem, I took them out to dinner to Les Quatre Gats (The four cats in Catalan). This restaurant was Picasso's and Ernest Hemingway's favortie hideout, and I've heard the restaurant has glasses and bottles that Picasso drank out of displyed in glass case in the main dining room. We didn't make reservations, so we were outside the main dining room, but the bartender and waiters put on show for us later that night with all their arguing. It entertained the family to say the least!
After the bus tour on Sunday, everyone was able to see what they wanted to come back and see later on Monday. We first saw La Sagrada Familia, the huge church designed by Gaudi and is still under construction. The place is huge inside, and I think everyone enjoyed seeing it. In the afternoon, we went up to Plaza Espana, which has a huge, beautiful fountain and column in the center, and then walked up Montjuic. Montjuic has the Palau Nacional de Cataluna on top, as well as Poble Espanol and the Olympic Stadium. We were able to take pictures around the National Palace (which houses an art museum), but then walking to the Olympic Stadium and Poble Espanol, the rain decided to downpour on us. We has umbrellas, but everyone ended up soaked anyway. We took the bus back to a metro station, and from there went home to dry off.
Tuesday I had class, so the family was left on their own to explore. I can't remember exactly what they did, but I know they tried to go back to Montjuic to see the Olympic Stadium, but it was pouring again and they decided to just turn around and come back to the apartment.
On Wednesday, the fam left early to catch a flight to London. I joined them later on Thursday, after I finished a presentation for one of my classes. Thursday night we saw the Wizard of Oz play in the Pallidium Theatre. It was a great play, very well done and with the cutest dogs playing Toto. Friday Emily and Matt had a mid-afternoon flight, so we went to see the Tower Bridge in the morning. It was cool to tour the bridge and get some good views of the Thames and surrounding buildings. Friday was one of the many rainy and cold London days, so while Emily and Matt and Dad went to the airport, Mom and I took a bus tour around the city and got off to see Westminster Abbey. Right by Westminster Abbey is the house of Parliament and Big Ben, but we couldn't go inside because Parliament is currently in session. After touring Westminster for a bit, we got back on the bus and finished the tour. Later that night Mom, Dad and I went out to dinner at Whit's, a very chic and modern little place for dinner. Saturday was absolutely beautiful and sunny. The three of us went to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, St. Paul's Cathedral, and then Dad and I went to see the Tower of London. After Mom and I went on the London Eye (which is a huge ferris wheel type structure with viewing pods to see the city), Dad took us to a wine, cheese, and food festival he found while waiting for us.We ate lunch here by buying food from a couple different vendors. Then after lunch, we all went to St. Paul's Cathedral, a huge and beautiful church. I really liked the Tower of London, and especially seeing the crown jewels. Definitely a must-see when you travel to London. Sunday was a traveling day: I came back to Barcelona and Mom and Dad took the Chunnel to Paris, where they are currently.
Whew! I think that pretty much covers the past three weeks: Birthday, Family in town, and London! Thanks for being patient, and my next post will come a lot sooner than this last one did! Take care!
