Another week bits the dust!

This week was CRAZY to say the least, but I got a lot of sites of the city and outside Barcelona in!

Monday: Monday's biggest even twas the tour of the Gothic Quarter. Its the oldest part of the building and houses the Cathedral of the city. While I am not Catholic and the difference between Church and Cathedral doesn't mean much to me, it was still gorgeous. I took the tour in Spanish to try and work on my Spanish some more. I'm actually thinking of getting a Spanish minor now. I think it would be good in the pharmacy field in America. Anyways, I learned more about the history of the beautiful state of Catalonia, and the more I learn, the more I love it!

Tuesday: Tuesday morning, my sports class did a field study at the Olympic Museum. Not a bad place to have class! The stadium and games are really what launched Barcelona as one of Europe's destination cities, bring about a lot of metro changes to the city in just 6 years! It showed the world that Barcelona had recovered from Franco's dictatorship and also showed of the culture of Catalonia, which is very different from the rest of Spain. Anyways, the stadium is on a "mountain" and offers beautiful views away from the crazy city center. That afternoon. I went with a friend to get her tattoo. No mom and dad, I did not get one myself. 

Wednesday: I went with a girl from my school to the Arc de Triomf. I had no clue there was even an Arc until I watched the Bachelorette! Let me tell you: this Arc is beautiful! It was built in the 1800;s when the world fair was in Barcelona. It was way prettier than the one in Paris (in my personal opinion). It had so much color and detail to it. And it wasn't as crazy as the one in Paris. Next to arc was a giant park, Parc de Ciutedella. This is really a hidden gem of Barcelona. I had never heard about it from anyone in my program or other people in Barcelona. A lot of locals were just hanging out in this giant park full of art and a giant fountain. It has been one of my favorite things to see in Barcelona just because it wasn't crowded and crazy.

Thursday: Sort of an uneventful day. I had finals in the morning and I think I did really well, mostly because I was really interested in the topics of my classes. I packed for my weekend trip, but that was about the most exciting thing I did.  

Friday: VALENCIA! Wow I love that city. It took us about 4 hours on a bus to get there. The Spanish country side is beautiful. For those of you that have ever been, it reminds me of the hills in Idaho. When we got to the city we went to what I would say was the part I looked forward to the most, The City of Arts and Sciences. I did a report on this place in 10th grade and have always wanted to go ever since then. It did not disappoint! It was breathtaking. We saw an IMAX movie there too in the most famous of the buildings in the "City". I still can't believe I actually went. Our Hotel was right by one of the main plazas. If you ever go to Valencia I would highly recommend our hotel, Hotel Venecia. It was nice to have AC in my room for a change. And a bigger bed. and COMFY pillows. and a big shower. Fom dinner, my friends and I found this little restaurant where the food and drinks were tasty and the waiter Julio was funny. We had a wonderful time eating on the street and relaxing. That night I explored on my own and found a place that sold me a delicious crep with nutella and strawberries. The perfect European dessert.
Saturday: In the morning, we took a guided tour around the beautiful, historic old town. For lunch, we had paella on the beach. Afterwards we relaxed and had free beach time. The beaches there were nicer than the ones here in Barcelona. The water was warmer, the sand was nicer, and the beaches weren't as crowded. Unfortunately, what was a great day took a wrong turn when I got swimmer's ear. You know all my ears of swimming I never had swimmers ear. Bad timing. But don't worry I fixed the problem. Went to the Pharmacy and I'm all better now. Pharmacists are great!!! That night I went with some new friends to a place called Miss Sushi. Cutests Sushi place ever! I had Pollo Ginger & California Rolls. For dinner, I had the most delicious thing ever: Banana and Nutella Sushi. Words will never be able to describe it's heavenlyness. 

Sunday: Today, we first went to Port Saplaya. If you are looking for a vacation home in Spain by the beach and want a boat, but want to be close-ish the city this is the place to do it. Bright colored homes right on the channel that connects to the beach. It was pretty.  Then we went to a Falles' museum, which is a museum of these figures that are important to a festival in Vallencia in March. To learn more about the festival click here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falles. Then we headed back to good old Barcelona. I've got my whole week planned out, so it should be another full good week!
For pictures from the week, go to https://www.facebook.com/jlpapke/media_set?set=a.10151712528382692.1073741831.602267691&type=3 for Valencia pictures or https://www.facebook.com/jlpapke/media_set?set=a.10151677471247692.1073741830.602267691&type=3 for all my pictures from Spain.