Sunday, May 29
Barcelona 3, Manchester United 1
The biggest game of the year: FC Barcelona vs. Manchester United at Wembley! Normally, I'm not very excited for soccer matches, but this was the big Champions League title, so of course I had to participate in the fun with everyone else. One of my hall mates reserved a table at a sports bar nearby so we could get there close to when the game started and not have to worry about finding seats. Ironically, the sports bar (less than 2 blocks away from my residence) is an American-themed sports bar. Note the Wrigley Field sign in the background:
Monday, May 23
Palamós - La Costa Brava
Our last CASB trip! I can't believe I only have 2 1/2 more weeks left in Spain... too much to see and do and too little time! However this weekend trip was a great way to end the semester as a group (we do have one more group activity left- a goodbye dinner). It was much better than Madrid because all we did was relax under the sun and the hotel was fabulous. Super yummy food! And excellent weather. Also we left at a reasonable time on Friday (5pm) as opposed to the regular 7 or 8am of previous trips. And the ride up the coast was only 2 hours on a bus, so not bad at all. (Beats the 3 hour flight delay we had going to Menorca).
As soon as I got there, I dumped my belongings in my room and wandered along the beach... right in front of our hotel!
As soon as I got there, I dumped my belongings in my room and wandered along the beach... right in front of our hotel!
Friday, May 20
L'aquàrium Barcelona
Jordan and I went on a short trip to the aquarium see the fish of the Mediterranean up close and personal! Just a warning for future Barcelona Aquarium-goers, the entrance fee costs more than any Gaudi building entrance fee, so you need to really want to go if you're thinking about visiting. Also consider the time of day you go-- Jordan and I went in the middle of the day on Monday, the same time as a lot of highly energetic Catalan schoolchildren on a field trip.
When we entered, employees snapped our picture in front of a giant plastic shark so that we could buy the picture after our visit for 8 euros. We did not buy the picture. We could take photos, but no flash, so sorry for many of the blurry photos this blog will contain.
Walking in:
When we entered, employees snapped our picture in front of a giant plastic shark so that we could buy the picture after our visit for 8 euros. We did not buy the picture. We could take photos, but no flash, so sorry for many of the blurry photos this blog will contain.
Walking in:
Casa Batlló
While Jordan was in Barcelona this past week, we went to see a Gaudí creation that I haven't visited before... Casa Batlló on Passeig de Gracia!
Monday, May 9
Madrid
The weekend of April 29th to May 1st was another CASB weekend excursion... this time to Madrid! This excursion wasn't originally in the books, but one of the kids on my program realized we all wanted to go so he asked the program coordinators if we could go as a group. Our program coordinators are awesome, so of course they said yes! Originally their plan was to go to Palamos and La Costa Brava for the weekend, but they switched it up with Madrid. I thought that the Palamos/Costa Brava weekend trip would be cancelled, but no! they've just rescheduled it for the 20-22nd of May. Whee!
On Friday I woke up at 6:15am in order to get myself to the train station at 7:45am. Our train was scheduled to leave at 8:30am and arrive in Madrid at 11:13am. Yes, that's right! It only takes 2 3/4 hours to get from Barcelona to Madrid! We traveled by high speed train-- so much fun! Although I probably wouldn't have noticed it was a high speed train if someone didn't tell me beforehand because it's not like we were going so fast as to break the sound barrier. The highest speed I observed (they had a indication of our speed right next to the time in every cabin) was 300 kph, which is about 186 mph. And they also showed a movie... Toy Story 3! In Spanish! Both dubbed and subtitles-- although sometimes the dubbing and subtitles were different... apparently dubbing and subtitles are done by different companies? I was also interested to see how they would handle Buzz's "Spanish Mode" because they were all speaking in Spanish. I thought they handled it very well because they gave him a very thick Spanish accent with a lisp and Jessie called it Buzz's "Romantic Mode".
On Friday I woke up at 6:15am in order to get myself to the train station at 7:45am. Our train was scheduled to leave at 8:30am and arrive in Madrid at 11:13am. Yes, that's right! It only takes 2 3/4 hours to get from Barcelona to Madrid! We traveled by high speed train-- so much fun! Although I probably wouldn't have noticed it was a high speed train if someone didn't tell me beforehand because it's not like we were going so fast as to break the sound barrier. The highest speed I observed (they had a indication of our speed right next to the time in every cabin) was 300 kph, which is about 186 mph. And they also showed a movie... Toy Story 3! In Spanish! Both dubbed and subtitles-- although sometimes the dubbing and subtitles were different... apparently dubbing and subtitles are done by different companies? I was also interested to see how they would handle Buzz's "Spanish Mode" because they were all speaking in Spanish. I thought they handled it very well because they gave him a very thick Spanish accent with a lisp and Jessie called it Buzz's "Romantic Mode".
Sunday, May 8
Torremolinos and Granada
Day 8: Fes/Málaga/Torremolinos, April 20th
We woke up at 6am in Fes, caught a quick breakfast at the hotel, and jumped in the car with the same driver from the Marrakech-Fes trip to catch an early flight to Casablanca (where we would then transfer to a flight to Málaga). We made it safely to the airport (not too much lane passing this time-- the road really wasn't too crowded at 7am... although we did see plenty of sheep, goats, and their herders on the side of the road). And guess who we saw at the airport! My friend and her family! So this was the second time we ran into them! Although this would be the last time because they were headed to Marrakech and we were headed to southern Spain. The flight was super quick to Casablanca. But our flight to Málaga was delayed about 4 hours. So we passed the time in a hotel internet cafe, the only restaurant we could find for lunch, and all the touristy gift shops.
Finally we got to the Málaga airport. We looked around for our hotel transport to the Bed and Breakfast, but we didn't see them and had trouble attempting to use a pay phone, so we took an expensive taxi ride to the bed and breakfast. The B&B was located outside of the city, up in the hills. They told us that they owned a restaurant in the city and they go back and forth between the B&B and the city several times a day. We arrived at the B&B and buzzed the outside gate to let us in. Finally a frazzled maid came down from the house (which was the B&B) to get us. She said that she was the only one there at the moment and couldn't find the owner so we should wait until someone got home. She showed us up to our room and left us, saying that we could take a shower and get comfortable. Okay, so if you haven't noticed a lot of things that are off about this place so far, you're not reading very well. We were the ONLY ONES there! When my mom booked the place, she thought that maybe the 10 rooms they had would be full and bustling with people because of the busy weekend. Apparently there aren't 10 rooms, but only one room-- the one we were going to stay in. There was no reception, or anything else you expect a standard hotel/B&B to have.
We woke up at 6am in Fes, caught a quick breakfast at the hotel, and jumped in the car with the same driver from the Marrakech-Fes trip to catch an early flight to Casablanca (where we would then transfer to a flight to Málaga). We made it safely to the airport (not too much lane passing this time-- the road really wasn't too crowded at 7am... although we did see plenty of sheep, goats, and their herders on the side of the road). And guess who we saw at the airport! My friend and her family! So this was the second time we ran into them! Although this would be the last time because they were headed to Marrakech and we were headed to southern Spain. The flight was super quick to Casablanca. But our flight to Málaga was delayed about 4 hours. So we passed the time in a hotel internet cafe, the only restaurant we could find for lunch, and all the touristy gift shops.
Finally we got to the Málaga airport. We looked around for our hotel transport to the Bed and Breakfast, but we didn't see them and had trouble attempting to use a pay phone, so we took an expensive taxi ride to the bed and breakfast. The B&B was located outside of the city, up in the hills. They told us that they owned a restaurant in the city and they go back and forth between the B&B and the city several times a day. We arrived at the B&B and buzzed the outside gate to let us in. Finally a frazzled maid came down from the house (which was the B&B) to get us. She said that she was the only one there at the moment and couldn't find the owner so we should wait until someone got home. She showed us up to our room and left us, saying that we could take a shower and get comfortable. Okay, so if you haven't noticed a lot of things that are off about this place so far, you're not reading very well. We were the ONLY ONES there! When my mom booked the place, she thought that maybe the 10 rooms they had would be full and bustling with people because of the busy weekend. Apparently there aren't 10 rooms, but only one room-- the one we were going to stay in. There was no reception, or anything else you expect a standard hotel/B&B to have.
Friday, May 6
Fes
This is the second of three posts on my Spring break!
Day 5: On the Road/Fes, April 17th
In the morning in Marrakech we were picked up in the morning outside of our hotel by a driver from the tour company.We bought some almond cookies (which weren't that good) and stolen dried fruit from the breakfast buffet to help us get through the long ride to Fes, which lasted about 7 hours or so. Even though the ride was advertised to be about 5 hours, it wasn't. I was surprised because the crazy driver we had (who made mom very nervous) would use every opportunity he could to pass cars in front of us. I've never been in a car that has made so much use of the passing lane before and been so close to directly facing oncoming cars! Luckily, we made it to Fes in one piece although we did see a bad car/bicycle accident on the side of the road. About his 'magnificent' driving, the driver said, "Driving safe is like art. You know? Like painting?" Also, he said that his daughter, who is still a kid, will become a doctor, study in Paris, and then return to Morocco. And his son, who is only 5, will join the military because it provides great benefits. Here are some photos of a lookout point we stopped at and a rest stop along the way:
Day 5: On the Road/Fes, April 17th
In the morning in Marrakech we were picked up in the morning outside of our hotel by a driver from the tour company.We bought some almond cookies (which weren't that good) and stolen dried fruit from the breakfast buffet to help us get through the long ride to Fes, which lasted about 7 hours or so. Even though the ride was advertised to be about 5 hours, it wasn't. I was surprised because the crazy driver we had (who made mom very nervous) would use every opportunity he could to pass cars in front of us. I've never been in a car that has made so much use of the passing lane before and been so close to directly facing oncoming cars! Luckily, we made it to Fes in one piece although we did see a bad car/bicycle accident on the side of the road. About his 'magnificent' driving, the driver said, "Driving safe is like art. You know? Like painting?" Also, he said that his daughter, who is still a kid, will become a doctor, study in Paris, and then return to Morocco. And his son, who is only 5, will join the military because it provides great benefits. Here are some photos of a lookout point we stopped at and a rest stop along the way:
Tuesday, May 3
Marrakech
Spring break! And right before all my friends back in the states are in their last week of classes and heading into finals week. My mom came to visit me for the week and a half I had off (hi mom!) and we had quite the adventure traveling from Barcelona to Morocco (Marrakech and Fes) and southern Spain (Torremolinos and Malaga). From those weeks of traveling, I took more than 900 photos. So I'll post a few of them on the blog, but to see everything, ask to see my external hard drive when I'm back in the states! To warn the few people who are reading this blog, it's a long one! And there are still even more spring break posts to come!
Day 1: Marrakech April 13th
Arrival in the Marrakech airport!
Day 1: Marrakech April 13th
Arrival in the Marrakech airport!
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