We had a walking-intensive, but extremely fun day in Zaragoza with Melanie today!

We began with a breakfast of eggs and tortilla at Melanie's apartment, and then set out for the day's adventures! We walked down the main streets and saw some beautiful churches and other architecture. Most impressive was definitely the Catedral Basilica De Nuestro Señora Del Pillar, named after the Virgin of Pilar, the patron saint of Zaragoza. The outside was elegantly ornate and the interior was absolutely gorgeous; small interior chapels and two phenomenally carved altarpieces simply took my breath away.

Next up was some city exploring. Unfortunately, Sunday meant that a great deal of the shops were closed, but we still managed to explore a little, with Melanie explaining all about the various parts of the city. We had churros y chocolate for our afternoon snack, and they were out of this world. The churros were so tasty, and dipping them in the rich, melted chocolate was simply divine.

After our encounter with the extremely rich churros y chocolate, some walking was in order. we headed to a nearby park, which was absolutely incredible. It had an immense statue of a crusader looking over a series of fountains and a large garden complex. climbing up to the top of the fountain's nearby stairs gave a great view of Zaragoza.

Finally, we had a quick supper of tapas, caught a shuttle to the airport, got on the flight, got exit row seats by chatting with the flight attendants (again!), and finally rode some buses home! It was an amazing visit to Spain and I will definitely be going back. Barcelona was awesome and Melanie was a fantastic host. I couldn't ask for a better trip. Pictures below!

Beautiful Street Sign

Catedral Santa Engracia

Caitlin, Melanie, and I

Another Beautiful Sign

Catedral Basilica De Nuestro Señora Del Pillar

Inside Catedral Basilica De Nuestro Señora Del Pillar

Enjoying Churros y Chocolate

Yum.

View From the Base of the Park

Zaragoza from the Top of the Park

The Crusader

Posted with Blogsy

Hello Readers!
Due to limited wifi in Zaragoza, I am unable to upload my full posts. They are written and will be posted as soon as I am back in London. Thanks for reading, and get excited for two days of Spain blogs!

Today was a day of two cities with a beautiful bus ride in between.

We started the morning in Barcelona, with a quick trip to the market for breakfast/lunch. We had some more juices (I had coconut & Dragonfruit and pure coconut) as well as a meat-filled corn roll similar to a tamale. It was a great way to start the morning.

We then began to walk through the city to the bus station. We saw some awesome sights along the way, from the magnificent Catedral De Barcelona, to some extremely talented break-dancers, to a street performer working with bubbles, to the Arc De Triumph, to a Spanish Pug named Benito.

After all that excitement, we managed to reach the bus station. We rode for nearly four hours from Barcelona to Zaragoza. It was a brilliantly beautiful drive. We saw the landscape change from beaches, to green pastures and farmland, to mountains, to the sparse desert. The sun set as a rainstorm created a pillar of water and light far in the distance. We finally reached Zaragoza as evening descended on the city.

We then, by a stroke of luck, ran directly into Melanie, our host, within a minute of getting off the bus. We had arranged a meeting point but it ended up not being needed. The three of us caught a bus to the center of Zaragoza and headed up to Melanie's apartment. Zaragoza was a really cool town to see at night, with lots of Spaniards ambling about and snippets of Spanish conversations flying through the air. We made a quick stop at the grocery and then headed to a nearby restaurant for dinner. Dinner was a type of tapas that consisted of various toppings on miniature baguettes. They were cheap, fun, and delicious!

After all of that adventuring, we made our way back to the apartment where we chatted until we fell asleep. It was fun to reflect back on all of our Grinnell adventures and it was so fun to get to meet up with Melanie in Spain. She had been my student advisor during my first semester of first year, so it was awesome to get to hang out again, especially in Spain.

Pictures below, per usual.

Market Juice

Part of our Brunch

Benito the Pug

The Bubbler

The Breakdancer

Catedral De Barcelona

Catedral De Barcelona

Arc De Triumph

Tapas! (Chorizo and Brie)

Posted with Blogsy

Today was another fun day in Spain!

We began with a small breakfast of fruit from yesterday's market that we stored in our room's fridge and then headed via tram and train to Parc Güell, in the northern part of the city. After making it to the base of the hill, we rode escalators up to the base of the Parc Güell. It was a magificent park, filled with Guadi-designed and -inspired architecture, beautiful mosaic works, and beautiful views. We climbed all around, and even made it to the peak of one of the hills, from which I got some beautiful shots of Barcelona as the sun streamed down from the clouds.

It was amazing to see the beautiful architecture and enjoy the fantastic views from our elevated perspectives. Barcelona is a truly gorgeous city, and I will definitely be returning someday. We continued downward through the park and found musicians, artists, and vendors. I particularly enjoyed one musician's music so much that I bought his CD. (A video will be posted once I return to London and have faster wifi…)

After the park, we walked for awhile until we found the Sagrada Familia cathedral. It was an amazing, imposing sight. The entire church was covered with intricate carvings of biblical scenes and people. The carving style was unusual but so interesting! It was another amazing sight.

We were tired and thirsty from all of that walking, so we caught the train to the beach. It was getting close to sundown, so we went to a little snack shop on the beach, got some juices, and just enjoyed the waves and a refreshing drink. The ocean was blue and beautiful, and exactly what I needed to relax.

Finally, we made our way back to the market for some dinner. I had some fresh coconut and pitahaya juice, a small potato and meat roll, and some stirfried noodles with tofu and vegetables. I also managed to buy some dried black beans. I have simply not been able to find black beans at all in London, so it was wonderful to finally get my fix of one of my favorite foods! After dinner, we made our way back to the hotel, watched some BBC News, and got ready to sleep!

Tomorrow is another day of the Spanish journey! We leave at around midday for Zaragoza, where we be seeing and staying with my old student advisor, Melanie Rockoff! It should be very exciting! Enjoy the pictures for today below and thank you for reading my blog!!!

View from lower part of Parc Güell

One view from above Barcelona

Another view of Barcelona

At the top of the hills.

Beautiful old craftsmanship

A talented musician

Amazing fountain

Familia Sagrada

Thomas the Apostle

Caitlin enjoying the beach

Beach and me!

Flying overhead

Freshly puréed

Posted with Blogsy

Greetings from Barcelona, Spain! It's been a crazy-busy day, so get ready!

I started this morning with an alarm for 4:07 AM. After a quick shower, a packing of lunch, and the ever-important cup of morning tea, we (Caitlin and I) headed to the tube station. We caught the tube to an airport bus, and from there we flew to Spain!

Soon after arriving in Spain, we managed to catch a bus to our hotel! The hotel turned out to be quite nice despite our budget pricing. (Off-season for tourism really helps us get good places for cheap.) After a quick recharge at the hotel, we went to the city center. We managed to get to the city center thanks to a kind Spanish woman who explained how the tickets and transport system worked to me, and then helped guide us until our paths diverged!

A few blocks away from the station lay La Rambla, a bustling street. One section off of the main road hosts a large food market! I started with some fresh pitahaya (dragonfruit) juice, then ate an amazing tamale, then indulged in another juice (kiwi, this time!), and finally exited the market with a single skewer of sliced meats and sausages!

We then walked along the pier and down to the beach, enjoying the scenery. Finally, we enjoyed a tapas-style dinner and made it home to finally rest. All in all, a busy but enjoyable day on the journey!

Flying into Spain

View from the hotel room balcony

Market Stand

Pitahaya (Dragonfruit) Juice

Pitahaya (Dragonfruit)

Fruit Stand

Tamales wrapped in leaves

Tamale!!!

Fresh Kiwi Juice

Meat Skewers

Boatyard

Dock

The Explorer

Pretty Shell

Caitlin enjoying the beach!

Enjoying the beach

Sunset and Ships

Goodnight, Barcelona!

Posted with Blogsy

After a long voyage, it’s great to get back in the swing of a routine.

This morning, I woke up, made some carrot & ginger soup, then got ready to go!

The temperature had dropped to the low forties, high thirties (Fahrenheit), so my leather coat and my handmade scarf (thanks, Emily!) were definitely needed.

I went to the teaching site, the gym, and the grocery store. The gym felt wonderful. I ran, biked, rowed, lifted weights, and swam! I was also pleased to see that the walking canceled out the delicious food, as I gained no weight. (European portions probably played their part as well…)

Dinner was a yummy treat. I made Brie and bacon sandwiches with cranberry sauce. We often have these at our local pub, the Exmouth Arms, and I was dying to make a homemade version.

Tonight, we are watching V for Vendetta. Tomorrow, we celebrate Guy Fawkes Day!!!