Barcelona!

By the way, that's one of the few times you'll see me use excitement when saying that city name. I would hate to be confused as an FCB fan! ¡Hala Madrid! 

So… I’ve been behind on writing about my trips thus far.  Sorry about that. Packing up to move across the world takes a lot more time, energy, and emotions than one would initially think.

Anyways, I have had the great pleasure of going to Barcelona since we last talked of travel (okay,and London, Istanbul, Athens, and Milan… but I’ll get there!). Barcelona was somewhat of a last minute adventure. Five of us rented a car and took a road trip. Six fun hours later, we arrived to the famous coastal city. We stayed a little outside the city, but it was a great hostel. It was a short metro ride into town.

We got settled in went into town for food. Kelly previously lived in Barcelona, so she showed us her old stomping grounds. It was wonderful. I tried leche de pantera (panther’s milk: gin, triple sec, and cream). We went to a great pizza place, and we overall just enjoyed spending time as a group. Six hours of travel caught up to us and we headed back pretty early.

The next day, we went to see la Sagrada Familia: Gaudi's famous unfinished church. I had expected it to loom over me like the cathedral in Cologne. It didn't. The crazy mismatched architecture was a sight to behold. The line to enter wrapped around the entire building. We cut our losses and ventured around the town instead of waiting in line for hours on end. 

We tried so much good food that weekend. I don’t remember which night was which. I want to say this night was the night we did Chinese tapas. It was unexpectedly amazing. We also tried some local food: bombas: think fried potatoes mixed with meat in a small ball of awesome with a spicy sauce on top. Conclusion: strange texture, but a great taste! I ate artichoke hearts for the first time without being in a dip. We even had Lebanese food one night!

On our last full day, we ventured to the beach. Well, the girls did. We took a train up to Costa Brava and spent the day eating, drinking, taking pictures, and enjoying the beach (I put my feet in the freezing water, but that was enough). I then proceeded to fall asleep before putting sunscreen on my legs. The entire back side of my legs got the worst burn they’ve ever experienced. I could hardly sit down without wincing. The cool benches of the Barcelona metro became my best friends. The sunburn was bad enough that it made me feel sick. I hope to never make that mistake again. On a much funnier note: my legs are half tanned now!!

Costa Brava

Leaving Barcelona was another adventure. We stopped at Mont Serrat: a monastery that was built around the finding of a black Virgin Mary statue. The story is that it was found at the top of the mountain and it got heavier and heavier as they tried to bring it down. When they could finally move it no further, they left it there and built the monastery around it. The monks there now make specialty foods, beers, and sweets (and tasty ones at that!).

J

People come from all over to touch the golden orb and make a wish.

We got back to Madrid around midnight. I caught a cab home from Chamartin to Sanchinarro.

Oh! I also might have tried to climb a city monument. I'm not at liberty to confirm or deny this photographic evidence.

FUN FACTS!
1. Barcelona is cool, but I'm still totally in love with Madrid.
2. Speaking of that, the RM game is in Dallas in two weeks!! HALA MADRID!
3. I sometimes hum the Spanish national anthem when I'm sad.
4. I'm getting my apartment set up nicely. More on that later.
5. I'm in AMERICA.
6. It genuinely worries me that I don't know when my next flight is.
7. Except that I'm totally going to Buffalo before September because it's on my calendar!
8. I have forgotten to eat dinner three times this week. I guess I'm still on Spanish schedule. Oops!
9. My classroom needs some serious work. Poor thing has been neglected for over six months.
10. I don't miss jamón yet. I definitely miss the cheap and abundant baguettes!
11. Walmart is incredibly overwhelming (more on that later as well!)

I'll continue to edit and post about May, June, and my move back to Arkansas over the coming weeks.Until next time, friends! Goodnight from NEA.

XOXO,
Kirstyn
but you can call me Kirt ;)