Semana Santa

Sunset at Cafe del Mar

Last week was Semana Santa! So that meant no school all week and lots of party and relaxation. We started our vacation the friday before Palm Sunday. We went to Ibiza by ferry with a travel group from Barcelona. Our group wasn't the greatest (did not enjoy their company) but at least I had my roommates Vivi and Lauren to enjoy! We arrived to Ibiza that Saturday and spent all day at the beach enjoying Ibiza's beautiful weather. That night we went to the world famous club Pacha. We had already been to the Pacha in Madrid, but the one in Ibiza is supposed to be the best in the world. To be honest, I wasn't that impressed. I had a great time, but I was expecting some insane party scene. That Sunday we spent another gorgeous day out on the beach. That night we saw the sun set at the very popular Cafe del Mar. It was breathtaking. On Monday, we took a boat ride to the island Formentera, one of Europe's most popular beach destinations. The beaches were so beautiful. They reminded me a lot of the beaches in Vieques, Puerto Rico (my most favorite place in the world.)

¡¡Visca Barça!!

Tuesday, we left Ibiza and arrived to Valencia. I had already been to Valencia for the Las Fallas festival, but this time, I got the opportunity to explore the city. The three of us walked around exploring most of the city. We saw a lot! That night we went out to dinner to celebrate Vivi's 21st birthday! Her birthday was actually on Wednesday, but since that was the night of the Copa del Rey, we decided to celebrate a day early. On Wednesday, we gave Vivi a nice birthday surprise. We decorated her bed for her birthday and gave her her presents. I think she enjoyed it. Later that day we did a walking tour of the city. We had already seen most of the sites the day before while we explored. At night, we went to the bar to watch Barcelona vs. Real Madrid! Barcelona lost but it was still an amazing experience. These fans get really into the game. I swear some Barcelona fans cried after the loss. We got many abusive comments as we did our walk of shame back to the hostel. Madrid fans are mean! But we made it back alive to our hostel and prepared to leave back to Barcelona in a few hours.

Easter Eggs

Thursday I was back in Barcelona alone while my other roommates kept traveling. It was nice to just relax and not do anything, since Im so busy having an amazing time abroad :) On Easter Sunday, all of us were back home and celebrated Easter together. We baked a cake and sang Vivi happy birthday (since we couldn't on her actual birthday), we colored Easter eggs, and we made a delicious dinner together. I was sad not being with my family, but I had a great Easter with my Barcelona family: Lauren, Vivi, and Patrick. All in all, I had a fantastic week.

Today, I have exactly two months left in Barcelona! I can't believe how fast time has gone. In 12 days, Michelle will be in Barcelona with me! I can't wait to have my other half here! 81 days until Alex and Jakes wedding! I have a lot to look forward to. Life is absolutely wonderful <3

2 months Later.....

Hi all!
Sorry for not updating in almost 2 months! I guess that is a good thing, it means I've been too busy having fun in Europe! Here is what's happened since my last post...
Ive been to Morocco, Venice, and Portugal! I loved each place!

at the beach in Morocco!

Venice Carnevale

Portugal

In two weeks I'll be on Easter vacation. My plan is to party in Ibiza for a few days and then go to Valencia to watch the Barcelona vs. Madrid match! Its going to be a great week! I can't believe I've been here for almost three months. I've accomplished a lot but I still feel like I have so much to do in Barcelona.  I officially changed my flight to leave on June 26th with my sister Michelle! I'll arrive to Orlando that night and start Summer B classes the next day :( I'm not too excited about that but oh well. I need to make everyday count in Barcelona! I'm going to be so sad when I have to leave. To make sure we have no regrets, my roommates and I are starting a Bucket List for our last few months in Barca. I'll attach it to the blog and keep it updated. Feel free to send me suggestions! Thats it for now! I'll try to post again later this week.


XOXO,

Maria Cristina <3

Vienna

So last weekend I went to Vienna, Austria with my roommates Vivi and Lauren! We left early Friday morning. We had a stop at Zurich, Switzerland before arriving to Vienna! This trip was the first time I stayed at a hostel! It was a fun experience! Vienna was a small city and easy to get around. On Friday we literally checked in to the hostel, had a giant dinner, and went to bed at 8pm. It was the earliest I've gone to sleep in years! But we wanted to be well rested to explore the city the next day.

Saturday was a very productive day! We woke up at about 9 or 10 and began exploring the city. The hostel was very helpful with explaining to us how to find the metro and where to go. Most of the big sights were on the same street so it was easy to find everything. First sight we saw was Stephansdam Church. It looked like most European churches. We went inside to take pictures and there was a mass going on! But they still allowed tourist to go inside during the mass to see the inside! I thought that was funny. We saw all the main sights on Saturday. We saw Parliament, Museums Quarter, The University, City Hall and a cute little amusement park that looked more like a carnival. Everything was so beautiful! After a long day of being busy tourist, we were looking forward to going out and seeing what Vienna had to offer at night. We went to a place called Cafe Leopold that according the hostel played really good dance music and had a young hip crowd. Ha! We were very disappointed. The music was not good and the crowd was no fun. 

Sunday was just as busy as Saturday! We had to see Belevedere Palace! It was amazing! So huge and just amazing views!  Walking to and around the palace took us some time but after that we decided to see Vienna's Zoo! Now, normally I would have never wanted to see a zoo while its cold and super windy (Vienna was having very strong winds that weekend), but my roomies wanted to go so I tagged along. I wasn't that impressed but I'm not a big zoo fan and it would have probably been better over the summer. We ended the day with dinner at the same restaurant we had gone to on Friday night. Monday morning we were headed back to Barcelona to go to class later that night.

Me at Belevedere Palace!

Vienna was beautiful. I feel so fortunate to be traveling and seeing different places. But I miss my family and friends so much! I know many have bothered me to post more on my blog (mostly my family) so I will try to do so more often :)

XOXO,

Maria Cristina <3

Madrid!

This past weekend my roommates and I went to Madrid! We left very early Friday morning maybe getting only just two hours of sleep. The flight was less than an hour long so taking a nap was not an option. My roommate Vivi’s best friend Mari lives in Madrid and her sister Dani met us at the airport. I was meeting one of my best friends Sarah McClain, so my other roomie, Lauren, and I left Vivi and hopped on to the metro to go explore Madrid. Sarah called me while I was on the metro so we were able to meet up with her before most likely getting lost in the city. The three of us were starving so the first thing we did was eat! After lunch, we met some Australian boys who tagged along with us to explore the city. We went to see the Royal Palace, Plaza del Sol, Plaza Mayor, and we ended our day going to the market. After that, we were so exhausted so it was time for our siesta.

Plaza del Sol

Plaza Mayor

 

 

Palacio Real 

I did not sleep much during my siesta. Even though I was drained from lack of sleep, we had many plans for the night so I had to suck it up. We left Sarah’s apartment at about 11pm. We took the metro to find a tapas bar called El Tigre. There we met up with our Australian mates from earlier that day and they brought some more friends with them. The tapas bar was fun but crowded and no where to sit! We left El Tigre to find an Australian bar our new friends had heard about. When we got to the bar, we were very disappointed. The bartender did not know any of the authentic Aussie drinks. All they had was Foster’s beer and according to our friends, nobody drinks Foster’s in Australia. We still had a good time at the “Australian” bar. Next was the discoteca La Paccha (apparently really popular in Madrid). We were meeting Vivi and Mari there for Mari’s birthday celebration. The discoteca was crazy! It was super crowded and super expensive. But it was a lot of fun. Us girls danced the night away until we couldn’t bare the pain our feet were feeling anymore. We left the club at 5am! Yes, I finally partied the “Spaniard” way: get to the discoteca at around 2am and leave around 5am or 6am. It was definitely an experience!

At "La Pacha"

On Saturday, we were still in pain from the night before so we just did some more touristy stuff. We went to Plaza España and went to see some Egyptian ruins. It was really pretty! Then we came back to Sarah’s apartment for a siesta and TV. We watched Disney channel for hours! Model Behavior was on! When we finally decided we wanted to eat, it was already almost midnight. When we got to the Japanese restaurant we wanted to eat at, they had just closed! We missed it by just four minutes! So we found somewhere else to eat. No partying for us that night since Lauren and I wanted to do more touristy activities Sunday morning before we left.

Egyptian Ruins

Lauren and I woke up early Sunday morning (10am) to go see Parque Retiro. The park was huge. I would have enjoyed it more if it hadn’t been so cold! There was so much to see. Lots of fountains and architectural structures. When we couldn’t bare the cold any longer, we headed to Prado Museum. The museum was enormous! Way too much to see! But it was absolutely amazing! It had so many beautiful paintings and sculptures. I want to go back again and see what I wasn’t able to see.

We got back to Barcelona Sunday night. I loved Madrid! But I definitely was happy to be back in Barcelona, it’s starting to feel like home. I’m glad I got to see Sarah McClain! I can’t wait for her to come visit me in Barcelona! All in all, an amazing weekend!!

Parque Retiro

Week 2

It has been four days since my mom went back to the states. It was a sad day when she left. I was getting used to having her around here. I knew she was not going to stay forever but it was still hard to say goodbye. The morning she left, we had breakfast at our usual place. After breakfast, we went to the grocery store so she could leave knowing that I had enough food for the day. Mom would be proud to know that we finally used our kitchen to cook! I received my final schedule and my student ID from IQS this week. I guess that makes me an official student. My schedule isn't bad. I've got class Monday through Thursday and my earliest class is at 11:30am and it's only once a week. With no classes on Friday,  I'll be able to travel more! This Friday I'll be traveling to Madrid for the weekend to see my dear old friend Sarah McClain! This weekend should be eventful! Last night I went out with my roommates and some friends from the exchange program. We went to a bar called Chupitos. Its a shots bar with more than 200 different shots. I had such a good time. It is definitely somewhere we will go again. There was a shot named "Harry Potter" so of course I had to try it! It was delicious! If any of my friends from home come and visit me, I'll buy you a shot at Chupitos :) I miss my family, friends, and brothers so much. But I am having a wonderful time here in Barcelona. I am in no hurry to go back home :)

No internet = No life

So for the past two days I had no internet. It hit me hard when I realized that without internet I have no connection to my family and friends. Hopefully this doesn't happen often. I felt so lost without it. Its pretty pathetic but true! Thankfully I was able to look up how to get to La Sagrada Familia before the internet gave out! My mom and I finally got to explore some of the city yesterday. We took the Metro for the first time and made it to la Sagrada Familia without getting lost! To be fair it was probably the easiest place to find. The church was absolutely stunning. I had never seen anything like it in all my life. I will definitely be visiting it often. My mom and I were there for almost 3 hours! We explored all of the church that was possible! Look how beautiful it is!

After our visit to La Sagrada Familia, mom and I went walking around and found a cute little cafe. We ordered churros and hot chocolate! It was so good! Today (Sunday) we couldn't do much because most stores are closed on Sundays. And we found the school but took a taxi there since we had no internet to look up directions. Tomorrow will be my official first day as as student at IQS! I hope it goes well!

I have arrived!

I am officially all moved in to my new apartment in Barcelona! The arrival here was a long one but definitely worth it! I barely slept on the plane (lots of turbulence!) so when we finally arrived to the apartment at about 1pm, I fell asleep, and didn't wake up until about 8pm. So I did not get to go explore the city today. But I have 6 months to do that! I'm so happy my mom is here with me! The transition has been alot easier with her here. When I woke up from my nap my mom had already unpacked all my clothes and arrange my room for me! How lucky am I?! Mom and I might go some where different over the weekend but we haven't decided yet! Either Paris or Madrid! But we still have lots to do at the apartment still so who knows what will happen. I still can't believe I'm really here. It will feel more real when I explore the city! Our first goal for tomorrow is to find IKEA! We need to get some stuff for the apartment. Here is the living room..

 I'll post more of the apartment once we've got it organized.

Off to bed! Busy day ahead!

xoxo,

Maria <3