This week was very exciting. My best friend in the whole entire world came to visit me and we had the best time together in Barcelona, Spain and Prague, Czech Republic. Continue reading all about it!
- Monday, November 15th
-
It was an early start to the day this morning, with a 4 a.m. wake up because my roommates and I had to catch our flight back to Barcelona. I finished up a presentation at the airport while waiting for boarding to begin, and then we flew back to our beloved Barcelona. We took a cab from the airport to our apartment because we were running a bit short on time, and then I bought myself a coffee and a croissant before heading to class. In class, I gave the presentation that I finished up earlier, which went very well, and after, I went to the grocery store. I came home, cooked, ate, worked for CU, did some homework, and headed to Mediterranean Politics, followed by International Business. Since I was tired from all my adventures last weekend (read about them here), I decided to just stay in tonight and make myself pasta for dinner. I watched some YouTube before getting ready for bed and going to sleep.
- Tuesday, November 16th
-
Today I had my typical start to the morning, which consisted of the gym, a coffee, and my first class of the day. I came home and worked for CU, and for lunch, I ate the chicken-broccoli stir fry I made yesterday. I read for a presentation I have next week, and then I went to my second and last class of the day, Intercultural Communication, where we started presenting our video projects. I was supposed to present today with my group, but one of my team members has COVID, so our presentation was postponed until next week. As nice as it would have been to get it over with, I do not mind presenting next week because it gives me more time to prepare for the embarrassment I will feel when everybody is watching me on the screen. We got let out of class early, so I went to my favorite cafe to do some homework. I came back to my apartment and one of my roommates and I went to get ramen for dinner because I have been craving it forever. It was delicious and warmed me up because the nights here in Barcelona are kind of cold! After ramen, we took a thirty-minute walk home, but it was nice to move. I got my bag ready for the gym tomorrow, took a shower, and went to bed.
- Wednesday, November 17th
-
I went to the gym this morning, then I bought myself a coffee, and I went to my Barcelona City Planning and Architecture class. After class, I didn’t really feel like going back to my apartment, so I went to a health food place 10 minutes away from my school and treated myself to a salmon wrap and smoothie, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. After my delightful lunch, I walked back to school and went to the library, where I worked for CU and did some homework until my next class. I went to Mediterranean Politics and International Business, and then I came home and warmed up my chicken and broccoli for dinner. I had therapy tonight, which went well, and then I took a shower and got ready for bed.
- Thursday, November 18th
-
Today was an excellent day. I went to the gym this morning and then I came back to my apartment, worked for CU, did a little bit of homework, packed, and took the metro to the airport to meet my best friend there. It was so exciting getting to see her after almost three months without her! We took the metro back to my apartment, where she rejuvenated, and we went to a cafe to get sandwiches and coffee. We booked a hotel room because my apartment isn’t big enough for four people to stay there comfortably, so we walked to our hotel, dropped off our bags, and went on an hour-long walk. Then, we came back to the hotel to rest for a little bit and got ready for dinner. We got dinner at the restaurant by my apartment that I always talk about, where we ordered patatas bravas, croquettes, and, of course, spicy chicken nuggets. We also went to a bar called Dow Jones, where it’s like a stock market, and when there is a “market crash” the drink prices go down significantly. It was super fun and very fitting since we are both finance majors. We came back to the hotel, got ready for bed, and went to sleep.
- Friday, November 19th
-
After sleeping in a bit this morning, my best friend and I decided to get crepes for breakfast/brunch at a place that I had been wanting to go to for a while. I ordered a Nutella walnut crepe, which was an amazing way to start the day. We had tickets for the tour of the Sagrada Familia, so we made our way over there and walked through the basilica, which is insanely beautiful. There are so many stained glass windows, which make the Sagrada so colorful. It’s going to be interesting to see the Sagrada Familia when it is fully built since it’s only partially completed at the moment. After that, we walked around the area and wandered in and out of boutiques, and then we got sandwiches for lunch at a nearby cafe. We booked tickets for Park Güell for the early afternoon, and we decided to take the half-hour-long walk up there. It was all uphill, so it was slightly challenging but so worth it. The park was beautiful and had incredible views of Barcelona, and we took some really cute photos. We made our way back to our hotel to rest for a few hours, and then we went to the center of Barcelona, which is also the main shopping area and hosts some famous works of Antoni Gaudí. After that, we got paella for dinner, which was delicious as always, and then we came back to our hotel and went to bed.
- Saturday, November 20th
-
We woke up early this morning to head to the airport and catch our flight to Prague, Czech Republic. We were able to check into our hotel early, so we dropped off our bags and put ourselves together a bit, and then we went to a food market that was right by our hotel. The environment was super fun, with heating lamps, music, and tons of different food options. We got some Indian food, which was perfect for the cold weather, and then we went on a walk through the city up to Prague Castle, to which we had to climb so many stairs. It was worth it, though, because it overlooked all of Prague. After that, we went to the Illusion Art Museum, which was pretty interesting, and then we came back to our hotel to rest for a little. We went to a place called Beer Point, which was highly rated and recommended, and it was a fun experience! We tried all kinds of beer and had a fun time. We went to get pho of all things for dinner, and then we came back to our hotel and went to sleep.
- Sunday, November 21st
-
This morning we slept in and then went to a nearby cafe for breakfast, where we had coffee and ham and cheese sandwiches. We once again made our way to Prague Castle, and this time, we got tickets to tour it and the surrounding churches and museums. We spent a few hours up there, and on our way back down into the city, we stopped by a cafe to get hot wine, a popular drink here in Prague. In my opinion, wine should always be served hot; I enjoyed it more than cold. We stopped by Zara and then headed to our hotel to hide from the cold and rest for a little. After resting, we went on a walk through the Jewish Quarter and back through the center of the city, and we stopped to get hot dogs for dinner. It was freezing, so we scurried in the direction of our hotel, and we stopped by the market that we went to for lunch yesterday because we wanted some dessert and drinks. I got mini pancakes, which were incredible. We came back to the hotel, got ready for bed, and went to sleep.
That is all for week 12! I had such a great time this weekend with my best friend and I can’t believe I only have a couple of trips left until the end of my study abroad. As always, thanks for reading, and stay tuned for week 13.