PARIS

Bonjour!

This weekend we fell in love with the city of love! From spending Valentine's Day in Paris to spending time with our friend Anna, we had a wonderful weekend that we never wanted to end!

Friday morning was the earliest start so far, with our flight leaving at 6 am. However, we've gotten pretty comfortable with the Barcelona airport and decided to get there 45 minutes before our flight took off. After making it through security in 4 minutes, we boarded our flight and arrived in Paris ready for a fun Valentine's Day. We bought our Metro tickets to get into the city and attempted to jump on the tram last minute. Unfortunately, Katie only made it halfway through the door before it slammed in her face, but no need to worry because she new exactly where we were going. After an eventful arrival in Paris, we meet Anna at the train station and got to see her adorable apartment. Anna took us to breakfast at Angelina's, and we tried their famous hot chocolate and, of course, croissants. From there, we went to The Louvre and saw the underwhelming Mona Lisa. Seriously, the thing is about 3 feet tall and across from a painting the size of a football field.
We also wandered The Louvre and passed more unclothed sculptures than we care to remember. In honor of Valentine's Day, our next stop was the Love Lock Bridge over the Seine River. We bought a lock, wrote our names on it, locked it to the bridge and tossed our key in the river! Then, we went to Notre Dame and saw the breathtaking stained glass and the creepy gargoyles surrounding the edge of the roof. We ended our 'tour' with Anna by going to the famous bookstore Shakespeare & Co. and trying homemade ice cream at one of Anna's favorite spots. Then, the three of us headed back along the Seine River toward the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe.
On our walk down Champs-Élysées, we stopped at the famous Ladurée Café for our first macaroons. We finished our walk down the street to Arc de Triomphe and then headed to the Eiffel Tower to make it for the sunset. After we saw the tower twinkle for the first time, we decided it was long past time for dinner. We started our trek across Paris in search for a reasonably priced restaurant. It's much harder than you think, and keep in mind, it's Valentine's Day. Haha. About an hour later, we found a cute pizzeria. Thrilled with our find, we each ordered and completed our own pizzas, which were bigger than our heads. We went back to Anna's exhausted and ready for bed.

Saturday was another early morning with an 8:30 tour of Versailles Palace. We were able to see the rooms with a guided audio tour and are all obsessed with the famous Hall of Mirrors. Sadly, it was a chilly day, and the gardens are not currently in bloom, so that part was kind of a disappointment. Once we arrived back in Paris, we got another hot chocolate from Angelina's and started making our way toward the Marais (neighborhood in Paris). In the Marais, we found many cute local shops and saw picturesque streets of Paris. We stumbled upon falafels and had them for lunch along with the famous French baguette. On our way to the Eiffel Tower, it started pouring down rain, so we stopped at a cute local tea café. The rain finally stopped but left behind freezing cold temperatures. While standing in line for the Eiffel Tower, it's a
miracle we didn't freeze to death. We also had to watch the couple in front of us kiss the entire hour and a half long wait to buy our tickets. However, we finally got to the top, and the views made the wait all worth it. As we got to the top of the stairs, we heard the wind howling and soon found out that if the railing wouldn't have been so high, we would have blown right off the top! We descended to the first level just in time to see the tower twinkle right at 9:00 pm. This was followed by a long awaited dinner at a gem of a restaurant. We had yummy Caprese sandwiches and french fries because when in France, right?

Sunday was spent exploring the city with Anna, and we started the day at the top of the Arc de Triomphe (after climbing so many stairs). It was fun to see Paris from a different perspective before we started our journey to the Sacré-Cœur.


On the way, we stopped at Anna's favorite macaroon shop called Pierre Hermé and definitely agree that they're the best! Sorry Ladurée. Just after this, we passed the original Chanel store, Coco Chanel's apartment and the beautiful Paris Opera House. Finally, we arrived to the Montmartre neighborhood and started up the hill to the Sacré-Cœur, where we got to tour the breathtaking church. Since Sunday was such a sunny day, all of the Parisians were out enjoying the nice weather. This made for a fun atmosphere with live music on the steps leading up to the church. We ate lunch at the top of the hill in a
plaza where local artists showcase their work. Then, we slowly made our way across the city to the Eiffel Tower for one last daytime view. For dinner, Anna took us to a local Crêperie to try savory and dessert crêpes. They were so yummy and a perfect final meal in our favorite city! Our final stop before heading to the airport was the much anticipated river cruise. However, due to the high waters of the Seine River, the times of the cruises were changed, and we had to choose if we wanted to have a relaxed or rushed trip to the airport. Naturally, we chose the rushed trip and gave ourselves 1 hour and 40 minutes from the time we exited the boat to take off. We got to see all the famous sights of Paris from the Seine River at night and enjoyed soaking up our final moments. Once the boat docked, we took of running for the metro station. Literally, we were those people running through Paris with our stuffed backpacks on and flight to catch. We made it to the airport just in time to walk straight on the plane and had a safe journey home!

Here's the link to the best video yet! http://youtu.be/9yBgKfXH0hw

XOXO,
B, K & M

BARCELONA

Hola! It's officially been a month!

This was an exciting week in Barcelona because we had our first visitor!! Our Theta friend Madysen who now lives in Switzerland came to visit for a few days! Sadly, we had a lot of school work and class while she was in town, but we got to have fun with her in the evenings and catch up on life. One night, we attempted a yoga class via Youtube, and Brynne learned the hard way that headstands are not as easy as they seem (see video). We also took Madysen to Taste of America! It was so fun to finally see a familiar face and introduce her to our new lifestyle. We absolutely loved having her, and it was so sad to say goodbye!

On Friday, we joined other students on a day trip to Tarragona, Spain. We started the day off with a tour of a winery/vineyard and got to try tasty wine and cava, which is their version of champagne. After the tour, we got to enjoy a traditional lunch of Catalonia (the northeast region of Spain). This lunch consisted of Calçotada, artichoke hearts, sausage, beans, a fruity dessert and messy hands (see video for experience). Then, we drove to the coast, where the old town of Tarragona is located. We toured the Roman ruins and saw the amphitheater, which was a smaller version of the Roman Colosseum. It was a great day, and we loved getting to spend it with our friend Bailey!

Saturday morning, we woke up and started our day off with "Brunch & Cake." This is an adorable local restaurant that serves gourmet breakfast and, more importantly, cake. We absolutely loved the fresh squeezed orange juice, and next time, we plan to try the red velvet cake! After breakfast, we shopped till we dropped on Barcelona's version of 5th avenue, but don't worry, Brynne and Katie didn't buy anything. Contrary to what you might expect, Meagan was the shopper of the day! We spent the rest of our evening watching Gossip Girl and eating popcorn. We enjoyed relaxing for once!

Sunday, after a GREAT night of sleep and not waking up to an alarm for the first time in what seems like forever, we put on our walking shoes and headed for the beach! We walked miles along the boardwalk and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon seaside. People watching, dog watching (see video) and food sampling at the local sunday market kept us entertained for quite a while. For lunch, we found the typical hole-in-the-wall hamburger shack by the beach and knew we had to try it. We had a nutritious lunch of fries and a shake (Meagan had a smoothie…of course). The atmosphere was so fun, and we definitely plan on returning! Following lunch, we took off for the cathedral of Barcelona. This atmosphere is so hard to describe, but as we strolled along the tiny streets of old town Barcelona, we found street singers, street vendors, Barcelona festivals and fell in love with the city all over again!










Barcelona truly is beginning to feel like a home away from home, and we are excited for what the month of February has in store. Also, we decided to do some decorating to make our place feel a little more homey!

Here's the link to the video! http://youtu.be/SVGrs1hJI7w

Sending lots of love and warmth from Spain!
Brynne, Katie and Meagan

SAN SEBASTIÁN

Hola!

This was a weekend full of Theta rain jackets, Pinchos, walking and a tropical storm!

Since our past two weekends were booked with exciting plans, we decided to call this trip a relaxing vacation. We know you don't believe us, but we literally had no plans.

Friday morning, we took off early again (surprise, surprise!) for Bilbao. Once we arrived at the airport, we hopped on a bus for San Sebastián, Spain. We got off the bus in San Sebastián and began wandering around the town. On our trek across the city, we were confused as to why people had raved about its beauty. We finally made it to our hostel, which was two blocks from the ocean, and the owner greeted us with a warm smile. After getting us settled into our cozy and clean room, she took the time to sit down and show us her favorite places in the city.

We left the hostel and found an adorable cafe right across the street where we tried a Kafé Brownie (coffee blended with milk and brownies) and got some lunch. The name of the cafe was Hogar, Dulce Hogar (Home Sweet Home). Little did we know, this cafe would live up to its name, be the home of many life talks and shelter us from the torrential downpours. Needless to say, we became instant regulars to the cafe. We spent the rest of the day shopping and exploring in old town. At about 6:00 pm, we realized we were starving, so we headed for the sushi place we had been drooling over all day long. This is when we learned that restaurants in San Sebastián do not open their doors for dinner until 8:00 pm. We waited and waited, but we soon found out that it was well worth the wait! We each got a deliciously fresh sushi roll, and in honor of being right on the beach, ordered our favorite frozen drinks.

Saturday morning, we woke up ready to hike with all of our belongings stuffed in our rain jacket pouches, and this became a trend for the weekend. During breakfast at Hogar, Dulce Hogar, it began to pour, and it never stopped all. day. long. However, we spent the day immersed in the culture of San Sebastián.

This is the day we discovered why restaurants do not open until 8:00 pm. Around 1:00 pm every day, the locals flood the streets on their way to Pincho shops, so we decided to join! As we hopped from one to the next (see video for atmosphere), we got to experience the traditions of San Sebastián and tried really yummy food along the way. Running through the streets, we had noticed a common cookie in every bakery window. We decided to try one of these "San Blas" cookies, and it tasted like that awful medicine your mom forced you to take when you were little (no offense Karen, Jill and Cynthia). On our way back to the hostel that night, we noticed crowds of locals around the bridge closest to the ocean. We walked up to the edge, and saw the biggest waves we have ever seen in our lives. We talked to a local (in spanish, be proud), and she said the waves were double the normal size. After being mesmerized for a few minutes, we headed back to the hostel and found Cool Ranch Doritos on the way!!! Our taste buds were so happy. Did we mention that we ate a lot on this trip? We also saw a parade for the "San Blas" (disgusting cookie) holiday, which included men walking around in kilts, banging pots and pans together and playing instruments.

Sunday morning, we went back to our favorite cafe unaware of what we were about to experience. We left the bakery and turned onto the ocean front street where we saw debris and sand everywhere. The railing to the bridges and walls surrounding the beach was destroyed, and benches and trees were snapped in half. As we walked along the street, locals were taking pictures everywhere, the news stations were reporting, roads were blocked off and the massive waves were continuing to crash into the shore. We later found out that this was the most destructive storm the town had ever experienced.


The rest of the day, we spent hiking two of the mountains in San Sebastián. We started with Monte Urgell, which has the famous statue of Christ that overlooks San Sebastián. This statue sits on top of the fortress of the city, which we got to explore. The views were breathtaking from the open ocean to the beach to the snow capped mountains. From this mountain, we walked 2.5 miles around La Concha Beach to Monte Igueldo. This mountain has an amusement park at the top; however, it was closed because it was Sunday.
We took the cable car to the top and got to see the city from a different perspective, which was just as impressive. After descending this mountain, we made one last Pincho run and headed back to the hostel to check out. We got another bag of those yummy Doritos, and walked the two miles to the bus stop with our rain boots on our backs. We did the math and realized we walked over 11 miles that day. Once at the bus stop, we realized that the internet was wrong, and we had no clue when the next bus to the airport left. Using our Spanish once again, we finally found a way to get a ticket for the next bus, which was luckily only 30 minutes later than expected. We got to the airport and on our flight just in time! Although Brynne and Katie didn't think they were going to arrive in Barcelona in one piece (you should have heard that plane…), all was well, and we made it home safely!


Here's the link to the video!!
http://youtu.be/Lgd5AtbQieA

Todos amamos,
Brynne, Katie & Meagan