Barcelona - Day 2

My second day in Barcelona was spent wandering around by myself. I wish I could say I saw a lot of things, but to be honest, I spent nearly the whole day at the beach. Ever since giving up Malaga for Madrid, I sometimes daydream about long afternoons on the beach, so I made up for it in Barcelona :)

... I could have stayed on that beach for daaaayyyssss. Especially right now. It drizzled all day in Madrid yesterday and has been cooler and gloomy. Everyone says to be thankful for the break, because once it gets hot, it stays hot. 

Home Sweet Home (part two)

I moved last Tuesday, but I'm still in the same neighborhood. I realized that I'd made a very stupid impulsive decision with the last place I chose (but that's what living in hostels for 5 weeks will do to you), and kept looking at other places since I hadn't given any long term commitment. I'm now living in a much, much nicer flat with 2 girls closer to my age. I'm on the 3rd floor and have a big beautiful window (which is shockingly a luxury in Madrid). It's a perfect place and I absolutely love it!

my tiny little bed. just like living in the dorms again :)

desk. and more shelving than i would ever need

glorious window. fresh air. sunlight 

bookcase and more shelving

wardrobe

my clothes dryer

I promise I'll put up the rest of my pictures from my trip this week!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

I've always loved St. Patrick's day. A day full of parades, fun, and day drinking is pretty hard to beat. I think last year was one of the best. I was in Chicago with 3 of my girl friends and we really celebrated allll day. Missing you girls so much!

ugh. irish car bombs 

Happy St. Patrick's day to everyone! Have fun and be safe!

Barcelona - Day 1

I'm sorry I'm just now getting around to posting about my recent trip, it's been a hectic (and exciting) week! But more on that later. The first day in Barcelona was spent hitting up the big tourist attractions; La Sagrada Família and Parc Güell.


La Sagrada Família: it was really incredible. It was designed by Gaudí and died before the church was even a quarter complete. Since then construction has continued and it's expected to be completed in 2026. What I found most interesting in the difference in style from the front view and back. The front is much more modern looking and the stone doesn't show the wear and tear of the elements, while the back is much older looking. The inside is beautiful though. Tons of stained glass and the ceiling is amazing. We even got to go up in one of the spires for a panoramic view of Barcelona.

Parc Güell: another work of Gaudí. It was much bigger than I expected and to me is more of a nature area with lots of dirt paths and hills. The view was incredible though. 

Overall it was a great first day!

I'm Baaaack!

I know you've all been anxiously awaiting my return, and here I am! I got back to Madrid yesterday afternoon and have been trying to get caught up on things. My mini-vacay wasn't much of a vacay, as we were pretty busy the whole time, but it was really nice to get out of Madrid and see some more of Europe. We spent 3 days in Barcelona, 2 days in Paris, and 3 days in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam was definitely my favorite place. The canals and the buildings are all so beautiful, and I can only imagine how amazing it is in the spring/summer. I will say, the weather was not my favorite. It rained allll day our last day which was a huge bummer, but we tried to make the most of it.

Barcelona was also nice. I've heard nothing but amazing things about Barcelona, but I have to say, I prefer Madrid as far a place to live. Barcelona obviously has the beach, which Madrid can't compete with, but overall I'm very very happy that I picked Madrid as my home-base in Spain.

And then there's Paris... It really was as magical as I thought it'd be despite the not so pleasant weather. The Eiffel Tower really was beautiful and sitting on a side-walk patio drinking French wine was perfection. I definitely want to make it back to Paris when the weather is nicer.

I'll do some more detailed posts about each place, but here is a sneak peek!

Barcelona:

La Sagrada Família

view from Parc Güell

la playa

the market (much more to come on this!)

Paris:

view from Notre Dame 

the Seine

<3

amazing bordeaux

Amsterdam:

real beer!! 

eating a (delicious) stroopwafle

canals

cute little Dutch buildings

Like I said, I'll do more detailed posts on each place but I wanted to share a few snapshots :)

This weekend a friend from London is coming to town for a Pueblo Ingles reunion so I've got a weekend full of eating, drinking and enjoying the sun!! It's supposed to be in the 70s alllll week!

Besos!