Cuando esta en Roma!

Posing at the base of the Spanish Steps!!  This used to be a popular artist hang out so pretty (and vain) women would come and just sit on the steps hoping to models for the painters. It was so crowded but around the corner we ate at the cutest little restaurant in a good people watching piazza. 

Just hiking around the Colosseum with my audio guide. IT WAS INCREDIBLE. So huge and well-preserved and it still surprises, yet fascinates me to hear how grand and barbaric their entertainment was here. 

I MADE A WISH AT THE TREVI FOUNTAIN! But I'm cheap and it was only a 1cent but I made it in the first try! (Some of the other girls didn't have quite as much luck and are going to be cursed for the rest of their lives.)

The Pantheon was so dang cool! We were just walking down a cute little Italian alley and then we turned the corner and BOOM! It was there, looking grand in all its glory. Up close those pillars were huge and everything was very thick and sturdy-good for centuries. The dome inside was pretty cool too!

Madrid Protests!

In Madrid right now there are tons of workers protests in Puerta del Sol in front of the capitol building. We accidentally came across it Wednesday night and there speakers on platforms and people with signs that said "LUCHAR" (to fight) and it was more intense than I've seen it. Needless to say we walked pretty fast through that area...

madrid excusions

Sick vintage place called, Lotta Vintage, that I found via some internet blogs about Madrid. It had some pretty unique and fairly cheap stuff!

Went to this artsy cafe in Madrid and got some lunch and did a little hw with their wifi. It was a glorious day by myself (first time ever because we practically have missionary companions here) and the food here was so healthy good!! I miss american health food! (even though it was still clearly Spanish) It was also good to go explore the city on my own and i found another vintage store and made some friends with the younger Spanish couple sitting next to me.

tiempo libre en Barca

California girls getting a little too excited to be at the beach IN BARCALONA

outside the Barcelona basilica, love that little girl

found a vintage street market outside of Hard Rock Cafe! There were some awesome finds there.

One of the best parts was meeting up with some good friends from the Paris study abroad on a little vacation to Barcelona for the weekend. I spent the evening with these lovely ladies and we ended up meeting my SA group for some early night clubbing (Spaniards club from 2-6am). Needless to say we owned that dance floor, even though we were the only ones on it...

La Sagrada Familia (still Gaudi)

 La Sagrada familia is the cathedral Gaudi started yet never finished before his death. They are still working on finishing it today according to his designs. It is super ornate, which i didn't think I'd like as much but up close this front facade is so interesting and random. It has everything from a nativity scene to a sea turtle and its absolutely huge.

 I had never before seen pictures of the inside and it was so insanely unique. I was so surprised. The ceiling has star-flower-like figures that bridge into spidery columns. It is pretty busy but in a very different style from the ornate front facade. This alone is worth the trip to Barcelona. Unlike anything else!

 The back door of the cathedral is covered with these words. It's a pretty funky idea.




















The back facade of the cathedral is a lot more plain but still absolutely amazing. It takes on a different look with the sharply sculpted figures.

Just soaking up a little sun outside of the cathedral.

GAUDI

The architect, Gaudi's Park Guell was absolutely amazing. The tiling was so color and striking and the long benches were insanely comfortable! Seriously though the epitome of ergonomics and I never wanted to leave!

J chillin on Gaudi's benches wishing I could have slept here instead of the nasty hotel bed last night.

back entrance to Park Guell

 Freshman year I slaved over an art history paper comparing/ contrasting Gaudi's Casa Batlo to Frank Lloyd Wright's The Walter House. I was so excited to see it in person and amazed at house it was just casually juxtaposed between two normal buildings and just jumps out at you with its bone-like features and dragon-esque rooftop! Unfortunately I didn't get to go see it up close but I am returning in a few weeks....

Casa Mila

Barcelona night one

So Barca was quite the adventure! The first night we got there our hotel was right on one of the main roads in the city called La Rambla and we were so excited cause it was huge and we each had our own bedroom. But upon closer inspection everyone was grossed out and i didn't feel comfortable walking barefoot on the nasty tile, the bed sheets were a bit questionable and the water had been broken when we arrived so we couldn't use it until 9pm. We switched to a nicer hotel away from the center for the rest of the trip. So that first night we arrived we left in search of dinner and found un mercado del mundo and had the best coconut-strawberry smoothie of my life!

It had some of the most beautiful fruits of the world and some of the nastiest meats ever! It was a vegetarian's nightmare. They lured you in with the fruits and dulces at the front and then you turn around and its there! And believe me this was the tamest of the bunch...ugh. But hey still a great find just as long as you stick to the fruit section.