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.

MADRID TEMPLE TRIP!

 The Madrid temple is absolutely beautiful!! It was so nice to be able to go to the temple for the first time in a little while, and in Madrid!! It definitely is a good runner up to the San Diego (those are my only two temples I've been in). It was so peaceful in the middle of the city and I loved every minute of it! Its also easily the cleanest place in Madrid. It was super pretty inside and out and we got to do all the baptisms and confirmations in Spanish.

My roommate and I had a baby photo shoot before entering. Just was too pretty! Madrid temple is easily my second favorite temple and I have decided I wanna go to the temple in every place I visit! Paris, London, Provo temples here i come!!

Arte Madrid

Just me and my good friend Jessie getting all philosophical in a modern art exhibit. I don't know why but I just love modern and contemporary art exhibits. People are so weird. I love seeing what they come up with and then just thinking what kind of person made this?? Well this exhibition we got to see was extra cool because most of the artists were there watching people look at their work. That's gotta be a bit intimidating for them! But lets just say there were some good reactions from us on a few. I couldn't muster up the courage to take a picture but the weirdest one there was of this naked baby doll covered in blood hanging from the ceiling. And it was perfectly positioned so you could see it outside of that makeshift room through a little window and there were many a people that jumped at seeing it out of the corner of their eye. Haha that artist must have been having the time of his life. Here is some of the range of goodies:

Segovia

 Segovia was another Avila-like day trip. Pretty dang cold and of course I'm not wearing enough layers and socks. There was also a lot of random sight seeing but thankfully it stopped snowing when we started our tour. There were definitely some gorgeous views and i once again came across my future car! It will be one of the cute lil European ones if I have fly the plane overseas to import it home...

Below: The best part was making friends with some 16yr old Spanish girls. In the main plaza they taught us this ridiculous dance with several consecutive moves and we all did it together and all the high school boys started crowding around us and being all goofy. When we took our post-dancing pic all the guys ran in (only 2 made it in this one) to be part of the action. Afterwards the girls became everyone's twitter-friends haha.

Cordoba Cathedral

the arches look so awesome in that huge cathedral

all the detailing is super unique, im obsessed

A little post-sick CELEBRATION

FINALMENTE i am no longer sick! By golly its a miracle. Despite trudging through 3-hr tours in the snow, staying up way too late and eating a lil too unhealthily, i am better! To celebrate, my buddy chelsey and i took a creeper shot as we burrowed into our clothing on the way to the hotel on a cold night. Now the true reason this picture merits the post-sick celebration title is because i no longer have pink eye. That's right i'm confessing. It was all part of that wonderful bundle of sinus infection-fever-pink eye nastys and even though I'm still in the no make up phase-obviously my eyes are as white as snow! and i now relish that comparison. I'm sorry if you think less of me after this revelation.

every once in a while i have a lil fun...

Tiny alleys in Seville

the bike stand was still up...

ruins are the idea place for yoga

i may or may not have bought them...

just swinging around

Seville park zip lines

i have found where i am going to retire...Torresillas, Spain

So on this trip to Torresillas, I basically planned out the rest of my life. When I am old and rich and done working I am going to retire here. The decision has been made. I am going to live on a city surrounded by this view on one side: 

And with this view on the other side of the city: 











And I am going to drive this adorable European car:

And I am going hang out in the plaza mayor with cool elderly people that have random bands playing and are just dancing in the cobblestone streets and call out to Americans to join them as we walk past. They just seemed so happy and chill in the sun, chatting and joking around all day.

And I'm going to live in a beautifully warm-colored house just like this one:

 

Oh and here's part of our little group of city explorers j chillin, having a lovely time:

Avila, a cold mountain town

Avila was absolutely beautiful from indoors. In all honesty the only thing it has going for it is the sick stone wall around the city perimeter that may (or may not) be the oldest one is Spain. Anyways with me being pretty sick all week this was a rough trip. We were expected to trudge through this three-hour tour [all outdoors while it was snowing and no one brought umbrellas] and I discovered my shoe had a hole in the bottom pretty early on and snowy sludge would seep through and drench my socks. So after talking to the director that my sickness was only getting worse, we snuck off and went shopping and to some little cafes and met up with the group after the tour. I stole these top two pictures from someone in the group but I'm a wimp when it comes to being cold, especially when I'm sick. But with our adaptation to the plan I had a lovely time and even enjoyed the heated floor in the visitor's center as we waited for the group to catch up.