Sorry I've been on hiatus for a while! It's been so crazy this week with classes starting etc. So much to talk about, but I guess I'll start with Barcelona!
By far one of the most amazing cities I've ever visited. I really wanted to study abroad there, but I decided on Madrid because GW has a program here. Ultimately though, I'm glad I chose Madrid. Friday we did a driving tour and got lunch down by the water. It was a beautiful spot for lunch, and we tried fideuá, which is a traditional dish from Catalunya (which is the region where Barcelona is). It's a dish with noodles and seafood. I personally though it was somewhat bland, but maybe that's the restaurant's fault. We walked down the beach at night, but we all ended up in bed early because of the early flight in the morning.
Saturday was much busier. We started off at the Miró Foundation in the morning. Miró was a 20th century artist who was known for very modern art. On the completely opposite side of the spectrum we went to the MNAC (National Art Museum of Catalunya) afterwards. Here we looked at much older art, especially Medieval frescos etc. I really enjoyed everything, but it was certainly exhausting. Afterwards we went back into the city and explored some of the streets/shops. This past weekend was La Merce, which is their city's huge festival every year. Everything was so busy and fun, but the nightlife had nothing on Madrid. After relaxing at the hotel for a bit, we had dinner in the hotel and went back down to the beach for a while. We got back relatively early so we could get a lot more in on Sunday.
Sunday morning we went to a "human pyramid" show, where everyone piled on top of each other. It was awesome, but we wanted to do some tourist things too. We went to the Temple of the Sagrada Familia which was designed by Gaudí, who is one of the most famous architects from Barcelona (and has influence all around the city). The style is so ahead of its time, and the temple still isn't finished. It should be done by 2030(ish), but I'm sure the recession has complicated these things as well. Then we went to one of Gaudí's houses. It really shows where 1950s "modern" architecture comes form. It was definitely not my thing, but I can appreciate how ahead of its time it was. Then we had to fly back to Madrid. Note - one weekend is certainly not enough time to see Barcelona.
We started classes this week, which has been nothing but chaotic. Monday/Wednesday I have Spanish Grammar, Spanish Literature, and Art History. I'm not very interested in my Art History class, but we have class in the Prado, so I supposed if you're going to take art history this is the place to do it. Tuesday/Thursday I only have one class - International Business. The professor is really awesome and does lots of consulting work all around Europe. He's really awesome though - but extremely busy.
Stikes - OMG. So today there was a strike in Spain (see NY Times Article). Absolute ridiculous-ness. The metro was working pretty well this morning, but we take the commuter trains to school. Getting there wasn't a problem, but we waited exactly ONE HOUR for the train on the way back (note - they usually come every 8 minutes). I'm not really sure that it accomplished much, but things were certainly more laid back around the city today. It was kind of entertaining how few people showed up on campus today, but I suppose that's the Spanish lifestyle. My host mother was going off about the Unions etc, but she is pretty conservative so it was expected.
I finally started planning my trips last night! I'm going to London November 4-7, and the weekend before I'll be in Amsterdam/Brussels. I'm so excited for both trips, and I'm hoping to go to Istanbul or Berlin (not sure which yet).
I'm posting more pictures on Picasa - so check out the link on the right side of my blog!
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