Barcelona!!

Barcelona is officially my favorite new place!  I had heard that it was beautiful but I had no idea just how amazing it would actually be.  I met my good friend Nikki and a couple of her friends who are also studying in Spain there.  We got there late on a Thursday night so we didn't really see much of the city until the next morning.  The first place we went was the Segrada Familia.  Gaudi orginially built this huge church but he was killed before it was finished.  The church is still not finished yet, but it is stunning!  They told us that it would be at least 25 years before it was completed.  After the church we hopped on a sightseeing bus to tour the city.  We had such beautiful weather for the whole trip so we were able to sit on the open deck on the bus.  We saw Las Ramblas, Park Guell, which was also created by Gaudi and everything else that Barcelona had to offer.  That night, we found the 1992 Barcelona Olympic site.  It was the first time that I had ever looked into an Olympic stadium and it rocked!  After the Olympics we went to the Magic Fountains.  They are a series of fountains and waterfalls that all go to a huge fountain that 'performs' each night.  There are lights and music and it's such a cool experience.
The next day, we went to Camp Nou, which is Football Club Barcelona's stadium.  The stadium was huge!  We saw the field, press box, visiting locker rooms, and all sorts of other stuff.  I had never been on a stadium tour before, but it was totally worth seeing.  After Camp Nou, we went to Las Ramblas, which is an area where you can eat, shop and just look around.  I had paella for lunch which was delicious and after doing some shopping around, we ended up at the Mediterranean Sea.  The water was such a pretty color so we sat and relaxed for a few minutes.  Then it was time for churros and sangria.  Me encanta Barcelona!

A weekend in Bath

I just got back from a weekend out of London.  Our class went to Dyrham Park, Bath and Lacock.  It was nice to get out of the hussle and bussle of the big city for a few days.  The first place we stopped was Dyrham Park.  It is an old estate and the house is absolutely massive.  There is also a church on the grounds and a beautiful garden with ponds and everything else.  After Dyrham Park we drove to Bath.  It is such a gorgeous city.  I saw Pulteney Bridge, which is one of 3 bridges that are actually inhabited, the Bath Abbey, the Roman Baths, and so much more.  Bath is surrounded by huge hills that houses are built up on.  The first night in Bath we visited the Roman Baths.  It is so amazing that the water is still coming from under the Earth's surface and is still just as warm as it would have been when the Romans were using them.
The next day, a few of us decided to take an impromptu trip up to Stonehenge.  It was only about an hour away from Bath and it was quite a sight.  It's not somewhere to spend a whole day, but it is definitely something that you have to see.  It is mind blowing how people would have moved these giant rocks back when there was no machinery or other things.  That afternoon I took my first double decked bus tour around Bath and learned all about the city.  There is so much history in the city and it was a beautiful day to be riding around on an open top bus.
On Sunday, the group went to Lacock.  It is an old English village and all the buildings are left alone so it looks like it may have looked a hundred years ago.  We went to the Lacock Abbey, which is where many of the scenes from the first 2 Harry Potter movies were filmed.  We also saw where the first photograph was taken and got to play dress up in old clothes.  Then I had cream tea, which is just English tea served with a scone and clotted cream, our a mix of butter and whipped cream.  Yum!
The weeks are starting to fly by here and it is hard to believe that this was the halfway point of my trip.  The rest of the weekends are already filled up with trips so I'm sure that the second half of the semester is going to go even faster then the first!

Dyrham Park

Bath Abbey

Roman Baths

Royal Crescent in Bath

Stonehenge

Lacock Abbey

Corridors from Harry Potter in the abbey

Village of Lacock

Another Fun Week!

Hi everyone!  It has been another crazy and fun week in London.  For my theatre class, I got to go see "As You Like It" at the Rose Theatre.  It was a pretty awesome place to watch Shakespeare from.  I made it through another week of my internship and then it was back to the weekend!  I went to the London Aquarium.  It was so fun.  They had sharks, sea turtles, nemo fish, dory fish, crocodiles and a ton more.  I also got the chance to go to Windsor Castle this weekend.  It was a quick bus trip up to Windsor and the castle was amazing!  We got to go inside on a tour, even though we looked like total tourists with our audio guides and headphones.  The State apartments were so beautiful.  We got to see the giant dining room where the Queen still hosts state dinners and such and some of the more private dining rooms.  We got to see some great artwork too.  The Queen was even home while we were on our tour, but we didn't get to see her.  After our tour we walked around Windsor for a while, and it is such a cute town.  We found a cupcake shop and I had a delicious red velvet cupcake!  Yum!

The King's Speech

WOW!  I went to the King's Speech yesterday and it was absolutely amazing!  For those of you who are reading this...go see the kings speech!!

Greenwich

Yesterday, I went to Greenwich on a day trip.  It's only about 4 miles out of Central London, but there is such a huge difference in the towns.  Greenwich was so laid back and I didn't feel like I was having to spring across the road to avoid being hit by taxis.  To get to Greenwich, our group took a river boat down the River Thames.  It was a great way to see the London Eye, Tower Bridge and all of the other monuments on the river.  When we got to Greenwich, we walked up a huge hill to get to the Royal Observatory.  This is the spot where the prime meridian is located.  I was able to stand on the line and have half of my body in the Eastern hemisphere and the other half in the Western hemisphere.  It was such a cool feeling.  There was also a great view from the top of this hill.  You could see all of Canary Wharf, the new financial district, the O2 arena, and the Queen's Gallery, Queen's House and the Royal Naval College.  It was such a beautiful view and it was sunny out so everything just looked prettier!

After we walked back down the giant hill, we walked through the Queen's Gallery and took a tour of the Queen's House, which was originally built for Queen Anne.  It was filled with artwork and it was a little depressing because all of it was centered around ship wrecks.  Next, we went to the National Maritime Museum.  It was very cool inside and there was an exhibition of toy boats going on while we were there.
For lunch, we ate at Cafe Sol.  It was a Mexican restaurant and it was delicious!  I haven't had Mexican food since I left the States, and I had been craving it so much.  I'm glad I was finally able to curb my craving, at least for a little while.

We took a driver less train back into Central London, called the DLR, and it was a lot of fun.  The tube runs underground, so most of the time that you are on it, you have no idea where you are actually going.  It was fun to actually see building and people as we came home.  We stopped at Canary Wharf and wandered around the mall type area that is there.  We found a Tiffany's and I was so pumped because I have never been into one before.  It was gorgeous!!

Today, a group of us are going to see The King's Speech.  I've heard that it is a great movie and I figure London is the perfect place to see it in.