Barcelona, te amo!

After a very long first month of school, our week-long February break finally rolled around (vive la france and their many vacations!). Last Friday (February 18th), my friend Jordan and I picked up from Bordeaux, flew over some snow covered Pyranees, and landed in sunny Barcelona, where I met my roommate/best friend Bryanna who is studying there for the semester. Our two other bay area friends, Lauren and Gianna, were visiting at the same time (Lauren is studying in London, Gianna in Bologna..pretty rough life right?). This being my first time in Spain, I wasn't quite sure what to expect, although I knew that I would find tapas, several confusing languages (Catalan..Spanish...it's all greek to me!), and some very insane nightlife. Luckily, Bryanna was an incredible host and had an itinerary for us when we landed- first stop, Sagrada Familia, one of Gaudi's most famous works. Now, I know nothing about architecture, but seeing this church literally took my breath away. It almost looks like the sides are melting off, and the interior is illuminated by these amazing multicolored stained glass windows...magnifique! I was pretty sold on Gaudi right then and there, but then we began our trek up to Park Guell (featured in one my favorite french movies, L'auberge espagnol!): Pillars that looked like palm trunks, winding staircases through green trees, an incredible view of the sun setting over the Mediterranean, and colorful mosaics (!!) as far as the eye could see! Day 1 in Barca got off to a fantastic start. That night we nibbled on some tapas at a tourist-y restaurant, but the real fun was at Chupitos Shot Bar, where you can order shots on fire, shots with candy, and our personal favorite- the Monica Lewinsky (too lewd to describe, but you can imagine..)

The rest of the week was spent exploring different parts of Barca by foot and by metro. We strolled down Los Ramblas in downtown (a main street for tourist-y things right near the Gothic District), sang the Rocky theme song as we ran up the stairs of the Olympic Stadium, stuck our feet in the Mediterranean Sea (so blue!), and experienced what I think is now my favorite food of all time- Chocolate con churros. While Bryanna had class on Wednesday afternoon, Jordan and I did some venturing of our own and successfully stumbled upon the Picasso museum in the gothic district, which I absolutely loved. Of course, one can't be in Barcelona without partying like the Spanish, so one night we donned as many sequined outfits as we were able to cram in our suitcases and went to Razzmatazz, a FIVE STORY club with dance floors on every level. Now I know why the Spanish invented siestas- we didn't arrive at the club until 2 am, and took the metro back to Bry's apartment at 5 am. Ay carumba. Luckily I managed to pick up a few Spanish phrases while there, including: "cafe con leche, por favor!", which came in handy on those post-Razzmatazz mornings. Our last night in Barcelona, Bry and I went to a charming little tapas restaurant where we had patatas bravas (potatoes with spicy sauce), grilled asparagus, vegetable paella (learned this the hard way, but non-veggie paella usually includes such sea critters as tentacles with suction cups), and two glasses of cava, the traditional catalunian champagne. We both agreed that we were incredibly lucky to have had this experience abroad with each other...how often is that you get to meet up in Barcelona with your best friend!?


But like all good things, our week-long adventure in espagne had to come to an end, and on Thursday Jordan and I trekked back to Bordeaux...although I'm not sure I could've lasted another week! While I absolutely loved exploring Barcelona, there's nothing quite like eating roast duck with a fresh baguette with my host family while watching the Cesars. Home sweet home! 

chocolate con churros <3

Olympic poses

Sagrada Familia, and Bryanna!

Windows inside the Sagrada Familia

French slang can be confusing.

After a brief repose from blog writing (otherwise known as- I completely neglected it), I am back! Ironically enough, I think the reason I didn't feel the need to update this thing was because I've settled into a comfortable little routine in Bordeaux, which upon reflection, is totally and utterly insane. I've been here almost exactly two months, which is also pretty wacky, and I can still say that I am having the time of my life! Classes have been settling in, which unfortunately also means I have real homework to do, but I am lucky because many of my teachers are sympathetic to the fact that I have to work twice as hard as the other students to arrive in the same place so I have been able to get a little bit of "california treatment" when it comes to my assignments; for example, instead of presenting a fifteen minute éxposé on the similarities between Dali's painting of Tristan and Isolde and the 20th century Bédier translation in front of the whole class, I get to do it just for my professor during her office hours. Little things like that definitely make the whole experience bearable, because sometimes it can get pretty exhausting keeping up with the French university system (which is WORLDS different from Berkeley). One of my favorite classes so far is my Contemporary Art History class which covers painting, sculpture, and architecture of the 19th and 20th century...I'm definitely getting a lot better at my french numbers with all the damn dates I have to memorize! 

Luckily I still have time to explore on the weekends, and have so much (too much?) fun with my french friends. Our favorite places to 'sortir' are the gay bar Trouduc ("asshole" in french, where there is always a good assortment of Gaga and Beyonce to dance to), House of Parliaments (the best place for a pint while cheering for Les Bleus during the 6 Nations Rugby Tournament), and the Frog & Rosbif (where Louis, the bartender, knows us by name). I am learning a lot of fun slang, which is only a problem when I confuse the 'argot' (slang) with my academic language...The other day I told my teacher that "there isn't a lot of bastards in American cuisine". Apparently the French word for duck (canard) is VERY similar to the word for bastard (connard). Rookie mistake! 

Delicious fromage at the Farmers Market by the river

Cathédral St André

Moi, Eva, and Jordan eating traditional Raclette