Some more of Barcelona...

Just thought I'd post a few more pictures of Barcelona before I head off to Madrid so you get a better idea of where I am! Sort of a mix of art, architecture, and scenery. The first two pictures are of Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, a HUGE church that has been under construction for over 100 years (and probably will never be finished). Then there's a Miro sculpture, a few scenic shots of the port and Las Ramblas (a very interesting/touristy part of town near my school), and finally Gaudi's Casa Mila, which I am dying to visit. Enjoy!

OKTOBERFEST!!!!

Munich has quickly become one of my favorite cities in the world. This past weekend, I met up with a bunch of my friends from SCU in Munich, Germany for the lovely holiday known as Oktoberfest. For those of you who don't know, Oktoberfest is the largest fair in the world and a huge part of Bavarian culture....and a fantastic excuse to celebrate beer in general.

I met up with a few of my best friends, Liz and Kelly, on Friday, and we immediately celebrated our arrival and reunion in Munich with a long lunch, consisting of beer and falafels. Seeing as the Oktoberfest festivities didn't begin until Saturday morning, Liz, Kelly, and I decided to go to the Dachau concentration camp on Friday, which was a dusturbing, moving, and eye opening experience to say the least. It took a few hours to walk around the concentration camp, visit the museum, and listen to the audio tour along the way. We saw everything from the "roll call" area, to the barracks, to the gas showers and the crematorium. I have always had a great interest in WWII and the Holocaust, but walking through the gates marked with a German, mocking phrase meaning "Hard work brings freedom" and standing on the very ground where such atrocities occurred left indescribable feelings in the pit of my stomach.

After having some interesting conversation and kit-kat McFlurries to cheer us up a bit, we met up with the rest of our friends at our hotel, and had a traditional bavarian meal with lots of meat and something that could be classified as either potatos or rice. We went to bed early to prepare for the events ahead.

Quite honestly, I have never seen ANYTHING like Oktoberfest before in my life. What appears to be a carnival of sorts upon first arrival becomes so much more as you entered one of the dozens of beer tents. Liters of beer, giant pretzels, people in traditional German garb, live traditional German music, men carrying cases of beer in stacks on their shoulders while blowing whistles to get the crowds to move apart, rollercoasters, ferris wheels, sausages......quite the sensory overload, if you can imagine. and SO. MUCH. FUN. Here are a few more pictures just to give you an idea of how the weekend went:


way too much fun, to say the least! I'm off to Madrid this weekend to meet up with some more friends and go to a few art museums, so I'll try to post again shortly after that!

Love,
Mary

Barcelona: la ciudad de jamon.

Hi everyone!

It's been a crazy first two weeks, and I finally feel like I'm getting settled in my apartment and at school. Classes start next Monday, but we've been having Spanish cultural classes for the past few days that are trying to get us a bit more familiar with Catalan customs (like eating times, Spanish food, public displays of affection, the metro, etc etc).

My roommates in my apartment are really fun! There's a great group dynamic and we all get along really well (what else could you ask for, really?). We're already looking to plan a few travel plans, such as Italy/Greece for our 10 day fall break, and a few other trips of a shorter distance for 3 day weekends.








Barcelona beach











Walkway near Barceloneta (the closest beach)



















Elizabeth, me, Ali






For the orientation trip, we all took a bus to Peniscola and Valencia, which are absolutely beautiful!!




My roommate Amy and I in front of the aquarium in Valencia




















El Ciudad de Artes y Ciencias (The city of arts and sciences) in Valencia













Me, standing fearfully next to the shark tank in the Aquarium








view from a castle in Peniscola













Orientation was great, and I got to see some gorgeous sights and meet some cool new people. Not to mention, it's fun to go out and explore the bar scene in different cities.

I hope everything's going well for everyone back home, and feel free to send me an email anytime with updates!!

Love,
Mary

GO!!!!

So after 12 hours of flying time, a 2 hour layover in Philly, and a few airplane meals later, I'm here!!

I arrived this morning around 8am Barcelona time (midnight Denver time), and was the first to arrive at my apartment. After unpacking and taking a much needed shower, 2 of my roomies arrived, Megan from Villanova and Elizabeth from UC Santa Barbara, and we spent some time getting unpacked, grocery shopping, and of COURSE taking a nap. The time difference is definitely taking its toll!

Already, some of the Barcelona customs are sinking in. For example, no one eats dinner here until around 10 or 11 pm. Luckily, my internal clock is messed up enough from the flight and time change, that I could have had dinner at 11pm or 8am and wouldn't have known the difference.

My apartment is GORGEOUS. I have my own room (yay!) and there are 2 other singles and a double. So far my 2 roomies are really great and grounded. I've met about 10 other girls who are living in my building, so it's got somewhat of a sorority house feel to it, and everyone is just as excited to be here as I am. I still can't believe I'm really here!

Well I'll try to get some good pictures in the next few days and post them, but until then, I'm safe and sound, and already having a good time!

Hasta luego!!
Love,
Mary