Wow! wow! Wow! Wow! The last 3 weeks have been an absolutely awesome blur of family and friends and no sleep. It started with meeting my parents in Paris on Thursday then entertaining them in Barcelona Monday-Wednesday then Budapest Wednesday-Sunday and Dylan was here before my plane landed on Sunday and he left this past Sunday morning!! These past weeks have definitely been some of the most memorable experiences of my trip so far. I’ve been so busy having fun this is the first chance I have gotten to write since the 24th of February.
Ok so I forget what I did the week leading up to my flight to Paris but Thursday evening I took a later flight to Paris after my last class. I had a meal on the flight and everything went great. I was excited to see my parents after not seeing them for a couple months and to experience Paris. I got picked up by a car at the airport by some dude from Sri Lanka. I asked him a bit about his life and how he ended up in Paris and he gave me a tour of the monuments and streets we were driving by. I got to the Westin we were apparently staying at which was amazing and overlooking the Louvre, Tourlerie Gardens, and had an awesome view of the Eifel Tower. It appeared from the start my parents were going over the top for the weekend. Everything was crazy nice and awesome! TOO AWESOME!
Pops greeted me in the lobby and I went up to the room as he went out for a cigarette. I got in and they had the place all decorated for my birthday and a bottle of champagne and room service waiting. I couldn’t help but let out a huge smile and hug my mom. It was great to see them and I knew the next couple days were going to be awesome. We spent the night talking and I opened some gifts and remained in awe of how awesome our room was.
Friday I got up around mid morning and went down to the gym and then we met in the room around noon and went down to Sant Germaine where we had lunch at Cafe le deux Magot. Apparently my parents had been there with Ev, Sam, and Chris and Uncle Sam took a picture of some French dude and he was unhappy about it. Wish I was there to see that! The place was great and lunch was likewise. After we walked around a bit and got to enjoy the Parisian architecture and get a bit of a feel of Paris. I thought the buildings were all beautiful and the city had a certain almost elegant feel to it while walking around. Truly a special place!
Our first stop was at St. Chapelle. This quaint little chapel with some amazing stained glass. After we went to Notre Dame which was awesome as well and I thought the fact that it was on an island in the middle of the river was awesome. Also the river running through the middle of the city was just another awesome aspect of the city. We walked around some more and found a bridge covered in locks placed by passing couples. We then stumbled upon a WWII memorial for Parisians killed in concentration camps. It was a very eerie monument. After we went to the Eiffel Tower and craned our necks to see it. I walked a couple blocks away to get a better view. I thought it was beautiful but pointless. Still awesome to gawk at. Next we headed to Sacre Coeur basilica overlooking the city. It reminded of a Tibidabo type location in Paris with the beautiful hilltop church and an astounding view of the city to put things into perspective. We ended our busy day at the Hotel bar. Now that I’m writing this I can’t believe how much we saw in our first day in the city. Some things I noticed on my first day were that French was completely foreign and a mouthful to try and speak(and a headache), the French were all very nice contrary to what I had been told, Paris is a very expensive city to hang out in, and my parents were some badass tour guides!
After relaxing for a bit we got ready for Dinner and went to L’ami Jean. We got a 7 course tasting menu of some more traditional countryside Parisian dishes. It was so awesome and I didn’t think it could get any better. They put some pork turrine on the table to start and I thought it was a loaf of bread so I cut myself a piece and had a few hunks before realizing it’s used to spread on bread like butter. I still enjoyed it >.<. But the meal was amazing and we were having a blast. After dinner we went to the hotel bar to hang out for a little and my parents were feeling young and wanted to go to a popular bar they had been to the night before. We walked over to this place called Costes. The bar was filled with models in Paris for fashion week and other beautiful people all in their late 20s-late 30s and here comes me and my 2 parents strolling up. It was one of the the most bizarre, fun, and hilarious experiences I’ve ever had. I had never been in a situation like this with my parents going to a bar so it was all new and then add that to to us looking like a bunch of freaks strolling in. Dad slipped the bouncer a few bucks to let us in and we just sat down and people watched and hung out for a little. It was interesting but when in Paris!
Saturday morning I slept in a bit and we started the day with lunch at a cafe on the street near our hotel. After we walked through Tulerie Gardens to the Louvre. This entire area was beautiful and we were truly lucky to be staying in the heart of this area. We spent a good couple hours in the Louvre and still only saw about 1/4 of it. It was a fascinating place and had so much to offer and teach. The Mona Lisa was pretty awesome but my favorite was between the sarcophagus and the huge Italian paintings from the 1500s that had so much detail. One was a party in heaven going on and another a painting of hundreds of paintings in the Louvre, all detailed to the point. After the Louvre we walked along the River Seine and ended up back at the Hotel getting ready for dinner.
We went to Sergent Recruteur where we were escorted to the basement where another table was located filled with some fashion week people and a couple meat lockers with some aged delicacies. It was an awesome layout and dining experience we had. We did another tasting course. This one was 5 courses and AMAZING. I thought the dinner from the night before couldn’t be topped but this was probably the best meal I have ever eaten. I can still taste the white wine we had and the main course of 90 day aged beef was unbelievable and no steak will ever compare until I forget about this one which hopefully I won’t. The waiters were all awesome and pumped up about the food which made it even better. We were advised to breathe out through our noses while chewing the beef to reveal and experience the deeper flavors it had. It gave you this earthy rich beef taste that’s hard to describe but my mouth is watering as I type this. It was a perfect meal and I am so grateful for getting wined and dined by my parents in Paris.
Sunday was a very short day. It was a beautiful day and I gladly spent it outside running through Tulerie and around the Luvre. After my run I packed and we got lunch at a cafe down the street and said goodbye to Paris. Paris was an amazing time and my parents spoiled the hell out of me! I left feeling satisfied, fat, with a new appreciation for a new place, and excited to show my parents Barcelona!
Our flight landed in Barcelona around 4:30. We split ways so I could get my work straightened out and they could check into their Hotel on Passeig de Gracia. They came over around 8 and saw the apartment and met my roommates. We left the apartment early and took a cab down to Parc Ciutadella and walked around for a bit before our dinner reservation at Llamber. My roommates met us there and we had a delicious and fun Tapas dinner. Vidal took care of the ordering and everything was delicious and it was fun interacting with my parents and roommates. After dinner we split ways. I tried to give my parents suggestions of things to do during the day and I would meet them periodically between classes when I had the chance and I think it all worked out in the end and they got to see a lot.
After my 9 am Monday I met with my parents in Barcelonetta and we walked down to the beach area. I showed them around and we stopped at a place on the beach for Paella. I had class at 2:35 again so we split ways and they went up to Montjuic and did Guell after. After class I met up with them at a restaurant called Boca Grande. We were eating with my parent’s friends Victor and Blanca and a translator they hired at the restaurant. Victor and Blanca speak minimal English and my parents speak almost no Spanish so it was an interesting dinner. The food was great and the company was even better. They were such nice people and it was fun to communicate with them and use some of my Spanish and learn from them and teach them some English. It was an awesome night! They invited me to Madrid to stay with them and I would love to but I’m not sure if I’ll have the time. We parted ways after dinner and I met up with my parents Tuesday morning.
I met them at their Hotel on Passeig de Gracia and we walked over to the Gaudi House. Basa Batillo was beautiful and gave me a further appreciation for Gaudi’s work after seeing Sagrada and Guell. It was like stepping into a Dr. Seuss book and into the guys imagination. He uses such tedious detail in every aspect of EVERYTHING from the ventilation to manipulating the light to the curvature of door handles. It was unbelievable. After we walked down to La Boqueria and walked down Las Rambla. We walked through the open market and ate at a tapas bar in the back corner. This was the first time I had eaten at a place in the market and it was awesome. We all loved it. The food was awesome and it felt like an authentic experience unique to where I was in the world. Perfect Barcelona experience.(I took Dylan back to the same spot). We walked through the Gothic District for about 20 minutes and then I had to get back to class. I ran with Josep after class and we talked about his upcoming marathon. It was nice to get some exercise after doing nothing but eating/drinking the last couple days! I had my last dinner with my parents at Tragaluz. We sat up in the rafters and had another delicious meal. I was truly spoiled by them and it was great spending time with them and sharing this city that I have a developed a love for. It brought up some feelings of homesickness when they left but I am so glad they could come out and spend time with me. They moved onto Seville and Madrid and I left for Budapest Wednesday morning as we did not have class.
Budapest:
Jeremy and I met Naamah and Will at the airport around 9? I really don’t remember. We flew Ryan Air into Budapest and took about a 30 minute cab ride from the airport to our Hostel, The Wombat. The drive in was the start of the adventure. It felt like a very different place from other European countries I had been to. Everything just seemed very Eastern from the buildings to the cars to the landscape. Our cab driver even looked like he’d seen too many winters in Russia.
We got to our hostel around 2. It was in the perfect location and the Hostel was great. It was very big, had a bar, great front desk that was happy to help, kids our age from all over, and had the perfect central location near bars, restaurants, and the river. We threw our bags in the room and headed to a restaurant across from The Wombat(which we would find out is pronounced the Vombat by locals). It was a little burger/pub type place. We asked the waitress what she recommended(which would be a trend for the weekend) and we ordered some apparently traditional Hungarian meal and got some local Hungarian beers to wash it down. The food was great and cheap and the beer was better so we stayed for another one. After lunch we met up with Joe and Witt who were staying in Budapest from Tues-Friday then heading to Vienna. We walked across the main bridge to Budda(we were staying in Pest) and up to the Palace on top. We tried some hot Hungarian wine and enjoyed the views of the city. The palace on top was immense and beautiful and we learned it was built a few hundred years ago and destroyed and rebuilt 5 times through Buddapest’s difficult history. The sun started to dwindle and we walked back to our Hostel and did some shopping for toiletries. We got ready for dinner and headed out to a place the Hostel recommended that was alright. After dinner we went to a bar built into the ruins of a few old buildings. A few travelers bought up some old abandoned half destroyed buildings and transformed them into massive bars and the bars became immensely popular and then others followed and these Ruin Bars were all over Budapest, mostly in our area. They were crazy awesome and it was like exploring an old mansion littered with bars in each room walking around in there. We explored the bar and then got a hookah and a table downstairs and hung out for a while. There was a lady walking around selling giant carrots and Will gladly bought one. We asked her why she was selling carrots in a bar and she replied “I have no fucking clue, it’s so random”. Random was definitely a good word to describe what we did in Budapest but awesome as well. On our way home from the bar Joe Will and I saw signs for a taco place so we wandered in there and had some munchies. At the Hostel there were still some people hanging out at the bar so Will and I challenged a couple Germans to a game of pool and we crushed them and went to bed victorious.
Thursday started out around 11. Will and I went on a free walking tour that you pay for in optional tips at the end. Our guide was Szuszi and she was very nice and happy to answer questions. We walked from the nearby cathedral across the river to the palace we were at the night before and over to another church and monument called the Fishermen’s Bastion. We got a lot of great information from Szuszi about Hungary and Budapest. She was just one of the very friendly locals we got to talk to throughout our stay. Some cool stuff we learned was that 2 million of total 10 million Hungarians live in Budapest with the second largest city being somewhere around 50,000, Hungarian is the second hardest language in the world to learn(thankfully pretty much everyone we came across spoke English), and Hungary had been tossed around by the Ottoman Empire, the Nazis, and the USSR. So the tour was enjoyable and informative and after we walked back across the river and got a quick lunch. We went back to the room and napped before going out to dinner. We went to a nice restaurant called Zeller Bistro that sourced all of their ingredients including homemade wine from their local farm and their menu changed weekly based on freshness and availability. The wait staff was extremely welcoming and we pretty much asked them what they recommend we eat and drink and the dinner was extremely tasty and turned out to be really cheap. After dinner we went to another Ruin bar and got a table in the back of the place. We played some bubble hockey and just hung out. After we went to a more club type place that was in run down basement playing some crazy fast Zoolander brainwash esque music. It was bizarre and impossible to dance to but an experience and we left there after a short time.
Friday morning Joe and Witt left for Vienna and Will Naamah Jeremy and I went to a “trap” house. We got locked in some mummy/Egyptian themed room and we had to find clues and solve hidden puzzles and escape. It was another really weird and random thing to do but we saw it online and said why not give it a try. It turned out to be really fun and creepy at points when it had us crawling through dark hidden passages. After we got lunch and then met at the train station to meet with our caving group. We took a few forms of public transportation to the outskirts of the city where these caves were located. First we were on a trolley and then took a bus attached to electrical wires hanging over the street(like it was on a track) and then finally a separate bus that drove us out into the country. We went into the caving with limited knowledge and more or less expecting a leisurely stroll through some caverns. We realized there was more in store for us when they had us suiting up in full body jump suits with some padding and putting on helmets with built in headlights. We headed to the caves with about 8 other people and our badass guide. We started climbing down about a 20 foot latter into the system and then weaving up down around under and through little holes. We had to army crawl through a good portion of the cave and squeeze through tiny holes that didn’t look like we could fit through. It was another random yet awesome experience. It was one of the coolest and most unique things I’ve ever done. We got to have 10 minutes in complete darkness which was an indescribable sensation and were crawling around 50 feet underground for about 3 hours. It was such an unexpected surprise and we all loved it after getting over some initial fears. After we got out we went to dinner at a Bistro where we showed up an hour early for our reservation but they gladly took us and moved some tables around. We did the usual “what do you recommend?” thing because we really had no knowledge about Hungarian food. Again the food and people were great! After dinner we went back to the bar with the Tacos that we had Wednesday night and met up with some kids studying abroad in France that were on our caving excursion. I talked to the bartender for a while and got his views on the Ukrainian conflict and his views on Hungary’s current government. He was happy to talk and I gathered he was leaning more towards Eastern influence in Ukraine and Hungary and emphasized the amount of corruption in his own government. We hopped back to the ruin bar we were at the night before and after a fun night said goodbye to our new friends who were leaving in the morning.
Saturday started out a shooting range about a 20 minute cab ride from Budapest. We booked a time slot at this place run by ex-police and ex-military dudes who had a bunch of automatic and semi-automatic pistols and assault rifles. They gave us a brief intro and each of the workers had a pistol on their hip, an extra clip of ammo, and a sizeable knife. We started with by shooting 6 different pistols from a glock to the massive desert eagle. We moved into a different room to shoot the assault rifles. M4, G36, AK47 were on the list as well as a 12 gauge shotgun. It was a helluva time and definitely another memorable experience in Budapest. After a nap we walked through the city to Hero’s Square which was absolutely amazing and beyond there to a giant Geo-thermal spring fed bath spa. There were 40 different kinds of hot tub/baths inside the building and 2 giant outdoor “pools” all fed by mineral rich naturally heated water located in pools beneath the city. Apparently there are positive health benefits from the water and there were people ranging from American tourists like us to local kids to the older locals taking their daily soak. It was another completely unique experience and super fun and relaxing. Each pool had different jets and one had a whirlpool we spent a good amount of time messing around in. There were also saunas and steam rooms inside that we tried out. After the baths we went to another building in the massive complex and got a foot-fish-massage. They have you put your feet in a fish tank filled with these little Turkish fish that eat the dead skin and bacteria off of your feet. It tickled so much at first it was hard to keep my feet in the water. We laughed and were kind of baffled about what we were doing but it was so cool and it felt great afterwards. When we got back to the Hostel I went for a run and the entire city was lit up. I ran north to another bridge crossed into Budda and came back down to the main bridge near our Hostel so I was able to see pretty much the entire city from both sides of the river lit up and it was beautiful and the weather was perfect. One of the most enjoyable runs I’ve ever been on, the entire time I was in awe at how pretty the city was and I didn’t want it to end. That night we got a quick dinner at a take-out place and Will and I went to the bar in the Wombat for a little while and played some pool but got to bed early.
Our last day in Budapest Will and I walked to the House of Terror Museum and Naamah and Jeremy walked around a different part of the city. This museum is definitely my favorite that I have been to in Europe so far. I left with more knowledge about the countries difficult history than I thought was possible. It was a moving and educational museum. The building where the museum itself was located was the old HQ for the Arrow Cross(Nazi Party) who persecuted threats to them and killed them in the basement and then was later the HQ for the communist party controlled by the USSR who imprisoned and killed people in the basement as well. The museum went through the WWII to the fall of the USSR history of Hungary. The Nazis took over the country in the early 40s and started by eliminating and sending Jews and dissenters to concentration camps or killing them in the streets. Then when the Nazis lost WWII the USSR “liberated” the country and established a puppet communist government in Hungary. Some of the same people who were sent to concentration camps and got to return home after WWII were then rounded up and sent to suffer in Gulags in Siberia. It was shocking to learn how harsh the country’s history was just in the last 60 years. I really did not have a good grasp of the atrocities the USSR was committing and committed up until its fall in 1991 against innocent people and I had no idea just how many lives they destroyed until after seeing this museum. The museum leads you into the basement for the final part. This is where executions took place and prisoners were held. We got to walk through the old prisons with horrible living conditions(just a wood plank and concrete walls) where people were kept for months and tortured and you could see the scratch marks and dents left by prisoners banging on the doors for help. It was a moving memorial and great museum that accepts Hungary’s past and aims to educate about it. After the museum we walked to a memorial for people killed during WWII by the Nazis. There were about 40 pairs of metal shoes lined up on the edge of the river as a memorial for people who were told to take off their shoes and then face the river and were shot in the back and their bodies fell into the water. It was eerie but beautiful in a way with the shoes covered in flowers and surrounded by people reflecting on their significance. We eventually met back up at the Hostel and headed to the airport to end our adventure in Budapest. It was truly an ADVENTURE and an amazing trip. I went in with no expectations and was blown away! We did so many random, unique, and amazing things. I learned so much and had so many new experiences and got to talk to so many interesting people who have led such different lives than my own. Traveling has given me an unimaginable appreciation for my own country and the life I was lucky enough to be born into. My own problems and those of the US seem so small and insignificant when compared to the hardships the rest of the world is going through.
When I landed back home in BCN Dylan had already been here since 8 am. I met up with him in Gracia where he was staying at the Sant Jordi hostel from Sun-Wed and showed him the metro and we went back to my apartment. I gave him the tour and we went to a nearby burger place. After we came back here to chill and talk. It was so great having a friend here and almost surreal when I met up with him on a random street across the world in Barcelona, just awesome! I knew it was going to be a great week and I was pumped to share the city and what I knew with an old friend. Dylan headed back around 12 and I had to study and prepare for a project the next day.
After class Monday morning I met with Dylan at what would be our “usual spot” in Placa Catalunya. We walked down Las Rambla and into La Boqueria. I took him to the same spot I took my parents for tapas. We had beers and a tasty meal and after walked around the Gothic District and to the Barcelona Cathedral and onto the roof. We took in the sights some and swapped stories about our semesters. We walked back through Placa Catalunya and got coffee at Farggi. I had to go back to class and Dylan did his own thing for the afternoon at Guell. We met at my apartment after class and I cooked some dinner and got some studying in for a midterm on Tuesday. The week Dylan came I had a presentation and 2 midterms so I ended up being busy every hour of every day but it was a great week. We went down to Oriols for a bit and then went down to the Room at the beach and then to Opium. Dylan ended up seeing a couple kids from his college at the bar and I thought it was crazy he’s here for a day and has seen more people from home than I have in almost 3 months. Me and Dylan got split up from my roommates and the friends Zach had visiting for the week so we went out on the beach after breaking it down on the dance floor and chilled for a little and headed back.
Tuesday Dylan came to the apartment after a late start and he was craving burritos for some reason so he found a place called Che’s nearby where we went for lunch. It was great having him here because he was doing his own research for places to go in the city and he ended up showing me a lot of new places and exposing me to more of Gracia than I ever knew about which is a great little neighborhood I will be taking more advantage of. Tuesday morning pretty much only consisted of burritos. After class we did Montjuic. We started in Placa Espanya and walked by the palace that Dylan was in absolute awe of. We walked up to the castle at the top which inspired a long in depth Game of Thrones discussion. From there we walked down to the beach and got Paella at Salamanca. I ordered some pescadito fritos that Dylan wasn’t crazy about and the meal was alright. I wanted to do my best to have him experience everything I thought was worth-while and unique in Barcelona. We went straight from dinner to a friend’s apartment and played some poker. We were both playing well but I had a midterm the next day and the kids wanted to play a tournament so I got screwed and had to dip out early. Dylan stayed behind and ended up taking second.
I slept through my first class on Wednesday because I needed to get some much coveted sleep sometime! We went to Sagrada Familia and I loved it just as much the second time I went in. You are absolutely overwhelmed with feelings of peace and awe when you step inside. Dylan really appreciated it after seeing the Gaudi House and Guell which let him appreciate the master Gaudi was. I had to head out early to get some studying in and Dylan finished up his tour and did some more exploring after. Wednesday night was the FCB Man City game. All of us met up on Sarria at 7 and got out of the apartment as fast as we could to get down to George Payne’s to watch the game. Barca won 2-1 and it was a good time watching and cheering in the bar especially with all the hype around the game. After Payne’s we went to Ovella Negra where me and Dylan foolishly challenged some Spanish dudes in a game of foosball. These guys were insanely good, insanely. We had 12 balls to play with and they put up 11 on us and Dylan somehow scored one late in the game. They had crazy handling skills and seemed to know what they were doing in a game that I thought had very little skill/strategy behind it. After that we went to HotBar and Sutton across the street. Dylan and I ended up getting separated and he wound up leaving a lot earlier than I did without telling me so when I went to leave with my roommates and noticed he was gone and not answering his phone I got really worried. I hoped he would answer in the morning or that he was asleep at his Hostel that he said he might stay at or he was thinking of coming back and staying on our couch. I got up at around 9 and tried calling him and texting him and he wasn’t answering. I was freaking out thinking he got kidnapped or died and what I was going to tell the police and worse mine and his parents. I decided before I would file him missing I would check his hostel. I had sprinted about halfway down to the Metro station and Dylan called me all cheery saying he was walking to my apartment. Apparently his phone died and just neglected to tell me he was leaving early and staying at his hostel. Scary shit. I was glad he was alive.
After getting no sleep on Wednesday we went down to the Picasso museum which was OK. We both agreed we liked his earlier stuff but his freaky abstract stuff was sometimes just too much. The museum was informative but had limited works. I left for class and Dylan went off on his own. We met back at my apartment and got pizzas from a place downstairs for dinner. We went to Cyrano Thursday night for about 3 hours and had a great time hanging out and bullshitting. After we went to the club Bling Bling across the street and laid down the boogy on the dance floor. One of my teachers was at Bling Bling and it was a very strange and uncomfortable experience. We got back around 4 and just stayed up in the kitchen until 6 singing Billy Joel and hanging out.
Friday morning Me Dylan and Jeremy got up around 12 and went down to the water to eat at Bo Da B. It was much needed and we sat by the water while we ate. After we met up with the rest of the gang and headed out to Labyrinth Park. This is my favorite park I have been to so far here. It was really isolated and off the beaten path yet massive. It was a lot woodsier than any of the other parks and more private. We had beautiful weather and got to walk among the fountains and the large labyrinth constructed from hedges in the park’s center. After the park we took the metro to Gracia where Dylan showed up around his stomping grounds. We went to an awesome Gelato place called Gelaterria Cafeteria and ate in a square in the homely neighborhood. Afterwards we walked through the local market and picked up some burgers and a loaf of bread. We took a cab home; Dylan cooked me and him dinner, threw on a movie and we all took naps before going out. Friday night Will Jeremy Dylan and I decided we had been to enough clubs and would just bar hop. We pregamed in the apartment for a while and played some games and then went down to D’Aribou. We stopped at Soda Bus, a trendy place where you get a sit down table, for gin and tonics and then to Chupitos so Dylan could try some absinthe, and then Taverna next door before heading down to the beach. We went to a hookah bar and met a group of Lybian rebels who had fought for the democratization of their country and then later walked out on the beach for a while. We got back to the apartment and found Max cooking bacon in the dark and hung out for a little longer before heading to bed.
Dylan’s last day in Barcelona me him and Jeremy met Will down in Parc Ciutadella. We got food at a gross all you can Japanese buffet. Very bad. The weather was great though and we chilled on the grass watching the passerby’s and their dogs. We got to pet some guys pet pig and this pair of awesome Shibas. It was a beautiful day to be outside so we walked around the park some more and then took the metro up to Tibidabo. From the metro we took the scam tram, a 4 euro trolly that takes you about 5 blocks, to a funicular that takes you to the top. The funicular ride was fun and the top of Tibidabo was beautiful. We had a great day enjoying the city and the outdoors. Me and Dylan parted ways with Jeremy and Will and went back to the palace at the base of Montjuic to watch the fountain show. The fountains were beautiful and I’m glad I made it out there I probably wouldn’t have if Dylan wasn’t here. We enjoyed them from a distance and then walked around to find a restaurant to eat at. We found a nice reasonable place and had our last supper. We came back from dinner feeling wiped out and took naps. When we woke up we weren’t sure we wanted to go out and decided just to hang in our last night and Dylan had to be up around 6 to catch his flight. Vidal had some friends over and after hanging out with them and finding out Two Door Cinema Club was playing at Razz Matazz. We got convinced it was going to be awesome so we changed plans and headed to Oriols and then Razz Matazz. This club had a line to get inside like you see in movies. It was crazy huge. They had 2 terraces on the roof and 5 different clubs all in one huge warehouse. We wandered around asking where we could see the band we wanted to see but never actually found them. It was still a fun night and fun experience just being at that huge club. Later we found out only one member was actually there and he was more or less just DJing. Anyways we headed back and said goodbye and went to bed. Dylan left around 6 and made it back to the US safe and sound. Having him was AWESOME. It was such a fun, sleep deprived, and action packed week. We went non-stop and made some unforgettable memories. I’m so glad he decided to make the journey out here and I know he was glad he did it too. Hopefully we will have more travelling adventures in the future.
Sunday I spent recovering from the last 2 weeks of non-stop fun from Paris to Budapest to Barcelona with Dylan. I took a walk to Parc Guell by myself around 6 and watched the sunset and the shadows move across the city. Sunday was about a 70 degree day so it was really pleasant and a good time to clear my head.
Monday was back to reality. Same old same old. After class I walked through Gracia and went back to the market Dylan took me to, to pick up some groceries. After I went for a run, the first in about 8 days in an effort to work off all the eating and drinking. Max’s stepmom Meriam was visiting and she offered to take us(roommates) out to dinner. We went to a nice place on Passeig de Gracia and she was a really nice and easing going woman. She shared some business and life advice with us and it was a great dinner.
Tuesday after class running club was canceled because Josep had run the marathon the weekend prior but we decided to meet up anyway and do our own route. The weather continued to be awesome and it was another good run down by the beach. After I decided to book a trip for this weekend because IES gave us Thursday off and I did not want to waste my last opportunity to travel in Europe. Really no one was available to travel with me so I decided to do my own thing and book a trip to Switzerland. I leave Thursday morning and should be an adventure and a good personal experience I am looking forward to.
Today after class I came home and finished this giant blog and now I am going to go pack and possibly go out for a few hours.
I’m still trying to wrap my head around the last few weeks let alone the last 3 months. I can’t believe how close I am to the end of all this and at the same time I can’t believe how much I have actually experienced and done. It’s all been better than perfect and I’m excited for the remaining month I have here!
Joe Fernandez 
Joe, I want to be you! 🙂
Love you,
Dad
Don’t have much time to comment, but I am SO HAPPY you posted again so I could experience with you all your adventures. You really do make these things come alive with all the descriptions and expressions. Thanks Joe, it is really fun to read all of these, Reminds me how much I love to travel and see new places. Keep it coming and good luck going forward. Love ya