Hi to all! Wow,,first of all let me just say i've got to get back on track with blogging not just for your sake but for my sake as well. 5 days is a long time..and i've been wanting to write so bad that i have a list here at my desk in front of me from days ago ..in which i had dates or moments that i MUST blog to you about! So don't worry..they are coming..i just need to get the time to do it! I just returned from Barcelona tonight, and it's midnite now..12:01..so i'll try to start filling you in on the trip, and then if i get to sleeping and need to go to bed, i'll continue with where i left off in the morning! I must say though, it is so beautiful there,,i just absolutely LOVED it!! and definitely would love to go back!
We left on Friday morning around 10 am...and it was a group of about 35 people...about 15 girls from the University Navarra (my college) and then about 17 guys and 4 girls from the San Sebastian campus (studying engineering). It was a blast getting to know these people, and i met some Great, amazing new friends. It was so great for me! It was about a 5.5 hour bus ride, but i just LOVEd looking out the window, listening to music, and just thinking. This weekend really was awesome for the way that it provided me with time to think about my life, what i' have and continue to be learning, what has changed about me, what remains the same, what i'm thankful for, what i'm going to change in my life, etc. It was just really awesome :) Upon arrival, we unloaded our stuff off at our hostel, which was right off of the main drag in Barcelona (las Ramblas is this main drag street with awesome stores, mercados, interesting people, and also the most dangerous place to get stuff stolen), but anway,,,it was beautiful. And i was pumped b/c our hostel accomodations where wonderful..much better than what Kristen and I had had in Paris, (granted little do i know what this room cost since i just payed for the trip a fixed price), but anyway the room was quaint, and i was one of 10 of my old and new girlfriends on the trip. The boys had to stay in a different hostel (school rules). Anyhow, then we went on a walk down the main drag of Las Ramblas, explored a market, and walked down to the port where all of the boats where docked (this is the port to the Mediterranean Sea). (east side hehe). Anyhow, we just continued to walk around, and then wound up at a bar to eat potato chips and olives and drink (i drank water), but it was weired b/c this bar had closed their kitchen and it was only 9pm,,but that's early for Spain, so we then went to another bar after this since we all were hungry and wanted more food! It was fun b/c it was the majority of our large group, and we ordered 2 bottles of wine (the red wine was so good...better than what i drank in Olite),,,which i still have to tell ou about ..i took that trip last weekend hehe), and then others drank beer. However, i was so proud of myself b/c guess what i ate?...octopus and calamari! I really preferred the calamari, b/c the octopus was more squishy when i was chewing it hehe! It did have an alright flavor tho, and i just had to try it b/c i knew this bar is known for the seafood, b/c we are right on the Mediterranean, and when we walked in there was octopus sitting on the counter..with their tentacles, etc..i know it sounds gross, but this bar was so cool! I'm so proud i just did it..and to be honest, i wasn't afraid and i liked it! But that's another cool thing that's changed...the fact that i will try anything!!!--well PRACTICALLY anything hehe! Then me, Kristen, Megan, and Lise went to a McDonalds and bought icecream heehe..yes i know..i'm looking down guiltily as i write this..but we just felt like we needed it since we had the opportunity hehe! it was great fun! We all slept awesome that night. I"m telling you..i LOVED my bed there! I could have slept for 10 + hours in this bed..i was on the top bunk, but i had this cozy little light up there, and the mattress was more comfortable than what i have here,,(however it is very nice to be back to Julia's cooking and to see her !!).
Saturday morning, we had planned who would wake up in order to shower,,,so we had this domino affect that worked really awesome since there was only 2 showers, however i was really impressed with the bathrooms as well. They were clean, didn't smell, and it was just fun being with all my girlfriends. I felt like i was back in the dorms,,only with ALL of my best friends that i would want to be there (b/c that's what these girls have become here..we are sisters forever),,and it's just so fun meeting new ones too! Anyway, then we went to breakfast, and i'm teling you, i was just like a kid in a candy store. There was 3 kinds of cereal we could pick from (coco krispies, corn flakes (which i eat here every single day ugh..), but i love them now just cuz i'm thankful to get cereal in general,), and then this banana/nut ceral. Then there was juice, cold milk, toast and toasting makers, free oranges and apples, galletas (my new absolute FAVORITE COOKIES.) God you guys...this is off on a tangent but they are SO incredibly awesome..there's nothing to them..there just these plain think cookie-like crisps that have a honey flavor, but i'm telling you i eat them everyday. I don't think there's too many calories..hehe. but even if there is i don't care b/c i have never had anything like them, and then there was magdalenas (a muffin-type of thing) that is also SO good!!). Then, there was an open bar/cafe and i could order any hot drink i wanted, tea, cafe con leche, or whatever, so i always got cafe con leche (coffe with milk) since that is the typical type here in Spain. I think we all just went absolutely crazy with the food..even though it was your typicall continental breakfast, we all felt like we have been on survivor just WANTING these food..and being able to take and eat as much as you want!!!! i probably sound like such a little fatty hehe but seriously, i don't get to help mself to more breakfast when i'm here in pamplona since i'm served it and it's more normal to eat very small for breakfast ! (well brkfast is my favorite meal)! So no lie,,my friends were eating like 3 or 4 pieces of toast, we had strawberry marmelada, cafe con leche etc. i had two bowls of coco krispies and thought i'd died and gone to heaven hehe! ok..i'll move on..but you get the drift..the breakfast's we absolutely LIVED for!!!!! And it was in this huge room that looked out over the streets of Barcelona all lined with windows, so it was light and gorgeous in this room!
Then, we would meet the boys in la plaza catalana and then move on from there. It was this gorgeous, huge plaza that was filled with places to sit around it made of stone, many many many birds (often times we'd scream b/c a little kid would run into their flock on the ground and then they'd all take off towards us!!!), and two gorgeous fountains. The sun was so warm and the sky was so blue on sat..i couldn't believe the difference in weather between pamplona and Barc. it was like 60 or 65 on Sat..so beautiful. We had a tour of the Barrio Gotico by an Italian woman (friend of one of our leaders on the trip), and so she showed us this neighborhood. It was beautiful, and i took tons of amazing pictures of the thin streets lined with tall apartments in these old buildings with wrought-iron little decks off of them, filled with green plants and hues of red, purple, and yellow flowers peaking through. I seriously felt like i was walking right within a movie..far far away, that i'd always dreamed of being in. And it was real, i was alive, smelling, seeing, hearing, and feeling the moment. God,,this was my WHOLE weekend in Barcelona guys, and i'm teling you,,,amazing. I really needed this b/c i lost touch with myself for the past 2 weeks, and this trip was exactly what i needed. I found myself again, i got over a letdown with a boy, and really just returned to finding "lauren" which was SO awesome :) I just can't explain to you how awesome it was..and my understanding and rationalizing of things. i mean u just have this amazing time to think to yourself, to process things, to talk, to listen, to learn, ...it's incredible. I know who i am, and the neat thing is that no matter what happens to me, what i have to go through, or what i learn or see or experience, their are parts of me that will always be 'me' and it just feels so secure/safe & nice/good hehe to have that feeling. It's hard to explain to you, but i hope you can kindof understand. and then at the same time, while i'm experiencing these amazing trips, views, tours, etc, they are influencing who i am as well..it's such an experience. man...oh man...
One of the group leaders on the trip , Maite, became an awesome new friend to me! She is SO cool, and so much fun to be around. she's from Spain, and she works at the Univerisy of Navarra in the foriegn exchange student office, but she's 23 so we are all close in age, and DEF more like friends. The group was given some free time in the afternoon, so first we went down to the port with some of the other girls to lay in the sun, and then we split up, and Maite and i went back to las Ramblas, where we bought some gorgeous earrings made by this lady from Barcelona (SO awesome can't wait to show you!), and several rings. It was like this big craft-type thing,,but differnt. There was everything from flowers and food to jewelry, paintings, books, just so much. Megan was with us too :) Then we went and had some lunch, and i bought some awesome postcards i will be mailing to some of you hehe!! Julia was so awesome and packed me a tortilla de patata bocadillo large enough to basically last 3 meals haha (it was so big i almost couldn't fit it in my backpack in the beginning haha!), So i didn't have to buy lunch until today (sunday). Then we walked to this park, and took pictures, stuck our faces into the sun (mom just like u and i do !! and so for this i missed you!), and then walked back to plaza castillo. At four we met and then there was 3 different options of activities that the group could choose. I went to see la SAgrada Familia, this huge gorgeous church designed by Gaudi, the famous architect from Barcelona Spain. Barcelona is basically 'the home' of his work, so everything has this really eccletic, dreamy, sometime creepy-twisted look to it. Then on another hand some things are just absolutely gorgeous: mosaic-looking alot. The other options were to visit la casa mila (La pedrera): which is like an apartmente building he designed, or to el museu d'art contemporani de barcelona. I ended up seeing both the church (only the outside since the inside was gonna close in 30 min so we didn't want to pay for only short time), and then i paid to see la casa mila. They were both really interesting to see. I was bummed b/c my camera battery died for the house/apt tour, but my girlfriends promised they'd share with me. We got to even climb up to the roof of this place and look out over the city while the sun was setting. i"m telling you, i could describe this setting in another 2000 words to you, but i wont. but just know...it was awesome/incredible.
After this, some of the girls went back to the hostel to sleep b/4 supper b/c they were going to go out all night to party, but me and kristen, lise and megan went back to las ramblas. We went to a carrefour express (like a walmart sort of thing) to buy some snacks since it was only 7pm and we were hungy and knew we'd have to wait till about 10pm to eat b/c we were going to be meeting up with the group again. So we did this (bought diet coke, galletas, chocolate, fruit, and bread) and then went to a starbucks to sit since we were tired! Megan was able to buy her frappacino since she hadn't had one since! I had my coffee in paris, so i was alright! Then i was pumped b/c we quick ran in to H&M b/4 meeting in la plaza cataluna b/c i wanted to buy something for my hair b/c my new friend from Switzerland was going to teach me this gorgeous new way to fix my long hair (which she did today and i can't wait to show you!!), but i ended up finding my fave pair of skinny jeans that i found in SanSebastian. I"m telling u they are the best, so cute, and Pamplona doesn't have any. I wanted to buy another pair b/4 coming home hehe..so i was successful with that! i snatched them esp since they were the last in my size! and only 18 E! that's good for new and they will last me for years!
We all met then after and took the subway to this darker, scarrier part of town, but to this really neat , huge bar where we ordered pitchers of beer, and i had a pitcher of sangria with my 4 friends around me. Then we ordered food..it was like sandwiches with jamon, queso, and stuff like this..but guet this.. so me and the several ppl around me ended up ordering last, and they ran out of bread :( That sucked!!!! b/c i was starving and wanted some real food..but all we could order was patatas fritas! (french fries). so we did,,and they were greasy and good..but i felt so bad eating like that!---granted i hadn't eaten any for a long time..but still..it's like ive cleansed myself from them...so i didn't feel the greatest after. I did have a blast though talking and laughing with all the ppl here..we were at this long table. Then lise and i left b/4 all of them left to go party all night. I oculd have, but they were gonna stay out till 6am (and they did b/c they came into the room at 530 am this morning when i was sleeping n woke me up hehe!), and i just didn't want to have to cme back to hostel by myself earlier, so lise and i left but we took a little side turn b/4 we got back..i'll just say we found some dessert hehe (but it's a secret so we don't seem like little fatties!! ) I"m running tomorrow..or gonna try hehe!)
We got to sleep by 2 or 230am..so that was good.
Well this is only Sat, and Sunday (today in Barcelona) was even better, but it's 12:56, and i've just spent 56 minutes typing, so i must get to bed since i have 830 am class tomorrow :( however this is TO BE CONTINUED tomorrow and u will hear all about Sunday.
I wil be doing a better job of blogging now,,so you will be hearing from me! I have SO SO SO SO SO SO much to tell..b/c life is just so interesting here!
oh,,my nickname here i have to tell you is
"Lorena Morena" everyone call's me this..it's really kindof fun!
and "Conquistadora" this is b/c of the boys that have been interested..i'll have to fill u in on this tomorrow..but we just can't figure it out! They are lining up,,and my girlfriends bother me and say what is your secret tell us..etc etc..but i just don't know..but anyway i have some funny stories i will have to tell you definitely!
Until tomorrow,
All my love
Lorena Morena
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