Because I am so long winded and needed an extra post...

We left Thursday night and got in very late, around 2 AM, on Friday morning. Our hostel had sent us information about how to get there by the metro, which we didn't even consider would have stopped running by that time. Seriously, we did no planning before the trip, you thought I was kidding. We went to the information desk, kept hearing people talk about the "Aerobus," and were told to take a night bus. After walking outside, we couldn't locate any bus but somehow stumbled upon the Aerobus so we hopped on and found our way to the hostel. I've never stayed in a hostel before, but this hostel was AMAZING by any standards. We had our own room, and it was like we were at summer camp with a bunk bed! After taking some pictures of the room, some funny mistranslated signs and "toilet humor"for us right in front of the bathroom, we went straight to sleep.

Friday was our day filled with Gaudi. Noah, a friend from high school, studied abroad in Barcelona last semester and gave me some very helpful guidance of what to do while there. Gaudi was, of course, the most important part of the list (you know, minus the food). Since the Barcelona metro system on paper looks like the most difficult thing ever, we decided to see the Gaudi buildings because they were generally on the same line. After a ton of help and information we got at the front desk from Matteo...we gave him that name not sure what it actually was though, we left to experience the greatness that is Barcelona. Our first stop, La Sagrada Familia.

          It goes without saying that La Sagrada Familia is one of the most ornate, extravagant, and gorgeous churches that has ever existed. It is awe-inspiring and even with all the construction was by far my favorite place I visited while in Barcelona. From the doors, to the nativity scene on the exterior, to the stained glass windows, La Sagrada Familia has such amazing detail and variation in every part of the building. While Gaudi died before his plan for the church could come to full glory, everything holds very  true to his original vision. You better believe I will be visiting Barcelona around 2030, when they expect it to be completely finished.

Details of La Sagrada Familia

Nativity Scene on La Sagrada Familia

          When we bought our entrance fee to La Sagrada Familia, we also bought a pass to Gaudi's home in Parc Guell, which he designed (both the home and the park). The park is so gorgeous with lots of mosaics everywhere, which I absolutely love! The two building that are at the very entrance of the park actually look just like gingerbread houses thus confirming my first thought that Gaudi would have made a mean gingerbread house! The house was interesting, but I could tell I was far more interested than my roommate so we didn't spend much time there. BUT, as we were sitting outside planning what to do next we saw Sophia Bush and Austin Nichols from One Tree Hill waiting to enter the house!!!! Like I said before, we had the luckiest weekend EVER. We stopped them and took a picture with them before intensely freaking out. Seriously, meeting celebrities was spending a weekend in another country..who does that happen to? Once we composed ourselves, we headed back to see the next Gaudi building, La Pedrera.

Ellyn and I posing with Sophia Bush and Austin Nichols
from One Tree Hill

          La Pedrera looks just like an average building from the outside, albeit cooler looking than most, but nothing Gaudi did was average. We were pretty exhausted at this point, so we quickly went through the apartment and didn't spend any time looking through the Gaudi exhibit things inside but did spend a good deal of time on top of the building. Barcelona loves it's rooftop views, almost every place has them (including our hostel). Again, the rooftop was amazing because Gaudi designed it. Pictures are the best way to show what it was like, considering I could not even describe what was up there, so I'm not even going to try to describe it. I'll just show you. 

                

                 



          Another amazing Gaudi building is Casa Batllo, but as poor college kids my roommate and I couldn't seem to bring ourselves to pay the 15 euros to enter (mostly because we spent a lot on other Gaudi things that day). We did see the outside and some pictures of the inside, which did look incredible. Hey, I guess it just gives me ANOTHER reason to head back to Barcelona.

          Ellyn and I had a great dinner at Les Quinze Nits, recommended by Noah as "cheap" with "great Sangria" so an obvious choice for us. We ordered paella and sangria, staples of Spanish food, and were introduced to patatas bravas, a fantastic dish that I am now obsessed with. The food was absolutely amazing, and as Noah said, cheap. Our meal was too much to finish, and it only cost us 13 euro (a STEAL in Europe!) Pictures are up of it in the previous post.

Saturday was a bit less eventful considering we had banged out the major attractions the first day. Our first stop was the official Cathedral of Barcelona (La Sagrada Familia is not actually the Cathedral of Barcelona, interestingly enough). It was nice but far less amazing than La Sagrada Familia. It did have a great deal of ornamentation dedicated to saints, while La Sagrada Familia actually had none. Like I said before, Barcelona loves it's rooftop views, so we were able to take an elevator up to the roof for another view of the city. 

  

            

         Cathedral of Barcelona

Atop the Cathedral
of Barcelona

          As we left the Cathedral we became more aware of the numerous tents lined up in front of the Cathedral, thinking before that they were just a market set up on Saturday. After looking more into it, we realized we had stumbled upon a food festival that just so happened to be that weekend. It had lots of free samples and great deals on tapas and wine. We bought a pass and got two tapas and cava (sparking wine) for 6 euros! Another steal! 

Tent at the food festival

          After the cathedral, we ventured to La Iglesia de Santa Maria del Mar. I believe something important was happening that day because the doors were closed, and no one was allowed inside. It was unfortunate but yet another reason to go back ;)  We then strolled down the streets of Las Ramblas and entered La Boqueria, a market that has just about any type of food you could ever want. The bright colors of the fruits, vegetables, peppers, and candy could lift anyone's mood. I know it lifted mine, as I was getting quite tired by this time. It was so interesting to just look around and get lost in the aisles of various types of food.

         After the long day, we headed to dinner at Taller Tapas because we couldn't imagine going to Barcelona and missing out on the tapas. We ordered patatas bravas again along with a few other things, including fried artichokes (fantastic). As we were sitting at our table, a parade happened to pass by us! We weren't expecting it at all but started hearing the band and saw it come right past us. Like I said before, somehow our luck was amazing that weekend. Although we didn't get back from dinner the night before until around 11:45 (I really don't know how that happened), we got back that night much earlier and met some people from our hostel.

The parade passing our restaurant

         We realized we needed to check out the famous Barcelona night life so decided on going to Razzmattaz, a discotec recommended by friends in Rome who went to Barcelona a few weeks before us. We didn't leave the hostel until 12:30 but that was apparently early by Barcelona standards! Definitely a fun night spent dancing the night away, which I actually had yet to do in Rome! I refused to check the time when I got back though since I knew that we were getting little to no sleep because of check out the next day.

Sunday we were up for our 10 AM check out. Our hostel let us keep our bags there for free, an added plus since we were planning to be charged for it! We had a lazy Sunday by any standard. After grabbing some coffee, we headed to Parc Guell to spend the day relaxing and having a little picnic. After lying in the grass of the Parc for hours and taking a little nap, we walked around for a bit. Parc Guell, designed by Gaudi, is huge. It's like a labyrinth. Maybe it was just me, but I couldn't seem to figure out any rhyme or reason to the set up of the park and seemed to go up down and all over the place and always end up someplace new. Whatever the case, it is a beautiful place! After a long day at the park, it was time to leave. We got our things and headed to the airport, very sad to say goodbye to Barcelona.

On the stairs at the entrance of Parc Guell

          As we waited for our plane, Ellyn and I couldn't stop our excitement about all the amazing things we experienced that weekend. We saw La Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell where we met celebrities, La Pedrera, the Cathedral of Barcelona and Iglesia de Santa Maria del Mar, witnessed a parade pass by our dinner table, got tapas and cava at a food festival, ate great dinners, and even squeezed in a little time in for some much needed Starbucks. It still amazes me how much we were able to do in that trip, and I can only hope the rest are even half as good as this one.

I feel like Gaudi would have made a mean gingerbread house - BARCELONA

I think my title just about sums up my weekend. Gaudi, lots and lots of Gaudi, and I loved every part of it!! I may not have been very many places in the world, but I have a feeling that Barcelona is going to stay near the very top of my list for awhile (Cinque Terre is up there with it). Barcelona is just filled with energy and excitement that can only really be experienced there, but I'll try to do some explaining of it.


Whether it was watching the street performers making human pyramids or my view from the top of Barcelona's Cathedral, I know I will cherish every moment I spent in that city. Barcelona has so much life just exuding from it's people, the art, the markets, and all the intricate, amazing buildings. I could not have asked for a better trip, which is pretty amazing considering I did almost no planning for it. 


Barcelona was my first trip outside of Italy and definitely a great first time leaving here. I did my traveling  with one of my roommates Ellyn, who I also went to Cinque Terre with, and had so much fun with her! At first I was a bit wary about the fact that I was traveling with only one other person, but it made going places and making plans so much easier.


Somehow we ended up with the greatest luck, ever. We stumbled upon finding a cheap way to the hostel (when our plan to use the metro did not work out), meeting celebrities, a food festival filled with everything from tapas to wine, and witnessed a parade pass by our dinner table. And you thought I was exaggerating about my lucky weekend! I could not have asked for a more perfect weekend and seriously think that all my trips from now on while probably pale in comparison to this one, but I don't even care! It was a spectacular weekend, and I know I will be visiting Barcelona again in my life.


For those of you who like to read my long drawn out explanation of my weekends, I will be updating my blog tomorrow with the extended version. So, be on the lookout! Just wanted to give you a little taste of my overall experience :)

In front of La Sagrada Familia

Parc Guell

  

Sangria  

Wine Tasting at Twenty

On Saturday, I took an awesome trip wine tasting about an hour outside of Rome. There was a breathtaking view of the vineyard and surrounding area, and I learned a lot more about wine. I even liked some of the red wine I drank, which I'm usually not a fan of - Pinot Noir is great. I still like all white wine, of course, and have learned that I am partial to white wine from oak barrels. 

Our Guide to the Wine Tasting.
We were given wine that was still fermenting!

Where the wine is bottled.

Each one of these will make 13, 000 bottles of wine.

The vineyard located near a volcanic area with nutrient rich soil.

The Grechetto grape used to make the
winery's award-winning Poggio della Costa
white wine.

Oak Barrels of wine. Each makes about 6,000
bottles.

All the wines we tasted!

Amalfi Coast - A weekend in Capri, Positano, and Pompeii

This weekend I had my SAI "all inclusive" trip to the Amalfi Coast. Weekend sum up: Friday traveling and eating Saturday BOAT TOUR of blue grotto!!!! Consisting of two hours on a boat, jumping off and swimming in Tyrrhenian Sea in clear blue water, and going into the Blue Grotto of Capri. Then, relaxing at the beach on the island of Positano. Sunday hitting up both Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii before heading back to Rome.
Now for the detailed version, for those of you who want to continue reading :)


Friday
     Like always, I woke up super early for our bus to leave for the Amalfi Coast. Got to the port at Naples just before lunchtime and took a ferry to Capri. Once we arrived, we headed straight to the hotel, individual villas just outside of Capri in the town Anacapri. Our hotel was a bit of a hike away from the town, but the uphill walk helped burn off all the calories from pasta and pizza ;) After getting our rooms and putting our things away, we headed to lunch at a pizzeria. I was classy and had beer (in a wine glass) with my lunch. Pizza was actually invented in Naples, so of course we got pizza. The lunch was awesome, and it ended with some yummy gelato. 
     When we finished, we went to take a bus to Capri. Something I learned this weekend about Italians in Capri/Naples area. They do what they want (maybe that's where I get it from? haha). But, apparently there are only three families that own the public transit lines and just decide when to have them run and when not to. So, we waited for about half an hour for the bus before one actually came. We did a walking tour of Capri and ended at a beautiful outlook of the water. There was a beach called Marina Piccola about a ten minute walk away. Apparently it is one of the most "beautiful beaches in the world." I wasn't that impressed. It was nice, but nothing special. But, maybe it's just me. Around 5 we headed back to our hotel to get ready for dinner. Since dinner was included, it was amazing. We had a legit five course meal with appetizers of calamari and bruschetta, a pasta dish and a rice dish, steak with fries, and this really tasty spongecake. Overall, a very good day.

View from overlook at Capri

Saturday
     By far my favorite day. Definitely in the running for best day of my semester SO FAR. I absolutely loved every minute of it. Right after getting all ready, we went straight to the port for our boat tour. Of course our bus didn't show up, so we had to take a bus to a cable car, but it wasn't that bad just a little annoying. We got to the port, and I was ready to go. I was super excited and got on the second boat that came to pick us up (I tried to get on the first but wasn't quick enough). 

Port of Capri

     The boat tour was incredible. For those of you who don't already know, I'm obsessed with boats. I never had been on one until Junior year of high school, but since then I've been hooked. Still trying to convince my dad to buy one, hint hint. I absolutely loved the boat ride though. We stopped at a grotto along the way to the Blue Grotto and got to jump in the water. It was crystal clear and, even though it was a bit cold, I could not have been happier. After a quick dip, we went back to our tour. Oh, and our boat almost capsized. We got caught in wakes from another bigger boat. I was being tossed from side to side, and was so afraid we were going to tip. Our Captain even said "Mayday" which is not something I ever want to hear again on a boat. Luckily he got us out of it unharmed. We then went to the Blue Grotto, which is a big attraction of Capri. It is a grotto that you have to take a small row boat to get into, and somehow the light comes into the grotto perfectly so that the water reflected is this amazing blue topaz color. Absolutely spectacular. The man rowing the boat even started signing in Italian; it was quite the experience. That ended our boat tour, and we were taken back to the port at Capri. All of this happened before 11:45! 

     We then took a ferry to another island off the coast called Positano. I loved it! We had the option of renting a boat and taking it out, which I really really wanted to do. But, it ended up getting super hectic and didn't work out. Instead, I spent the day relaxing on the beach. Oh yeah, don't forget it was OCTOBER 2nd. I love my life :) Spent the rest of the day there and headed back to Anacapri (again, the bus wasn't running so we had to take the cable car and another bus). I actually did not once see a bus for Anacapri while I was there. I was drained from the day so I passed out pretty soon after dinner!

Beach at Positano

Sunday
     It was a packed day. We got up early to head to Mt. Vesuvius. There was supposed to be an option between either Mt. Vesuvius or Pompeii, but plans changed so we were able to see both. The hike up Mt. Vesuvius was pretty quick, but I was super impressed at the size of it. I don't really know what I expected of Mt. Vesuvius, but it is HUGE. I was a little disappointed that I didn't see any lava spewing from below, but I guess it is a good thing. After Mt. Vesuvius we stopped for lunch before heading to Pompeii. Again, Naples = invention of pizza so we had pizza again, and this pizza was great! I still maintain that focaccia pizza is the best, but this may be a close second. We, unfortunately, didn't have much time at Pompeii due to the traffic and difficulty of getting to and from Vesuvius, but it was still awesome to experience. Our trip didn't include a tour guide, but luckily one of my friends has a handy Rick Steve's Guide to Italy which had a self-guided tour. Rick told us lots of handy information about Pompeii, and I learned a lot. Some fun facts: every day, the streets of Pompeii were flooded to clean it and had raised parts of the road which people could cross during the street flooding. The bakery of the Pompeii neighborhoods had an oven that looked a lot like the brick ovens that restaurants make pizza in. Again, it is super cool to see how much history Italy has!

Form of Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius in the background!

I am very glad to be home after a very long but definitely exciting weekend. I won't be traveling next weekend, so I'm glad to have a bit of a break from continuous GOING so that I can get some more experience of life in Rome.