Valencia and Barcelona

Barcelona game

Barcelona Stadium

Barcelona beach

The 1992 Olympics

Park Guell

Valencia aquarium

Fallas sculpture

Last week our group went to Valencia and Barcelona. We only stayed in Valencia for two nights, but we were there during the week of Fallas, which is a huge celebration that takes place in the city every year. There were giant structures made out of paper mache in the streets and, at the end of the week, they burned them all. There were also fireworks every day that week leading up to the burning even throughout the day, which were mostly being set of by children. I was shocked to see children as young as five years old ignite fire crackers. Since Valencia is know for their Paella, I definitely tried some, and it was amazing. Paella is seasoned rice with various types of seafood, meats, or both. We also went to the aquarium and science museum. They both were very big and took a couple of hours to get through. The aquarium had almost every type of see creature. They also had a dolphin show that took place outside. Unfortunately, it was a rainy day so we didn't see the dolphins, but we saw everything else. Our hotel was in Gandia right on the beach. The hotel prices to stay in Valencia were extremely expensive so we stayed at four star one a hour away. Once we left Valencia we drove five hours to Barcelona.

Barcelona was beautiful. Besides the weather being over 70 degrees, the city had a lot to offer. It was a combination of New York City, Los Angeles, and Spain, and is by far my favorite city in Europe right now. We took a double decker bus tour that took us around the city explaining all the historical cites. We also went to Park Guell, which is a famous park and big tourist attraction filled with beautiful architecture. It was also the park where America's Next Top Model cycle 7 had their fashion show (for those who remember). There were hundreds of people there walking around taking pictures. The size of the park was huge, and anyone could get lost. Also in Barcelona, there is a beautiful beach only a few metro stops away. It reminded me a lot of Venice beach in LA. There were many people roller blading and riding bikes. There was also a small gym outside where many men were working out trying to show off for the women walking past. The shopping was very similar to NYC. Many people on the street were going from store to store especially the high end ones like Chanel. We also went to the cite where Barcelona hosted the 1992 Olympics. They kept everything the pretty much the same. Now it is a popular tourist attraction. They still host events in the arena and stadium. While we were at the cite, there was a convention taking place in the arena. Many people were dressed in business attire. Luckily, the event was free so we got a chance to see inside the arena.

On Saturday night, we went to a FCBarcelona game, which a professional soccer game. Barcelona is the best team in the country and in the world considering that Spain won the World Cup last year. Their stadium is the biggest soccer stadium in Europe holding almost over 100 thousand people. I was never a big soccer fan, but watching soccer in Europe is a completely different experience than in the U.S. The skill level is higher and the fans are very passionate about the sport. One thing that was different in the stadium was they do not sell alcohol. People are allowed to bring in liquids up to a certain amount, but no one can purchase alcoholic beverages once they are inside. This made complete sense to me because if there was not a cap on how much alcohol people could drink, the place would be uncontrollable because these were die hard fans.

We were only in Barcelona for three nights, and anyone who visits Barcelona for the first time will need more time than that so I plan to go back before I leave in May.

Paris

Crepe with chocolate and bananas

Duck

Escargot

Arc-De-Triomphe

Louvre

Eiffel Tower

Notre Dame

I've always dreamed of going to Paris one day, but I never thought it would come this soon in my life. Last weekend, I went with another girl from my group to Paris, France from Thursday to Monday. We stayed in a hostel, which are like dorms that are a lot cheaper than hotels. We had a wonderful time, and saw many historical attractions like the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Chaillot, Arc-De-Triomphe, Opera, Moulin-Rouge, Sacre-Coeur, Notre Dame and more. I met up with my former teammate from UNH and her friends, and we took a boat tour that took us down the river from the Eiffel Tower.

While we were in the Lourve (the biggest museum in the world), we saw the original painting of the Mona Lisa. The painting was in a glass guarded by security, and no one could get closer than ten feet. There were also many other famous paintings and sculptures in the museum, but it would have taken us four months to complete the museum if we looked at every piece of art for a minute. (fun fact I learned on the boat tour)

Since I was in Paris, one of the main fashion capitals of the world, I had to go down Avenue de Montaigne, which is one of the most famous and expensive shopping streets in Paris. This street has stores of almost all of the most popular high fashion designers. Of course I didn't buy anything, but there were definitely people making purchasing in almost every story. One day I will know what that feels like.

On the same street as Moulin-Rouge, there were many exotic entertainment clubs and stores on both sides of the street. I was amazed. While I was on that street, I had a crepe, which is a well known French food. It is a thin pancake with your choice of fruit, sugar, chocolate, ham, and many other options. They fold it up into a shape of a triangle and you can eat it on the go. I had three of them during my stay. They are delicious.

Speaking on food, we went a French restaurant called Chartier. Luckily, our waiter spoke English because we didn't know what anything was one the menu. I tried escargot (snails) and duck for the first time. If you visit Paris, you have to go to Chartier. It was good French food for a good price, and the food came out faster than at McDonalds. I was impressed. I guess since there were a lot of people with the same orders they never stopped cooking.

I was surprised at how many people spoke English. Almost everyone we talked to knew enough English to help us. At Pizza Hut (yes, Pizza Hut), our waitress spoke English and then spoke Spanish for our Spanish friends who were with us. I've noticed that many people who live in Europe know at least more than two languages. Learning Spanish is hard enough. I can't imagine trying to learn two more. I was saying "gracias" to people without noticing.

Overall I had a great time. Even though it was the off season for tourists, there were a lot so I suggest visiting in the off season because I can only imagine how many people are there in the summer time. Also, bring a lot of money because you will use it. We tried to do all the free things in Paris, but we still managed to spend a good amount of money. Here is a word of advice, do not go to the aquarium. Online it says that it's one of Paris's top ten attractions, but its not worth the money. There were many other things to do near the aquarium like the Eiffel Tower so spend your money at another attraction.

While I am still recovering from Paris, I have to get ready to travel to Valencia and Barcelona in a week. :)