Hola Espana!

After only two full days back on campus, we were on to our next adventure, Barcelona, Spain! Christina and I took the 8 am bus to Dublin and arrived in Barcelona Thursday (March 24th) evening.  On this Trip, we went with a tour group, 'Weekend Student Adventures', that has just been started by Andy Steves, the famous Rick Steves son.  Andy Steves and his sister, have been all over the world with their father, on various trips since they were young.  After Andy studied abroad in Rome, he decided that he want to start a business that allowed students abroad the chance to travel to exicting places, at a reasonable cost.  He does trips almost every weekend to: London, Paris, Switzerland, Barcelona, Dublin, Rome and Prague.  And because he has traveled so much, he has made great connections with different people all over Europe, allowing him a variety of great actitivies to provide for each tour. This trip was absolutely amazing! Since we were with this group, we met kids studying abroad from all over Europe. On our first night of arrival, we went to this cute topas restaurant and tried so many different kinds, and had the most delcisiou glass of wine I have ever had.  Afterwards,  we walked down by the beach and had a few drinks a bar where Andy knew the managaer. The weekend was filled with wondering the streets of Barcelona, learning about the culture and the history behind this city.  The unique, beautiful churches were absolutely breathtaking and incredible. The architecture was nothing I had ever seen before and it truly brought life to the city and the Spanish culture. Walking down La Ramblas street, filled with people, entertainmen, food and shopping was quite an experience.  The giant Market in the middle of the street was the biggest market I have ever seen.  Food of all kinds from all over.  On Saturday, we walked the beach and people watched for hours, it was quite entertaining.  That night, we went out for a delicious topas dinner and then to a flamenco dance show, which was amazing! The Spanish culture is a fun and exciting one and I am so glad I was able to to put the little Spanish I know to use.  It was an incredible weekend that I shared with amazing people.