WEEK 12: Spring Breakin Part I

Berlin

So our trip started kind of rough. 6am flight..miscommunication with our Airbnb host, a confusing metro, expensive cabs...but we ended up making the most out of our time in Berlin. On Friday we did a pub crawl with some of our friends from Barcelona which was really fun. We met some other study abroad kids from New Zealand and it was interesting to hear how different their study abroad experience has been so far compared to ours. They also have really cool accents. We ended up at some club where we met up with Liz's friend from home, Ben, and his friends from Wisconsin who are all doing a big Euro spring break trip. Saturday got the best of us and we slept until 1pm....I know. I never sleep that late either but we were exhausted. We ended up getting up and finding an amazing place for brunch and coffee called Silo. Who knew Germany could have cute, trendy brunch places? We then did some sight seeing..saw the Berlin Wall, Hitler's bunkers, Check Point Charlie, and ended up at the Prater Bier Garten where we had dinner and beer. It's such a cool spot and I bet is really fun in the summer being able to sit outside with live music. We ended up going to Ben's AirBnB later that night and then to a club called Tresor.

Sunday we woke up early to go to a coffeeshop that Liz read about on BuzzFeed as one of the top 25 coffee shops around the world you have to see before you die. It was called Bonanza and the coffee was amazing. They didn't really have a food menu but the place was quaint and the staff was super friendly. We then went to this outside market called Flohmarket au MauerPark. There stands selling everything from hot chocolate to records to vintage shoes. We walked around, had brats and hung out in the park before going back to the apartment to pack up our things. Our airBnB host, Ignacio, was there (highly recommend his apartment if you're staying in Berlin!) and we talked with him for a while before going to the bus station to head to Prague. 

Prague

We arrived a little after 10pm in Prague after having a super easy bus ride from Berlin. We were STARVING and had so much trouble flagging down a taxi. Apparently that isn't a thing and you have to call to get one. We finally got to the hostel and ran to put our stuff down so we could find somewhere to eat before everything closed. We forgot that we weren't on Spanish time and it was a Sunday so everything closes pretty early. We found a place close and had fish and chips and banana bread beer(!!!). Literally amazing. We then went and passed out after a long day of traveling. 

Monday we woke up and went to Bakeshop, a pretty famous bakery in Prague where we had cappuccinos and muffins. Soooooo good. I love when cafes make regular sized coffees instead of dinky small cups like in Barcelona. We then found a map and set out to see the city. Prague is seriously beautiful. The red roofs mixed with the castles and teal colors is amazing. We walked around Old Town Square, Charles Bridge, Prague Castle, John Lennon Wall and a bunch of other smaller sites. We ended up going to Bottega de Finestra, a cafe Liz's friends who studied here last semester suggested. I got a mix of zucchini Parmesan and shrimp avocado salads and they were veryyyy good and filling too. After, we went to a Dali/Andy Warhol art exhibition which was interesting. I really don't know that much about art so it was cool to learn more about the two artists and see some of their work. We ended up going to "The Beer Museum" after which has 30 different beers on tap and got sampling trays of the different ones. Beer actually originated in the Czech Republic...which I didn't know. I feel like every country is known for beer.. Anyway we then got ready and went to a sushi place for dinner before going out. 


Liz and I woke up on Tuesday, got coffees (at Bakehouse, again), and then went to Old Town Square to get the famous cinnamon sugar pastries called trdelniks. We liked it but both agreed it was a little overrated. The weather was terrible (cold/rainy/windy) so we walked around a bit, went up into the tower in Old Town Square for pano pics, had lunch and then did a little shopping. I also got a pedicure...when in Prague right? We had reservations at a Mexican place called Agave that Liz had heard about and it was incredible. Upon arriving, we met the owner, Glenn, who brought us to our table and we immediately hit it off. Of course he had to be from Connecticut (Liz). We originally had a reservation for three because we though our friend Megan was staying another night so when we got to our table, we joked around with him about bringing two guys to sit with us. He told us that actually there were a group of college guys sitting at the front of the restaurant. He ended up bringing two older guys from Sweden over to sit with us and we all became fast friends. A couple minutes later, he brought two of the college kids over..gave us all tequila shots and we found out the guys were from studying abroad in Prague and we took down their numbers to maybe hang out before the bars. I told Glenn about @collegegirleats and he brought me back to the kitchen to take pictures with better lighting so I could feature it on Instagram. Because he owns a bunch of restaurants in Prague, I told him that he needed an Instagram to cater to younger people and to feature his brand better. He gave us two margaritas on the house and we ended up being there for a solid 2 1/2 hours eating, drinking and talking. 
Well now we're back in Barcelona and my family is visiting for Easter. I can't wait to show them around and give them the tour of Barcelona. Look for SB Part II on Monday!

WEEK 9: Barca with the Best

Barca, I love you more and more every day. 

This weekend made me realize even more how much I love studying in Barcelona and the fact that I have only two months left here and basically only two weekends left actually in Barcelona because of traveling. Also, having my best friends here made this weekend so much fun..just being able to show them the city and the places we love. 

On Thursday Annie, Snewt, and Emma arrived around 3pm and right when they got in, we headed to one of our favorite places Flax & Kale for lunch. We wanted to keep it light because it was already late, so Annie and I split the salmon sashimi toast and tacos which were both amazing. Because they are studying in London, they don't have to deal with the language barrier so it was funny seeing them try to order in Spanish or ask for certain things (aka Wifi). They were also shocked at how SLOWWWWW the service was. Literally everywhere we went, the service was terrible this weekend because it's just the Spanish way of life. We are pretty used to it by now, but it can still be frustrating. I always tell Liz that I want to make a statement and leave a bad tip but you don't tip in Spain...so you can't even express how bad the service is. We then took them to our school so they could print out their Abroad Fest tickets and then we walked along Passeig de Gracia showing them the different shopping before heading to our airBnB. Because we live in an apartment through our school in Barcelona, our RA did not want us having guests so we rented an airBnB for the weekend so that we could all stay together. I know, paying to stay in our own city...absurd. We got them metro cards and then went to Gracia, bought a bottle of wine, and sat out on our balcony during the sunset just catching up and relaxing before getting ready for the night.

Because we wanted to show them traditional tapas, we went to Tapas 24 for dinner and it was PACKED. A Thursday night at 9:00pm and there was probably a 45 minute wait. It was crazy. I thought we were on the earlier side but apparently not. We met up with one of Annie's best friends from home who is studying in Barcelona and her roommates here. While waiting in line, we got a pitcher of sangria (the best) and talked which made the time fly by. We ordered the traditional patatas bravas, bread with tomato and olive oil, korean beef lettuce wraps, croquettes, lamb kebabs, bikinis (jamon & queso). We then took the metro to Ovella Negra, a huge bar where literally every college kid visiting went before the festivals were going on later that night. It kind of looks like a huge beer hall and there are wooden tables everywhere and people order jugs of beer and sangria. We hung out there for a few hours and we were able to introduce Annie and Snewt to a bunch of our friends from studying abroad. Literally everyone's friends were in town this weekend so it was fun meeting so many different people who are studying in Florence, Madrid, Rome, Dublin, London and others. From there we went to Razzmatazz, a huge venue where Abroad Fest was that night. 

On Friday, we slept in til about 11am before forcing ourselves up to "seize the day". We wanted to try a new brunch place and I had seen Federal Cafe all over the different Barcelona food Instagrams and had been dying to try it. It definitely lived up to the hype. I ordered two fried eggs with pesto and it was amazing. I also had a soy milk cappuccino (I'm obsessed). It was such a beautiful day so we sat there for a while (mostly because the service was slow) before heading out to explore. We wanted to show them the beach because 1) it was so nice out and 2) London is a little landlocked. We walked all the way down to the beach and hung out there for awhile along the boardwalk. We then walked along the beach and stopped at Surfhouse where Liz and I went a few weeks ago to get drinks. I love that place. We then walked back up Las Ramblas to show them the Boqueria and the Gothic Quarter area before heading back to Gracia. 

On Saturday we went to breakfast at The Juice House which was good but not great. I get so annoyed when a waiter doesn't write down your order and just tries to memorize it. Like I don't care if you have a pen and paper to write down my order...I just want it to be right. Of course, a couple things were messed up but I've learned in Barcelona just not to say anything and accept it. We then went to Placa de Espana which shows an amazing overview of the city. The girls loved it. Liz and I went here our first week in Barcelona and I have also mentioned how I like running in this area. We took a ton of pictures and walked all around before showing them our apartment. Throughout the weekend, Liz had been talking to someone we met in Cadiz who was also in town. He and his friends rented a yacht for the weekend and asked us if we wanted to hangout for the afternoon so we decided to spontaneously go and it was so much fun. Being on the water during the sunset is amazing especially with the weather getting really nice. Once it started getting a little later, we decided to get dinner at NAP, one of our favorite pizza places. And again, it was amazing.

It was such a fast weekend but I feel like we fit so much into it which I am happy about. Being able to show my friends our favorite places was my favorite part about the weekend. After seeI can't believe that we are already going to see them in a few days in Dublin for St. Patrick's Day weekend. Everyone and their mom is going to be there. I'm pumpedddddddddd.

Check out the EATS, DRINKS, & FINDS pages! Updated pictures for ya