WEEK 7: Learning Curve

And when you don't think things could possibly get that worse...they do. This week has been of mistakes, learning, and also fun.

It all started on Monday when I got pick pocketed. Yep, it happened and it is a real thing. I had just been thinking earlier that day of how I have been pretty cautious and smart about keeping my personal belongings and then....boom I'm victim to it. I was on the metro in Catalunya which is probably one of the busiest metro stations in Barcelona. My friend Nick and I had just missed the train and were waiting for the next one about three minutes later. When we got on, it was really crowded so I put my phone in my front pocket for a split second, grabbed onto one of the railings, put my had back in my jacket pocket and it was gone. It happened so fast and I was so shocked I didn't even know what to do. Those bastards. Cried the whole metro ride home. 

So I'm currently phoneless. This can be a breath of fresh air, but it also sucks when you can't take pictures. Or make a grocery store list. Or text your friends. Or check Instagram. Or even have Google Maps because you don't exactly know your way around everywhere. Hopefully this week I can figure out a solution, but it isn't exactly easy having a phone shipped when you are in another country.

I also have a stress fracture. Because I haven't been used to running that much, putting a lot of stress on my ankle hasn't been good and I'm taking some time off to let it heal. This same thing happened to me in high school during swim season so hopefully just resting it and icing on and off will help it get better!

And......the cleaning lady threw away my Nikes. I had a bag of sweaty work out clothes and Nike shoes in a grocery bag that I was planning on washing and had been there for a while (gross, I know)......and the cleaning lady threw them away. Looks like I'm going to be out shopping for a new pair of shoes. Shout out to my parents and Liz for listening to me vent, cry, and figure out my life this week. Love you guys. 

Highlights!

duck and peppered beef

Liz and I went to an Asian tapas place in the Born district called Mosquito and it was really good! We had craft beers, a peppered beef dish, seasoned duck in a soy glaze, rice, and pork and shrimp dumplings! I really liked it and definitely want to go back during lunch to try the pho that I heard was amazing. The waitresses are helpful in explaining what is boiled, steamed, and fried as well as recommending different dishes and explaining the different kinds of meats. I would go back with more people and try a bunch of different things.

Arc de Triomf

On Friday, we woke up and walked down Passeig de Gracia just window shopping and also found some cute restaurants. Liz bought a new coat and we went to a spot for lunch. We then walked to a new area we hadn't really been around before and saw the Arc de Triomf which leads into the Parc de la Ciutadella and then the Zoo. We then headed back and went to the grocery store, made fajita bowls for dinner, and went to a bar called Le Cyrano. We had heard of this bar from tons of different people, but had never been because it's only open Thursday-Sunday and we were traveling the last couple of weekends. Essentially, you ask for a type of alcohol and a mixer and pour how much you want in. Well...almost how much you want. I had asked for Captain Morgan and Coke Zero (my favorite drink) and poured the entire glass with rum until the woman came over and poured about 1/4 of it into Liz's glass. Hahahahah at least I tried.

creme brulee cupcake and soymilk cappucino

On Saturday, my ankle was really bothering me so we laid low most of the morning just working on different stuff blog related and school related. About mid-afternoon we went to Cup & Cake. This may sound familiar because we went to Brunch & Cake a few weekends ago for turkey/avocado bagels and banana bread. They are both run under the same management but Cup & Cake is more of a coffee shop with decadent cupcakes, cakes, muffins, and a lighter menu for brunch. The space is more intimate and for people who want to relax, read, or work. We went and each got a cupcake and coffee (and went back for another cupcake to split......) and did homework for a little bit. They didn't have wifi which was kind of a bummer but we were still able to be somewhat productive. I also Skyped my dad for about an hour when I got home which was really fun. I feel like I haven't been able to catch up with him as much as I like. It can be really hard with the time change because when I am at school during the day, he is at work in the morning and then when I'm done, he is either out at lunch or in meetings. By the time he's leaving work, I am either out or asleep so we have been on completely different schedules.

breakfast tacos

Sunday morning, we got to sleep in again which was amazing. This weekend was definitely a time to catch up on sleep and energy as we go into a week of midterms. We lounged around for a bit and then decided to go down to the beach to explore and get drinks at this place we found called Surfhouse and wow, did it exceed its expectations. This place is right on the beach and it was such a beautiful day out that you didn't even need a jacket. We sat outside and were immediately served the brunch and drink menu. We ordered their special mojito......and it was amazing. I needed a drink after figuring out the cleaning lady actually threw away my Nikes...how does that even happen? Anyway, Liz decided on the breakfast tacos (which looked amazing) and I got the turkey and cheese bagel breakfast sandwich. The place was filled with locals and I loved the atmosphere at the beach. I can't wait to go back. On our way back to the metro stop, we walked the other side of the road where there were different vendors set up with cheeses, olive oil, chocolate, churros, and more. We decided to get a little champagne glass filled with mixed cheeses to have before dinner tonight. We love cheese. Sooooooooooo now it's laundry and homework and chill time.



PARIS NEXT WEEKEND!

Keep on Running

I have never been a runner. I mean, I have run. I used to run as conditioning for swimming. I do run on the treadmill for cardio. But I have never been that person who is excited to go outside and go for a run to “clear my mind” just because. Well, Barcelona has made me a runner. At first, I was against it. Let me tell you, when running outside in Barcelona, people think you are absolutely crazy. No one is wearing leggings, work out tops, or headphones. Everyone stares. People think you’re nuts. I didn’t like that.

After settling into our apartment after the first couple weeks, I finally found a path that I was comfortable running. This spot that I found has a median in the middle of the road where people walk down. The street is called Gran Via. There is a bike lane too and people don’t think you are nearly as crazy and it isn’t that congested either It’s a win-win. So I have been running there, and enjoying it. It’s the perfect spot to just run and not look down at numbers on a treadmill or worry about how fast you are going, but you can actually see Barcelona and see other people and see things that you don’t see all the time. It’s really cool actually. And the thing is, I think I have been running faster and longer than I ever have before. I have no idea why. It’s pretty crazy actually, but I have been enjoying it and I feel like running is something that you can actually enjoy instead of just doing it to do it.

Sometimes, if I want to get off my normal path, I’ll run a little farther to the actual Plaza de Espana and run to the top where the view is incredible. It reminds me of bleachers and brings me back to high school swimming days. That stresses me out.

So Angie and I are supposed to run a 15K in Barcelona this Sunday. However, the past couple of days I have been having pain in my ankle, so I'm undecided if I'm going to do it or not yet. Regardless, Angie is and I'll be there to cheer her on!!!! If you told me I would be running a race, let alone a 15K in Barcelona while I was here, I would have laughed in your face. I didn’t even remotely think I was going to stay in shape while being here. It’s a little over nine miles….three miles over what I’ve ever done before. Hopefully I will be able to do it, but if not it's okay because I'd rather be able to run the rest of my time here than hurt it even more.

WEEK 6: Cadiz Carnaval

Plaza de Espana in Sevilla

Well, I never thought that I would be in the Malaga airport. Do you know where Malaga is? Or what Malaga is? Yeah, neither did I. So Liz and I were going to Cadiz this weekend, a small town in the south of Spain. It is known for its carnaval where people from all over Spain come and dress up in crazy costumes, eat, drink, sing, dance, and overall have a great time. Liz studied in Cadiz one summer about five years ago and was dying to go back to visit her Spanish parents, guy friends, and to see the city. I agreed to go with her and see what this place was that she talked about so frequently.

So back to Malaga. We had a flight Friday morning to Sevilla where we had bought train tickets to Cadiz from there. It seemed easy enough. After passing out on the plane for two hours, I woke up to a pilot saying that it was too cloudy to land in Sevilla so we were going to land in Malaga instead. Okay…then what? So this was our first experience on RyanAir. I had heard horror stories but I hadn’t experienced an airline that was so disorganized before. We landed, treated ourselves to Starbucks and headed to the RyanAir counter where no one was quite sure what was happening. About an hour later, they decided on bussing us all back to Sevilla. We figured we would just take the free bus and then get on a train to Cadiz once we got in. So we took the bus and finally made it to the Sevilla train station where we found out we couldn’t take the next train for six more hours because they were all filled. We didn’t want to take our chances on finding a bus that was open when we didn’t even know where the bus station was or what the timers were. So met up with one of our friends Julia who is studying in Sevilla for the semester. Eventually, we got on the 8pm train and arrived in Cadiz around 10pm, met up with Jose (we did air BnB) to get our keys and set out to meet Liz’s friend Maddie and her boyfriend Ryan. We found a local restaurant, ordered Sangria, and went out to the local Irish pub for beers, chupitos, and random Spanish conversations with people all over the street.

The next morning we woke up and set out to find Antonio’s, Liz’s favorite cafe to get orange juice. I don’t even really drink orange juice, but el zumo de naranja was incredible. We walked around a bit more and settled on finally getting cappuccinos and croissants before going up into Torre Tavira which is known for having one of the best 360 degree views of Cadiz, and the view was amazing. The city really is not that big but when looking out from this tower, it looks like it goes on forever. Some parts are worn down, some parts filled with people, and then you look out into the beach. After taking pictures and soaking it in, Liz, Maddie, Ryan, and I decided to go to the big market to pick up food and have a picnic on the beach. This market has everything from seafood to fresh fruit to prepared foods so we picked up Iberian ham, cheese, baguettes, fresh grapes and strawberries, ceviche, Crunch bars (they’re better here), and beers. It was a beautiful day and we walked a few minutes to one of the beaches where we made sandwiches and hung out just relaxing. It is such a change of pace even from Barcelona and the weather was perfect. Then, we decided to walk around a couple more shops and then head back to get changed for the night into our costumes (pirates!) and get ready for the big festival events. Before heading into the town, we got to meet up with Liz’s Spanish parents who were so friendly and easy to talk to. They filled us in on everything they have been up to, what to expect out of Cadiz’s Carnavale, and to be very safe because of all the people.

We first started at O’Connell’s, an Irish Pub that Liz and I went to the night before and one of Liz’s favorite places to go when she studied there. We love O’Connell’s and we love Irish pubs. Even in Barcelona, we always gravitate towards them. We met some other study abroad kids from Madrid and of course have mutual friends because this world is just so small. We hung out with them for a bit, spoke with other Spanish people visiting from all over and eventually went to the Plaza where there were just masses of people everywhere. AND, we did run into our TCU friends from Sevilla!!!!! It was so fun hanging out with other TCU people and seeing how they have liked studying abroad, where they have traveled and just catching up in general. We eventually went to La Punta – a club near the water and called it a night, but overall a successful Cadiz Carnaval experience.

It wasn’t a foodie weekend, but it was nice to get off the beaten path and visit a place that is really meaningful to Liz in so many different ways. Although we had a 15-hour travel day on Friday, I felt as though I got to experience this city more than I have anywhere else and am so glad that we were able to go. This upcoming Tuesday, we have Sitges Carnaval in Barcelona and I am apparently being a devil…I have no idea how it is even going to compare, but I am sure it is going to be interesting. 

WEEK 5: London...A Taste of Home

London rocks. From not having a language barrier to seeing some of my best friends from TCU, I definitely felt a little homesick after leaving London. Although it was very cold, I absolutely loved the city.

Some highlights from the weekend:

Can I go back already?!?!?!?!?

I loved London. Even though I was only there for three days and barely even got to see the city, it was incredible. It gave me the familiar feel of the United States, but was so different. I can't even imagine all the places there are to eat, see, and explore throughout the city. It seemed much more hustle and bustle compared to Barcelona's vibe and I could understand what people were saying!!!! This is definitely a place I want to go back with my parents and do more of the touristy things that I  was not able to do in just three short days.

I got to see my best friends!!!!

Coming to London, I didn't realize how much I miss my best friends (those abroad AND those at TCU). It was so great to see them and catch up and just HANG out. There are a lot of people doing the TCU London program who I am friends with so it was fun to talk about inside jokes and all be together for a weekend. We did a pub crawl and went to dinner with Annie's day who was in town and of course, was so much fun. My roomies and I were all reunited again and of course my lovely cofounder of @collegegirleats. Ugh, Snewts I missed you so much. I'm so happy that we were able to go visit the weekend before Annie's birthday. Although it wasn't the same as celebrating at TCU, I want to give my best friend a shout out on her 21st birthday and I hope you have an amazing day (Feb 10th!). You are an amazing person and I know that you have so much more left to explore and do with your life in London during next couple of months abroad. I can't wait to live with you this summer and be together at TCU senior year. Happy Birthday Annie!!!!!

I experienced Borough Market.

When the London crew kept posting pictures at Borough Market. I knew it was something I had to try when I was in London...and oh we did. The market is HUGE. It's outside with permanently set up tents with every kind of food that you could imagine. Sandwich shops, pasta stations, milkshakes, hot dogs, kebabs, juices, cookies, brownies, homemade chocolates, grilled cheese, potato dishes (don't get enough in Spain), every type of cheese imaginable, and SO much more. I was overwhelmed with what I wanted so we took a couple of laps trying basically everything. The paella was amazing, the cheeses melted in your mouth, and the chocolate was incredible. I eventually decided on the lamb skewer sandwich that was topped with greens and caramelized onions and a lemon garlic sauce and it was amazing. Others got the famous hot dogs, tomato and spinach tortellini, juices, and sweet potato fries and they were all amazing. Borough Market did not disappoint.

Undocumented highlights:

• Brunch at The Breakfast Club
• Dinner with Mr. Maguire and friends at Princi
• Walking on Brick Lane and learning about the brothers and their bagels
• BEING REALLY COLD
• Figuring out the airport to the shuttle to the train to the tube to their apartment.....
• Late night falafel (scarred for life)
• Shoreditch
• Double decker tour buses
• Going inside Harrod's and wanting everything

Sorry, had to keep this post short! Long week ahead and going to Cadiz, Spain this upcoming weekend for their Carnivale and to experience Liz's previous homestay experience. I'm excited to see another area of Spain and all it has to offer! 

WEEK 4: Eating, Touring, and Eating.

Highlights from the week:

Liz and I actually made something other than chicken.

Okay that's a lie. We made chicken...but we made chicken lettuce wraps!!!! And they were really good. We bought soy sauce and everything and even made fill-ins for the wraps with shredded carrots, sauteed onions, olive oil, soy sauce, ginger, and squeezed clementine juice. They were actually really great that we made them two times this week. Go us. 

I went to an FC Barcelona game. 

We finally went to an FC Barcelona game! We had amazing seats (Thanks Liz!!!) and the stadium was enormous. For a game that wasn't even THAT big...it was still packed. Angie, Liz, and I went to an Irish Bar before and then took the blue line straight there. It was really easy to get to and Camp Nou's atmosphere was unbelievable. They were playing Villa Real and we had a ton of fun. Except...I actually think the stadium is a wind tunnel. All being Northerners, we like to consider ourselves people who are used to the cold. This game was FREEZING. I think I was the coldest I have ever been in my entire life. Okay, maybe that's pushing it, but it was close. Next time: wear 8 layers, gloves, a hat, and 2 pairs of socks. 

I ate some of the best meals of my life. 

Liz and I decided that we needed to treat ourselves this weekend because we were staying in Barcelona....so we ate really well. On Thursday night we went to NAP which I talked about in my last post. It was the best pizza I have had in Barcelona.

 On Friday after working at the food kitchen, Liz and I decided to seek out a place called Flax & Kale which we no joke thought was the best food we have ever tasted...including anything in the U.S. Bold statement, I know. We looked at the menu when we sat down and knew we had to go all out. To start, I got the Green Goddess juice which has spinach, apples, cucumber, celery, ginger, and lemon and Liz ordered a strawberry, almond butter and banana smoothie. Both tasted amazing. I want to go back and try every other drink they had. We then took recommendations from our waitress on what to order. She suggested the make-your-own tacos and the mini-salmon burgers that came with sweet potato fries. They were both incredible. The tacos didn't have any meat in them but the grilled mushrooms, peppers, and onions had a perfect seasoning along with the guacamole and pico de gallo. The mini-salmon burgers were served on a beet root bun (hence the red color) and were out of this world. We couldn't pass up dessert and again asked for a recommendation so we split a piece of the pear-walnut cake with white chocolate dusting on top. We will be back. 

On Saturday morning, Liz and I decided to get up and head to Brunch & Cake. It's a popular study abroad student restaurant and everyone raves about it. Spanish people don't really have the concept "brunch" but this place knows how to do it right. We arrived there around 11am because we heard that the place gets packed early afternoon (when hungover people start arriving) so were pumped to get a table pretty easily when we showed up. It is a lot smaller than I expected though...and not to my surprise, I heard mostly English conversations. Looking at the menu, we were overwhelmed. Savory? Sweet? Lunch? Breakfast? I ordered a large vanilla latte (!!) with soy milk and only half sweetened and they nailed it. I'm on a soy milk kick here for some reason...I can't get enough of it. Anyway, Liz and I decided to split the turkey/egg bagel sandwich with avocado and the chocolate banana bread with whipped cream and fruit. Yep, we got the best of both worlds. The banana bread was moist and decadent while the bagel sandwich was light but delicious with the addition of the avocado. I am so excited to take my parents here when they visit. 

I spent time in my city. 

Since I'm going to be traveling most of the other weekends during my time abroad, I wanted to explore and see more of Barcelona during my time this weekend. This included volunteering twice at a food kitchen for a total of five hours which was a really interesting and different experience. There are various bakeries in the area that donate pastries and other baked goods and volunteers come each morning to help serve these people. Each person who comes in is offered cafe con leche (essentially espresso with milk), a pastry, and a bocadillo (sandwich) which is either cheese, sweet ham, or salami. The volunteers are older Spanish people who are very nice and genuinely interested in getting to know the students who want to help out. If I didn't have class each morning that conflicted with the breakfast time, I would definitely want to help more often. On Friday, Liz and I went to la Sagrada Familia and did the guided tour. This church is beautiful. I had never been here before and I am so glad we had a guide to explain to us Gaudi's vision and his thoughts behind it. I also found a cheap nail place (!!), took advantage of the last rebajas and went on a run on Gran Villa.

We finally made it to Bo de B. 

The famous Bo de B. What is it? A little sandwich place near the marina area. But it's not just any sandwich place. It's run by a group of women who speak Moroccan (interesting right?) and is known to have a thirty minute line on any given day. It is probably one of the more well known spots in Barcelona and we knew that this weekend we had to go. On Sunday we slept in and decided to head to that area around 11:30am. Well we got there....and it wasn't open yet. Stupid Americans. Well if you can't tell already...we like to beat the lines. So we hung out for a little bit and walked around until they opened at 12pm. Before I came here, I was told that for the sandwiches you pick your meat and then ask for "everything" on the sandwich. Believe me, that is the way to do it. When first ordering, the woman asks you what meat you want. You tell them and then sit down and wait for them to grill it right in front of you. When it's finished, they open up a baguette, throw the meat inside and get to work. Honestly, I couldn't even tell you everything that was in it, but the sandwich was full of so many flavors, I was in love. It had a Mediterranean taste with the various sauces, sweet red peppers, corn, cucumber, lettuce, lentils, cabbage, and tomatoes. The garnish made the sandwich and I'm glad that I got it all. This "touristy" location was the perfect way to end our weekend and I can't wait to try the steak or tuna next time I come.   

Well now that I realize this post was all about food....I'll try to broaden my horizons for next week's post. This upcoming weekend we are headed to London. I am so excited to see my best friends and visit London for the first time!!!! Wooooooooooohoooooooooo

Also the EATS, DRINKS, and FINDS pages are updated!

NAP. Neapolitan Authentic Pizza

Well if the title doesn't intrigue you...then I don't know what will. You guys, Liz and I found the best pizza place. Ever. After first coming to Barcelona and trying the random "Italian" restaurant across from our apartment that had fake prosciutto, I was really turned off from pizza. Coming from Chicago, I had not found pizza I liked in Fort Worth at school until I tried Cane Rosso. Liz showed it to me last year and I have been there countless times since including parents weekend, my dad visiting in the summer, friends' birthdays, and random roomie dinner nights. So why am I talking about Cane Rosso? Well this place we found, NAP, is essentially Cane Rosso: Barcelona Edition. 

It started when I found this Instagram....called @bcndelicatessen. If you know me well, you know my best friend Sarah and I run an Instagram called @collegegirleats where we feature food we eat, make, or pictures sent by our friends. Well the other day I found this account and basically it features all of these restaurants in Barcelona (that all look amazing). l have had so many average meals in Barcelona that now I look up the place we are going before to make sure there are decent reviews, pictures, and somewhere I can get a price point. So I saw a couple places that looked really good and started looking them up. 

First one: 4 euro signs meaning expensive... 

Second one: Not open...

Third one: 40 minutes on the metro...

Then I started craving pizza. I became desperate and started Google searching: best pizza place in Barcelona. Long story short, ten minutes later and Liz and I found this place. The pictures looked promising and we decided to go for it. We heard that they could get pretty busy later on so we wanted to go a little bit on the earlier side. 

The moment we sat down, I knew this place was going to be a winner. It was clean, not crowded, and the staff was friendly right from the start. The menu was simple and the prices were very reasonable (yes!). For the broke college students who have been taken advantage of multiple times, we were all for this. We are also people who go by recommendations so of course we asked our waitress what she liked best. She recommended the Speck pizza which was mozzarella, mushrooms, truffle oil, arugula, and olive oil. For us truffle oil lovers, we were sold. We also decided to go with one of the bruschettas which had mozzarella, mushrooms and tomatoes which was amazing. I took a picture of the sign pictured to the right and sent it to my mom because we share a love for burrata (a type of mozzarella) after getting it as an appetizer in New York this past Fall. 

The bruschetta came out immediately and we weren't disappointed. We almost ordered another one, but decided to hold off until our pizza came and I am so glad we did. I also ordered a Moritz (one of the more popular beers in Barcelona) and Liz had a Coke...what is it about Coke that makes it taste so much better in Europe???

This pizza was incredible. First, it came moments later because these pizzas are put in the oven for less than 90 seconds. The dough tasted exactly like Cane Rosso's, and the truffle oil gave it the perfect touch. It has to be eaten with a fork and knife because the crust is so thin, but never burns. Apparently there is some old, written down recipe for the dough...I still don't even understand it. Although this pizza was out of this world, next time I am excited to try another one of their bruschettas (with burrata!), a salad, and the Crudo Parma pizza which also caught my eye. Prosciutto on pizza makes everything better..right? Liz and I decided to order another beer and just sit and talk for a while. Within the next hour, the place was PACKED. I am glad we came early even though we are getting used to eating like locals at 10pm. This place was definitely a winner in our book and I think we are getting better at picking restaurants that are in our price point and have staff with the best recommendations. I am already looking forward to our next visit. If you are in Barcelona, you have to check this place out. It is a couple minute walk from the Jaume I stop.

WEEK 3: I went to Switzerland

So I went to Interlaken, Switzerland this weekend and learned a couple of things.

You can OD from chocolate.

You guys. I ate so much chocolate this weekend. I'm actually kind of burnt out for a while i think. If you are good friends with me, you know that I am notorious for having a sweet tooth (and finishing friends' froyo while they are inside a grocery store). I don't crave pizza at 11pm or chicken nuggets or fries. If I am craving something, it's ice cream or s'mores bars or chocolate. Well Swiss chocolate really outdid itself. We went into random chocolate stores and got samples, had free chocolate on the plane courtesy of Swiss airlines, and bought chocolate bars at the nearby grocery store. Even though my favorite type is dark chocolate, Swiss chocolate is notorious for its milk chocolate and it was really good. I was kind of disappointed that we didn't have chocolate fondue, but you win some and lose some.

"Depends on weather conditions" is a real thing.

I was finally going to skydive. My friend Mary (top right) convinced me into doing it even though it was going to cost me my life because its the Alps and if you run a skydiving company in the Alps, they can charge whatever they want. I had it booked and I finally convinced myself to do it. Well, it got canceled three times because of the weather conditions being too foggy and each time the anticipation made me so anxious. Instead, we decided to the next best thing and went paragliding which was still amazing and the views were unreal. Freezing, yes. But the scenery was something I will never forget.

Switzerland took all my money.

I actually feel robbed from this weekend. How does Switzerland get away with charging whatever they want? I have no clue. Anyway, I was at the ATM a few times and learned that drinks are more expensive than you think. Overall, I convinced myself this was going to be the most expensive trip and decided not to think about it. Key to saving money...split everything and take advantage of happy hour prices when possible. Also, so disappointed in Swiss fondue. We thought it was going to be really good and ended up being so much money and so random.....Hence the picture on the bottom left. So cute Ang!!!!!!!

You CAN become a local within two days.

When in the town of Interlaken, you can only go to the Irish Pub so many times. When skydiving gets canceled...Irish Pub. When happy hour...Irish Pub. When waiting for friends to finish skiing....Irish Pub. When every cafe is closed on Sunday and your hostel made you check out at 10am...Irish Pub. We did have an amazing beer as a suggestion from the bartender called Grimbergen. Also, we became best friends with the owner of the chocolate shop who gave us free truffles samples. 

Hostels really aren't that bad.

Pictured below is the infamous Balmers hostel. Apparently it's ranked one of the "Top 49 Most Famous Hostels in Europe." Whatever that means. It wasn't actually that bad besides for the breakfast which consisted of bread and jelly. Literally that's it. And of course I managed to lose my room key within the first ten minutes of being there. Underneath the hostel, there was the "night club" where everyone went both nights and was actually a great time. They also had Wi-Fi, hot showers, and heating so that was a plus. There was a pizza place and Thai food restaurant next door...so the first hostel experience wasn't anything to complain about.