Being spontaneous!

Sorry I haven´t updated this in a while, I have been very busy lately!

This past week has been a lot of fun! We have been venturing out much more, seeing some really cool places and meeting some great people. On Sunday 1/23 Lexie and I went to church and then went exploring. We hoped on the metro and took it until the end, we had no clue where we were going or what we were going to see. When we got off the metro we had found that we were right in the mountains and the right by a really cool soccer field, and it just so happened that a game was going on so we sat and watched for a while. It was a really beautiful area, but we were really hungry and there weren´t any open food places to eat at, so we hoped back on the metro and got off once again at a random stop. After quite some time walking around searching for somewhere to eat, we finally found this really cute tapas restaurant where we got some lunch. We then headed back to our apartment to get ready to go watch the packer vs. bears game. From the second we got home until the game ended we gave our roommates a very hard time (seeings as they are bears fans) haha. It was a really exciting game to watch, I was soooo nervous though that I bit all of my nails! I am SOOO excited that they won and they are going to the super bowl, Lexie and I convinced ourselves that night that we were going to go to the super bowl, which clearly is not going to happen. haha. I WISH!!!!

School went pretty well this week, it was my last week with Friday classes (last week of my intensive Spanish course). We had a test on Friday, and I thought it went really well. We got our tests back today and I got an A so that was exciting :)

On Monday, Mati had put out a bunch of snacks and treats so we could all celebrate her birthday together. I was so much fun! Mati used to be a singer for Flamenco dancers, so we convinced her to sing a song for us and she was AMAZING. She had such passion in her voice when she sang and it was so cool to hear. We keep trying to get her to sing for us and she says if we want her to sing then we have to do the dishes haha. She is so darn cute, we got very lucky to have her and Enrique as our host parents.

Tuesday, we woke up early and went to an aerobics class at the gym. It was actually really fun, interesting too because it was all in Spanish! haha. After class Lexie met me by my school and we were going to go to the zoo, but it ended up being closed :( Sooo instead we walked around this really pretty park, tried to pick some oranges from this orange tree-haha, and then went to the chocolate museum! It was a really fun day.

Wednesday morning, we woke up and went to a spin class at our gym, it was pretty intense, but it felt really good! After class Lexie and I decided to go to the FC Barcelona game. It was kind of an impulse decision. Lexie found tickets online for like 10€ each, so we were expecting not so great seats. Once Lexie got home from class we went and got a kebab from this little place right by our apartment, it was DELICIOUS! Sooo good, definitely going to be one of our places to eat! haha. We got to the game a little late, because we were just chatting it up at dinner, lol. But when we got there we were so shocked to see that our seats were directly behind the goal. I´m talking second row! soooo cool. FC Barcelona ended up winning 5-0, and it was soo much fun to see. Oh yeah, and of course Lexie and I were both reppin´ our Messi #10 jersy´s!!

So all week we had been talking about going to Madrid for the weekend, however once we found out that it was suppose to be rainy and cold there all weekend we quickly changed our minds. Sooo on Thursday we were looking at some potential places to go and Lexie came across a little town called Girona, Spain. So we thought ´Why not?´ The train tickets were really cheap and we found a really cute, inexpensive apartment to stay in right in the central of the town. So we booked the tickets and the hotel. Friday after my test we met at the train station and made our way to Girona! We got there around 6pm, so once we got settled in we found a little market, bought some pasta, tomatoes, potatoes, and bread. We made a nice little dinner in our apartment and then went down to this creperia right underneath our apartment. When we were there this French man came up to us and told us he wanted us to go meet his son so he could practice his English with us. So we went and sat by them for a little bit (his girlfriend, son that was about 12 years old, and daughter that was about 9) The kids were sooo darn cute, and the boy could speak 6 languages!!  How amazing to be able to speak SIX languages at 12 years old, I couldn´t believe it! They were so friendly and gave us some tips of fun things to do and see in the town. We went back up to our apartment and got a good night sleep so that we could wake up early the next day and explore! So the whole waking up early kinda fell through and we slept in. However then we were full of energy and ready to explore and shop :) We found some reaaallly cute store and got some presents for our sisters :) Girona was such a cute town, with houses right on this river, Roman walls, and the mountains in the background. After shopping and exploring for a while we went to the Cinema museum which was very interesting and it was interactive which was really fun! Although I love Barcelona, it was nice to get away from the big city for a few days.

For dinner we went to this all you can eat pizza place, it was strange though because you couldn´t order whatever pizza you wanted, they brought you all different kinds- which was cool though because I was able to try some different kinds that I would have never ordered. Sitting next to us were a group of about 6 Hispanic boys, and it happened to be one of their birthday´s. They asked us to play this game with them for his birthday- they had 24 envelopes each containing something different, like a present, a trivia game, and some other funny little things. They were very nice and it was fun to meet them.

The next day we woke up and went to explore the city of Girona a little more. We walked along the Roman walls that once guarded the city (because it had been fought over on several different occasions). Then we made our way to Figueres to see the Dali museum- apparently the most visited museum in Spain!! In my past two Spanish classes back in the states I learned all about Salvador Dali, even wrote a 8 page research paper on him, so seeing this museum was really cool!! There was some really cool stuff, but some really weird stuff as well. After seeing this interesting museum, we ate some lunch then made our way back to the train to head back to Barcelona. Although it was a very fun weekend, we were so glad to be back at the apartment with Mati, Enrique, and our roomies! :)

An eye opening day..

Friday 1/21: Today was our host mom, Mati's, birthday so after class Lexie and I went to the store to get Mati some little birthday gifts. We got her a little cake, with candles that said 35 because we've been saying 'Oh Mati how old will you be 30? and shes says no no no 35!' She loved it thought it was sooooo funny! Also, we got her flowers and balloons and we hung the balloons up around our kitchen. She was so happy that we thought of her. We ate dinner, drank some wine with her and then went to bed.

Saturday 1/22: Today Lex and I meant to wake up really early and go see the inside of Sagrada Familia, but we didnt end up waking up unitll 11:00 am, oops!!! haha. At church last sunday this man, named James, told us about this great opportunity that would be taking place today, to bring food/clothes, walk around Barcelona and deliver these gifts to the homeless. So we woke up, had breakfast and then made some lunches. Lexie and I made pb&j's (12 to be exact) each in a little baggie with an orange, muffin, and chocolate. We were sort of nervous, but I am sooooo happy we went, it was such a rewarding experience. After seeing so many people suffering and struggling to get by it really makes your life seem so easy and really makes you appreciate everything so much more. Today was one of the coldest days in Barcelona so far, about 30 degrees Fahrenheit. I know, I know, to most of you that sounds pretty good, but for the people of Barcelona this is very cold. So everyone on the streets was very cold, so it was the perfect day to give them a little extra clothing. This one group of men we delivered food to had 4 beautiful dogs, and one of the dogs had just given birth 4 days ago to 3 adorable pups. These poor little puppies were just shiverring cuddling up with their mother. I was so tempted to just grab them and take the home with me, they were soooo darn cute!!! We even gave some biscuits to the dogs, you could tell they were sooo hungry and so grateful for some food. It was just as sad to see these dogs suffering as it was the men. Then we were walking down a street and there were prostitutes all over. It was so sad to see, poor women. I can't even imagine what they are going through. Later on in this adventure, we came across this group of men from Africa. They had told us about how tough things are for them. The police won't let them stay in this area, although it is not even illegal for them to be there. So they stay in this area anyways, which has cameras all of the place, just so they can prove to the police and the people that they are good, clean, and are just desperate for work and need money for them and their families to survive. We said a big group prayer with them and gave them the rest of the food we had. They were so friendly.  All of the people we encountered today will definitley be in my thoughts and prayers, I hope they find work or the help that they need. Also, today I was able to talk with my Nana, Papa, Mom, Dad, Sister, and Aunt MJ. As some of you may know my Papa is not doing very well and this has been very very tough for me not being able to be there to be with him and my family. My amazing sister was able to set up skype on my aunt mjs computer so I was able to see all of them, it was really great to be able to see them, especially my Papa. Papa was really tired though and wasn't really able to talk for very long. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Today there were a lot of ups and downs, but I have a lot of faith in God and know that everything will be okay with my Papa, my family, and all of the homeless people that we met today. Please keep all of these people in your prayers. Love you all so much and hope things are going great at home.

GO PACKERS!! :)

Love you all <3
xoxo

metro= ultimate people watching!

Lexie and I met Tyler at a bar near Placa Catalunya, we had a good time with him! We will most likely see him a few times for during his stay here in Barcelona :)

This week my school, Pompeu Fabra, started our intensive language courses. This course counts for 6 credits toward my major. I absolutely looovee my class! There are 12 kids in it, one boy and the rest girls! haha. My teacher is sooo nice, makes that class not even seem like class. Basically we just talk the whole time, which is such a great way to learn the language! Class goes by so fast, even though it is almost 3 hours long everyday for 2 weeks. After 2 weeks of class Monday through Friday everyday for 3 hours we will only have this class for an hour and a half and then my other classes will begin. 

So everyday I have to take the metro to and from class. Man the people you see on the metro, you just never know what you will see! haha. The other day Lexie and I were riding the metro and this woman was holding a baby and walking up and down the train asking people for money. Sometimes its something odd like that, or sometimes its a man playing the violen, a women singing- they all do this though and then walk up and down with a little cup asking for money. As good as they are sometimes you never want to give them money because you never know what they are going to try and pull !! So many different people riding the metro, such a great opportunity to people watch, which I love to do!! haha.

Well its almost midnight here so I must be getting to bed, Lexie and I are waking up early tomorrow morning to go work out! Buenas noches todos :)

xoxo

starting to get settled in!

1/13- Today I woke up, got a little something to eat and then went for a run. Still feeling a little sick, it wasnt the best work out but it felt good to get my heart pumping. I ran for about 30 minutes and then came back, showered and made my way to the API office (our programs office) to talk to them about dropping that awwfuuul financial economics II class. They said that I should be able to do it, so lets hope so! This appointment took sooooooooo long, so many people were in there so it took a really long time until it was my turn. Finally, I got out of there, went to the store with Lexie, we got a pizza and bread for dinner. We came back to our apartment and made our pizza in the microwave, Enrique and Mati made fun of us because they thought it was funny that we were eating bread and pizza. ( they said it was like the same thing!) And then Enrique made us his form of garlic bread (or as he says, 'desayuno por el pobre' aka 'breakfast for the poor'). We made dinner for ourselves tonight because we were going out with our friend Lily. We met at her apartment then went out. We ended up at a club called Opium. Opium is a verrry overpriced club to say the least, it is very cool and interesting- but its a place you go to once or twice and that is enough. Although Opium is a little overwhelming, we still had a fun time dancing and hanging out. We spent the night at our friend Lily's because it is much closer so we wouldnt have to pay a ton of money for a cab (they really rip you off!!!)  Lex and I shared the couch, not so comfortable! And we didnt have any blankets so we were freeeezzinnng!!

1/14- HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY BOY!!! AND SUZI :) Lex and I woke up early and headed home to sleep in our warm comfy beds. We pretty much just ended up sleeping the whole day since we didnt get the best nights sleep the night before. However we did get a chance to talk to both our parents and wish them a happy birthday! :) We woke up ate dinner, showered and then we decided since it was our friends birthday we should go out and help him celebrate. We ended up getting our roomies (Alex, Danny, and Parker) to come with us! We had a ton of fun, we went to a club called Oshum. Since it was our friends birthday we got in for free and got to go into the VIP lounge, it was very cool. We danced and had a great time. The metro opened back up at 5am so we just waited for that and came home and went to bed.

1/15- 2:15 we finally woke up. I met Lexie down at the cafe for a chocolate crossaint and a fresh squeezed oj :) Lexie filled out some post cards and I read my book 'the Lovely Bones'- I am almost finished, very good book, but very sad. After this we walked to the gym to sign up for a membership. It is called BAC de RODA- very cool place. It has a pool inside and outside, a huge weight room, and offers many many free aerobic fitness classes for us to take. After about 2 hours of getting everything set for us to join (things move much slower here than in the US) we finally got to go and work out. After our workout we went into the sauna for a little bit and then into the jacuzzi and pool for a little. It is soooo funny, when your are in the pool or jacuzzi you are required to wear a swim cap, so lexie and I had to borrow one from the lifeguard and they were to big so they kept falling off.  It was sort of awkward because everyone was staring at us, because we were the only girls in the place with a 2 piece on. lol. We decided to get out and went to shower and then made our way back home for dinner. Tonight Enrique made us dinner, it was this stew with potatoes and beef in it. It was delicious!! :) We did not go out tonight, we decided to stay in and at 2am we watched the packer game on my computer! Well I did at least, Lexie fell asleep before it even started, I ended up falling asleep at half time. But in the middle of the night I woke up to find that they won 41-21! :) YAYYY! I think that my packer boys are gunna go to the super bowl, sorry bears fans your in trouble!!!! :)

1/16- This morning Lexie and I woke up a little earlier than usual, aka not 2pm lol. Lexie found a church that is in English so we went to a service. It was very cool, so many different people from different cultures were there. The music was really good, fun, and uplifting- as were all of the people. This little african american boy was baptized, it was really cool to see- so many cute little kids as well! During church a man made an announcement about serving food to the needy on the streets this upcoming Saturday 1/22, so Lexie and I told him that we are interested and might be in attendance for that- how fun/rewarding would that be?! After the church service Lexie and I went to this pizzeria we went to before- its our place now :) We both had the margarita which came with a salad, bread, dessert (chocolate ice cream) and wine. It was delicious!! :) We headed back to our place for a little siesta, woke up for dinner (pasta with  cheesy/alfredo sauce with hamburger bits, a salad with a scrambled egg on the side)- very good meal, as all of them have been so far!! Our friend told us about this party that was going on at the W hotel- very very nice/exclusive hotel right on the beach. We were ready to go, but then decided we would rather just hang around here- so thats what we did, and we had a good time skyping/magic jacking friends and family and hanging with our roomies. Oh yeah Tyler Peterson arrived in Barcelona today so Lex n I have been in contact with him trying to meet up and what not, turns out he is staying at a place RIIIIIGHT by my school, what a coinicidence!!

1/17- Today was officially my first day of class! (Because I do not count that awful financial economics one) haha. I had class from 12:30-3:00. This is my intensive Spanish class. I tested into Español avanzado 3, which is great because that is what I needed to test into for my credits to transfer back to La Crosse. For the next 2 weeks this will be the only class that I am taking- Monday through Friday- and then on Jan 31st all of my other classes start and this class goes to only being 2 hours Monday through Thursday. My teacher is sooooo nice and all of the people in my class are great. Class flew by, all we did was talk which is so cool because it is a great way to learn the language!! Our class has about 12 people, so it is very personal which is also really great! There are 3 other girls from my program- api- in my class, so it was nice to see some familiar faces! After class, my friend that I met in class- Jocie- and I walked to the beach and just talked, she is very nice, I can tell we are going to get along great! After our stroll along the beautiful Mediteranean beach we headed to the book store to purchace the book we need for our language course. After this I headed home, and now here I am :)

I dont think I have mentioned this, but the weather here right now is in the mid 50s to low 60s. The sun is usually always out and shining :) its so nice!! It is very warm in the sun, but can get quite chilly in the shadows.

miss you all so much, hope all is well back home. please keep in touch and stay well. love you all :)
xoxo

PS--- GO PACK GO!!! (The bears still suck!! ) haha

1/9- 1/12

Hello everybody! hope all is well back in the states!

woo wooo! Packers won!!! :)

On Sunday 1/9 we had to meet back at our hotel at 9:30 for an academic meeting. After the meeting there was a free salsa lesson. Lexie and I couldn't resist so we participated in this lesson! Of course I had to be the guy though because Ms. Bales is much shorter than me! haha. Here is a short video clip of it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAaIEKrjrR0It. was a lot of fun, and we told them we were interested in possibly taking a class once or twice a week while we are here. After the lesson Lexie and I went shopping! Right now in Barcelona there are suuuch great shopping deals, it is almost like black Friday back home. They have what they call  'rebajas' going on right now. Basically, everything is like 30-50% off. We went into some really cool stores, some way out of our price range unfortunately lol. At this one store called Zara, I found some success, I bought 2 shirts and a belt. After shopping for quite some time, we grabbed some lunch at this pizzeria. The lunch deal they had was bread, salad, pizza, dessert and wine for 9 euro, it was a great deal and was really good! It was a ton of food though, Lexie and I had wanted to share a meal but they wouldn't let us, so we had a lot of left over food. After lunch we made our way back to our apartment and went to Corte Ingles, a huge department store to buy a pillow. On our walk back to our apartment from Corte Ingles (5 min walk) we wandered into a shoe store where I ended up buying a pair of boots. These rebajas need to end or I'm going to be broke! When we got back to our apartment we relaxed for a while until dinner. After dinner we got ready and made our way to the Irish pub we were at the other night to watch my Packer boys! There Lexie and I met a few new friends. I made a bet with this one guy that the Packers would win and since they did he had to buy me a drink :). It was so cool to be able to watch the game in a different country, although my favorite place to watch them is at home with my mom dad and sister- and max of course! So the packers won and it ended up being a really fun night! :)

On Monday, January 10th, I had to wake up at about 7:45 because I had orientation at my school, University of Pompeu Fabra. My school is about a 25 minute metro ride. This was my first metro ride along and it was successful, I made it to my school on time! The metro system is very cool and very easy to use! You have to be very careful  on the metro though, because that is where the most pick-pocketing occurs because it is a very crowded area. Don't worry though, I have been very aware of this and hold my bag in front of me so I can see it and feel it at all times. My orientation was really boring, but my school is really cool! After the orientation my friend Lily, a girl that is in the same program as me, walked all around the area of our school. Lily lives very close to the school so she showed me some pretty cool stuff! We walked through this absolutly beautiful park that had a huge castle surrounded by fountains, it was amazing. Then she took me to see this gym that she is probably joining, it was really cool- there was a pool on the room, pool inside with a hot tub, weight room, various exercise rooms, etc. I am still figuring out which gym would make most sense for me to join, living 25 min away from UPF. Enrique, our host dad told me about this one that is really close to our house (15 minutes walking distance). Then Lily and I, as we were searching for a metro to get on, saw this beautiful arch called Arc de Triomf. I didn't bring my camera that day, but Lily and I took some fun pictures on her camerea of the things we saw. We had to meet at the University of Autonoma, Lexie's school here, for yet another meeting. As the others were, this one was not very fun as well, but I guess the staff has to tell us this stuff and it is useful. We just want to explore though, not sit inside! After the meeting, Lexie and I were beat so we made our way back to our apartment. When we got back we took like a 3 hour nap and then woke up for dinner. Our new roomies had just gotten here for dinner time. They are very nice, they are from Chicago though :-/  (BOO BEARS! GO PACK GO!) haha. Their names are Alex, Danny, and Parker. We didn't end up going out because I had class at 8:00am the next morning. So we just hung out at our apartment and got a good nights rest.

beach with mountains in the backround, so beautiful

stickin our feet in the mediteranean, it was a little chilly!

1/11- Today I had to wake up at 6:45am to make it to class on time. Lexie came with me, not to class but to the area so we could hang out later. Class was terrible. It was Financial Economics II, which is odd that I am enrolled in that since I haven't taken I. The guy said if we took finance and an economics class before we would be fine, but I had no idea what was going on. By the way, this class was in English. I think I am dropping it though because I hate it and it will not count towards my Finance major anyways- this way I can just focus on my Spanish classes. After this class we had to take a Spanish placement test that I think went really well, so lets hope it did! After this placement test I met up with Lexie and we explored the area around my school. We walked to the beach (5 minute walk from my school) and stuck our feet in the water, it was sooo much fun! We walked all over Barcelona and saw some really amazing things. We made our way to Las Ramblas, where we had lunch. After lunch we did a little more shopping. We found some success at the gigantic H&M they have here, and we each bought a FC Barcelona Jersey-Messi #10. My shopping is now officially done for a while, I need to same some money!!! We came back home, relaxed, showered, ate dinner - spaghetti with Mati's homemade sauce :) Then we got ready and went out with our new roomies. We met some of their friends at this bar called Club Primer. When we got there Lex and I were just talking to this older guy, just to be friendly and meet some locals and we told him we were from Canada haha. After a couple minutes of talking we went buy our friends and then about 10 minutes later a bartender brought us a bottle of champagne and said it was from the man we were talking to! It was so cool!! haha. We then went to this disco called club Opium. It was a really cool place where there were a ton of people. We took a cab home with our new roomies and called it a night.

me, lexie, parker, danny, alex, and their friend at club primer

1/12- Today I woke up at about noon, because my school doesn't have classes today or tomorrow or friday this week, those classes start this upcoming Monday. Lexie went to class and I went to the cafe underneath our apartment to journal and got a fresh squeezed orange juice and a chocolate crossaint. I think that I am getting sick, and didnt feel well at all- I was going to take a walk to the gym to sign up for a membership and go for a run, but I came back and slept because I did not feel well at all. I have pretty much been resting all day, I am feeling a little bit better now, just have a little cough and am a little achey.

Nuestra Casa (our house)- updated!

Today we moved into our apartment, it is sooo cute! We are living with a housewife named Matilde, but we call her Mati, and her husband Enrique, and two other students from the US will be moving in on monday. We have a cure room, small with yellow comforters (it is clear that I over-packed- oops!! )
There is a very nice kitchen, living room and 2 bathrooms. Also, our apartment is on the corner so we have a terrace that raps around our apartment- its amazing! Our apartment is above a bakery/ coffee shop and a market. This part of town seems a little bit more safe than where we were staying at our hotel. Our hotel we stayed at was by a very popular street called 'las ramblas'- it is where everyone who is traveling goes to see and this means there are a lot of pickpocketers because they target tourists- especially americans. I am being careful though and watching my purse at all times- they say thats about the only crime that happens here though. For lunch today Mati made Lexie and I spaghetti. She made her own sauce ('salsa' en español) and a salad- it was delicious! We just got done unpacking. It is about 5:30 here and now I am going to lay down and enjoy my 'siesta' :)

Lexie and I unpacked, and luckily everything fit! phew! We showered, napped and then woke up and had a nice dinner from Mati. We had this fried thing with cheese and ham, some french fries and chorizo (looks like a sausage, but it is harder and harder to chew). Lexie and I didn't particularly like the chorizo so we told Mati 'No le gusta'. She told us to tell her if we don't like something because otherwise she will continue making it- she was not offended at all, she understood. We then just sat and talked with Enrique and Mati for a while and the showed us on the computer where the metro is and what not. We decided not to go out tonight, we are just too tired and want to rest up for our first week of school and want to be able to enjoy our day tomorrow. Tomorrow we have an academic meeting at the hotel we stayed at, then we will probably do some shopping because there are a lot of sales- 'rebajas'- going on right now, like 30-50% off (sort of like black friday but it lasts like 2 weeks, its really cool!) Then we want to go watch the packer game at the Irish bar we were at on Thursday night. They will have the games on tv and after there is karaoke! Que divertido eh?! Well now lexie and I are going to watch a show on our computer and get a good nights sleep. Buenas noches todos!

te amo much.. if you would like to skype, I'd love that and I can show you the place!

we went out tonight to and walked very far to a place called chupitos (shots - in english). It was a cool bar, met a lot of locals there. At first when I met the locals I told them I was from USA and then I told them I was kidding and told them I was from Canada and they started clapping and bought me a drink hahah. They however did tell me that I spoke spanish very well, quite the compliment! Tomorrow Lexie and I will be picked up by our housewife- Matilde Jimenz (Mati for short) and will move into our apartment. Hopefully this will be a great fit for Lexie and I, we are both very excited to meet her. Buenas noches amigos!

First few days in Barcelona!

It is about 8 o'clock pm here right now- 1:33 pm your time. We just got done with a housing meeting. We are having a ton of fun here, today we had a tour around the area and then a tour of all of barcelona! It was amaaazing! We went to this food market today and it was unbelievabley cool, some really wierd stuff but it was really cool to see. How are you doing? I miss you guys a lot. The first day was kinda hard for me because I was sooooo tired from not sleeping on the flight and the time change.  Our program bought us dinner last night, it was like 6 courses! it was crazy, I was full before my main meal came. First we had a caprase salad (cheese with tomatoes) and then we had these things with cheese in them, called croquettes, and then we had rizotto with parmasan and mushroom, and then we had this hummus thing with goat cheese, and then our main meal was a choice of either salmon and rice or chicken with fries (i obviously had the chicken haha-- but i tried the salmon, it was gross!). Everything was really good except for the hummus thing and the salmon, it was a lot of food but keep in mind its 'tapas' so its smaller portions shared with the table. Oh and for dessert we had creme brulee! 

after dinner a group of us went to this irish pub, it was a lot of fun. We are meeting a lot of people and being safe so don't worry momma! I used the purse you got me today mom, works great! Its perfect for Spain. The sales for the winter clothes started today so the city was packed! The tour around here we took, we saw the market, a really gorgeous cathedral! and some really cool stores/places. On our bus tour we saw a lot of Gaudi's architecture (famous architect from Barcelona). Some of the places he made are soooo pretty and really interesting. This church he was building (sagrada familia-- google that and see some pictures!) is still in the process of being built and will maybe be done in 2026 but it is quite the site to see- gorgeous!! We then got to go to the olympic soccer stadium that was used when Barcelona held the olympics in 1992- amazing. We then went to the FC Barcelona stadium today- not the inside but the gift shop and what not- I want to buy everything from that store, SOOOOOO coool!!!! Also, we drove past my university and it is about a 5 minute walk away from the Meditteranean Sea-- so beautiful... ohh and a casino haha! We have had a lot of meetings but we are having a lot of fun as well-- very tired though! Please keep in touch everyone, miss you and id love to skype you if you want to :)