Fall Break Recap: Barcelona Day 2!

If the weather on our first day in Barcelona was dreadful, on our second day, it was heavenly. Warm and breezy. With Kaitlin in Lisbon, Isabel moved into Cande's with us, so now there would be three of us on a full-sized futon! Around noon, the three of us hashed out the day's plans on Cande's table. We would try to check out all of Amy's recommended restaurants and special sites, starting with tapas lunch at Txapela. This time, we were a little wiser, and ordered a couple tapas per person to try. They were delicious, but since the tapas were literally bite-sized, I still wasn't full!

We decided to walk down La Rambla, Barcelona's most famous street. It was so lively and filled with entertainers, promoters, and street vendors... but we had to be careful too, because it's also one of the most common places to be pick-pocketed, and trust me, I never want that to happen again! We found St. Josep's Boqueria, a huge market that had every kind of food imaginable. I was in heaven! I bought a plate of exotic fruit, which sated my appetite completely.

When we reached the end of La Rambla, we found ourselves in Port Vell, a beautiful port with tons of boats and seafood restaurants. It was so relaxing just to sit by the dock and later the beach to take in the sun and scenery.

But my favorite part of Port Vell was the incredible restaurant we found -- it was truly a gem! I wish I had jotted down the name for you all. We feasted on a 3 course meal (in huge portions too) for only 12 euro! I had a huge plate of mussels for my first course, steak and fries for my second, chocolate mousse for dessert, and sangria. Best. meal. of. my. life! I'm not even sure how to categorize this meal -- we had already had lunch, but it was too early for dinner, which in Spain usually starts around 10pm. But when you find such a great place like this, no matter what time it is, you go!

Look at our mussels!

That night, we went to dinner again, because we met up with Isabel's friend Ali, who's studying abroad in Barcelona. Her friends were super nice, and gave us a bunch of suggestions on places to go out that night. All of the places matched Amy's recommendations, so we were doubly prepared. We headed out to Chupitos at around 1am, and had delicious "Finding Nemo" shots, where you have to fish out an M&M in whipped cream with your tongue while your hands are tied behind your back. (There are all sorts of other crazy shots which I'll tell you about later in my next post.) But it was sooo incredibly crowded in Chupitos, we were getting shoved left and right by the crowd. So we downed our shots and called it a night. They were yummy... tasted like dessert!

Fall Break Recap: Barcelona Day 1

Hello dear readers! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to finally share with you my fall break experiences. I was so exhausted after those 10 days of traveling, I needed to rest my mind a bit before reliving all the adventures! Since we traveled mostly at night, I was pretty sleep-deprived throughout the trip, but I'm all caught up and ready to chat. :)

So first up on our fall break agenda was Barcelona! My three friends Kaitlin, Kate, and Isabel, and I arrived in Barcelona at 6am! (Our flight left at 4am, so it was a really crazy night at the airport.) Sleepy and hungry, we took the metro to Isabel and Kaitlin's hostel, dropped our bags off, and ran into the closest bakery for coffee and sweets. And this is where I learned that if you order a Cafe Solo, you'll end up with only a shot of espresso. Well, at least I got a caffeine jolt!

Cande's apartment

While Kaitlin and Isabel napped, Kate and I headed off to our host, Cande's apartment. We found her through Couchsurfing, an amazing worldwide network of travelers who kindly open their homes to fellow travelers. Cande's apartment was pretty neat because she owned the entire floor, so each door lead to a different part of her home. So we had complete privacy in her kitchen/dining room on a comfy futon, with our own bathroom and even our own set of keys to come in and out as we please! We napped for a few hours as it started to rain, took showers, and then met up with Kaitlin and Isabel at a tapas restaurant nearby in the Gothic Quarter (where we lived!).

Paella and the a view of rainy Barcelona

This was the first time I had ever eaten tapas, and I have to admit, I was incredibly ignorant. I wasn't even sure of what tapas were, so when I ordered paella and only got a few bites of it in the pot, I was a bit upset. But Kaitlin explained that people usually order a lot of tapas (since they're so small) and share with a large group -- so now I know how it's done! By the end of lunch, my stomach was filled mostly with sangria. We sat for a bit and waited for the rain to stop -- it was really monsooning! -- but far too impatient, we trekked out to check out some museums.

Actually, thinking back, our first day was pretty difficult. It was raining so much, even under our umbrellas everything waist-down got soaked. The walk uphill was long and windy, but there were a few escalators to relieve us of the many steps up. We wondered if it was safe to ride escalators in the rain... hmm. When we finally made it to the Joan Miro museum, our boots and socks were uncomfortably damp, but we took our time looking at Miro's very abstract art before drying off in the museum cafe.

Left: Kaitlin and Isabel telling the rain to "kiss my butt!"
Right: Yours truly analyzing one of Miro's work

We all desperately needed to change clothes (especially socks!), so we headed back to our respective places and got ready for dinner. Kaitlin was only staying in Barcelona for a day before heading off to Lisbon, so we had our special dinner with her at Mussel, one of the amazing places my friend Amy, who made a whole Barcelona guide for us, recommended. One cup of their sangria con cava (sangria with champagne!) was enough to get us super drunk, it was that strong! Kate and I walked back to Cande's (since the metro closed after midnight on Thursdays) in a daze. Thank goodness she is an expert map navigator, because I am the worst at directions, just the worst.

Kaitlin on the left, and Kate enjoying our sangria con cava!

Kate and I got back to Cande's and talked to her until 2am about travel, boys, all sorts of things that three girls can think of. Finally, we knocked out from exhaustion and didn't even bother setting our alarms for the next morning, which to me, is probably the greatest luxury. We were planning on taking a bus to Southern France in two nights, but since we hadn't bought tickets yet, we could take our time getting to know Barcelona. We could tell it was only the beginning of a beautiful friendship. :)

leaving for fall break...

Wallenstein Garden

Tonight!!! Unfortunately, our plane departs at 4am tomorrow morning... but the Czech metro closes down at midnight. So, sleepover at the airport?

I'm sure Barcelona, Southern France, Paris, and London are gorgeous, but Prague was especially lovely this week. Be back in ten days, I'll be sure to take tons of photos! xoxo

BUDAPEST!

Finally, I'm ready and armed with lots and lots of pictures! We literally walked around the whole city, crossing three of the four bridges -- so lots of different views of the city. It was the perfect way to "meet" Budapest. A picture-filled recap of my trip (or click for the whole experience here):

No surprise, Budapest is architecturally striking...

Along the way, I saw some of my favorite yellow buildings!

Budapest is also fully of silly statues!

And little nooks in castles!

But what kind of trip would this be without yummy desserts?

And lots of Eastern European food? (Read: Paprika spice and heavy sauces)

I had such an AMAZING time in Budapest. It's a beautiful city.

budapest! (in video)

I'm such a terrible studier. I can't work for more than an hour or so before my mind drifts off to things like pictures, shoes, and traveling. And I can't believe I still haven't sifted through and picked out Budapest pictures to post yet! After my midterm tomorrow, they will be up soon!

But I do have for you some of my videos from Budapest! Such a gorgeous, beautiful city. Architecture, landscape, the Danube river -- everything was serene and quietly majestic.

Budapest's Parliament building

Sitting by the peaceful Danube river

PS: T-minus 3 days until I leave for fall break!!!! (Sooo excited!)

blog updates

Hi dears,

I'm sorry I've been remiss on updating! It's midterms crunch-time, and uploading photos (unfortunately) takes up a lot of time, especially when there are hundreds of them to look through!

In the meantime, take a look at my inspiration blog (on fashion, writing, and design): http://helenhearts.blogspot.com

See you in a week!
Helen

PS: I promise Budapest pics will be up soon! :)

my petit room

I have a bunk-bed! Perfect for visiting friends

My closet is all over the place

I'm usually not so sloppy, but lately, everything has been in disarray. It's like the second I fold my clothes and put my stuff in place, they're all in a mess again! (And somehow always find their way to the unused top bunk.) I blame it on the planning, traveling, and studying. If only a day were 48 hours long!

PS: I am off for my weekend in Budapest in FIVE hours! (As in, we leave at 5AM!) Not going to sleep much tonight. :)

bohemia bagel, pt. 2

Actually, it might be the cheesecake... (with coffee and a book).

I like to eat the crust first with the fruit

bohemia bagel

Sometimes, when I need a break from (delicious but heavy!) Czech food and my own scrappy creations, I visit Bohemia Bagel for some good old American treats in hearty, large portions. Their menu is absolutely divine -- the chunky, creamy, tomato soup is my favorite.

Berlin!

I'm still gushing about this weekend in Berlin -- it was so, so much fun! My friend Lisa and I took the city in a whirlwind! We stayed with a lovely couple, Tanja and Dirk, who we found from CouchSurfing, and then set off to do some sightseeing and exploring. We ended up visiting:

The Pergamon museum

The Reichstag and its dome

The Brandenburg gate

The TV tower (Berlin's tallest building)


And the Berlin Wall and East Side Gallery




Oh, and we caught "The Giants" puppet parade!

In between, we relaxed at Cafe Einstein, where we ordered brunch, the cafe's famous apple strudel (so says Time Out Berlin) and hot chocolate. It was the best part of the entire weekend! And just the beginning of two food-crazy days. We devoured currywurst, doner kebaps, and gelato. Oh, this weekend was such a blast!