Monthly Archives: February 2017

     Wednesday’s are super super tough days for us here (I’m only kidding)… we take the train to Barcelona for the day as a class. The morning consists of classroom time where we learn about important architecture in the city. We then have a break to enjoy a two hour lunch together – long lunches with friends are part of the culture here and we’ve adapted quite nicely!

     The second half of the day is spent walking around the city experiencing the streets, plazas and buildings that we learned about in the morning. Once the day is over, we head back to Girona. On the train, I go back through the photos and notes I took and sketches I drew. We learn and see so much that I reflect on the day in order to remember as much as possible. We’ve already learned so many things that just can’t be taught sitting in a classroom!

                           Casa Batlló                                                       Barcelona Cathedral

                Passeig de Lluís Companys                                                 Plaza Reial

      My mom texted me one Saturday and said “how is your day today?” I responded saying “well, I’m actually in Florence so my day is going pretty well!” I guess I had forgot to tell her I was going to Florence, Italy for the weekend! My two friends and I flew out Friday night and booked a hostel until Monday before flying back at night.

      Florence was absolutely amazing. We all fell in love the second we got into the city. There was pizza, pasta, paninis, gelato and wine EVERYWHERE – not to mention the gorgeous architecture. I think the best way to show the beauty of Florence is by sharing these few photos…

     Skiing in Europe was one of my main priorities for this semester and I decided to go the first free weekend I had! My friend and I bought tickets for a ski bus to a nearby mountain range. We woke up at 6:00am and went the the bus station. We couldn’t find the right bus and worried that we weren’t going to be able to go. A bus driver, who sensed that we were confused, pointed us to the correct bus – everyone here is so helpful and nice!

     When we got to the mountain, we rented skis, poles and boots, but didn’t have a way to rent snow pants. Luckily we both had winter jackets, hats and gloves to keep us warm enough. The weather was perfect for skiing, the view was absolutely beautiful and the conditions were better than anything I had ever experienced in New England. It was definitely worth the stress of almost missing the bus as you can tell from the photos below!