Paella

Spain is also known for its paella. It was on the menu at every restaurant. It is rice in a thick yellow sauce often served with seafood. But while we were in Spain they also had vegetable paella which is what I tried. It was served with peas, artichokes, asparagus, peppers, and carrots. It was delicious and very filling.

Pass the Tapas

Spain is known for tapas so while we were in Barcelona, we ordered a lot of tapas. Tapas are like appetizers and are small portions so you can order a lot of them. There was every kind of tapas imaginable- seafood (mussels, octopus, shrimp, squid), vegetables, potatoes, chicken, omelets. For dinner, everyone ordered a few tapas and we passed them around so everyone could try it. It was a great way to try the different foods in Spain.

Sweet Sangria

Sangria was something we just had to try while in Spain. It was offered at every restaurant and was relatively inexpensive for the large pitcher that you received. It is red wine, club soda, chunks of fruit, and a few other ingredients. The fruit was so fresh and delicious. It is much sweeter than red wine alone and is more like a punch.

Barcelona

We decided to spend our last weekend in Europe in Barcelona, Spain and we had a blast! It was so different from any place in Italy. There were American chains like Burger King, Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, Subway, and of course McDonald's. It was a much more modern city, the complete opposite of Rome with its ancient ruins where we have spent the last 6 weeks.

Aimee and I on the bus

Today we decided to take a bus tour. It was the perfect thing to do for our short stay in the city. We got to see all of the major sites of Barcelona in one day. It was a big double-decker bus that you could hop on and hop off as you pleased, complete with audio guide telling you about each site that we stopped at and the various things and districts that we passed through.

My favorites were the buildings by Antonio Gaudi. They were so unique and so different from anything we have seen in Italy. We got to see La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's most famous work, a church dedicated to the Holy Family, still under construction. We saw the Casa Mila, also by Gaudi, and also Park Guell where we got off the bus and explored the park that overlooked the city.

La Sagrada Familia and Casa Mila


Park Guell and Gaudi's famous mosaic dragon statue

Walk on Water

For class we had to design an hour long walk and select places that we wanted to see on the walk. For my walk I chose a theme of water because Rome is known for creating the aqueduct and for bringing fresh water to all parts of the City. So I chose to stop at the Aqueduct of Nero built in the first century AD, then to the Villa Celimontana to see the various fountains there and the pond, and then on to the Baths of Caracalla, ending in the Park of Porta Capena.

-Starting at the Aqueduct of Nero
-Walking down Via Statilia, make a left onto Via Emanuele Filiberto
-Make a Right onto Via Della Fontana, past San Giovanni in Laterno
-Via Della Fontana turns into Via Dell’Amba Aradam
-Walk through the Piazza del Porta Metronia and make a right onto Via del Navicella
-Make a left onto the Villa Celimontana
-Leaving the Villa make a right onto Via del Navicella
-Walk back through the Piazza del Porta Metronia
-Make a right onto Via Druso
-Make a right onto Via del Terme di Caracalla where you will pass the Baths of Caracalla
-Leaving the Baths of Caracalla, make a left back onto Via del Terme di Caracalla
-End at Parco di Porta Capena

Vatican Museum

Today we went to the Vatican Museum. We went about midday and it was very crowded. People in large groups were pushing through and it made slowly meandering through slightly difficult. We bought the audio guide and it was totally worth it. My favorite things to see were the Raphael Rooms and the Sistine Chapel. When we were there people we being a little disrespectful in the Sistine Chapel. You are supposed to be quiet and pictures are not allowed but people were ignoring that. The Sistine Chapel was incredible. There is so much to look at. The ceiling has very detailed paintings, the walls are painted, and one entire wall, The Last Judgment, was also done by Michelangelo, all depicting scenes from the Bible. You could spend hours in just the Sistine Chapel.

School of Athens by Raphael

Surrey Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble

In Pincio Gardens, there are places where you can rent bikes or a surrey- a four person bike, covered with an umbrella. Today we decided to give it a try. It was 5 Euros a person for an hour. We had so much fun riding around the Villa Borghese and Pincio Gardens. The bikes even had a small motor on them that made pedaling much easier, especially up hills. Unfortunately ours turned off periodically and at one point we had to get out and push ours up a hill. But either way, it was fun and it is definitely the best way to see the park.