Barcelona one minute, Paris the next...

Time. Is. Flying.  November 23rd already and less than a month left of the semester?? How did that happen?! Between classes (which have finally resumed after about a month long hiatus due to the strikes) and traveling from one city to the next, my time abroad is passing more quickly than I ever would have expected.  As a result, I've been slacking on the blog updates-it turns out maintaining a blog is a lot harder than it sounds! Anyway, a lot has happened since my last entry...

I took my first solo trip to Barcelona over the first few days of November (while we may not have Thanksgiving break here, the French make sure they have plenty of time off in the form of several breaks scattered throughout the year-perfect for traveling!)  Now that I know what it's like to have to book and plan a vacation from start to finish, I appreciate my parents so much more. Until I was faced with the work of having to figure out how I was going to get to my destination, where I would stay, what I would do there, etc., etc., I had no idea how stressful it all is! I always wondered why my parents would get so stressed out when we would travel because, for me, it was a vacation already planned out-all I had to do was hop on the plane and I was set.  I still love traveling, but taking trips like I do now is less of a "vacation", and a bit more like a part-time job.  Booking trips alone takes time and effort, not to mention the amount of time set aside to actually go on the trip.  This is coming out as more of a whiny complaint, but what I'm really try to say is that I'm learning a lot about what it actually means to travel.  So back to Barcelona! I was so proud that I managed to purchase my train ticket AND figure out a place to stay. First step: plan and book the trip-done! Lucky for me, I was able to stay with some family friends, so that was actually pretty easy.  I wish I could say the same about the train...I arrived at the station bright and early on Friday morning with my enormous suitcase in tow (Michèle's little suitcase is about the size of my backpack and I figured I would need a little more space for 5 days) and tickets in hand.  Shortly after arriving, I realized my train wasn't listed on the departure board, so I asked someone working there about it.  He simply told me, "Il y a aucune circulation à Barcelone aujourd'hui."  I stood there in disbelief.  "What do you mean there aren't any trains going to Barcelona today?? I bought a ticket and it says my train leaves today at 7:30!" He just shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.  Most people that know me would probably agree that if there is one thing I struggle with, it's a change of plans.  My list for the day was set and train cancellations were not on it! I think he saw the panic creeping into my face, because he directed me to where I could be "reimbursed" for my aller-retour.  Luckily, this situation wasn't like the boot fiasco, and I was able to get my money back for the ticket.  Still, I was now ticket-less, stuck in Montpellier thanks to the strikes.  After asking another extremely helpful train station employee if they had any advice on how to get to Barcelona TODAY, I was directed to the bus office a few blocks away.  I trudged over to the office with my bags only to realize that it was still about 7 am and the office wouldn't be open until 10 am, naturally.  So, I headed back to my apartment, completely at a loss for what to do.  I had texted Montse, the family friend I would be staying with, explaining what happened.  I never actually considered the possibility that I might have to figure out an alternative plan in the event that my train would be cancelled due to the strikes. 

To make a long story a bit shorter, I ended up taking a different train to Perpignan, a French town near the Spanish border, where I was picked up by Montse and her boyfriend Xevi, who drove two and a half hours out of their way to come and get me.  Had I not been staying with such kind, generous people, I probably wouldn't have been able to go to Barcelona that weekend.  The rest of the trip was absolutely perfect- from the sunny, warm weather to the gorgeous architecture to the delicious food.  My favorite parts of the trip were spent just walking around the city and learning about the history and culture of Catalonia.  Since words can't even describe how beautiful everything was, I'll just include a few photos of what I saw...

Palau de la Música

Montserrat!

View from the Montserrat Mountains

One of the many incredible views from Park Güell.  Gaudi lived in the house that appears in the foreground for 20 years!

More Park Güell

TAPAS! What we had for dinner on my first night in Barcelona :)

Gaudi's masterpiece, La Sagrada Familia

More Gaudi! On the roof of La Pedrera.  The picture doesn't do it justice, but this building is incredible!

It seemed like I had just finished unpacking after getting back from Barcelona, when I started to pack to leave again-this time to Paris! Paris was an entirely different trip than Barcelona-for one, I wasn't traveling alone! Maria and I booked our tickets for the same train, although we didn't sit next to each other (probably for the best, as I had an entire commentaire composé to write for my French lit class).  Unlike my previous train debacle, we had a smooth, drama-free trip there and back.  All I have to do is take the TGV three hours and I'm in Paris! What could be better?

Homework on the train! My first "Commentaire Composé" on Balzac's "La Maison du Chat-qui-Pelote"...

Weather-wise, we braced ourselves for the worst, but it only ended up raining one day of the three full days we spent there.  Not only that, the SUN actually came out on Saturday.  Paula, my friend whose apartment we stayed at, was so shocked to see the sun, so it must be a rare occurrence :) After deciding the metro was too complicated (and smelly) to deal with, we decided to tackle the city on foot.  Despite a few poor shoe choices on my part, we didn't have many issues getting everywhere we wanted to go.  I have to admit, I was a little concerned when we first set out on Friday morning armed with a few maps and a very vague idea of what we wanted to do/see.  Yes, I've been to Paris before, but no, my sense of direction is not the best.  Thanks to Maria and her navigation skills, we found our way around for the most part...

Maria consulting our "Street-wise" map of Paris, which we literally could not have survived without.

Over the course of the weekend, we managed to see most of the major tourist attractions, as well as just walk around and explore the different "quartiers" of the city. 

Notre Dame!

Champs Elysées... Maria's favorite ;)

L'Arc de Triomphe!

Paula and me in her adorable Parisian apartment :)

Eiffel Tower!

We climbed to the top of Notre Dame for the AMAZING view.  Too bad the Eiffel Tower is covered by the fog :(

Et voila! With two amazing (yet a bit stressful at times) trips under my belt, I am ready to take it easy in Montpellier until my family comes for Christmas in Nice! Wait, it's almost Christmas?! Did I mention that time is flying? Alright that's all for now, and I promise to write more often from now on...