Second and Third Weekends!

   I have been so busy I have not had any time at all to post on my blog this past week!! My second weekend in Barcelona was amazing. We took a tour that took us to many of Gaudi's architectural creations on Saturday and it was absolutely amazing! I finally got to see La Sagrada Familia and it was breathtakingly beautiful!!!

   On Sunday, my host family had a barbecue for me and another student teacher and their host family! We went to Oriol's family house in the mountains and I had an amazing time! We walked around the woods and through the valley next to their home and it made me feel like I was back in Kentucky again! The lunch they made was absolutely amazing as well. It was actually not a lunch, it was a feast, and it was amazing. After we ate it was great to sit down and just spend time with Oriol's parents and his 94 year old grandmother who was so sweet! I was sad to leave, but I got to see them again this past weekend for Oriol's birthday!
   It was an eventful week last week and it went by very fast. On Wednesday we went to see Casa Batillo, which is a house built by Gaudi. It was one of the most beautiful houses I have ever been in. On Thursday, my host family and two other host families and their student teachers shared a Thanksgiving meal. It was amazing to see how much they cared to make us feel like we were home on Thanksgiving, and it made me feel much better about being away from home on such an important day.  And to top it all off, there was a huge shopping event going on all night on Thanksgiving night!! That really made me feel like I was home with my family! We went shopping, but came home early because we needed to get rest before the next day. We would be flying out on Friday evening for Paris!!!!!
    We left Friday night for Paris and got to our hotel around 12. It was very late and we were exhausted, so we decided to go to sleep. The next day was a jam packed, but fun day! We went to Notre Dame that morning, and it was one of the most beautiful churches I have ever been inside in my life! We got to see the lock bridge and I put a lock on the bridge! After the lock bridge we went to the Eiffel Tower. When I first saw it my mouth dropped. I could not believe how tall it actually was! We decided to skip the lines and walk up the 669 stairs to the second floor, which was one of the scariest things I have ever done in my life! When we got to the top though it was well worth it! The view was absolutely amazing and I could see the entire city of Paris! We headed to the Arc de Triumph after the Eiffel Tower and started to shop down Champs Elysees. The Christmas decorations were up all throughout Paris and it was so pretty!
   The next morning we got up super early and headed to the Lourve. I did not realize how humongous it was until we got there! The pyramid was amazing and I was so excited to finally see some of the works of art I have only seen in school, like the Mona Lisa! When we finally got it I was in shock at the vast amount of artworks within the building. I could have spent a week in the museum and not seen everything. We tried to find where everything we wanted to see was and made our way back to the hotel after taking many pictures! I have to say I had a great weekend in Paris and I cannot wait to see what great adventures Rome will hold next weekend!!

Until Next Time,
Ms. Sarah

Santa Isabel's Day and My First Weekend in Barcelona

     I have had such a busy weekend, and I am just now getting an opportunity to post another blog! I had the most amazing time on Friday with my students. It was Santa Isabel's Day and all of the team colors (red, blue, yellow, and green) came together and had a day of celebration and games. It was amazing to see how excited the kids got, especially when it came to playing futbol (soccer in America)! They had a very special lunch for us as well where the cathedral is beside the school!
     After school on Friday, we headed to Placa Cataluyna, which is the center of Barcelona. When we got off the metro, we found this wonderful place called Brunchelona, and they had...DOUGHNUTS! It was amazing to have a taste of some true American food, although everything that I have tried here so far has been very good! After stopping for our afternoon snack, we headed to the area where the high end shops are. Amanda, Mary Bruce, and I fell in love!! Everything was absolutely stunning, and they were beginning to put the Christmas lights up. They are supposed to come on sometime next week, so it will be even prettier then. After we did some shopping, we decided to head home and get some sleep before our big day on Saturday.
     As soon as we got ready on Saturday morning, we headed to Las Ramblas. This is one of the most popular streets in Placa Cataluyna. The first place we went to on Las Ramblas was La Boqueria, which is an indoor market. When we got inside, I saw some of the most amazing stands of fruits, vegetables, and even candy! I had never seen so much food in one place in my life. They also had a crepe stand and Amanda, Mary Bruce, and I tried a crepe with nutella and bananas! It was so good! We then ate lunch in a very beautiful cafe and headed to see the port the statue of Colom (Christopher Columbus). Needless to say, we had a very busy day on Saturday and I was ready for bed when I got home.
     On Sunday I spent the entire day with my host family and it was amazing. We slept in and ate a late breakfast. Marc's twin cousins came over for lunch and my host mom, Imma made oatmeal cookies out of the cookbook that I brought her. They were great!! After lunch we all headed to the Gothic area to see the Arc de Triumph and a famous fountain one of the largest parks in Barcelona. We also visited a very beautiful cathedral and a market that was built on ancient Roman ruins! We had tons of fun along the way as well. Marc and I got to test drive an electric tricycle which was awesome, and we raced on bikes that powered mini cars on a racetrack...of course I lost! We came home and had dinner afterwards, which was amazing like always. I was very blessed with an amazing host family and an awesome host mother who is an excellent cook!!
     Yesterday and today were the first normal days of school that we have had. The boys are still wild, but not as wild as they were last week. They are wild, but they are so sweet! When I walked in the door on Monday morning, nearly half the class ran to the door to give me a giant bear hug, and that made my day! It is great to see how loving and kind the students are here in Barcelona, and I feel that is one thing that students here have in common with students in America. I will make sure to post on here more often so I don't have to write a book from now on!

Until next time,
Ms. Sarah