Spontaneity

Wednesday’s are rough for my and my roommate’s class schedule. We have class from 9-11, 2-4 and 6-8. But when we found out that we had no 2 o’clock class, we ran home and decided to book plane tickets. I texted my best friend Alanna in Spain, told her I was coming to Barcelona, packed that night and was in Spain by 3:00 on Thursday!

I somehow found Lana’s apartment and her roommates Erica, Rachel and Claire took me out to lunch and we wandered around Barcelona until Alanna finished with class. We spent about two hours deciding where to treat ourselves to a Valentine’s Day dinner and eventually ended up at a Mexican restaurant where we got delicious burritos and the most amazing raspberry mojitos probably ever.

We basically crawled our way home to their teeny-tiny apartment and tried to lose the ten pounds we gained in an hour. They showed me Barcelona’s infamous nightlife but we ended up snuggling together on their jean-covered futon catching up until after 5am. And it was so perfect.

The next day we woke up at noon and spent the next three hours enjoying the sun in their apartment, cheers-ing champagne from “Sketch-Mart” and taking three thousand pictures. They took me to Bo de B and we sat on steps outside eating our sandwiches until we were absolutely stuffed (again). After some pick-pocketing drama we headed back home and Alanna and I walked around the city a little. She took me to MACBA to watch tons of skateboarders (apparently skateboarding is a huge thing in Barcelona) and got coffee for a few hours then headed home.

Lana made us all dinner at 9PM (how European of us) and we all packed up (me for home, and the rest of them for Girona). We parted ways at 8am Sunday morning, and shout out to me for figuring out the Spanish metro and the bus system and successfully getting to the airport all by myself!

My experience in Spain this time compared to a few years ago was totally different. I was a little turned off by Barcelona the last time. For whatever reason, I found the people unfriendly and it was my least favorite city of all the places I visited. I was very wrong- every person I met was welcoming (which was a breath of fresh air) and I got a completely different feel for it this time around. We didn’t bother going to the Sagrada Familia or the Gaudi house, but instead spent my few days wandering around and eating at little restaurants. I honestly think that’s the best way to really get to know a city.

Thank you Lana, Claire, Erica and Rachel for taking me in so last minute! I had the best weekend and owe it all to you. I wish I could see you again soon. A & C, see you in May!!!!

Being in Barcelona really made me feel lucky that I can speak the language of where I’m living. I am by no means fluent in French, but I cannot speak a lick of Spanish. It was so nice to land back in Nice and be able to communicate with everyone. I got off the bus from the airport and really thought to myself “wow, I really love this place.” Of course I’ve been enjoying my time here, but with all my homesickness, I don’t know if I’ve really realized how much I love it.

Carnaval started on Friday and continues for the next three weeks, so the streets of Nice are insane (especially since I live on a very popular walking street right near where the parade goes by, so it’s a mess down there). There are tons of people and tons of venders selling candy, masks, bubbles, noisemakers and all that good stuff. I dropped my bags off and decided to walk around Nice alone. I spent 10 euro on gummies (worth it. I'm obsessed with gummies right now and they are so good here) and walked around for a few hours. It was a gorgeous day and there were such good vibes in the city.

The best part about it? I didn’t get a single look. People can usually tell I’m American, so they’re always staring. Yesterday no one was. And every time I spoke to someone in French, they spoke back in French. Typically, they always speak back in English (if they speak it) because they can tell French isn’t my first language. I don’t know if it was because I sound more French, or maybe it was because I spoke well enough that they knew I could understand if they spoke back, but I heard no English yesterday and it was so awesome. I want to give myself a little pat on the back for that.

Sorry this post was so long, but I had such a great past few days I had to share it!

A

P.S. Happy Valentine's Day, Kev! Missed you a lot this week, but I can't wait to celebrate when you're here in a month!

(Ce week-end a été fantastique. Je suis chanceuse d'avoir passé mon temps avec ma meilleure amie. J'ai manqué d'avoir Alanna avec moi et c'était génial d'entendre les histoires des autres. Mon voyage m'a fait apprécier la France. Ce n'est pas que je n'aimais pas Barcelone, mais Nice se sent comme ma ville maintenant!)

Oh! And on my plane ride home I got to see Cannes from the air! It was SO cool to see the monastery and the city from above. Here's the link to my last post about Cannes, and below is a picture of it from above!