No Spain, No Gain

From last friday until yesterday, I we had a study tour and a small break. So I have a 9-day break to write about: forgive me if it's long. My study tour lasted from that Friday until Tuesday, and it was in Paris. We were all freaked out, because the Paris subway stations had just received terrorist threats, but our class was headed there nonetheless. Over those four days, we got to go to many museums, try many crepes and macarons, and take many train rides. Since I had already been to Paris, I didn't know if this trip would be as good, but it blew away my expectations. I think that during my first visit, I didn't exactly comprehend how much history lies within Paris. I took it at face value, but I didn't look any deeper. Our class took us to like 5 museums, each completely unique. The most renowned that we visited was the Louvre, within which we saw several of the paintings that we had learned about in class, including the Mona Lisa.

It really was amazing how big some of the paintings were, and how much time must've ben spent collectively creating the works in that museum. But the Louvre wasn't the most impressive to me, because the expectations were so high. My personal favorite was the Musee Rodin, a museum which is home to many works of the French-turned-American artist, Auguste Rodin-- including "The Thinker." This museum made such an impression on me because of the natural beauty that encompassed it. Most of the museum was outside, and the inside looked like a small castle. I could imagine a queen walking out onto her balcony to this sight:

The grass was perfectly cut , and the hedges seemed perfectly trimmed, but this did not take away from the completely natural feeling given off by the scenery. It seemed so real, but so perfect, which is why I was so amazed by this museum. I can only imagine what Versailles would be like to see in person.

Visiting Paris for the second time, I was set on seeing the Catacombs, which, becuase they hold 6 million bodies, are known to be the largest gravesite in the world. After an hour-and-a-half wait, some classmates and I ventured 20 meters below the streets of Paris, into tunnels that were lined with skulls and femurs. It was a creepy but amazing experience to see how each bone fit in just like a puzzle piece. I'm so happy I went to see the Catacombs.

Paris just has so much more to offer than I believed. I think that if I had another week in the city, I still couldn't see everything I'd like to. Paris is definitely somewhere I want to visit again.

The study tour ended at noon on Tuesday, so I could've gotten more time in Paris, but my dream as a kid was to go to Spain. So, for the remainder of my week, I stayed stayed in Barcelona and Valencia. Barcelona was crazy because almost everything for sale there can be haggled down to a lower price. There were awesome shops and restaurants tucked into the smallest corners and alleys in the city that my friends and I stumbled upon. I got to go to the Mediterranean for a little while, but I didn't swim. We did get to go to a bar that was -10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit). The bar, the walls, and the cups were all made of ice, so it was awesome to go to for the experience. We only stayed for one drink because it was cold, but then we headed to the other clubs that lined the beach. It blew my mind that the Spaniards don't go out until 1:00am and they stay out at the bars and clubs until 6:00am. I felt like a loser because I left at 4:00.

I couldn't handle the Barcelona culture for too long, so I went to Valencia to take a few days to rest. Valencia was so relaxing! We went to the beach on Friday for most of the day, and I got sunburnt in 90 degree weather, while back home in Cleveland it was 40 degrees. Then, while we were walking around toward the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, we saw these big clear balls floating on the water. YES, they were those things you float in and play around. YES, we got to go in them. And YES, it was freaking awesome. Valencia was so relaxing and care-free. But we had to head back to Barca Saturday night to fly back on Sunday.

We ended up going to a bar in Barcelona called BarDowJones. It's pricing methods were based off the variability of stock prices. The costs of drinks fluctuate based on consumer demand for the drink. So, if a Heineken is 2,65Euro when I purchase it, the price will likely rise to something like 2,90Euro immediately after the transaction. And every once in a while, the stock market will crash, making drinks very cheap for a few minutes. A bar based off of finance: every Miami student's dream.

We flew home yesterday morning, and It felt just like coming home to Cleveland from a vacation because the weather was so cold ing Lux compared to Spain. It'll be a great feeling when I do get the actual Cleveland weather stepping off that plane. I loved my week break, but I've never been so happy to be in Lux. 44/117.