Tag: Travel

Spending the weekend in your host city…

Published on by AdriLeave a comment

While studying abroad it seems that everyone is always off to a explore a different country each weekend, and spending quality time in your host city in is often overlooked. My piece of advice after studying abroad in two different countries is to balance out your weekends in your city, and time spent traveling. Not only will this help make your travel experiences more enjoyable, reduce burnout, tiredness (from those 6am budget flights, etc…) but it will also help you truly experience your city.

No one else staying behind for the weekend? No problem. Often we feel like we should make every day studying abroad a perfect one, and a social one. But the truth is, sometimes it doesn’t work out like that. For example, two of my apartment-mates came here as friends and have travel together every weekend, and I am not that close with my roommate because we have very different schedules and lifestyles. So, while I wish I had someone to walk around the city with this weekend, I plan on making the most of it, enjoying some solo time to slow down, experience and reflect. You never know what you may stumble upon or come to realize with some self-time.

On Friday I slept in and then did some chores around the house, cooked some meals… and while I felt ‘behind’ my schedule, I just needed to remind myself I am where I need to be, and that this was my chill day. I then went out walking without using any directions. At this point I know the route to the beach and back, but its also just fun to wander and see where you end up. If I only have a few days to explore a city or country, then I like to have everything mapped and planned. But if I am somewhere for a long period of time, I always try to have an experience of ‘getting lost’. I happened to wander by the well known ‘kiss mural’ in Barcelona, that I hadn’t seen yet, and pass by a cellist outside a church playing one of my favorite songs, ‘Moon River’. I then wandered a long the beach trying to find a quiet, sunny spot. It was a rather interesting day at the beach. I witnessed someone walking on someones back, massaging them, two guys selling beach blankets getting into a yelling argument, and finally, I had a lady come up to me and pinch my shoulder asking if I wanted a massage, which startled me so much because she snuck up on me. Then I watched the sunset, and the sky fade from light blue, to dusty pink, and smoky purple.

On Saturday, it was as I anticipated, a cloudy, chilly, rainy day. Perfect for what I had planned. I enjoyed sleeping in again, then walked down the block down to my favorite cafe called Afecte. It’s always these two friendly Spaniards, and one Argentinian working, and I always practice my Spanish with them. Most Spaniards are so friendly and happy when you speak Spanish to them. Also, Barcelona has sooooo many fabulous, aesthetic, wonderful cafes and brunch places. There is practically one everywhere you look, serving beautifully plated food, with people chatting or doing work. Something about Barcelona that I enjoy is that people work in cafes, similar to in the US. For example, when I was in Italy, no one did this, it wasn’t common. From there I walked down to the Boqueria, and got a few oranges from the produce stalls. I am still trying to find the best and most affordable place to buy produce in Barcelona, there are so many options! I always love getting my produce from stalls or markets rather than a grocery store, and it is usually better quality, and more local. Then I walked to La Virreina Centro de la Imagen. A wonderful free museum! I really enjoyed this, it was a great free experience to do in Barcelona, with some interesting exhibitions. After that I went to another free museum called Museu Frederic. Finally to end the night, I went to a free International mass at La Sagrada Familia! It was so amazing, I definitely recommend even if you’re not religious (like me) because it also gets you free access into the building. Overall a really nice experience, and it gave me nostalgia to going to mass with my host family way back then.

On Sunday I wanted to check out this large, free cactus and botanical garden near the beach. So I walked down there, and also walked up into the hills on Mont. Juic. There was a more extensive garden then I realized! I caught the sunset up there, then met up with my friends at Casa Batllo (one of Gaudi’s houses, which just so happens to be a few blocks down from me). At Batllo they were doing a really cool lights show, that they only do every so often. Lastly, I finished up some homework for the weekend, and planned my week!

It was a great weekend in Barcelona, and after spending two weekends in Barcelona here are some places I’ve explored. As well as a little re-cap of many different free activities you can do when in Barcelona:

  • Casa Batllo
  • Casa Mila
  • (Any other casa by Gaudi)
  • La Boqueria
  • La Virreina Centro de la Imagen
  • Museo Frederic
  • Jardins de Mossen Costa
  • Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (free on Saturday’s anytime after 3)
  • the beach!
  • See La Sagrada Familia and the park nearby
  • Bunkers el Carmel
  • Parc de la Cuitadella
  • Arc de Triomf
  • More to come!

Follow along on my time in Barca, and see more photos here! https://www.instagram.com/pranaphotos_/

Postcards Home and Learning Opportunities

Published on by miadervisevicLeave a comment

It’s been so much fun walking around the city of Rome, exploring the streets, and stumbling across different beautiful monuments, cathedrals, and ancient artifacts. My friends and I have been taking to the town every day since we’ve gotten here, and all agreed to take as much as we can out of this study abroad. Planning day trips and finding new places around Rome, we have enjoyed our time here so far. We tried Japanese pancakes the other day while walking around the Vatican and made ‘vlogs’ along the way. Even when it was raining, we were out on those cobblestone streets enjoying the peacefulness that covered Rome.

However, comparing to last semester in London, I’ve already noticed some differences about my experience and myself. Rome is a far more sociable city than London, and I’ve noticed that in London I felt it being more okay to being alone. I felt as though London gives company to those who like solo time and gives more opportunities for solo dates, where Rome is far more social, and I felt more of a need to be around my friends and have less of a desire to go on solo dates- even the thought of it was a little more daunting. Maybe part of it is the fact that there is a huge language barrier now. Maybe I felt more comfortable and confident in London because I knew how to get around and knew everyone around me spoke English. However, I will try and work on my language skills and put my 2 years of Italian to use!

While on one of our walks through the city, my new flat mate and friend, Nicole, decided she wanted to send a postcard home. So, while she picked out a postcard, Abby found a cafe. Nicole quickly picked out a postcard, wrote a note, and sent it away. However, after a questioning from Abby, Nicole quickly learned that she needed to put a stamp on her postcard! She ran back to the stand, talked to the owner again, and quickly got the card back, to which she put a stamp on it and now it was truly on its way back home.

There have been quite a few learning opportunities here in Rome. From figuring out how to talk to locals, to ordering cappuccinos, figuring out where to get my nails done, and learning that even if its 60 degrees outside the Italians will still be in full winter coats.

The latter learning opportunity presented itself to me the other day. While I dress for the weather, Italians dress for the season. It was a sunny, 60-degree day outside, so I decided to embrace it and wear a t-shirt and jeans. While I thought it was fine, the Italians apparently did not. While walking around the streets, I got a few stares and a comment about it being cold. While it was a little uncomfortable being so stared at for just a simple t-shirt when it was warm out, I realized that’s what comes with living in a new country and learning what the locals do, how they dress, where they eat, and everything in between. Nonetheless, I’ll still be wearing my t-shirts because frankly, 60 degrees is quite warm when the sun is out…

While last week was filled with learning opportunities, this week will be filled with embracing those changes. This weekend, my flat mates and I will take on our first trip of the semester; Prague and Budapest! I’m excited to travel to these new places and explore the new countries I will be in.

https://www.instagram.com/mias_abroad/