Here I am, at the end of a long (3 day), busy (I mean, I did go out for St. Patty's Day), stressful (I took two tests!), exhausting (see St. Patty's Day) week.  Its crazy how fast a week can fly by, especially when you spend part of it traveling.  This past weekend, Leah and I adventured to Barcelona to meet up with her friend Becky and to eat tapas.  It was quite the trek; the trip there took 18 hours, most of which was spent in a train or waiting for a train.  But we travel like pros and therefore had enough energy to see the sights right off the train. 

 

 We started off with some Gaudi buildings (he's a famous architect who designed pretty much all of Barcelone), namely the famous Sagrada Familia and some random houses.  I will say, his stuff isn't boring.  Its covered with (sometimes creepy) statues, very gothic, but cool.  Its one of a kind stuff.  Leah and I got our tapas and sangria fix, and we also all went out to see a Flamenco show.  It was a lot of singing, which I didn't expect, so I really didn't get what was going on for the majority of the time.  The loudness of there clapping really impressed me, along with their furiously stomping feet.

The next day we got some fruit at this crazy huge market and then headed up to Parc Guell, another Gaudi creation.  Its way up on the hill, so you could see all of Barcelona, really really pretty.  Another plus, America's Next Top Model filmed the runway finale with Caridee and Melrose there, so you can strut your stuff just like the pros.  Leah and I definitely did, and we rocked it, if I do say so myself.  It was a really beautiful, sunny day, so it was nice to enjoy the sun in such a picture perfect place.  We also went down to the beach; March is not swimming weather, sadly enough.  I put my feet in and we sat in the sand.  Good enough pour moi.

Barcelona tip:  GO SEE THE MAGIC FOUNTAIN!  I don't care how lame it sounds, it is the coolest fountain show (maybe the only one...) I have ever and will ever see.  Awesome.  I couldn't get enough of it.

Another Barcelona tip of a more non-lame nature:  Go to the Olympic Port for the night life.  So worth it.  Earlier in the evening, we all went to a bar by La Rambla, this giant road with lots of shops, street performers, rabbits and turtles (really.  people were selling them there), and tourist shops.  It was fun, but the bartenders spoke in Spanish to Becky (Leah's friend) and Becky's friends and Leah and I just sat in the corner and commiserated about our lack of comprehension.  Becky and crew headed back to the hostel around one, but Leah and I decided to profite bien of our trip and we went down the the Olympic Port.  Lots of dancing, Spanish bands pretending to be Irish bands, cool St. Patricks day hats, and you didn't have to pay to get into these places!  Perfect.  And lots of fun (we didn't get back til 5 am).

Quick synopsis of the next day:  Lots of climbing up and down hills, more beautiful views, 1992 Olympic Stadium, beaches, soccer game (Barcelona won!  Messi had a hat trick!  I wore my jersey!), sleep.

 The next day we spent in transit, but we finally made it back to France, land of yummy cheese and baguettes, where I understand things and people don't smoke in public buildings (I had to air out my coat and scarves after this trip...).  It was weird not understanding what was being said at all for a couple days and not being able to ask the simplest things....Spanish is not my forte.

Another cultural happening:  ST PATRICKS DAY!  Which is celebrated with much less green and much less enthusiasm than in the US.  I told my host siblings that in the states, if you don't wear green you have to suffer through an entire day of pinches.  Lucile thought this was hilarious until I pointed out the fact that she was wearing nothing but red.  After an assault of pinches from Louis and I, she changed clothes.  It was weird to not see green everywhere you went!  Sophie told me, "That just isn't our thing here...."

Last night, Leah and I grabbed our Leprechaun hats, which we acquired in Barcelona, and headed out.  O'Connells, the big Irish Pub here was the busiest I have ever seen it in my life!  There were people all over Place du Parlement because there wasn't enough room in the bar for everybody, and the line for the bar took FOREVER.  They had a Celtic band playing music and free Guiness gear to hand out, plus the bartenders are legit Irishmen with adorable accents.  Everything you could ever want.  Everyone was in good spirits in honor of good old St. Pat.  It was good to see the Frenchies dress up like silly people and have fun, although it was much less crazy than St. Patty's Day aux Etats-Unis.  We spent the evening having conversations with random Frenchies (although most of them would only speak in English back....).  It was a good time!

Which leads me to a random rant I've been having lately....I'm reading this book for lit class written by a Canadian chick who lives in Paris and half the time she bashes the States (even though she lived there for the majority of her youth)..."I hate being associated with the idea of an 'American in Paris.'" "I hate English.  Americans think everyone should speak English.  They're stupid pigs." (not really direct quotes, but you get the gist).  I HATE when people say that we think everyone should speak English.  I HATE when people complain about America 'taking over the world.'  If people hate English so much, then when I come up them speaking in French, don't speak back to me in English.  If people hate the idea of American consumerism, stop listening to the Black Eyed Peas and start listening to Carla Bruni (who is Italian, but she sings in French, so close enough).  Young French hippies with guitars are everywhere, all you gotta do is go to your nearest parc.  But do they jam out and write songs in French?  Nope.  English.  Even if when they sing it's incomprehensible, whether its because of the pronunciation or the words just don't make sense, they do it anyways.  Its à la mode.  I don't think everyone should speak English (although speaking English is rather helpful when you're, say....in Barcelona for example....and don't speak Catalan or Spanish....), why else would I be making all this effort to speak French, its just frustrating when you can't even really practice it.  As soon as you make a mistake or they hear your accent (which is a telltale sign, most Americans have a very distinct fake French accent....), they switch to English.  Which, oddly enough, is a lot harder to understand than if they just kept speaking in French.....

Anyways.  Thats my complaining for the month. 

I'm off to eat some dinner....à la prochaine yo.

PHOTO MONTAGE!!!!