Saturday, May 2, 2009

Berlin- Check.. Praha- Check... Italy.

Not too much time on the internet but a quick update from my last leg. Berlin, the amazing capital city of Germany was awesome! The amount of history, the amazing cheap access to great sausages, the night life, the beautiful germans, and the beer were all amazing! I am extremely happy I did in fact make it to Germany, it went so well... with some funnnny stories that you should inquire about when I get home.

Praha- Prague was another amazing place. This city is unlike any other I have been too. So small, quaint, cobblestoneesque with a different demographic feel. The food here was extremley international and tasty as well. Prague was beauitful, lots of great night life, and just a great trip.

Nowww, I am in Rome, Italy. I am in Rome until Monday, then Cinqueterra until Wednesday, then Florence thurs-sun... thennnn home! Everything is flyinggg by which is very sad, but this trip is incredible and making my Barcelona to home transition much better (or maybe worse). Italy is awesome so far. The people, the langauge, the SITESSS, and of course the food. Things can only get better, what a Summer break thus far... see you back all in reality soon :(

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Almost time to check-out

So I leave tomorrow for my very last leg of my trip. School is over, the program is finished. I am heading to Berlin, Prague, then Italy until May 10th, then I will be coming back home. This is a very tough time, but hey, this has been the best experience of my life and all good things must come to an end. After this mighty final excursion, I will update you all about how it went.... plus I still need to inform you all about Greece and how spectacular that was!

Cheers!

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Photo Shoot of the family trip.



One view from the top


Bro's and the Seine

Great French Dinner

Paris Bus Tour

Lyn and myself at La Sagrada Familia

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

The Bensmans do Barca (and Paris).

Sorrrrry for the long wait my friends! My family came to visit me for a while, and then I had my spring break trip to Greece. Now I am a officially back to reality (unfortunately) and ready to update you all.

So yes, March 20th, my family came to Barcelona. My two brothers, Bill and Cal, and my mom Lyn. The trip was sensational! I played tour guide in the beginning and showed them everything Barcelona has to offer through my eyes and recently attained tour guide skills. It was amazing having my family here, and I am certain that they in fact had a great time as well. We went non-stop day after day and it was a trip of a lifetime for all!



In the middle of the trip, we took a nice jaunt across the boarder to Paris. Paris was remarkable. Getting a break from Spanish food alone made it amazing, but really the trip was awesome! The combination of touring a foreign city with my family, seeing unbelievable sites, drinking amazing sparkling wine ETCCC the list goes on, was unforgettable. We saw nearly all of Paris. We all had an amazing time despite the weather being miserable- cold and rainy. Next time you hear the French are rude, smelly, stuck up... don't agree, because until you've been you truly do not know, the people were great!

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Carnaval and Wine tasting!

Like every post I make these days, the theme is that it is hard to describe my events because words cannot paint a clear enough picture for how amazing these adventures are, nor can I write enough to even explain them. BUT, the week after London, two great events also took place, and since I am finally recovered from it all, I know will tell you about them. The Tuesday after returning from London, all of Barcelona picked up and went to a small beach town 30 minutes south of BCN, called Sitges. Here at Sitges, a giant festival/celebration took place: Carnaval! The streets were flooded with people, and what made it even more special was that it was also on the beach! The celebration is basically a combination of Halloween/Mardi Gras because there is a giant parade, lots of partying, and everyone is dressed in costumes. This was one of the craziest celebrations I have ever experienced, and definatley a site to see when in Europe.
Later in the week, our program took us on a day excursion to Penedes, Spain for a wine tasting and tour. This again was awesome! We arrived at a vineyard, got a tour where we saw different parts of the vineyard from the grape plants, to the underground barrles, to the bottling section. Then we watched a video explanation of the history of Torres wine, and finally we began a tasting of 4 differnt wines. I personally learned so much from this experience because myself and a few others took advantage of the lady's expertise and asked her question after question about wine. Slowly but surely my skills are picking up in the Vino World!! But yes, anyways, it was extremeley cool to be on the a vineyard and be exposed to so much great tasting and information about such a strong aspect of Europen lifestyle, wine. I am glad we are all caught up, and I apologize for any delay, but life does not slow down when in Barcelonaaaa, so stay tuned, because I am sure some more exciting adventures are not too far away!

PS- if my English seems to be getting worse, it is because I am living in SPAIN, I apologize but please understand :).
Picadilly Circus and a Sad Sunday Farewell!!!!


Abiding the law on Jordan's Birthday, what else?




Just deciding which shades to buy at Harrods.


More market.

Some foooood at the market.

The Camden Market!

A Pub we enjoyed.



The old Roman Tower.


Tower Bridge.

Another Angle + London Eye.


New Angle + Dusk!

The crew at Big Ben/Parliment.



Myself and the birthday boy at the Palace.

Pubbb Life!

Yours truly at Hyde Park!

My host and I enjoying the first night!

Living London, for a longggg weekend!

So I traveled to London, not this past weekend, but the one before. It was my good friend Jordan's golden 21st birthday weekend, and lets just say, everything about the weekend was perfect. Despite losing a friend in Madrid while connecting to a new flight, and Jordan nearly losing his bag in Heathrow Airport, the first leg of the trip was great. We went Thursday the 19th- to Sunday the 22nd. Upon arriving in amazing LondonTown, we met our good friend from school, and immediately went and grabbed our first Pint at a Pub. After a pint, or maybe a few, we grabbed some Fish n Chips, and then finally got to our buddies amazing flat at Primrose Hill . From that point on, we did London like no one could imagine. We woke up Friday, did a walking tour throughout the entire city for 7 hours touching tons of sites, ranging from Hyde and Green park, To Buckingham Palace, to Big Ben, the London Eye, and both the London Bridge, Tower Bridge, and the old Roman Tower. These were just a few of the breathtaking sites we saw! Then, after the tour, we proceeded to another pub for the night where we enjoyed Pints of various beers fresh on Tap all night and of course the presence of one another. It was AMAZING! London has an incredible vibe, and somehow, we had a sun-filled weekend which is not common at all. Then Saturday came around, and we woke up at went to an amazing outdoor open public market, called the Camden Market. At this market one could shop at outdoor sites, or eat any type of authentic international cuisine they pleased. We all tried a little bit of everything, ranging from Mexican, to Chinese, to deserts, and some fresh squeezed OJ, and it was great. Continuing on with Saturday, lets not forget today was the golden birthday of our buddy Jordan, so we were truly having an amazing day! We did more and more walking and sponging in of London, then at night time, we went to Picadilly Circus for a bar/club in a very crazy but cool area of the city, and we had a blast! Each day got better and better, and London kept feeling more and more amazing. It was sad to see Sunday come after such an amazing weekend in London, but between the birthday weekend being present, us seeing the entire city, eating great food and having amazing beer (pub life=awesome), or simply hearing English, London blew me away and I truly had the time of my life. London has it all, it is a big city, but with tons of culture and so much appeal that I could definatley see myself lodging there for longer than a weekend! Adios all!!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

life in the fast lane

Heading to Sevilla and Córdoba for the weekend was yet again a priceless experience. Beyond catching a 24 flu and projectile vommiting nearly 5-7 times the trip was unforgettable! Haha, sorry foe the details, but its my blog right?? Well anyways, yes the south of Spain was fantastic. Our program flew us to Sevilla where we then stayed in a hotel for the weekend, and sight saw non-stop. We saw the world's largest gothic cathedral, the Alcazar Palace, Plaza Espanya, and much more. In Córdoba we went and checked out the Famous Mosque/Mezquita (check this link out for awesome info), and this was mind-blowing. The amount of information I learned at La Mezquita about the ancient times involving the Christians, Muslims, and Jews was spectacular. Simply being present there was an awesomeee. The trip was amazing, between the weather, the people I was with (friends from my program) to the night-life, I couldn't have gotten more out of my trip. One big thing I am realzing from this traveling is that I also love Barcelona so much. Every weekend, I am so excited to return "home" and this is a great thing. Therefore, a weekend get-a-way is always amazing, but living in the center of Barcelona, one of the best cities in the world is truly an experience of a lifetime. Now, I am off to London for the weekend. Life is the fast-lane truly, as in that time is flying and every moment in Europe is one to remember.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

The Mil-town crew before going to Kapital!



Action shot from Kapital (Famous 7-story club in Madrid)


Myself and Benett at the Palace Real with the Cathedral in the back.


Stolen pictures from the Palace- huge risk, GREAT reward!--- DINNER at the Palace.


Another room in the Palace


The Throne!!





Armory shot from the Palace


Reina Sofia Museum
, very very cool but was too scared to snap pictures inside.

Foutain at Parque Buen Retiro.


Palacio Real.

More parts of the Parque


Amazing man made lake at the Parque.

Madrid

** Blake and Benett at Parque Buen Retiro, Amazing!!!


This past weekend I met my good friend from home, Benett, in the capital of Espana, Madrid. This weekend was amazing. Granted the journey getting to and from Madrid were not too fun because of the numerous trains and planes, everything in between the flights was spectacular. We did everything one can do. Toured all the sights, ate great food, explored the fantastic night life, and simply enjoyed exploring a new city. As much as I loved Madrid, I am very happy I live in Barcelona. Barcelona, I think, has more character, culture, and simply a better feel, but Madrid is an amazing place as well. The experience of traveling within Spain is extremely rewarding because noticing the the differrent dialects, accents, and demograhpics is very intriguing. Overall, its hard to put an amazing weekend like Madrid into words, but it was one of the best times I have ever experienced and priceless memories were created this past weekend.


This weekend (Feb 13-15) I am going to Sevilla, Spain with my program, and I am greatly anticipating this as well!!

Its mid February!?

Life has been crazy lately. I cannot beleive how fast everything is already going. As of late, I have been scrambling and simply living life out here in Europe! Classes officially picked up not too long ago. I am in a variety of classes ranging from media and society, to film, all of which are about Spain and tought in Espanol/Castellano. These classes are still at Universitat Pompeu Fabra, meaning I am surrounded by international and Spanish kids constantly!
Furthermore, I have also begun working at my internship! What I am doing for my internship is working on a brand new temporary exhibit opening this month, for The Barcelona City History Museum staged in the breath-taking Gothic Quarter of the city. What I do for the Museum is, like I said, work on this brand new Exhibit opening. The reason they chose me to work is because this exhibit is about "transnationalism" in Barcelona. Basically, Barcelona is changing rapidly with heavy amounts of people coming to live here, that were not born here, like myself. Therefore, I am the person who is charge of English communications jobs, ranging from creating survey's for visitors, to writing a international press release document, to simply being used for English perspective! It has been an amazing opourtunity thus far, and I can't wait for the exhibit to open.
Also, beyond school and working, I have been settling into home-stay life. I am loving living with a host mother and living in a residential neighborhood. Everything with the home is going very smoothly, and I am truly feeling like a citizen these days, not a visitor. Over the past few weeks I have done tons and tons of things from exploring the neighborhood, to finding a place to get my haircut, to simply walking around, and nothing ceases to get old around here! The weather has been decent, but not amazing, but beyond that, life could NOT be better!!
On a final note, I have discovered a local joint for some great food (get excited Caleb). It's small, tucked away, and delicious! You walk in, place your order, and the chef fires up a burning hot, toasted Bocadillo for you, and it is not to be beleived. For those of you coming to visit, get excited, and for those who are simply reading... you may want to head to Kopp's now to clear your thoughts because this place is TOO good! Beyond all of this news, thats all that really comes to mind about my past few weeks, besides my Madrid trip which, will I post a seperate blog for!

Adeau (Catalan for seee yaaa)

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Back to Life

So, I am finally back. Let me just say yes, Americans take the Internet for granted, but life without it is rough, but I have survived! But, now that I have consistent internet access at my home I can return to being a blog-o-holic once again. I have done a lot in the time where I was not able to update all of my fellow followers, but the update is on its way. Many good things to come, just want to update everyone that all or most of my links are now functioning (check them out!!!) and that I will be back to blogging regularly very shortly! Talk to you soon.



PS- If this sounds like a child wrote it, I sincerely apologize, but I am writing on 6? hours of sleep after an amazing weekend in Madrid.

Chao.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Home Sweeeet Home

So, as I hope you've all noticed, I have not blogged recently. The reason is that on Sunday night (1/25) I moved from my residencia, to a home-stay. For those of you who are interested in how close/far I actually moved, here is a map. Anyways, my home-stay is absolutely great, minus not currently having the Internet. I have been through thick and thin (had a technician come to the house and try to fix the problem for hours then demanding tons of $$ from me... nothing worked, language barrier is tough in real-life dilemmas) trying to get this problem solved, and hopefully it will be shortly.
With that said, here I am, updating you all. I am currently at UPF, where all my classes are now kicking off as of this week. I have to blog from here due to my Internet not working at home. Anyways, now that you are all caught up, the home-stay. My friend Josh and I live with one woman, and her name is Carmen. As soon as I moved in, she showed me around, gave me keys and told me this is my house now- she is amazing. Mid to late 50's, widowed, mother of three, and oh so cool. She has cooked us burgers, homemade Vegetable soup, spaghetti, and chicken, all of which has been delicious-she basically cooks for us b/c these are not authentic dishes nor does she eat late at night. In the mornings she makes us tea, coffee, gives us cereal, muffins, fruit, bread whatever we want. The day I go there, she did my laundry for me, and since there are not dryers here, she hung everything out on the balcony, which is in my room! Hmm what else?? Josh has his own room (which somehow again is huge) and I have my own. Both are great and perfect for us. We are starting to form a nice little family even though these first few days have been hectic with Josh being sick and myself trying to get the Internet going. Overall, every night we have a dinner together, where Josh, Carmen and myself talk, relax, and enlighten one another about our days(all in Spanish obviously). This is where I try to understand what she is telling me, and sometimes I do, while other times I simply do not. The area we live in is also quite nice and extremely CENTRAL within the city of Barcelona. Basically, with the home-stay, I get to see more of the culture: How Carmen runs her life, how energy actually matters because lights are always off, rooms are always cold, water does not stay warm long, and dryers simply dont exist, and I enjoy taking all of this in. Overall, I am very happy about my move. Carmen is a great cook and a very sweet woman, providing quite the grandmother touch I have been looking for! Josh and I are eating it up... ;)

Since I am a little behind and Internetless I do not remember everything that I should blog about, feel free to ask me more about my home-stay. This is a summary of what comes to mind for now, to give you all an idea, but like I said... feel free to ask about more!

**Lastly, I plan to take some pictures of my home and Carmen shortly and
post them on my blog and facebook.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

BARCE---BARCE---BARCE!




Last night, a few of us finally made it to a FC Barcelona match, and let me tell you, words cannot describe the experience. First of all, tickets for the cheapest section were all sold out. Somehow, someway, this lady gave us some random free tickets and we got in! Right from that point, I realized this is meant to be! As soon as I entered the stadium, Camp Nou, I wanted to cry. The "pitch" is so immaculate and surreal. 100,000 fans cheering on their pride and glory, and I was in the heart of it, experiencing it all. The amount of pashion alone is unimaginable (and then screaming, blow-horns etc) and make up the total experience for a futbol match.
Afer some scrambling, I made it down to the lower level, grabbed a seat and enjoyed the match. FCB is the best team in La Liga (Spanish Leauge), and they showed it last night. They beat their oponents 4-1, and it was truly amazing. Everything from the living the first GOALLL, to the simply listening to the fans, to scrambling through the stadium was ideal! Like any sporting event, watching it live takes the cake, but with futbol, you have to live it. I look forward to getting to as many matches as possible!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

A special journey to class...



So today (like the last 10 days) I woke up with the sun shining through my curtains. I thought to myself, I want to walk the beach on my way to class. I live right off the beach (Barceloneta) so the walk to the boardwalk/ "paseo" is not too far. With that said, I grabbed my Ipod, put on Radiohead, my favorite band, and cruised the sea on my way to class. Between the music and the sights, it was truly one of the most breath-taking moments of my life. Therefore, I had to stop a man and ask him to snap a picture of me. So, hope you enjoy!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Mr. President- Obama-Obama-Obama!







Tuesday, January 20th, 2009. No matter where anyone was, today was one of the most notable in history. Us American's over in Spain were allowed to leave class a bit early to catch the Inauguration coverage of Barack Obama. Therefore, after a long day of class, we all ventured to a Irish Pub nearby for $1 Estrella's, (one of Barcelona's most common beers)and to watch the official Inauguration ceremony. When entering the pub, I noticed a huge crowd of kids. Granted seeing tons of American's in one place is not something to be excited about, today was an exception. Kids from all sorts of programs gathered around, had some beers, and cheered on our new president. It was truly a priceless experience, and granted I was not even in the homeland to experience it, it will never be forgotten.