A Farewell from Abroad: Final Days in London

 I can't believe it's May 14th. It seems like just yesterday that I got off my plane from the US and aimlessly wandered around the Kings Cross neighborhood to get bedsheets. A lot has happened since then: I've been to 13 cities, 11 countries, and 3 continents. I feel truly blessed to be able to travel like this at this age, especially with my lovely girlfriend, Katie. First and foremost, I want to thank my family: Dad, Mom, Jimmy, & Bridget for their support and love while I've been over here. I wouldn't have been able to do all of this awesome stuff abroad without them and I'm really lucky to have them in my family. Ok - enough mushy stuff for now (perhaps more later). Let me tell you about my final few days in London. Here it is in pictures and captions:

For our last Sunday in London, Katie and I went to an evening church service at Westminster Abbey. It was short, sweet, and a nice message. The inside of the church is stunning...unfortunately no pictures!

Probably my last look at Big Ben while I'm here. It just wouldn't be London if the skies weren't cloudy.

The first of our 3 final meals: The Blackfriar, which is easily our favorite pub in London (special thanks to my Uncle Josh for the original suggestion to go here).

Enjoying a "Hoptimus Prime" at my favorite pub. It's as good as the name is funny.

The next day, we went to Kensington Palace, which was another short and sweet visit. English history at this point is quite boring and silly, but the old stuff is still interesting to see. We also had a free pass, so we didn't have to go through the hassle of waiting in line.

Gloomy day! Big surprise! The gardens actually look better in the sun...

...the weather got better! One thing I've learned about London whilst abroad: they may as well not have a weather forecast. It changes unpredictably and rapidly.

The King's chair in Kensington Palace, where he met with people. Not as cool as this throne though...

There were playing cards all over Kensington Palace. They really wanted the Alice in Wonderland vibe I guess...

Look! A map of Middle Earth, I mean Westeros, I mean England!

The view of Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park from Kensington Palace. Not a bad day to explore the park...

...especially on bike! Katie and I rented Barclays public transport bikes for 2 quid and enjoyed a ride around Hyde Park!

The rest of the day went pretty well: Katie and I both treated ourselves to a few souvenirs to remember our time in London, and then met up with our friend Dave for dinner at this really cool place called Inamo. All in all, it was a great last day of leisure in London.

Today, May 14th, I am mostly packing and prepping for my flight back home tomorrow morning. Luckily, Katie and I have one more fun activity left - A (incredibly well-timed) farewell dinner with fellow BC students in studying here. We are going to this place Dave and I almost went to once (but it was booked full) - Fire & Stone, in Soho. It's definitely a perfect end to a perfect four months abroad.

 This is probably my last post from abroad. I wanted to thank everyone who read my blog and enjoyed it while I've been over here. I've actually come to like blogging quite a lot - maybe I will be writing more this summer. Really, all I can think of right now is how much I'm going to miss London. It's become the sort-of-second home that BC has been for me these past few years and I can't wait to come back here someday. But, I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss my family, friends, and cheesesteaks from Our Deli. Home is only 24 hours away and I really can't wait. I need a full week off when I get back to appreciate America...it really is the greatest country in world and I can't wait to be back (you definitely come to appreciate little and big things about the US when studying abroad). Anyway, you'll probably be hearing from me again, but I'm not sure when and it might be on a different blog. I'll keep you posted. For a final time from London:

Til then - Cheers!

A Final Adventure, Part 2: Barcelona

Hello again! It's been a while since I've last blogged. Over the past week I've been exploring the world for a final time - first in Marrakech and then in Barcelona. As you can imagine, I have a lot to share. Here is part two, Barcelona, in pictures and captions:

Let me start by saying that I want to go back to Barcelona TODAY. It was an amazing city for a variety of reasons, as you will soon see. Anyway, one of the first things we did when we got in from Marrakech was head over to the Barcelona Cathedral before dinner (which is super late - like 9pm). It's a pretty awesome gothic structure. Architecturally, Barcelona is one of the more interesting cities I have been to. I will touch more on this later.

Inside of the Barcelona Cathedral. Great looking arches.

Beautiful place.

After consuming mostly bread, kebab, and tea in Marrakech, Katie and I decided to do it up a little for our first meal in Barcelona. We went to this awesome restaurant called Arcano, which was one of the best meals we have had in our travels abroad. We had a some Sangria, potatoes and hot sauce, melted provolone with bacon and onions (it's even better than it sounds), and large, well-prepared meats (chicken for Katie, steak for me). Just and excellent time.

My sister Bridget, who would probably eat meat that is still alive, would be proud of the rare-ness of my steak here.

After enjoying a great meal and sleep, we awoke the next day for our "free" walking tour of Barcelona, which was the best one we have been on thus far. Katie and I have tended to do the "free" tours because they are cheap, fun, and a good way to see the city. This one, run by a company called Travel Bound, was just so well done that we decided to check out a few other things that they offered (cooking class for Paella and Sangria, and a "free" Bike tour, both which you will soon see). We weren't disappointed - every activity we did was just awesome. It was nice after months of travel and planning for each day to have someone else take the wheel for a little while, especially in a relaxing city like Barcelona. Pictured above is our first stop, a quiet square where children go to school (and was unfortunately bombed during the Spanish Civil War), Placa Sant Felip Neri.

An aquaduct! #RomansWereHere

Where the Roman gate into Barcelona once stood.

So this guy, Wilred the Hairy, killed some dragons and saved some virgins and is consequently a big deal in Barcelona. He's on the left and Saint George, fellow dragon slayer, is on the right.

This is Palau Reial Major, often times referred to as where "the new world met the old world", because it is where Christopher Colombus returned from the newly discovered Americas to meet Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand V and show what he had found.

So, instead of some tired kid who wouldn't move while people took pictures, imagine King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella standing on those steps and meeting Columbus and hearing about the new world for the first time. Pretty cool stuff.

The Gothic Quarter has incredible...you guessed it!...Gothic architecture.

The most interesting new thing that I learned on our tour is that Catalonia really, really feels like a separate place than the rest of Spain. In fact, many Catalonians are calling for independence (we even saw a demonstration on our last day). The flag above is techinically illegal, but they are all over the city, and is a Catalonian separatist flag. In Barcelona, Catalonian is the primary language, though mostly everyone can in fact speak Spanish. The sign on the left reads, in Catalonian, "Language is a right and a culture", and is protesting the attempt to make Catalonia more "Spanish".

Thanks to my friend Anya, who studied in Barcelona this past semester, after our walking tour, Katie and I enjoyed (after a long, but well-worth it, wait) one of the best chicken sandwiches I have ever had, courtesy of Bo de B.

El Cap de Barcelona, built in 1992. Hey, it's as old as I am! This isn't a coincidence - the 1992 Olympics seem to have really rejuvenated the city of Barcelona and contribute greatly to the awesome place (especially near the water) it is today.

Later that night, we signed up for the surprisingly inexpensive cooking class, where we learned how to make seafood Paella and Sangria de Vino. Our first stop was to La Boqueria Market to buy some seafood with our "class". We didn't eat this guy...but I'm sure someone else did.

Those crabs are alive and struggling.

This is what we bought: Clams, Mussels, Prawns, and Shrimp. It was an excellent time.

Can I interest you in some Octopus?

Perhaps an array of spices is what you're looking for?

Ahh yess...you seem to be interested in the lamb's head, bull's testicles, and bull penis. A fine choice! Let me wrap that up for you...

Check it out - I made some Sangria! Maybe I'll have to make some this summer for the beach!

For what we paid, I didn't expect as much food as we got. It was an awesome deal and awesome time. First course was make-you-own tapas. Spanish meats are pretty, pretty good.

Our freshly bought seafood, awaiting to be cooked and eaten.

We didn't actually make the Paella - we left that to our expert chef/teacher. However, he gave awesome step by step instructions and recipes for us at the end. Good times!

Yes. GET IN MY BELLY.

We ended our night by going to one of the Barcelona's premier beach night clubs - Opium Mar. It's a club on the beach. Usually, I'm not much of a club person (and neither is Katie), but it's such a big deal in Barcelona that we had to check it out. We weren't disappointed and had an awesome time!

Admission was free (because we signed up ahead of time online), but that drink sure wasn't! Don't worry Mom and Dad, that was the only one I could afford for the night.

After a fun first full-day and night in Barcelona, we spent the beginning of our second day on a free bike tour of the farther-away sights in Barcelona, many of them by or related to Antoni Gaudi.

Our first stop was Parc de la Ciutadella, which has a stunning fountain/cascade. I have better pictures of it in the sun later (unfortunately most of our day was pretty overcast).

Does every European city have an Arch of Triumph? This one might be my favorite...

Katie enjoyed the bike tour, as did I - it was a lot easier than Amsterdam, plus we had a guide!

Casa Batllo, by Antoni Gaudi. His architectural style is insane.

Casa Mila, another famous Gaudi building. Apparently there are no straight lines in the whole structure.

Gaudi's masterpiece, still under construction post-humously: Sagrada Familia Basilica. Crazy building. It looks like its melting doesn't it?

The now-defunct Bull Ring, La Monumental. Bull fighting apparently stopped in Barcelona not because its cruel, but because it's Spanish (not Catalonian). Well then.

We also biked down to the beach on an unfortunately gloomy day. Luckily, the next day was great weather and our flight wasn't until 9:30pm local time, so we got to go back.

After our tour, we took the metro up to Parc Guell, which features more Gaudi architecture and design. It also is home to an awesome view of the city!

The main plaza of Parc Guell.

Sitting on the awesome bench with two Gaudi buildings behind me.

Gaudi seemed to really be a fan of this melting-cave-like style of architecture. It's really unlike anything I've ever seen. I like it.

These supports hold up the plaza and don't really appear to be upright, all at slight angles. Crazy.

Hanging with the famous dragon, which really looks like a lizard, but still is really cool.

Sweet place, huh?

At the summit of Parc Guell is a cross, and also an incredible view of the city.

See what I mean?

On our final day, Katie and I went back to La Boqueria to enjoy numerous inexpensive fruit juice blends and small pieces of cured ham. It's the best place to be.

We also revisted Parc de la Cituadella, from which a nice view of the Arch of Triumph exists.

The lake in the Parc is really quite nice - you can even rent a rowboat if you wish!

Hey it's a Mammoth!

A much better day for the fountain!

and also a much better day for the beach!

Barcelona is the best, I can't wait to come back!

We saw a separatist protest on the way to find a cab. Seems like our cue to leave...

I didn't really know much about Barcelona before I visited, only that people seem to like it. Now, I can see why. Our walking tour guide said he came there to study and never left, and I can totally see how that happens to people there - the city is just perfect. Excellent food, weather, culture, art, beaches, clubs...I mean what else could you ask for? I will certainly be lobbying hard for my next family trip to include a stop in Barcelona (Barcelona, Munich, and Prague would be one helluva trip). I will also be trying to push my sister, Bridget, who is quite good at Spanish, to study abroad here if only so I can visit her a few times. I don't think there is really one negative thing I can say other than you will definitely spend a lot of money enjoying yourself, but it of course is worth it.

Barcelona was the perfect city to end my travels abroad in. Now I'm in London (which is a pretty great place itself!) for only 3 more days and then I head home to the USA. It's certainly bittersweet. I can't thank my family enough for their love and support through all of this, it has really made me miss them even more! (Don't worry guys, I got you some souvenirs!) Thanks for reading my blog up to this point - I will be sure to have a post or two more to share before I leave for home. Time certainly flies!

Til then - Cheers!