I definitely could not have chosen a better destination for the end of the semester - what better place for a final group trip than Barcelona!? To be honest, I really hadn't heard much about the city before coming abroad, but after having realized the frenzy of bookings taking place I became really psyched about my upcoming trip. The only advice I was given before leaving was get sleep; Get LOTS of sleep. And, boy, did I need it! I don't think there was a moment where we stopped moving in this city and there was always so much to do, especially because it's typically the case that staying out till 5 or 6 a.m. in Spain is a normal night on the town.

Has anyone heard of the architect Antoni Gaudi? If not look him up right now! His work is like a Dr. Seuss wonderland; it's fantastic! His are the images that most people think of when they imagine Barcelona. The structures are so imaginative that they seem as though they've just leaped out of a story book. He even constructed the longest bench in the world - all mosaic! I know I'm getting much too excited about this but I'm just amazed that people were able to accept this work in the 1920s. What an imaginative way of reconstructing the world!

The rest of the city was a frenzy of activity and it was a blast to just stroll the streets and enjoy the sights. There were even Spanish musicians playing on just about every corner (a group of us won hats after being pulled into a dancing circle for a Toyota promotion! Pretty out of the blue, but still very neat.) The city itself reminded me a lot of Miami with all of the colors and palm trees dispersed throughout and it was wonderful to just relax under the Spanish sun.

And I'm sure that by now I have expressed clearly enough my love of trying new foods. God knows how much I love pizza, but after four months of it a change is much appreciated. Therefore, bring on the tapas! It was so easy to get carried away with these tiny plates because the menu that they give you (mostly in Catalan, a regional dialect of Spanish) has so many options to chose from that you cannot leave there without trying each one. So we did... and it was fabulous! Then came the paella and the sangria and... well I'll stop there. Mmm mmm delicious! Can you tell I miss non-Italian foods?

But for now I am just trying to take in everything in Padova and Italy one last time before I have to head home. It's so strange to see this semester coming to a close. These last few months have been so fast paced that the time just flew by and now it's almost time for me to return to the states. Not yet though! My time in Italy may be ending soon but my adventures abroad are not. After one more week in Padova to finish finals I will be heading to Greece and then to Paris for some summer travels with my family.

As far as the next few days go, it will be a great time to just revisit all of my favorite places throughout the city and enjoy the remainder of my time here. God, Italy is beautiful! It's funny how you don't really appreciate it until it's time to leave. But I can't let myself become nostalgic yet - there's still much more to come!