London bridges falling down

I loved London! (not as much as Ireland but I still loved it) My friend Colette is studying there so it was great staying with her and her flat mates. Every one was really nice and I really liked it because everyone spoke english. The weather was a little chilly however, it was still beautiful. We went on the London eye and got to see all of London from above. We also went to West Minster Abbey where Kate and William got married. It was really pretty. It was crazy to see it because I was watching it on TV at 3 am when it was going on and to think I was right there was really weird/cool!

She also took us to her favorite places to eat! Also even the sweet stores :) Yummy!! We went to a place called Ben's cookies which were amazing!! I hate to admit it but we went there twice...shhh don't tell anyone :)

We also went to 2 of the most famous night clubs there. It was a lot of fun. It is really funny how globalized American music really is....because it is everywhere....

ALSO while i was walking down a crowed street with my friends, I happened to run into Rachel Mcadams.....no big deal :) She is even prettier in real life!

Pictures to come....

L&L
Jenny

Ireland....

I don't even know where to start....I honestly had the best weekend of my life. I did not want to come home on sunday, but I had to. All I know is that I will be back in Ireland again some time in my life.

For starters, I just went with my friend chelsea. I think the secret is traveling with less people. It is a lot easier than with a huge group because there are less opinions to but heads with.

We first flew into Dublin. We went to some pub and waited for our friend Sean to get there...Quick little side note....My friend chelsea met him in Barcelona and he invited us to come to Dublin and stay with him and his family, which live in Galway. Anyways, back to the story....so we were sitting in some pub waiting for Sean, while we drank our first Guinness. Which was really yummies! So he finally got there and we headed to his apartment. We then went out because by that time it was already 10pm. We got Irish stew for dinner. It was so great! One of the best dinners I have ever ate. Then we went to Temple bar where we went to a bar and hung out with a few of his friends.

The next day we were up and went sightseeing on a Viking tour. It was really fun! The tour was on ground and also in the water. Also every time we passed an ATM we had to scream, we were also all wearing viking hats which made it twice as funny. After that we found out that Michael Buble was going to be there, I waited for 3 hours while he was coming to turn on the Christmas lights in Dublin. There was so many people there just to see him. He ended up not even singing; however I still got to see him and see him turn on the lights.

That night we then went to Galway. Sean's dad picked us up at the Train station and we headed to his house. His parents were so welcoming and wonderful to Chelsea and I.

That next morning we woke up really early to take his mom to work; so we could use the car for the day. We went to the Cliffs of Moher. Which were beautiful. No words can really describe them. Once we were there for a few hours we headed to a small town called Lehinch, were we decided to go surfing!!! It was really cool because this was my first time ever surfing and I was in the Atlantic Ocean, only 7 hours away from New York! We surfed for about 3 hours, and once we were done we headed back to Sean's house really tired.

For dinner we ate Irish stew, from sean's family's pub! It was really good. Once we were done we picked his mom up at work and she took us to the city center. We then grabbed a few beers with his friends and then came home.

On sunday we had to leave at 12 :( We didn't get home till around 11 pm. It was a long day of traveling, but it was well worth it. It honestly was the best weekend of my life. I did not want to leave. I hope one day to go back for over a week.

In a few days I leave for Italy, which i'm sure will be a great time!

L&L
-jenny  

double trouble in Paris....

I got the pleasure of going to France 2 times in a month :) It was amazing. I have always wanted to go. It has been a dream of mine since I can remember. This is because my grandpa, one of the most important people in my life was born and raised there.

The first time I went there was with a few of my friends. We stayed in a hostel, right in the center of the city. This was honestly the worst experience I have ever had. 2 of my friends got all of there luggage stolen the first day we were there. It was horrible but they really made the best of it. I got to see everything in paris that I wanted to see. Things from historical monuments to museums :) I really had the best time. I felt right at home there. The food also was really great.

The second time I went was with my mom. It was a different experience because we stayed at a really nice hotel. It was a lot different than the first time. We stayed right behind the Champs Elysees. I also met up with a friend that lives in Paris. I have not seen him in over 6 years so it was really great to reconnect with him there! My mom and I were lucky enough to go to Lyon, the town my Grandpa was born in. It was honestly one of the best days of my life. I got to see his street that he grew up on and the address at which he lived. His town was beautiful and everyone there was extremely friendly. I hope to one day go back and stay there a lot longer than a day because just one day was not enough.

I leave in a few days for Ireland for the weekend. After Ireland, im off to Italy and after Italy I go to London :) Time is passing by so quickly and its getting more and more real that I have to leave in a month and go back to real life. I graduate College in less than 6 months and then real life really begins.

I'm trying to take in every moment and enjoy everyday as much as possible!! :) Off to to some homework just thought I should update this because I keep forgetting

L&L
-Jenny

sensation...and weekend in barcelona!

I went to a concert called sensation. It was unreal. Everyone HAD to wear white and it was a concert that was from 8pm-6am. It was a lot of fun but super long!!! I'll post pictures so you can see it.

The few weekends I have been here in Barcelona, I have been sight seeing as much as I can. The more I see of Barcelona, the more I love. There is something for everyone here no matter what your interests are.

I also went to Sitges. It is a town about 40 minutes south of Barcelona. It is a really pretty beach town. It kind of reminded me of Santa Cruz. Every one is friendly there and there are a bunch of people building sand castles.

Portugal!!!

Portugal was AMAZING! It was such a cultural enriching experience. When we got there we went sightseeing. We saw some of the most beautiful places, statues, castles and much more.

We went to an older restaurant that is know for its FADO! We had no idea this meant that we had to be silent during dinner so we went in unprepared. Luckily, Melinda speaks portuguese so we could communicate very well. They are so open and loving to most travelers.

We stayed at a hostel (SCARY!) It was my first time and it actually was a really good experience. It was really nice, just the coed rooms with 10 people were a little odd but it was ok.

So we were in Lisboa, on friday and then on Saturday we went to Belem. They have a famous pastry shop...so of course I went....it was really yummy. We walked along the water and saw a few land marks. Like a castle and a bridge that looks almost exactly like the Golden Gate Bridge.

Sunday came so soon...but none the less we were on our way home to BARCELONA...it's really not a bad deal when you go home to barcelona. I cannot believe it still.

It has been over a month! I am in awe still. There is so much to take in and I am just trying to absorb everything and really step back and be thankful for everything. This is an amazing experience and I am so blessed to be here.

My mom is coming in a month to visit me and I am really excited about it. We plan to go to France and Lyon where my grandpa is from. It is going to be amazing because I have always wanted to see where he was from. Everyone that I talked to said that it is a beautiful city. I guess I will see in about a month.

I'll post again soon! Sorry it took me awhile...barcelona is taking all my attention :)

L&L
-Jenny

La Merce

There was a huge festival here and it was a lot of fun. On friday we went out during the night after school. On saturday we woke up early so we could see the famous Castllers..I dont know on the spelling but it is where people climb on top of each other and stack way up high.

We also went to Sagrada Familia...it was simply amazing. We did not go in but we stood outside for a while and just admired the beauty of it.

On sunday we went to Mount Juic. It was so pretty. There was a view of the whole city. After that Melinda and I came home and we got ready for out night out with our host family. We went to Mount juic and watched the fountain show/fireworks. It was the most amazing night. I really am so happy I have the host parents that I do have.

Hope you enjoy :) 

L&L

-jenny

it's has been so long yet it feels like yesterday....

I have been gone for almost 3 weeks now. It is crazy how time flies here. I have 11 weeks left here in Barcelona. I have done so much already and yet I feel as though I haven't done enough. I have a lot planned ahead of myself. For example, a friend here has family in Prague and we would stay at her family's place. So I plan to do that in November. I also am going to France with some girlfriends and then when my mom comes I plan to go again. We have a 4 day weekend at the end of November so me and my friends plan to go to Rome/Italy. We also have a friend in London which we want to visit. There really is so much to do! There is a bunch of stuff also in Barcelona that I have not seen. There is a festival this weekend in Barcelona that happens every year so I am looking forward to that.

We just got back from Costa Brava this weekend. It was so beautiful. We went to the Dali Museum, and went to a bunch of sight seeing places. One of those including the South of France. Which was my favorite. It was such an interesting experience because we are used to having to speak spanish and then no one spoke any spanish and everyone was speaking in French. I loved it. The people were so friendly and open there. Plus there were millions of dogs.

This is such a great experience and it honestly makes me so thankful for all the friends and family I have back at home.....Tomorrow is my moms birthday and I'm so sad I will be missing it :( but I love you so much and I can't wait to see you soon! Happy Birthday mom!! xoxo  

pictures!

This first time I felt like home....a candy shop off the La Rambla.....the lady there was not very nice at first but then when I attempted to speak spanish she became nice, so then she let me take a picture because there are no pictures allowed there. 

2 things in one day!! I found nougat!!! It reminded me of my grandparents because every time they went to France they would bring me back some. It was so yummy!!

All the different things at the open air market off La Rambla 

Just hanging out :) 

One of the many trams

Melinda and I at some local bar hanging out...they serve free popcorn :) 

These are the many different shots you can get...how do you pick just one?

I love this!!!!

Here you go breezy! :) 

Those are for you becca! :)

Melinda and I again! 

Hope you enjoyed...more to come!! 

going out

So Melinda and I went out last night for the first time. It was a lot of fun! Everyone here is so nice and open to having a good time and meeting new people. It was really funny being in the bars because there is American music being played and even people that don't speak english are singing in english. The songs are also so random. It went from Katy Perry to Green Day to some lady singing in Spanish! HAH It was great! They also have beer pong here. My roommate was playing and then some people said oh this game is big over in the states...they even have championships! it is super funny how different things are yet at the same time, we are all human and we do a lot of the same things! Taking the night bus home was an adventure in itself. We got a little lost so we ended up needing to cab it home but it was only 3 euros! I'll post pictures soon! :)

oh btw---this is for you shay shay...We were walking on the street and some car with a bunch of locals were in it with their music blasting and they were singing Give me everything tonight by pitbull in english! hahah I thought it was great and it made me think of you while I was out! miss you like crazy!

Becca & Breezy---I went to some bar and there were pictures of audrey hepburn & marilyn monroe it too made me think og you! I took some pictures! hope you like them :) Also becca there are so many Anchors here! haha Every time I see one I think of you!!

L&L
-Jenny

These are a few friends that are from Santa Clara University! 

This is my new friend Adriana. She is from the east coast, she lives 2 blocks away from me. 

The shock is finally settling down...

Today I had orientation and it was a little crazy but I made it through it. While I had breaks, I walked around and most importantly went down Las Ramblas.

Also I stopped in and got ice and fruit. It is a cup of fruit with a scoop of ice cream on it. It was just enough to hold me over till lunch and it was perfectly chilled.

Then I continued to walk around till around 5 and we got a ham crepe. It was actually really good. We went to the mall and got a cell phone with this zip code over here because for school it is required. The mall is 9 stories and has everything you can think of in it. It is actually pretty amazing.

After that, we came back to our house and we had potatoes and chicken for dinner. Fruit for a sweet after dinner. I got ready and set out on the town after that.

I met up with a few friends and all 4 of us were on our way. We took the metro for the first time tonight. It was actually pretty easy considering all the signs and tracks and directions.

We walked all the way to the port. There are some interesting people out there but none the less it is beautiful.

Hope you enjoy the pictures from the city!

I also wanted to thank my grandparents. With out them none of this would be possible. I can't express how grateful I am for this experience and I will forever owe them for this one. My grandpa told me to keep smiling and that is exactly what I am doing. Another family friend of mine said give a smile and you will get a smile. This is so true and I am living by it here. I love you both very much and can't wait to talk to you very soon. I miss all my close friends and family very much but this experience is well worth missing them! xoxo

L&L
-Jenny