Treat Yo'Self Weekend

As Facebook may have told you, I recently had a birthday. 22 years and 10 days ago, I arrived on Columbus Day. In honor of this momentous occasion, which comes just once a year, I decided to treat myself.

I don't have class on Friday, and my Thursday class was magically canceled the week of my birthday, so the universe (and Ryan Gosling) was telling me to get away and relax


I went to....

Okay, no, not Hogwarts. I went to Brussels! But my first stop was the Harry Potter Exhibition, which I found out was in Brussels shortly before my trip (so no, Mom, it was not one of the reasons I went to Brussels - although it might have been if I had discovered it sooner!).

The exhibition started with an introduction in French (Welcome to Poudlard, Muggles) and a sorting ceremony. I'm far too shy to volunteer for that sort of thing, but we all know where I belong anyway.

After that, they show you a video montage from all the movies, and then you move into the exhibit where they have built replicas of the sets and brought in props - some which were used in the films and some were remade for the exhibit. I walked in to the first room, saw the set for the Gryffindor dormitory and got immediately teary-eyed.

Harry Potter is so special for my generation because it's something we grew up alongside.

 My dad read the first Harry Potter books to me as a bedtime story before I could read chapter books myself. We went as a family to see the first film when it came out in theaters, and later on we saw Goblet of Fire together in IMAX even though I was the only one left in the family who was still reading on at that point. I attended midnight book release parties for the last 3 books in the series, and I have a vivid memory of chatting up a high school crush in the movie theater at 3 am after having just watched the midnight premier of the last Harry Potter film (or what we thought at the time was going to be the last Harry Potter film - little did we know...).

 To be honest, I can't even remember my life pre-Harry Potter.



But, I digress...

The Exhibition has been all over the world, so it was a stroke of luck that I happened to be in the right place at the right time.

It also happened to be going on just 5 minutes away from Mini-Europe, which was one of my other intended destinations....

This is a mini replica of the main square in Brussels! There were 52 replicas from all over Europe, including the bullfighting ring in Sevilla (my heart).

Afterward, I rushed back to the center of the city in time to go into a little chocolate factory. I ate dark chocolate from the Ivory Coast, a fresh salted caramel chocolate, and AVOCADO white chocolate (OMG. omg.). I had chocolate for lunch. #Adulthood

By far the strangest experience I had in Brussels was walking into a park and finding dozens of Belgians standing, stock still, around the fountain in the center staring at their phones. People on bicycles had stopped, and most everyone was over the age of 30, which is why I was so concerned that I had dropped into an alternate universe. Then I heard someone nearby say: "Pokémon."

Oh, right. Pokémon Go. The fountain was a Pokégym.

While I was in the park, there was also someone doing free hypnotism sessions, but since I like my wallet and my cell phone I decided to watch from afar.

Originally I was going to go to Bruges on my second day, but there were so many things in the center of town that I had yet to see, so I stayed in Brussels and spent the day walking through the center. I saw the Mannekin Pis, the famous statue of the little boy peeing into the fountain.

Had an out of body experience with this cheeseburger. 

Took a selfie with the city....

And found a BETTER park. No pokémon here.

It was the most relaxing weekend, which is what I love about traveling alone.

While I also love being in France, it can get really overwhelming sometimes. It hit me last week that I'm taking 5 college classes completely in French...and they're hard!

So yeah, Ryan Gosling, I will take breaks and treat myself when necessary.

Where I'm treating myself next: Arles, then London.

Weekend in Barcelona!

Back to Spain! Surprisingly, I never made it up to Barcelona when I lived in Sevilla. In fact, I didn't do much traveling at all because I was too in love with my own neighborhood (and too scared of my bank balance).

This time around, I've got places to be - things to see!

I've already ticked off Marseilles (twice), St. Remy, Les Baux de Provence, and now... Barcelona. 

The weekend started with a 5:37 wake up call (literally) from my friend down the hall, because we were supposed to be on the bus at 5:45 and my alarm was set for 5...pm. Oops.

No harm, no foul, I wasn't the only one struggling to get out of bed in the morning and the bus pulled out around 6:15.

Our first stop was actually a destination in France called Carcassonne. Carcassonne is fortified city which was popular due to its ideal location, situated between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean, and also between two mountain ranges. Since 1997 the medieval fortress has been on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. 

The view, as usual, was gorgeous. 

First, we walked along the ramparts of the fortress and enjoyed the view of multiple gardens, restaurant patios, and sleeping cats.

Then, we came out by the old church and just happened to enter in time to be serenaded by an a capella group. I didn’t take photos of them; I always feel like I owe a performer money if I take their photo (or honestly pay them any attention at all) and I didn’t have much on me, so I just enjoyed the music and the stained glass windows.

An hour after leaving Carcassonne, we were suddenly in Spain, and boy did my Spanish not come right back. The comprehension was there, but the words did not come. It’s super frustrating to understand what someone is saying and not be able to form a coherent response. Derp.

I did, however, find my old favorite snack in the gas station. So, it equals out.

By 4:30, we were in Barcelona. Our guide for the weekend took us on a quick tour of the city and then promptly left us in a nearby square (“You can find your way home, right? Great, bye!”) to explore. 

While we were taking photos of this giant piece of 3D art, someone nearby was explaining what it symbolized, but alas, they were explaining it in Spanish. So your best guess is my best guess.

It took us several hours (days?) to stop saying “Merci!” instead of “Gracias!” to everyone we encountered.

Saturday we went to a market in the port of Barcelona, then hopped on a bus and took a tour around the city. We saw the Olympic stadiums, some great views of the port, the Sagrada Familia (from the outside only), and Plaza España.

Saturday night my Spanish started to come back...after a few beers.

Unfortunately that's also when another tourist decided he needed to convince us to vote for Donald Trump. (Key piece of information: he was not American.)

Highlights of Saturday night: Dancing all out to Spanish music, bar hopping on the beach, our taxi driver who could have been an extra in Fast & Furious, and closing the Burger King in town at 3am to eat whoppers and wear our crowns in the park.

Sunday we checked out of the hostel and when to Parc Güell, Gaudi's beautiful mosaic garden and home of the benches where every basic college girl (me!) is required to take a photo before she can leave the city.

And that was the end!

Not going to lie, there is a serious place in my heart for Spain. I find myself unfairly comparing Aix to Sevilla, Marseilles to Malaga, and my life in France to my life in Spain all the time when I know I shouldn't. They're similar and different, both with advantages and disadvantages (Pro: Spanish music; Con: everyone speaks Spanish - but me).

But here I am in Aix - next stop, Brussels! And then Arles! And then London! And more!

I'll find my place somewhere ;)

(Big shout out to the Barcelona crew - my squad! - for an unforgettable weekend.)