Budapest, Hungary

We got to Budapest, where Sam’s ancestors are from, and it was so cold and windy. For the majority of our weekend, it snowed heavily, which we are not used to since being in Barcelona since January. We got to see the castles, where the queen used to live, and we tried the traditional goulash and other stews that were pretty good. We first explored the Buda side, which is mostly residential and where our friend from Pace University was staying for his study abroad semester. Then we took the bus to the Pest side where a lot of the tourist sites are. Although their currency, the Forint, is weaker, it is very confusing and it is easy to spend a lot of money for 200 Forint is equal to 1 USD, but prices for lets say a bottle of soda could be 800 Forint or $4.

 After a while, I just stopped spending money for the first night I was there I spent $98! But Sam and I had a great time. I think Sam really enjoyed it once he got there because that is where half of his family is from. We found a bottle of wine with Sam’s family name on it. We also found a street name with Sam’s family name. Overall it was a great trip and I’d definitely like to go back there when the weather is warmer.

Until next time... ciao 💗

Follow me on Instagram: @arielview13

Madrid trip with CEA

 

 I went to Madrid this past weekend with my study abroad program. We took a high-speed train called Renfe, which took only 3 hours from Barcelona. We got there & it was raining & our hotel was uphill; We were not very happy travelers. When we finally got to the hotel, we were called one by one to be checked into our room. It was definitely worth the wait since I got Sam as my roommate! We dropped our bags in the room & then we went on a tour of Madrid with our program. The tour was half walking & half bus tour. I decided to only do the bus tour since it was raining, but Sam did both. That day, we met new people who I actually clicked with. Me & nine others spent the weekend together eating our way through the city. We had a great time together but came to the conclusion that we liked Valencia better than Madrid. However, I advise everyone to visit!

Until next time... ciao 💗

Follow me on Instagram: @arielview13

Valencia trip with CEA

Valencia is the home of paella & horchata, which is a drink made of ground almonds, sesame seeds, rice, & tiger nuts. With all the hype around these two traditional eats, I had to try them. The paella had chicken, snails, & bean,s & the horchata tasted like carrot juice to me. Both were an interestingly tasty experience that I was glad I was able to try. & a great addition was that we ate paella on the beach. After eating paella (which is shown in the picture above), we went for a walk on the beach, & stumbled upon a dead cat that had washed up on the shore. It looked like it had been floating for days since it was skinned & bloated. It was so disgusting & sad. That was the only downside to the weekend. As I’ve written in previous blogs, I love Europe but have not been loving my program all that much because of the students in my program.

Well, this weekend I had the best time with a group of 11 people that I met. We went sightseeing, clubbing, barhopping, & experiencing all of Valencia we could in one weekend. The people I hung out with were so nice & easy to talk to. Maybe it wasn’t me after all; I was starting to think I was socially inept. I guess I wasn’t finding the right people. & the best part is that we are all going to Madrid together this coming weekend so we get to experience another city together & have just as good of a time like this weekend.

 The hotel we stayed in was quite nice: four stars. The best part about our hotel was that it was right next to the firecracker show at 2pm & the fireworks at 8pm. These festivities go on the entire month of March every single day in every town of Valencia. It is called Las Fallas- The Festival of Fire. It was amazing to get to experience Las Fallas, especially on the first weekend. Since the beginning of the weekend, I have become less homesick & have really enjoyed hanging out with the people from CEA (my study abroad program.) If you ever get the chance, definitely try to make it to Valencia. It’s about 4-5 hours from Barcelona. & make sure you try the paella & horchata!

Until next time... ciao 💗

Follow me on Instagram: @arielview13