Third Week in Barcelona + Belgium

Monday, Feb 3

At my internship today, our first post was published! We also messed around and made some infographics. Lunch was this delicious soup and an egg frittata type thing, plus a salad.

After work, Jojo, Cece and I decided to go watch the sunset in Barceloneta. We met up with Lanie there as she was on a run. We soon realized that the beach faces West, but the sun sets in the East.

The sunset painted lovely colors above the buildings.

However, the sky was a beautiful purple color and the beach was bustling with people so it was a great time. We also decided to make “Monday Sunsets” a tradition where we relax together and rehash that weekend - especially if we went on a trip.

Cece, Jojo and I posing with a cotton candy sky behind us. #nofilter

We then did our grocery shopping for the week at La Mercadona and I made a simple pasta for dinner.

Tuesday, Feb 4

My apartment got up early for class and met at the Barceloneta metro stop. We stupidly took the metro when we realized it would have been even quicker to walk (lol we still don’t know our way around the city). Our professor told us all about the history and we even saw the oldest hour in Barcelona (pictured upper-left below). Then, we got split into groups to observe and photograph different things. After my group noted several interesting flags, we sat on a bench by the sea to take it all in. I sat on a bench with Vivian. (Yes, these were the same benches that we sat on last night.)

After class, we decided we wanted brunch and invited anyone else who wanted to join from our program. while on the way, we lost some people so Jojo and I turned around to find them, but without any luck. By the time we arrived at Brunch & Cake, everyone was seated tightly around a table (it was our apartment and the boys in our program), so Jojo and I decided just to eat at a small place next door, Bodega Colibrí Mediterránea. We split some pancakes and churros and chocolate, accompanied by fresh orange juice of course.

The perfect little brunch that Jojo and I split.

I also now notice that the orange juice has ice in it - that’s rare!

After brunch, some people had to go to their internships but I didn’t, so Cece and I went to Cafetería Vivari where I did some of my class assignments. I then returned home to take a siesta and do a workout.

My meatless tacos + quesadilla.

For dinner, we decided to try a Taquería Tamarindo, a taco place. Cece. Isabel and I sent the address to the boys and they met us there. They had avocados in there quesadillas (a life-changing idea) and vegan meat substitutions so I loved that. Your order is taken similarly to a sushi restaurant - you write how many of each you want on a piece of paper. As always, I communicated with the waitress in Spanish for the group and cleared up any confusion (for both parties).

After dinner, we headed to the Dow Jones Bar because we were told not to go on a busy night before a club, so we figured tonight was as good as any. Jojo also met us there after she had finished her work for the day, as did other people from our program: Judy, Lexi, Lucy, Allie and Renae. It was similar to an American pub, but it is based off of the stock market. So drink prices will fluctuate based on how many times they are ordered and the market will crash, making all drinks their minimum price. This was super fun as we would all treat it like a game and try whatever shots - half of them we had never heard of before, the other half had very inappropriate names. It was an experience for sure! After that, we were going to head to a karaoke bar but it had maybe one couple sitting in there and looked dead. Plus, they were charging €5 to get in, so Jojo and I headed back to the apartment.

Wednesday, Feb 5

Today we all slept in as we didn’t have class. I read my homework and made some ravioli for lunch before heading to the bank with Jojo to get some cash. She had to go to her internship so I walked with her to a metro stop before wandering around the city alone, eventually making it back home.

There I did some random computer work, took a siesta and made a frozen pizza for dinner. I also spent some time catching up on my favorite YouTubers. After everyone was home from work, we headed to the boys’ apartment building for Bachelor Tuesday.

We ended up ON THE SIDE OF A HIGHWAY after listening to Google Maps. This was also after we got on a bus going the wrong way, tried to get off when we were not at a stop, took the metro and rode the tram. But we made it and watched it on a big screen in their media room while some locals hung out on the couch next to us (probably thinking our American shows are ridiculous, which is true).

Thursday, Feb 6

Today Lucy and I were back at my internship and doing the usual things. My apartment had plans to go to the Picasso Museum tonight as it is free on Thursdays fi you book ahead of time online.

After work, I met up with Jojo to explore before heading to the museum, where we would meet our other roommates when they were done having dinner and such. We walked through Parque de la Ciutadella and eventually made our way to Merendero de Mari. This was right by the port where all the boats dock, so I was in heaven.

We split a jug of sangria and I made Jojo order to practice her Spanish. She practiced a few times before flagging over the waiter and ordering perfectly (proud mom moment). After recapping our days and taking in the sunset and atmosphere, we headed to the Picasso Museum.

We stopped at Funky Bakers along the way to each get something eat as we had not had dinner yet. We met up with our roommates and headed in to the museum. It was super cool learning about the history and reading how much of Picasso’s inspiration came from places near us that I had seen. Jojo and I took our time going through the museum and I am so happy that we did! Jojo even snapped a few photos of me whilst we admired the art.

I love how these little impromptu plans can turn out to be so fun and I definitely hope to bring back this curiosity and exploration to America.

Friday, Feb 7

At my internship today we met with our boss to review some assignments and discuss email campaigns. Our lunch was these warm chickpeas with these fish bites - they almost tasted like Red Lobster rolls but had fish inside, they were AMAZING.

After work, I rushed home to pack/clean and change. Natalie and I had a flight to Brussels while Cece and Jojo were headed to Paris. Both flights were close enough in time that we decided to taxi together. Natalie and I headed to Terminal 1 for Ryanair and got some food to eat there. Our flight ended up being delayed and, after much confusion, we learned the importance of facial expressions and patience. We were the only Americans on this flight and no one else was speaking English. In all the confusion, I sat down to an old lady and made friends with her without even saying a word. Since we arrived so late, we Ubered to the Marriot Grand Palace to meet up with Isabel as she had arrived earlier. We got settled and slept - we had to wake up early tomorrow!

Saturday, Feb 8

An alleyway on our way to the Centraal Station.

We were taking the train to Bruges so we walked to the Centraal Station. We wanted to get some Belgian food on the way but due to time we didn’t, so we got some Starbucks (I know right, how sad). But they had some very different things on their menu! I got a chocolate hazelnut donut. We also discovered that no matter where you are, Starbucks will always give you free tap water.

We got to our platform and were a bit confused because no one checks your ticket, but we made it on the correct train. We arrived in Bruges at 11:05am and figured we should go to the bathroom before exploring. This was the first bathroom that we had to pay for and it cost €.50. There were also sign saying that changing clothes brushing teeth were both not allowed. After doing our business, we taxied into the center of town. We stepped out of the taxi right as the bell tower was ringing and felt like we were in a Christmas movie. We were bundled up and horse-drawn carriages were all around.

Photos taken in the main square with Natalie.

We were told to take a canal tour, so we headed to Rozenhoedkaai View and got on the next boat tour. It was so interesting to learn the history, see the buildings and take in the atmosphere. One bridge was so low that we touched it as we went under it. I also saw some doves fighting and we saw the smallest window.

Some views from the canal tour.

Natalie, Isabel and I riding down the canal and some very intersting-looking trees near the canal.

The most amazing waffle (even though she wasn’t very photogenic).

We then were in need of some warm food, so we headed to a cafe right near where the boat launch was. We all got the same menu of the day with a few variations. Mine consisted of orange juice, hot chocolate and a Belgian waffle with fruit, chocolate and whipped cream on top. This was the best waffle I had ever eaten (and was the best I had in Belgium)!

We stumbled into a chocolates shop and got some goodies.

We then made it back to the center of town and continued to explore. we went down this street with these mini waffles on sticks and decided to try them later. We were told to go to The Potato Bar so we headed in that direction. It was so busy that we had to sit at the bar, so we decided to just eat now before it got too busy. I got a vegan combo meal with a burger, sweet potato fries, and a Cristal to drink.

Continuing our explorations, we made our way back to the shop with the mini waffles on sticks. it was called Go.fre and I got dark chocolate with caramel beads (I think that’s what the beads were). We walked around with these, taking in the architecture of the museums and churches. We got an American to take a picture with us - but he was studying in Dublin and I would have never guessed he was American from how he looked and sounded!

Gelato smile!

With full stomachs, we decided that ICE CREAM would be REFRESHING! (What was going through our heads? I’m not sure, but definitely a lot of sugar.) So we strolled down some more streets and ended up at Oyya Icebar where it said something about having the ‘best gelato'.” Bingo, we found the refreshment we needed - and the worker was cute so that’s always a good sign. I asked him what his favorite flavors were because I couldn’t decide and he said Kinder Bueno. So I got a scoop of that and a scoop of Stracciatella - my all-time favorite since I was young, especially when I went to Italy.

Realizing that our time was coming to a close and we were about 10 pounds heavier, we tried to go to this famous bar only to get there and find out that it opened at 5 pm, when our train left at 5:55 pm and we would have to taxi to the station. So we let that place go and headed to @ The Pub where I ordered a Somersby blackberry cider to quench my thirst. I am not a fan of beer but wanted to try something more European than water. Isabel also ordered another waffle to be funny, but of course we demolished it. We also took advantage of the free bathrooms at the pub!

We got back to the train station and had to pay to use the bathroom again because we were early (ugh I don’t like paying to answer Mother Nature). We all boarded the train and the food coma set in immediately. I set an alarm on my phone for 7:10pm, a little before we were supposed to be back in Brussels, and fell asleep. This was probably the greatest nap of my life but I am sure looked very interesting while taking it. Not to mention that Natalie and Isabel were also asleep next to me. I legitimately felt hungover from eating.

On our walk back to the hotel from the train station, I noticed this restaurant called The Avocado Show that was not even a block away from our hotel. VEGETABLES - I hadn’t had one all day. Natalie loves avocados too so we decided to go there for brunch tomorrow. Isabel was meeting up with some family so she would be busy. Eventually, we got back to our hotel, didn’t even think of eating dinner and slept the night away. Bruges, we did it to me. I may never know how many calories I ate that day, although I am damn curious.

Sunday, Feb 9

We made it to The Avocado Show just after it opened so we got the best seats in the house. (See photos below.) I ordered a vegan poke bowl and smoothie, and shared avocado fries with Natalie. This was so filling but in an entirely different way than the sweets of the day before. This was the satiety and nutrients I was used to (lol I am such a vegan).

Poke bowls surrounded by avocado, smoothies with avocado, and fries made out of avocado made our stomachs happy after the sweets of yesterday.

We then met up with Ali, my freshman year roommate, and Isabel at the Royal Palace. Ali is studying in Brussels, so she was our tour guide! We went to the EU headquarters, explored Cinquantenaire Park, Avenue Louise, and even her apartment! We also stumbled into Manneken Pis, which was underwhelming and a bit odd.

We all got frites and Fritland before heading to meet up with our guided chocolate tour. Ali didn’t come on the tour with us so headed off until dinner time.

Frites with

samourai sauce.

The chocolate tour was amazing! Our guide was great and we go to learn all the history, try a few pieces, and even get a discount if we were planning on purchasing any pieces.

We met back up with Ali at NONA, a pizza place. I got a vegetable pizza and homemade lemonade. Both were so delicious and fresh, but I could not finish the pizza, so I gave Ali my leftovers.

We had to catch our flight in a few hours, so Natalie and Isabel were on the hunt for one last Belgian waffle. I was way too full but Natalie got one right after dinner, and Isabel eventually found a place that she wanted to try. We then said goodbye to Ali and headed to the airport to catch our flight. Or so we thought . . .

Where the chocolate tour began. A traditional Belgian waffle. Nona’ pizza.

Our flight was delayed, then cancelled. All the other Vueling flights for tomorrow were booked and the desk was overrun. We all had to be at our internships tomorrow! We reached out to our bosses to explain the news and they were understanding. We booked a new flight with Ryanair early the next morning and tried to decide if we were sleeping in the airport or getting hotel room. Natalie wasn’t feeling well so she wanted a hotel room. I was indifferent but going to stay with the girls either way. We ended up staying at a Holiday Inn near the airport to get what little sleep we had time for.