Ibon, the director of the program, scheduled us a visit to the Bull Fight Arena in Bilbao. This arena is one of the best in Spain. Unfortunately the bull fights in Bilbao do not start until August, so I will not be able to go, however, I will see a bull fight this weekend in Pampalona for "Running of the Bulls." Every year a painter paints a picture describing the bull fights of the year. I was very impressed with these paintings. Below are some of the years I really enjoyed. 

I was just about to blog when I fell asleep with my phone in my hand because I am sleep deprived.. Therefore I will update tomorrow or so. All I have to say is I love Spain.

Xoxo

LJ

Today I got the pleasure of hiking up a beautiful mountain out in the ocean. It was a good 10 kilometer walk but so worth it. Translated into American measurements, that's two 5Ks. Below are some of the amazing pictures I got.

This past weekend I got the pleasure of spending 3 lovely evenings in Barecelona! I absolutely loved it! Heading there I was a bit nervous because people continually warmed me about theft there. Barcelona is the #1 place in the world with pick pocketers. I was ready to hold my own however. It was interesting, because while out and about I would see sketchy individuals staring at people's shorts. I practically saved one of my friends from getting hijacked lol but our group of 10 got away with no stolen items.

We arrived later on Thursday evening and visited a bar called the Dow Jones. It was interesting because they arranged there's services similar to the stock market. Every few minutes the drink prices would change and you could see this on the screens.

The next morning we woke up early for at Tour of the city. But first we got gormet breakfast of eggs and bacon for the first time since I had been here. I was thrilled to say the least. The tour guide, Helen, was very enthusiastic and informative of the history of the city.

the next stop was the market which I absolutely loved. we had lunch here and I bought watermelon, a calzone, freshly squeezed juice, olives and peppers.

We visited Park Güll which overlooked Barcelona!

Next stop, go to see Miley Cryrus in concert! The walk there was absolutely gorgeous yet straight up a large mountain.

Let's just say, Miley is very loca! She had an awesome voice but she is one crazy chick. The producer of her videos and stunts had a crazy mind but it was awesome and I really enojed the show.

The next day we went to the beach and there were people everywhere. People are offering services up and down the beach such as foot massages and beers, waters, mojitos ect. However this is illegal so it was funny to see the people dive to the ground when the police were walking around. The Chinese ladies asked me a million times to rub my feet for 5 euros. I continued to say no thank you but they insisted. They continued to rub my feet and I kept telling them I didn't want to pay. Suddenly two undercover cops came and took her away. About thirty minutes later she came back to my chair where she had hid her oil in the sand. She ripped up her ticket in front me of. She even tried to sell me a massage again! Ayayay! The police noticed her again and finally escorted her off. I see why it was illegal because she literally bugged me too long.

Bordeaxu was a beautiful place. It was a short and sweet trip. We took a bus about 4 hours northeast to the beautiful country of France. There was a group of ten of us. Some are not pictured. 

When we first arrived, a small group of us left the apartment and headed to the bowling alley. I actually played quite well and got 5 spares in a row, which lead me to beating all of the boys :) 

We went a wine tour from 9:30 to 18:30.. It was a long day of traveling around France to some of the best vineyards in the world. First we visited the wine museum where we got to learn about the process of making wine in the 18th century. 

The next stop was a beautiful vineyard. The gentleman that owned the vineyard was amazing and very willing to let us try as many different kinds as they want. He told me an interesting fact that each barrel contained 300 bottles of wine in them. He had a whole lot of barrels too. We actually got to drink out of the barrel. He used a tube to get the red wine out of it. We got to try wines from many different years at this vineyard. There was a clear difference. 

Next Stop was a beautiful vineyard with a gorgeous castle and buildings surrounding it. I loved this place for pictures mostly. 

That night it was storming out and I got a really cool picture of the lightning overlooking France. It was time to head home and get on the bus. It wasn't very fun waiting for the bus to arrive in the rain. Nor was it fun to sleep on the bus from 02:00 to 06:30 in the morning. Needless to say, I wont be booking overnight bus rides anymore. However it was our only option and I am so glad I was able to go on this weekend trip. 

Well it's a fun group of people from all over the states!

My friend Emma is from San Diego. Emma is a chill, nice, and advanturous girl. I think we are a lot alike.

My friend Brooke is from Las Vegas! She is outgoing, silly and full of energy! We have fun surfing together.

There's Miss Cathy too! I just adore her! She's an innocent but not so innocent sweet girl! She's always smiling and talks to anyone.

Of course we can't forget my partner in crime, Jasmine.. I am so blessed to have her on this trip with me! It's been so fun to get to know this awesome girl.

Katie is from Iowa and so fun and sweet. She is always happy and we are in Spanish together!

Then there is all the gentleman. Tim is an hilarious Asain man that lives in Ohio and loves sweatpants. Nate is from Idaho and is a gentleman that makes sure I'm home safe and fun to be friends with! Alex is a great guy from Iowa that's always there for us ladies. He's chill and likes hikes like me!

Kaya and Megan are the girls pictured below. They studied abroad the whole year and rock at Spanish. They don't want to leave! They are tons of fun and show me a good time at all the right places. They also help me learn my Spanish well.

These are my two friends from Queens in New York City, Haaaaanah (really soft A) and Marc. They are loads of fun. Great and Pleasent people to be around.

This is William who is from California and loves to take selfies on my phone when he is supposed to be taking a picture of me! William lives in a home stay and doesn't know Spanish. Lol !

Overall, I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to be on the other side of the world with.

I have yet to post about some friends because of lack of pictures. To be continued later.

XOXO

LJ

We ended our time in Madrid visiting the Lope de Vega muesem and the botanical gardens. They were lovely and I thoroughly enjoyed them. As many of you know, I have a great appreciate for art and landscape. The floors and trees were breathtaking.

We got on the train after a taxi ride and on we went. It was a 5 hour ride. The train attendant told us that this certain exit was the one we needed which I thought was strange because we were 15 minutes early. So we got off and it looked like the countryside. We were so blessed to run into this extremely nice gentleman that helped us get another free ticket to get back on another train so that we could end up in the correct place. We finally made it and jumped in a taxi. The city looked almost like Dallas as we drove though and it had me very excited. I am looking forward to seeing it in the daylight tomorrow. The taxi driver got us lost but luckily I spotted my host family peaking through the windows looking for me. I jumped out and starred at the beautiful building I was about to enter. She rang me in and up the stairs I went. My house for the summer is like a modern condo. They gave me my own room, bathroom and laundry basket. They also told me to help myself the fridge. Atleast I think that's what they said! The mother and daughter are very homey and made me feel at home. I am happy here and excited for orientation tomorrow.

We got the pleasure to be in Madrid when their two teams played each other, Real Madrid VS Atletico. We watched it at a nice restaurant nearby and so happen to sit by a couple from Dallas. They were very fine as well as the others all around us even though we couldn't fully communicate with them. Atletico was winning 1-0 until the final minutes of the game, Real Madrid scored to make it overtime. In overtime they scored another 3 goals! Real Madrid wins! The city went nuts. People were putting on shows everywhere. Some fans were climbing into the fountains. Shouting and chanting took place everywhere. It was necessary to spend a small amount of euros on a Ronaldo jersey!

I just found several notes and cards in my bags and it brought tears of joy to my eyes! Thanks to all my family members are took apart in this gesture. It meant so much to me. I love y'all all so much.

XOXO

LJ

Were awesome!!! Where to begin... Well last night we got sushi, and I was finally satisfied with my entire meal. Then it was time for the pub crawl. About 12 of us from US, Mexico, Canada, Austrailia and more attended as a group. It was a fun group too. They took us to 3 bars and a club. It's funny because they all listen to American pop music here and I actually know the songs! The drinks are super tiny compared to the glasses in America. They use lemon for tequila shots, which I found strange. We slept in today until we had to get up and get ready for the second tour of the west side. This side contained beautiful landscape and many government buildings. After the your we shopped a little and visited the fruiteria. So now I have to go so I can eat my delicious fruit. Chao.

XOXO

LJ

Well, packing sure is difficult when you have to fit everything you need for two whole months in just one bag, but we did it. First it was 56 pounds, then after taking out not so important things, the bag weighed 53 pounds. However, it felt like a bajillion more than that. At the American check-in, it weightled 51.5 pounds, and they let it slide! [It looks like I might have to buy another bag there for all the goodies I bring back].



I then proceeded to security and blew my mom a kiss! Thank goodness for her and everything she does for me. A big shoutout to my dad and sister also for making me a gormet breakfest right before I left.



So now I am left here, sitting at the gate eagerly waiting to board my flight to Philly. It's going to be a long day of flights and time changes. I will be checking into my hotel at 2pm, Madrid Time, which is 7am Central Time. It sure will be interesting adjusting to this time change, but I'm ready. I'm ready to see more culture, learn more language, and gain more experiences.



This is where my adventure begins.



XOXO

LJ

We joined a group of about 15-20 people from many different places to venture around Madrid and experience multiple restaurants. At the first restaurant, we had a choice of sangria or beer. It seems as if those are the main options everywhere. The wait staff proceeded to bring many different plates out filled with pig legs, crab, shrimp, chicken, "tortillas", friend mashed potatoe like things, onion rings that weren't onions- they were squid. Lots of weird interesting food. I made myself try all of it and let's just say, I like American food much much better. Haha! So it's going to be interesting eating here. We got up and proceeded to the next place. On the way there we saw many American joints that I might have to hit up when I'm missing food from home, such as TGI Fridays. We also passed a massive McDonalds that supposedly sells beer. The second place was called "mueso de jamón" aka Ham Musem. It had thousands of ham legs hanging from the cieling. The ham legs contained the claw still, Jasmine was shocked! They passed out little sandwiches here which contained a small slider hamburger bun. I think I had lost my appetite by then because I took a nibble and secretly tossed it in the nearest trashcan. The final place we visited was fun! We had a large table, and they served apple cider. The social aspect of this was neat, you had to pour it from way up high. When it was my turn to go, I suprisingly didn't spill it. The owner clapped and cheered for me! I was happy. Our tour guide, Carlota, was totally awesome! We also met a variety of people, my favorite being an older couple from Wales, Sue & Ray. We joked about Sue being my European mom here ever since this random drunk man asked if she was. So I'm sure my mom would be happy to know I'm in good hands. Needless to say, that was the best 14€ I could have spent.

Great people, great experience!

XOXO

LJ