Inglaterra i el any nou

This blog is going to be long so I apologise in advance.

Since I last wrote a lot has happened. I went home for Christmas on 20th December, me and Adele flew back together. Unfortunately we had the worst plane journey ever but being greeted by my Dad in arrivals with sausage rolls from Greggs made it a whole lot better. I couldn't have asked for a better time at home this Christmas. 

I got to see all my family in Devon as it was my baby cousin's christening the weekend I got back. It was so nice to see him and the rest of my family, it's just a shame it was a flying visit. Back in Sleaford I spent time catching up with my friends and spending time with my parents and brother (and my dog). I loved it all but I wish I could have stayed for longer. My Christmas dinner was amazing, however my eyes were bigger than my belly and I was defeated and couldn't eat it all but it was exactly how I had hoped for so well done mother! It was nice to relax at home and watch all the xmas tv with my family. Definitely ate way too much though but it's Christmas so it's allowed, right? Anyway before I knew it my time was up and the 31st had arrived which meant I had to travel to Gatwick to fly to Barcelona. Although I was really excited for Barcelona I was a little bit sad about leaving, nothing beats going home. After lugging all my stuff round and finally getting to Gatwick on the train (and getting drenched in the process) I was on my way to Barcelona with a G&T (cheers BA). 

Baby William at his christening

Me and my cousin, Chris

My favourite little guy

My beautiful Mum and I

Christmas Dinner at the Laings

me and my oldest friend, Amy

New Years Eve was spent at a Spanish flat party. Arriving just in the nick of time (11:56) we did the traditional Spanish grape eating, You eat 1 grape for every chime at midnight. Sounds easy right? It's not. There was something that sounded like a chime before the actual chimes started so I began my first grape only to be shouted at by the Spaniards saying that wasn't it, too late! I feel this ruined my rhythm and after about 8 I gave up. It doesn't help that Spanish grapes have seeds in either. We had a good night though all in all. You can imagine that the following day was very unproductive following some serious hangovers. 

Feliz Año Nuevo! Happy New Year!

looking a bit drunk

On Thursday we took a trip to Montserrat, a mountain about an hour away from Barcelona.We got our hiking boots on and off we went. The information centre wasn't very informative so we weren't too sure which route we were taking but we thought we'd just follow the path and see where we end up. The route we took took about 50 minutes and it was tough. At the time some parts were just horrendous and so steep I thought I might collapse. The views were absolutely stunning though, pictures just don't express how amazing it was, we could even see the Pyrenees mountains all snowy in the distance. The highest point we got to was 1030 meters (impressive!) and I could definitely feel it. I pulled my hamstring towards the end so I was a bit of a moaner on the walk back down because I was in a lot of pain but it was so nice to get some fresh air and do some exercise. There was also a monastery there which we had a look around. It was incredibly beautiful, I even touched the Virgin Mary!

very high up

bit windy

living life on the edge..

favourite picture I took with the pyrenees at the back

mountain selfie

The next day we went to Casa Mila which is one of the houses thatGaudi designed. I wanted to go when I was au pairing but never got round to it. It was 14 euros to get in and I guess it was worth the money. It is amazing and the architecture is fantastic but there wasn't much to it. The terrace was full of his strange mosaic statues but I felt a bit disappointed as they weren't very colourful like Parc Guell. That said, it was still very impressive and the views of Barcelona were incredible, it was worth the money just for the views. After the house we headed to Parc de la Ciutadella ( which is probably Barcelona's equivalent of Parque del Retiro in Madrid) via Arc de Triomf. I never even knew there was an Arc de Triomf in Barcelona, it is absolutely massive and I think I may actually prefer it to the one in Paris. Of course it was all beautiful, in the park there's a huge fountain with gold figures around it, and a life size woolly mammoth statue. OK, it sounds a bit weird but it really is beautiful and it was somewhere I'd wanted to go for a while. There's a lot more to the park like gardens, a zoo etc but we didn't look round it all. It was surprisingly warm on Friday, around 16 degrees, I got so hot I was walking round in a t shirt. This is why I like Spain... We headed back up to the hostel Tara and I stayed in when we went out for my birthday last year to have some of our favourite food, and it didn't disappoint. That night we went to Font Magica at Montjuic. This was the main thing I wanted to see in Barcelona. In front of the art museum there is a huge fountain, every night it does a sort of show with music. The formations of the water changes and coloured lights make it look incredible. It sounds pretty naff while describing it but it was truly amazing and I LOVED it, it was so beautiful. Once again, the photos I took just didn't capture how fantastic it was. Later on we went out for some final drinks before it was time for me to leave. We went to a really cool bar that lets you pour your own drink. I paid for a G&T and she handed me the bottle of gin, I figured as I may as well fill half the glass with gin seeing as there were no rules. Plus it was Friday..The women behind the bar laughed at me, it was rather strong but still enjoyable. You also get free popcorn (random) with your drinks so we helped ourselves and stayed for a nice evening. 

fountain selfie

terrace of Casa Mila

Parc de la Ciutadella

Parc de la Ciutadella

font magica

font magica

amazing

at the top of Casa Mila

Love this photo. I love how long and wide the streets are in Barcelona

My time in Barcelona went so quickly but I had the most amazing few days and really enjoyed myself with Tara and Briony. I think I would say that Barcelona is currently my favourite city in Spain. Don't get me wrong I love Granada so much, but there's something about Barcelona that I can't describe. It's just a great city. I'm  now back in Granada after a rather bumpy plane journey and I'm looking forward to relaxing for a few days and checking out the processions in Granada. Monday is El día de los Reyes Magos. It's a really important day in Spain (just as important as Christmas day) as the three Kings bring presents. There'll be processions tomorrow throughout Spain and the children will get their presents from 'The Kings' on Monday. It'll be really interesting to see what it's all about. I'm not sure if any of my friends are back, if not I'll be going on my own with my camera at the ready.

Going home made me appreciate a thousand times more the amazing experience I get this year. I am so lucky to have this year as part of my degree and want to embrace it as much as I can. Although I do sometimes I think maybe I should have gone to Latin America and had more of an adventure, Spain is only 3 hours away by plane and still in my home continent, but nonetheless I am loving my year abroad so much and can't wait to carry on with my travelling, exploring and delicious tapas eating. 

Hasta la próxima,

Ellie