Two places to go with your family: PARIS and BARCELONA

Paris and Barcelona are two cities that are great for families and I highly recommend taking yours there. If you have the opportunity, go with your family to what they call the city of love, Paris.

It was kind of chilly in Paris this time of year, but it was unseasonably cold, as it was in the mid-40s. At this time, scarves, heavy sweaters, gloves, and berets were necessary. There are many different hotels to stay in, but i recommend Hotel Powers, right off of the Champs Elysee. It is a boutiquey, quaint hotel and great location.

Che Andres was a typical French restaurant, a few streets from the Champs Elysee. I recommend getting a cappucino, french onion soup, and poached eggs. This was the best french onion soup I have ever had in my life. If you want to get a nuice overall view of the city, take the Bateaux Mouches, which is a boat tour on the Seine.  You can sit inside to avoid the wind, but we sat in the front of the boat. You get a great view of  many of the places to go such as the Louve, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, etc. It was amazing to see the Right and Left Bank at the same time. I did not know where to look first because there were so many amazing things to see. This was a 2-hour boat ride. I would recommend getting a snack at Chez Francis. You should get hot choloate, chocolate cake, french toast with pears, and apple tart, depending on if you like chocolate or fruit. Each dessert was delicious. You have to take a walk dow the Champs Elysee, the most famous street in Paris.. It is such a pretty street with the Arc de Triomphe at the top stretching all the way down to the Louve, with tons of shops, restaurants, and bakeries in between. L’Avenue was the spot for dinner. Celebrities such as Justin Beiber and Kim Kardashian have eaten there. The food was amazing. I recommend the shrimp risotto. It was the best risotto I have ever eaten.

Wednesday. If you can, eat breakfast at your hotel, as it saves a lot of time to explore the city. The Eiffel Tower. I

have never seen anything like it and I could not beleive that i would have the chance to go inside it. Ever since I was little, I always dreamed of going to Paris and going to the top of the Eiffel Tower and here was my opportunity to finally make my dream come true. Be ready for a long wait if you do not purchase tickets online. The lines were outrageously long and we waited almost 2 hours in line to get inside. It was well worth the wait.

The top of the Eiffel Tower. I have never seen such amazing views in my life. It was absolutely breathtaking. I was so happy to be sharing this moment with the people I cared about most in this world, my parents, my sister, and brother.  Cafe de flore is a delicious restaurant for soups, omelettes, and sandwiches. Notre Dame. This again was a spot I´d

been hearing about for so long and I couldn´t beleive I was finally there. Many people were praying inside, as it was close to Easter, so we had to be silent. It was beautiful inside. Take time to appreciate all that is within this beautiful church, and if you have the opportunity, go to the top and see incredible views. If you wanna get some more shopping in, go to the shops on St. Germaine. The stores range there from low to high end, so there is plenty of a selection depending on your taste and budget.

The Arc de triomphe. The one in Barcelona does not even come close to this. It was gorgeous. If you are willing to hike up 250 steps, then this is a place to see. You may be out of breath, as I we were in this video, but it was worth it.

You are able to see the city from all views. What made this extra special was that it was beginning to get dark, so the city was all lit up. There were tons of leiutenants and soldiers commemorating Wolrld War Two and singing anthems and I was able to get them singing in the video below.

If you want a really trendy restaurant with light house music, go to La Societee. It is the same owner of L’Avenue. owned by the same owner. Order the dim sum shrimp dumplings, chicken satay, and the salad to start if you are with a big group. For a main course, get the lamb chop. If you are interested in going out, but want a relaxed scene, go to Prescription. I had the mazarini #5, which was a comination of cherry liquor, fresh strawberry juice, and champagne. Another great drink there is Out Cider.

Thursday. Walk through the Tuileries Gardens before heading to the Louvre. Get a  a nutella and banana crepe during the walk through the gardens. It was delicious. In the Louvre, you can spend anywhere from 30 minutes to 6 or 7 hours depending on how much you have an appreciation for museum. If you are a family like mine who is not really into museums so much, go to see these top 3: Mona
Lisa, Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory. Each of these works of art were incredible to see in person, but of course, it was all about the Mona Lisa. I never anticipated for it to be so small. The other paintings in the room the Mona was in were enormous. Everyone was crowded around Mona and it was so hard to push through everyone. If you are able to get to the front, do the eye test with her. It really is true how no matter what angle you look, she is always looking directly at you. The Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory were also very impressive. After the Louve, go to L’Orangerie, a museum focused on the works of Renior, Picasso, and Matisse. These were beautiful paintings also, more about impressionist and post-impressionist art. If you have time, also go the the D’Orsay Museum and the Pompidou Museum.

Angelina´s, well worth the wait. Order the hot chocolate and macaroon. I have never had hot chocolate like this in my lifeIt was absolutely amazing.

Go to Montmarte to see Sacre Couer. What an amazing church and what beautiful views. Go inside and see the incredibleness of the church and all the different viewpoints. If you have some time, go shopping on  St. Honore, a famous street in Paris for shopping with an assortment of stores. A great bakery is La Duree. Here, you can get traditional french desserts such as macaroons and tarts. If you want a more local kind of restaurant and atmosphere, go to Chez Janou. The lamb chop was great, along with some salads to start and get the chocolate mousse for dessert.

Friday. Hotel Invalides, where veterans are currently still living. It was a beautiful place and Napolean Bonaparte is buried near here. Rodin is very close to Invalides, so go there after. His scultupres are incredible. The Thinker is definitely the main sculpture to see, but also take a look at the gates of hell and the 3 shades.

If you want a great afternoon activity,take a train to Versailles. I have never seen a palace like this. It was so extravagant and over the top. The hall of mirrors is a sight to see. I have never seen so many incredible chandeliers in my life. Each room is so elaborate and it is preserved so well there. Also take a look and walk through the gardens in the back. Anticipate some long lines, but it is well worth the wait. Take a train to Marais neighborhood, with all the vintagey and boutique stores. There is a great shoe store there called Minnelli. If you are craving some Italian food in Paris, go to  Caffe Burlot, right off the Champs Elysee. You should order the margarita pizza and the lobster pasta in a tomato sauce.

Saturday. Time for the Spanish culture and people. If you want a nice hotel with an incredible staff, stay at the Hotel Arts. It is a gorgeous hotel with spacious rooms and great views of the Mediterranean and of the city. If you want great tapas, go to Paco Meralgo. You may be nervous about tapas if you have never tried them before, but just find things that you think would appeal to you or be adventurous and try new things. Get sangria, fried artichoke, pan con tomate, shrimp with garlic, fried calamari, and paella. The Ramblas of of course is one of the main attraction of Barcelona, along with La Boqueria. Get the 1 euro fruit smoothies, fresh fruit, and delicious chocolates  If you can, it is a great experience to eat at one of the tapas bars inside La Boqueria. We got fruit smoothies and some chocolates. For beautiful views of the water, walk by the Marina and Port. Fit some shopping in the Gothic and Born areas. Walk up and down the side streets and get yourself lost in here. You will stumble upon stores and restaurants you never expected.  If you want a fun and hip restaurant with Asian and Indian influence, go to CDLC. It has great food, music, and atmosphere. Get the cava sangria, lobster and chicken salads, and rice with chicken and vegetables.

Sunday. Because it was Easter,  all the stores were closed. If you want to see the emblem of Barcelona, La Sagrada Familia, make sure you buy tickets online. It is incredible on the outside  but it is just as incredible on the inside. The stained glass inside and the altar were gorgeous. If you can, get tickets to go up one of the towers. The Nativity Tower was pretty amazing with views of Barcelona and of Gaudi´s work towards the top of the tower. You can hop right on the purple metro line and go to Montjuic. Go see the Olympic Stadium, Palau de Sant Jordi, some gardens, the castle, and MNAC. You can spend anywhere from an hour to a whole day up here taking in the views and beautifulness of the mountain. Placa Espanyol is a great place to eat inside the old bullfighting ring. Go for lunch to Abrasame, in the top of the old bullfighting stadium. It is a tapas restaurant and I recommend las patatas bravas, salad, fried artichoke, fideua, and sangria.

Take another metro to Parc Guell, many people’s favorite spot in Barcelona. This again is another place to spend a few hours at, enjoying Gaudi’s mosaics and views of Barcelona Takek the typical picture on the long gaudi bench. Go to the top of the park and climbed the mini mountain with a cross on top, if your parents say yes. The views of Barcelona were breathtaking from up here. If you want one of the best seafood restaurants in Barcelona and are willing to pay a lot of money, go to Butafumiero. Get the clams in a garlic sauce and lobster paella. This was the best paella I have ever had.

Monday. Walk up passeig de gracia and pass by all of the stores and restaurants. The two things to see on Gracia are Casa Batllo and la Pedrera. The Batllo family live inside. These are both very different works and represent Gaudi. If you want an italian experience in Barcelona, go to Da Greco. What is unique about Da Greco is that when you order a dish, they bring out a tasting plate of that dish for the table to sample, so you get to have a bite of all the different dishes that you order. To experience the nightlife, you must go to the Olympic Village. There are tons of clubs there such as Catwalk, Sotavento, Shoko, and Opium, but Opium is by far the most fun and plays the best music.

These two cities are absolutely incredible and I highly recommend anyone to visit these cities with your family. They will both be experiences you and your family will never forget.

Abroadfest March 7th-March 10th

Abroadfest. What a weekend this was. My best campfriend Chelsea who is studying in Florence came to stay with me for the weekend, along with two of my best friends who are studying in Rome, Frish and Lauren. It seemed like everyone that was studying abroad was in Barcelona this weekend. Yes, this is an exaggeration, but it was insane how many people I knew that were here.

This year was the first year that De Lis Group and Prime Social group decided to put together a concert full of famous DJs for abroad students. They were very successful in this venture. Abroafest was at Opium Thursday March 7th, starring Kaskade and Thomas Gold. It was impossible to move in this place, but the music was absolutely amazing.

I met Chelsea at Placa Catalunya to pick her up at the aerobus stop. We went back to my apartment to drop off her bag and then we spent the day exploring. I live about 10 minutes from Sagrada Familia, so after my apartment, we went to Sagrada Familia and walked around it.

After the church, I took her to  Bo de B, the typical place to take all of your friends. We got the classic chicken sandwiches to go and walked down by the marina and sat outside. We stopped at a little outside bar and ate our sandwiches while drinking a pitcher of sangria. It was about 65 degrees and sunny, couldn´t ask for better weather.

We walked along the marina and took a few pictures. After that, we walked up Las Ramblas and we went into La Boqueria. She was amazed. We got nachos with guacamole and quite a few 1 euro juices. After La Boqueria, we did a little shopping to finalize our Abroadfest outfits. We picked up small salads from Fresco to eat before we got ready because we wanted to be at Abroadfest decently early. We stayed at Opium until they kicked everyone out, which was at about 6 am. Everyone moved on to the beach, but we were pretty exhausted, since we got there at about 1 o´clock, so we went home to go to sleep. The music was absolutely amazing.

Friday. We woke up kind of late and went to go get a quick bite to eat. We went to Parc Ciutatdella and walked around. After this, we headed down towards the Olympic Village and went to Shoko. We got cava sangria on the deck. It was pretty crowded and another gorgeous day of weather. We hung out there for a few hours and then went back to nap. We went to Parco for dinner, a sushi restaurant at the top of Passeig de Gracia. We shared a few rolls, edamame, chicken skewers, and noodles. After dinner, we went straight to Espit Chupitos. I love this place and wanted Chelsea to experience it. They light all different shots on fire and have a board of 100s of different types of shots. Following Chupitos, we went to Razmatazz and it was a lot of fun. We didn´t stay too late because we were pretty exhausted from the night before.

Saturday. Parc Guell. What an amazing place. All of Gaudi’s mosaics are absolutely incredible, along with all of his rounded arches. The lizard is incredible and so many people were taking pictures with it. It took forever to take a picture with it. After Parc Guell, we went to Montjuic. We saw the Olympic Stadium, some gardens, a few castles, and Paula Sant Jordi. We walked down the hill and went to Placa Espanyol and ate lunch at Tapa Tapa for a quick bite to eat. We were pretty exhausted after lunch and went back to nap. We grabbed a quick bite to eat and then went out to Duvet.

Sunday. My campfriend left at about 12 and I basically did a repeat of Saturday with two of my friends from school.

Abroadfest  was an incredible weekend.