Update #2

Before you read this, make sure you read the previous post on my trip to Spain, first!

Anyways, here's just a general update:

- My return date has been set to 9th June. So, 91 days from when I've posted this, lol.

- School has been going good. I've been making friends, and have discovered a couple Anglophones at my school (An American from Berkley, California and a Brit from Manchester) - awesome! I've also made French friends, lol. The Barcelona trip was good for that.

- I'm visiting Mindy (for those of you on my Dad's side; she's my mom's cousin living in Paris) for a week during Easter break in April. Very excited!

- I've joined a Celtic performing band, composed of children, youth, and adults from the villages around here, and our first performance is Sunday in the village of St. Quentin. There are only two clarinet players, including me!

- I'm having lots of fun and enjoying myself here :)

I miss you all lots,
Gabrielle xoxo
Bisous!

Espana!

It's been a while! This time, I promise I'll update by Blog more!

I got back from a trip to Barcelona, Spain on Saturday night. I went with my Spanish class from Lycee (high school; pronounced "lee-SAY"). A couple other Spanish classes went too, so there were about 50 of us on the trip. We spent four days in Spain, three in Barcelona. The point of the trip was to learn about the art movement called "Modernismo", which is very popular in Barcelona // Catalunya, and of couse, to soak up the Catalunyan culture.

Day One:

We left Lycee Charles Gide in Uzes (our school) @ 8:30am, and hit the road for Spain! We arrived in Figueres, Spain and went to the Salvador Dali museum there after we finished eating lunch. After that, we had some free time to look around the city/town. Then, we were on the road again. At around 8:00pm, we arrived in the city of Sabadell, ~45 minutes outside of Barcelona, where our host families were. I was in a family with two other girls from my class. The family we stayed with had an adult daughter, who visited the house twice while we were there. Our host parents were very sweet and eager to tell us about Spanish & Catalunyan culture. Once we got there, we had dinner and then went to bed.

Day Two:

Our first day in Barcelona!! We left Sabadell on our coach at 9:00am, and arrived in Barcelona around 10. We soon discovered what a lively and thriving city it is. There's always something going on; whether you're walking past a street musician playing an instrument you didn't even know existed; a vendor trying to sell you something you really don't need, yet are absolutely fascinated by; a group of FC Barcelona fans kicking around a football and showing off their tricks; or a "statue" which you could have SWORN you just saw moving!!

That day, we visited two churches; one which was the oldest in the city (dating back to the NINTH CENTURY!) and a famous one in Barcelona, "La Catedral". We went on a walking tour with a Spanish guide, and saw much of the city on foot. We visited La Rambla (a giant street in Barcelona with shopping, entertainment, and cafes) which was my favourite part of the day. We also visited "La Boquería", a giant covered outdoor market with vegetable, fruit, candy, and other assorted food stands and cafes.

We returned back to our host families that night at around 8:00pm.

Day Three:

Today was Gaudi day! We visited the Sagrada Familia (still under construction; expected to be finished around 2030), the Parque Guell (my favourite part of the day!) and other architecture designed/built by Gaudi. We also had lots of time to shop, and walked around the pricier end of Barcelona ("window-shopped" at Dolce & Gabbana, Lacoste, Armani, etc :P) and more tourist-priced end of town to buy some souveneirs. We had lots of free time, and made good use of it!

Day Four:

Time to go home... :( We left our host-families at 9:00am that morning, and went from Sabadell to Barcelona, to visit on more art museum; the Foundation of Joan Miro. After that, we had our lunch at were on the road again. We got home in Uzes early, at around 7:30pm.

All in all, it was a MUCHOS BUENO trip! Funnily enough, my French actually improved over the stay :P My host family even commented on it.

Barcelona is now officially my new favourite European city; there's really something for everyone there. I'd love to go back some day.

A tout, (Later!)

Gabrielle xoxo