blog.

It has been two weeks since I returned from Spain. No more train to catch at 7 a.m.; I now wake to an alarm clock and head to work in a car. No more sandy beaches; I now walk across the grass. No more Mediterranean sunsets; I have to settle for the sunsets here. No more metro lines to take me anywhere I want to go; I must take a car. No longer am I surrounded by architecture much older than the country I was born in; I am now surrounded by new buildings and construction. No more cobblestone streets and tile street signs; I am back to green placards and asphalt. No more moments of “pinch me, I’m dreaming;” I’m back to the things that I know. I’ve returned to my normal and thinking back on Spain I can still hardly believe it even happened. I miss it terribly and hope I can return one day.

I’ve had a very busy two weeks at the agency wrapping up all of my projects. I do not know what the rest of my life has in store for me, but I know that my time with Imagewest International will get me a step ahead of the rest. I am so proud that our client was pleased with our work and I am proud of what we accomplished during our time abroad. I would not have traded this experience for anything and I am so glad that I went on this journey.

A sunset in the Mediterranean.

(This is my contribution to our Imagewest blog and I liked it so much that I decided to post it here as well)

Here we are. Back in the United States and back with our families and friends. You might not recognize it immediately, but Spain changed all of us. We tried new things, broadened our minds, and we all grew from the experience and came back with memories that will last forever.

It was certainly not all fun and games for us in Spain. We worked. And we worked hard. Our usual schedule was (including our two-hour commute) 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday, but we would often work well beyond that time. Our hard work and hours of research have been worth it. During our time in Spain we created a microsite, interactive maps, information sheets, a poster and digital identity materials for our client the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) liaison offices in Europe.

When we were not working, we enjoyed the gorgeous city of Barcelona and the beautiful little town of La Garriga where we lived for a month. On the weekends we traveled by plane across Spain to Bilbao and Palma, Mallorca. We even made it over to Venice, Italy one weekend. Venice was the unanimous choice for favorite side trip.

We were exposed to all kinds of new and different cultures, art, places and people. We saw Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia and Casa Batlló. We walked up and down La Rambla. We saw the collected works of Picasso and Dalí. We waded in the salty Mediterranean Sea and were burned by the Mediterranean sun. We tasted and enjoyed patatas bravas, Spanish tortillas, and fish (a new concept to most of us). We attempted to understand, Catalan, Castilian, Euskara, Italian and German. We saw where FC Barcelona plays and cheered on Spain’s national fútbol team with the locals. We witnessed history as Catalonia was declared a nation. We saw the Guggenheim in Bilbao, traveled around Venetian canals and vacationed with the Germans. We explored lands that we could never dream we would have seen in our lives. And we’re pretty sure that we finally mastered the Metro system.

I could go on forever about all the amazing experiences we had during our short month abroad, but I still have a bit of work to finalize.

Remember to look through all of our pictures and watch our videos on our website. If you want to read more about our month abroad, check out the rest of this blog and our team blogs.

¡Adéu! (That’s “goodbye” in Catalan)

Our Imagewest appreciation dinner on the island of Mallorca.

I can’t believe it. I’m back. It feels like just yesterday I left on that jet plane for Spain and now I’m already back. A lot is different, but that’s for another entry. Right now, let’s go back, back to my last week in Spain. We worked, a whole lot, after returning from Venice, to get all of our work done in time. Wednesday I worked from 8am until 10pm, I just had to finish my work.

Thankfully, I did get to enjoy my last weekend in Barcelona. Friday after work, Rachel and I accompanied Mark and Heather to the Picasso museum. I enjoyed seeing his work from his early life into the later stages. My favorite artwork was classic advertising posters, I believe it was one of his friend’s artwork. After the museum, we walked toward the beach and went to a Mexican restaurant that Heather and Mark had previously visited. I had a delicious LIT and burrito. And I was happy to have some guacamole in my life, not to mention the tortilla chips. After dinner, we caught the train back to La Garriga and met some very interesting characters in the station that wanted us to go to the Ah-Beh-Cey discotheque. We thankfully convinced them to get off at their stop and not follow us back to La Garriga.

The next morning we got an early start to head to Figuerres to see the Dalí museum. This was a very anticipated part of the trip for me as, although I’m not really an art connoisseur, Dalí and surrealism top my list. After a two hour train ride through what looked like Indiana, we arrived in Figuerres, which is where Dalí lived. We must have looked like tourists because before we could even ask a woman we encountered for directions, she told us where the Dalí museum was. The museum was incredible, I loved everything I saw and was stunned that I was allowed to take pictures within the museum.

After the museum, Rachel and I headed back to Barcelona to see Tibidabo. We were told we were not allowed to leave Barcelona without seeing it and this was our last chance. Thank god we made the effort to go up there. After correctly navigating the metro lines, we took a trolley halfway up, where we got on a funicular that took us to the top. At the top of Tibidabo, after leaving the funicular, you see a church, which was apparently a very popular site for weddings (who doesn’t want to get married almost 2000 feet in the air?). We saw at least three brides while we were up there.

Someone also decided, oh, hey, let’s put an amusement park almost 2000 feet in the air. That makes sense, right? So, church, amusement park, and then a breathtaking view that I will remember for the rest of my life. Sprawled out before me at the top of this mountain is all of Barcelona. The view was so beautiful that it almost brought me to tears, no wonder people were getting married up there.

Before we left Tibidabo, we decided to buy a cotton candy, little did we know this would literally the largest cotton candy we have ever consumed in our entire lives. However, it was delicious. After making the journey all the way back down the mountain and back through the metro lines, we made our way through La Rambla to find Stephanie and Courtney at a bar called Cheers to watch the Spain vs. Paraguay match. We did find them and it was packed to the brim, just the way I wanted to see a world cup match in Spain! I was excited for the match to begin. It was amazing! The whole bar was full of excitement and Spain won! Definitely a moment I will not forget for a long time. Plus, I was wearing my Villa jersey and everyone who noticed said something. I felt like I was part of it.

Unfortunately because we stayed in town to see the match, we had to catch the night bus back to La Garriga. The night bus was our least favorite thing, but, it did get us home when we wanted to be in town after 10pm. And, we did have delicious gyros, so that made up for it. The night bus did get us back to La Garriga where we crashed into bed because we had an early journey to the airport in the morning.

Our flight was only slightly delayed, thankfully (we have not had the best luck with flights). I noticed very quickly the German allegiance in Mallorca before I even got there. When the plane landed at the airport, from the terminal I saw the pilot’s window open and out popped a German flag. You see, Spain was playing Germany in a world cup match in a few days and the pilot obviously was for Germany. In the pilot’s defense… we were flying Air Berlin. Still, not cool.

Mallorca, despite the Germans, was and is the most gorgeous beach I have ever been to. The water was crystal clear and as blue as, something that is quite blue. The sand was soft and created a sand bed when my towel was laid upon it. The amazing Mediterranean sunset was just that, amazing. And our beach front hotel was a definite plus. All I did in Palma, Mallorca was rest. It was all I needed to do and I loved every minute of it.

On Monday, aka my 22nd birthday, we went to an Imagewest Appreciation dinner and investigated Palma de Playa’s (our beach resort) nightlife. I ate monkfish in almond sauce for dinner and it was certainly the best-tasting fish I have ever consumed. For dessert I had CHEESEcake. Much emphasis on the cheese. It was not so pleasant. After dinner, we had a bucket of vodka and límon, and I mean bucket. It was a common practice to buy a blue bucket complete with drink and massive straws, to just drink on the boardwalk. The six of us quite enjoyed our bucket. After the bucket was gone, we went to explore the discotheques. Let me just say, I will never, ever forget my 22nd birthday in Palma, Mallorca, Spain in the Balearic Islands.

The next day I avoided the sun as much as possible, because I had gotten a little crispy the previous day (even with sunscreen). The Mediterranean sun is apparently quite hot…

After we left the resort, it was travel, travel and more travel. Before I knew it we were crossing the figurative border at the Barcelona airport and walking into international limbo awaiting our plane’s departure. And just like that, a short 10 or so hours later, we were back and I was running to my boyfriend’s arms at the Nashville airport.

Now that it’s all over, I am ready to go back. At first I was happy to be home, now I miss Spain. I’m now convinced that I should have been born in Europe. I will never forget what I will now consider as my second home.

Last weekend we went to a place that truly stole my heart. Sure, Barcelona captured it, but Venice immediately seized it from Barcelona. There are not words sufficient to describe the beauty of Venice. Therefore, here is a picture that will attempt to explain its beauty.

After our plane landed I could not wait to get out and explore. Although we first had to get from the airport to the island of Lido, where our hotel was located. How does one get places on a city located on water? By boat, of course! Metro boats were the main method of transportation and it was amazing. I was meant to live on a city surrounded by water.

The first day we explored the beach-y island where our hotel was after checking in. It was a beautiful beach community, although I never even went to the beach because there was not much point since you do not really go to Venice for the beach. I had gnocchi for dinner and I was so excited because it was already one of my favorite foods. Rachel and Courtney got the Italian version of the “menu del día,” which was a four-course meal, complete with dessert. It looked like a whole lot of food, but they somehow conquered it.

After dinner we walked around the island and found a place to watch the sun set. Just so you know, Venetian sunsets are UNREAL. The entire time we were watching I had that, “pinch me, I’m dreaming,” feeling. I even had Rachel pinch me at least three times… only to discover, that yes, this really was, really, real.

The next day we woke up early to find the biggest complimentary breakfast I had ever seen. It was quite large and quite filling and of course, delicious. Next, we set out to board the metro boat to Venice and we were almost there. The entire time I had the, “I must be dreaming,” feeling, but especially driving toward St. Mark’s that morning.

We never actually went into St. Mark’s because the line was so long to get in, but it was gorgeous from the outside. However, it was much more beautiful at night. There were even musicians playing at various restaurants. I believe I have mentioned that Venice is absolutely unreal, correct? It is certainly the most amazing city I have ever been to.

During the day Rachel and I did what the various travel resources told us to do in Venice, get lost. However, Rachel and I have such a good sense of direction that we somehow found our way to the Grand Canal. By chance, we were not even aiming to get there. That is just how awesome we are. Getting lost was an excellent opportunity to explore the areas of Venice that were off the beaten path. We even ran into some guy that, we’re pretty sure, thought Rachel was a fountain. It had some interesting characters, but Venice was, by far, my favorite part of the trip so far.

The end of the road. The street ended and this is all that was left.

Burano and Murano were two other islands that we ventured to via the metro boat. Have I mentioned how awesome the metro boat was? Well, Murano is known around the world for it’s beautiful glasswork, while Burano is known for hand-made masks and lace. Murano was really interesting because of all the stunning things that can be done with glass. This included breathtaking chandeliers that were so expensive I almost felt I could not afford to look at them. Burano was the most colorful place I have ever been to in my entire life (and I could certainly live there). I could not stop taking pictures, even though my battery began to blink that it was running on empty. The colors were just so bright and wonderful that I wanted to share them with everyone.

There is no other way to explain the beauty of Venice except for, it is unlike anything I will ever see and have ever seen. Our second night in Venice, Rachel and I found the perfect place to watch the sun set once more. I will never forget listening to the water lapping the edges of the street as boats flew by and the sun was setting my last beautiful summer in Venice, Italy. So many moments that will last a lifetime.

Completely unreal.

The only bad things about Venice were the intense heat, humidity, and the Venetian mosquitoes (with their giant mosquito bites). Other than that, Venice was perfect, and I vow to make it back there again one day and hopefully share the experience with others. Rachel and I were admittedly starting to feel a little home sick in the most gorgeous city we have ever seen. Little things kept reminding us of home and we almost cried a few times.

Now we’re going through our last week in Barcelona and we have our nose to the grindstone if we want to get everything done on time. We’re excited for the Spain/Paraguay game this weekend and we’re excited for a little more time in Barcelona. The Picasso and Dali museum are certainly on the menu. And Rachel and I are planning on venturing up to Tibidabo (we were told we could not leave Barcelona without seeing it).

Wow. I originally planned to blog at least twice a week, but it quickly became impossible to do that. Now I hope to get at least one out a week. Western also requires the blog, so it is a little bit mandatory to get one in.

Hard, hard work requires lots and lots of hours. We worked from home yesterday because our office was closed on account of the celebration of Sant Joan. However, we managed to squeeze in well over 10 hours of work from our living room. Imagewest International is a mobile operation. As long as we have the Internet and a computer, we are set.

An odd thing happened on the way home from work the other day. The train we were riding was graffiti-ed while we were on it, the fumes were making us all light headed. I now know how trains get graffiti-ed.

Fresh graffiti. A dizzy-ing experience.

We are actually working from our living room this morning as well because we will be visiting the MV Explorer later this afternoon. The MV Explorer is our client Semester At Sea’s ship that sails for, well, a semester. We are all very, very excited to finally meet our client after working with them for nearly a year.

Last weekend we went to Bilbao. Located in northern Spain it reminded me a lot more of Germany or Holland, rather than Spain. I thought I had been temporarily transported to another country. It was quite windy, but also beautiful. I felt a bit out of place because everyone seemed dressed to the nines and there were weddings at every turn. I swear that everyone in the city worn designer clothing. It would not be a far stretch to say even the homeless people dressed well (I realize this is because they get the old clothes of the people in the town, however, it’s just a point).

Spain....?

I forgot to mention… they speak another language in the Basque country, aptly named, Basque language (or Euskara). It is completely and totally like Spanish. Mark says that the Basque language is proof that aliens are real.

The Guggenheim was my favorite part of the trip. It is the most stunning building I have ever seen in my entire life. Richard Serra’s The Matter of Time, was an amazing work of art you got to interact with inside the museum. I had a lot of fun running and walking through the disorienting spirals and humming inside the echoing walls. The acoustics were amazing. I had to buy the book because there was no other way I would be able to explain this piece (pictures were forbidden within the Guggenheim, boo that).

The amazing and stunning Guggenheim Museum.

On Sunday we were supposed to visit San Sebastian, but us girls partied a bit too hardy with the locals on Saturday night and slept in instead. We had a great time. The nightlife in Bilbao was pretty exciting. Let me just note that the more alcohol you imbibe the better your Spanish gets… not kidding, I actually communicate and understand Spanish a lot better with a few drinks in me. And not just because I “think” I’m speaking and understanding better! I really am!

Lying by the pool in the 63º weather and attempting to get a tan every 5 minutes because the sun kept hiding was an interesting way to spend a Sunday. It was relaxing. I even jumped in the frigid ice-cold water and stayed for a good 10 minutes. I was pretty determined to swim.

It was quite an adventure getting back from Bilbao since our flight got delayed, multiple times, but it was not that bad. I entertained myself by attempting to read, but mostly spacing out and people watching. I never have spent that much time in airports, so I did not know how mind-numbingly terrible it is to wait around in one.

Getting back to La Garriga after 10:40 on a weekday is an adventure. You see, the train only runs until 10:40 and we got to the airport around… 10:40 (we have at least an hour commute between the airport and the train home). Well, thankfully there is a night bus… that arrives at 1:15am. However, it took us until about 12:15 to actually find the bus stop and once we did we all ran for the closest and any food we could find.

Sigh…… I had to do it, I had to eat McDonald’s because I did not have another choice. Chicken nuggets taste better here, just a little note. And I communicated to the McDonald’s guy in complete Spanish. That was pretty nifty. I always get excited when I can say something in Spanish.

We did eventually get back to La Garriga and we learned to use the bus system, so, just another good learning experience. I was so happy to see La Garriga and Romeo. It feels so much like home here. Comfy, cozy, homey little La Garriga.

Well, I should get back to work now. I hope this is a significant update. I once again apologize that I don’t update more often. I literally am too tired to blog most days, so I knocked this out in the morning. I am off to plot more points on many maps for the ITESM micro-site. It is very tedious work and in the future, data entry would not be my choice of job. However, Mark and I are trudging through and we are sure these maps will be insanely helpful to the students.

We’re off to Venice this weekend! I’m very excited. And tonight Rachel and I are going adventuring to find a bar in Barcelona to watch the Spain game. So excited about that too. Many adventures still ahead of me in these last lessthantwoweeksleftsadface, here.

Adéu to all!

PS: The internet is being buggy, so unfortunately I can’t add all the pictures that I want to add. Check out all of our pictures here. It is quite a massive assortment. I also have a lot of albums on my Facebook if you want to look there.

Study abroad is quite the learning experience. Especially when you are thrown straight into the city on your own right off the plane.

1. Flip-flops are a bad choice for footwear (the rain in Spain does NOT fall mainly on the plain).
2. Flats from the United States cut your ankles and they become painful and bloody. Spanish flats are kind and perfect for jumping from Metro to Metro.
3. You probably should not wear tennis shoes to the beach—they get sand in them and then it is a crunchy walk home.
4. Two for one deals on Spanish flats are amazing.
5. I promise I’ve learned about more than shoes… last, but not least, you have to walk. A LOT.
6. This is not a Mary-Kate and Ashley movie.
7. iPods are not recommended, but required on train rides that take over an hour.
8. Catalan is NOT almost like Spanish.
9. There is a chance that you will get bitten on Las Ramblas.
10. If people are allowed to be nude, they will be nude. Naked bike riding is not out of the question.
11. Toilets do not have a lot of water in them.
12. The Europeans dress better than most people from the United States could even fathom.
13. 1-liter boxes of wine that cost less than a Euro are the perfect way to end the day.
14. Go FC Barcelona—that’s all you need to know. Even if Spain is in the World Cup, people in Barcelona only care about players from Barcelona.
15. If you keep trying to speak Spanish, you will eventually make sense.
16. Wear sunscreen even when walking around, you will get burned.
17. It’s okay to take free drinks from strange Brazilian men on the beach as long as they are drinking from the same cup.
18. If it happens to be World Cup time and you happen to be in Spain, you should go watch a game with the locals. It’s an amazing experience. Fútbol is a religion here.
19. Try anything and everything you can—you might not like it or you may love it, at least you tried it.
20. Do not ride backwards on the train. It will make you carsick (at least, it makes me carsick).
21. The Metro system is your best friend if you want to get anywhere in the city.
22. PDA is very accepted here and you should not be offended if you see very handsy and romantic people. Remember, the United States was founded by Puritans that wanted to escape the European insanity.
23. The Metro system is also very, very crowded at most times and you have to be very, very careful not to get pick pocketed. Someone could bump into you and rob you blind. You never know.
24. Street signs are written in Catalan in Barcelona, not Spanish (in Barcelona).
25. If you just keep walking and you at least have a Metro map, you will probably find your way.

The Metro is our best friend. We would be lost without it.

Look for a real blog post from me soon. We have been so busy, I don’t even time to tell you about how busy we are. That’s… busy.

We have had a crazy, busy week, but I have loved every minute of it. Yes, the jet lag is a little bit terrible, but I’m sure I will be over it in just a few more days. Where do I begin expounding on my adventures so far?

The trip from the Nashville airport to Barcelona was an adventure and an experience in itself. It started off okay, then our flight was delayed and we flew out over an hour late. This would have been okay, if we would have made it to Philadelphia on time. However, we did not. We literally had to run through the airport to make the plane; they were calling our name when we were still quite a way away from the gate. Thankfully, we were able to board our flight and soon were on our way to Barcelona. The eight or nine hour flight was, quite long. The jet lag was already getting to me every time I looked at my watch. I could not believe when I woke up around 7 am that it was only midnight in Louisville.

After successfully disembarking the plane, making it through customs and grabbing our luggage, we were now left with the job of navigating from the airport in Barcelona to our little apartment in La Garriga. It was not the easiest task, but between getting on the Renfe, getting on the Metro, getting off the Metro and back on when we realized we had to go further, we eventually made it to La Garriga. It would not have been so bad if we did not have about 70 pounds of luggage each. Napping was a necessity after we settled into our apartment. Exploring the town after our napping was the best way to end the day. Delicious food is always a plus of exploring.

Our first meal in Spain (Beer and potato cake things (and meat, not pictured)

Delcious pizza from "Little Italy" -- Yes, we ate pizza our first day in Spain, do not judge us...

The next day went a bit smoother. We successfully navigated to the office in Barcelona. It’s a little tight for six people, but we’re making it work. The campus where the office is located is quite beautiful, but they won’t let us take very many pictures. They say that it is an “Universidad” and pictures are not allowed to be taken in them. Very… odd… policy. We managed to sneak in a few.

It's a little tight, but we fit. This is us trying to figure out the window...

What we see before we get to our office just a little bit down the hall

After work (and maybe a bit of getting lost on the Metro, well, getting a bit turned around… why do they have two Sant Andreu(s) right next to each other, I do not know), we went to a grocery store and got a lot of tasty supplies to make dinner that night. I got a slew of yummies for a little over 8 Euro. For dinner, Courtney (link) and Stephanie (link) cooked us pesto pasta with chicken. We had bread and dipping sauce on the side. And I could not forget about the delicious Sangria we had with the meal. The Sangria cost only 1 Euro and was quite tasty.

Cooking dinner in our tiny European kitchen

Sorry it took me so long to post, we are crazy busy and I’m exhausted by the time I get home in the evening.

You can see my pictures on Facebook (here are the links if you don’t have an account: Somewhere over the Atlantic/First day in España, First day at the office (Second day in España). I’m going to upload them to Picassa as soon as I can.

Until later… ¡Adéu!

Just 4 days until we fly away from the Nashville airport and toward Barcelona, Spain! I’m so excited; I can still hardly believe it is real. We have settled on three side trips as well, one to Bilbao, Spain (home of the Guggenheim), another to Majorca Island (part of the Balearic Islands), and our last side trip to beautiful Venice, Italy. Believe it or not, we are also taking a day trip to Figueres (home of the Dalí museum) and Girona, Spain, as well.

All this excitement spinning through our minds, but we have still been working hard this week preparing for our trip. We finally found out what we’re going to be doing for the school. I, myself, found out that the campuses are in Mexico and the office is in Barcelona). So, we’ve been researching anything and everything we can, trying to figure out the best strategies to bring our client success.

Other than that we have all been bouncing with excitement, counting the days until June 7th and brushing up on a bit of Catalan. We will be experts by the time we come back… or, we will at least be able to talk to communicate… we hope.

A very long weekend is ahead of me as I have to pack a mere 50lbs into my already 20lb suitcase (this will be an adventure). I cannot wait to get on that plane Monday afternoon. I know European adventures are waiting for me across the ocean. Until then, be sure to check out everyone’s blog and leave some comments if you want to.

I cannot wait to see a beautiful Mediterranean sunset…

Just a week after graduation I headed back to Bowling Green to embark upon my next adventure, getting ready to travel to Barcelona, Spain with Imagewest International!

I have never been to Europe before, I have not even been out of the country before (unless you count a border city in Mexico) and in just eleven days, I will be in Spain. Spain! This sends a mix of excitement and fear fluttering through my head.

All this week, the team has been working hard preparing for our journey. We’ve been researching all the amazing things we can do in the city of Barcelona, but also what we can do for side trips on the weekends. We did decide to go to the beautiful island of Minorca, one of the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea and we are still trying to decide on another side trip. I do not care where we go personally, I’m sure our European adventure will still be amazing.

The beautiful island of Minorca

This week, we have also been updating our newsletters and website about our trip and we cannot wait to get started with our client, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superioeres de Monterrey (ITESM) – Barcelona Spain. Check out the blogs of everyone on the team in my sidebar titled “iwi blogroll,” to read all about what we’re doing.

Only 11 days to go before we fly out of Nashville and into Barcelona! I can’t wait to take in all the amazing culture and beautiful architecture of the city and beyond. I’m not so sure that I can even believe this is actually happening even though it is all I’ve been talking or thinking about for a month now!

Our 2010 Summer Imagewest International team