August 1 - Nonstop Fun

Although I have been in Europe for a few weeks now, it has just hit me that I am utterly exhausted and I have been walking an absolutely ridiculous amount each day. Despite this, I went against my better judgment and jam packed my day filled with activities. In the morning, we had yet to hear back from our professor regarding the majority of the day so I decided to have a Katie date since I take care of myself better than any significant other ever will. I got up and decided that I wanted to have a nice breakfast and do something fun. I booked myself tickets to the aquarium and the zoo and set out for the day.

I had found some fun restaurant ideas online so I settled on a café near the beach. The café overlooked a park on the water and was one of the few restaurants I have found that has an actual iced latte. I ordered a delicious sandwich with pear and goat cheese and enjoyed it with my drink. I am a person who needs a good amount of alone time to function so this was a great reset from my people-oriented group activities. After breakfast, I walked around the water and took myself to the aquarium. The aquarium was absolutely adorable and I saw some adorable creatures – axolotls, penguins, frogs, and even sharks. I was enjoying my time there when I got a message from my professor saying that he planned an extra excursion for us in the middle of the day. This completely threw a wrench in my plans but I am adaptable and know how to improvise. I savored a few more moments in the aquarium before heading back to meet up with my classmates.

Along the way, I took a gamble and decided that I had a few minutes to take a detour and get an horchata. It was a Katie day after all and I am a thorough enjoyer of a fun little beverage. I found an horchata place that was rated highly on the internet and fit along my journey. I grabbed the biggest cup that I could so I could quench my thirst as I swiftly walked back to the hotel. I am still not entirely sure how I feel about Spanish horchata but I do know that it is sweet and perfect for a stroll in the Barcelona heat. I made it back to the hotel with an entire two minutes to spare and joined up with my group. With the class, we made our way up the hill behind our hotel toward a place called Poble Espanyol.

None of us realized that climbing up a hill would be quite a challenge but it was a lot harder than we thought it would be. The steep climb was hard even with a set of stairs, but the view was worth it. Poble Espanyol was a cute village that essentially served as a miniature Spain with different sections themed around the different parts of the country. There were even local artisans in the shops on the property. It was so much fun to explore and it felt really great to sit in some of the shaded areas. We toured through the cute areas before I decided to head out to the zoo. Morgan and Audra decided to join me and have some fun. Off we went for even more fun in an already fun filled day.

At the zoo, we walked around and saw so many different animals. We toured through the aviary and enjoyed the unique birds. We were able to see many different types of critters in the invertebrate room. There were lots of marmosets and exotic animals that we do not have at the zoo in Tucson. I loved seeing the kangaroos with joeys in their pouches and the spider monkeys playing with their babies. It was a fun experience and I really liked it since I did not get to go to a zoo in Paris so this was a completely different activity for the trip. The only downside was that it was ridiculously hot and ridiculously humid so I was sweltering with heat and so sweaty that my makeup was starting to come off. This was the sign that it was time for me to head back to the hotel and recharge my social battery before our main event of the night.

In the hotel, I slept for half an hour before showering and getting ready for our big ticket event: a flamenco show! The group all looked nice and dapper as we took the transit to the Tableau de Flamenco. We went towards the grand building and rushed to our seats. The interior was stunning and the show was utterly gorgeous. We were able to see an hour long performance of singing, dancing, and live music. Everything about it was so enthralling and I was captivated the whole time. The costumes were also incredible to see. Overall, the show was excellent and something I am so glad I got to experience.

The show ended and we all dispersed for the night. A large group of my peers and I decided to grab some late night gelato before heading back to the hotel. I got a delicious gelato with a waffle and it was the perfect sweet treat to end the night. We enjoyed our treats and made the trek back to our rooms. It was quite a busy day for me but I saw so many of the things I had been looking forward to so it was well worth it.

♡ Katie