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Hello again,

            I just went through my last entry and noticed that there were some spelling errors mixed throughout the text that I missed so I will try my best to correct that problem for this and future entries. Like I said at the end of my last blog I have spent the next two weekends travelling to the beautiful cities of Barcelona and Amsterdam.

            First we’ll start with Barcelona.  Right when we got back from the study trip–ten days of straight travelling–we had to leave for the famous Catalonian metropolis. Needless to say we were exhausted, having slept only for an hour or so but regardless we hopped on a train at five in the morning and off we went. I am not kidding you when I say our day was filled with trains, planes, and automobiles. We took the train to Charleroi Train Station after transferring in Liege. From there we jumped into a cab to get to the airport, which is about a ten-minute ride. Our cab driver was the fastest driver I have been in a car with. He was so insistent on getting there that he drove up on the sidewalk to pass a bus that was stopped. Needless to say I was happy to get to the airport so quickly but also with my life. Then we flew for about an hour and a half on Ryanair, which seems to be the cheapest way to fly around the EU. Landing in Girona was great for now I could say I had been to the Mediterranean country of Spain. The weather was picture-perfect. I am serious when I say that there was not one cloud in the sky, I even scoured the heavens just to find one but to no avail.

We arrived at our hostel, which was located right on La Rambla–the most renowned street in Barcelona. The boulevard was bustling with every type of vendor and store. I’ve never seen so many costumes, street performers, side street painters on one single lane in my life. The best part about it is that the street leads right down into the pier and onto the beach. By that point we were so tired that we just passed out on the beach, a stupid thing to do because I am Irish therefore fair skinned.  Let’s just say I paid the price of that for an entirety of two weeks.  Back to the actual beach though, you can get anything you want in minutes for there are vendors all over the place offering you Fanta, chips, beer, you name it and they will get it for you.  The Mediterranean Sea is also a nice touch with the clear blue water refreshing you from the dry heat beating down.

 The peculiar thing about the Spanish is that the nightlife does not get going until around two and does not stop until about eight in the morning. I am not saying that it is better or worse just different and I actually enjoyed being at a club directly on the beach walking out around six in the morning and seeing many people with bonfires on the shore and the sun rising on the horizon behind them.  It was surreal.

            What else is surreal is the Sagrada Familia, an enormous, ornate cathedral that was designed by Antoni Gaudi and whose construction began in 1882. Surprisingly it is still under construction today and is not suppose to be completed until the year 2026. A more recent but equally impressive specular was Camp Nou–the home of FC Barcelona. It is the largest stadium in Europe with close to 100,000 seats. I took a tour of this arena and the history and grandeur of it comes close to even Beaver Stadium.

            Spain is an amazing country with a thriving culture, something that is very different than what we see back in the states. I loved the atmosphere and recommend everyone to take a trip to Espana, particularly Barcelona.

            The next weekend we travelled to Amsterdam. Yes I know everyone my age thinks of picturesque canals, narrow streets, Vondel Park, and the Anne Frank house.  But let’s just get real and break the ice–yes, Amsterdam is pretty much the drug and sex capital of the world with coffee shops and the Red Light District to brag. And those characteristics are something distinct to this country.

Speaking on the quainter qualities of the city though, the canals were awe-inspiring with houseboats lining the fringes of them and the reflections of oaks and charming houses winking back at you. The Anne Frank house was a must for me, I had read her diary when I was younger and to be standing in her room and to know what had happened in the end was just eerie to me. It was an understood silence that everyone took part of while walking through the rooms of the secret annex. The Heineken Brewery was also somewhere I visited on my stay. It was interesting to see how the unique taste was brewed and also the history of one of the world’s most famous brands.  This brewery was a little bit bigger and more modern than the one we visited on the study tour to Bruges.

Apart from the necessary places to see in Amsterdam the thriving city has a certain party atmosphere that is contagious to all who enters its boundaries. Everyone seems to be looking for a good time and they normally find it in one of the cities many clubs, bars, coffee shops, and even windows tinted with red.

Amsterdam is a must for any traveller in Europe and I recommend it to anyone that is a college-aged kid–you wont forget this town.

Location: Allentown, Pennsylvania