Barcelona was....... MARVELOUS. the trip started off with us making it to bush intercontinental just in the nick of time due to houston traffic. this turned out to be a blessing bc as it turns out, british airways overbooked out flight so they upgraded us to first class!!!   i know!!! the parents and i came aboard and were immediately greeted with hot towels, champagne and oj. the seats were awesome seeing as how they could be converted into a 6 foot bed!!! and there was a personal flip away tv, foot stool, toiletry pack, pillows, blankets, and headphones all waiting on the seat. they actually handed out menus and we were served a 3-course meal with steak and potatoes as the main course. but anyway to make a long story short.... first class is fantastic! then had to stop at London Gatwick airport where our flight was delayed so ended up in the vip lounge where i was able to shower and everything. did i mention how great first class is?? haha  arrived in barcelona at around midnight. brother came to pick us up and busted out in catalan (the real spanish). it's so much nicer and more pleasant than the spanish we hear over here. so loud and harsh you know what i mean.... but anyway, the night we arrived was also the same night the majority of chris's fellow architecture friends had to catch a flight back to the US. it's hard to describe all the adventures in the past week. highlights included hiking up to the famous park guell, visiting casa batilla and casa mila - all of which were designed by antoni gaudi, the most famous architect of barcelona. also visited the famous sagrada familia, also designed by gaudi - quite possibly the most beautiful church i've ever seen... and the largest too. the finished form will actually be only 1/16 th size gaudi originally wanted it to be and yet, it already towers over the city. you can pretty much see it anywhere you go as long as you're moderately high up. christmas eve... went shopping and sightseeing all day and on christmas day, went to another famous park, the arc of triumph, and had dinner at a nice restaurant looking out into a fountain. the nightlife....partying til 6 in the morning!! black sheep tavern. pitchers of sangria (very popular everywhere in the city). estrella damm beer. and of course, vodka with kas lemon soda... i know!! totally trashed by the time we got to the club at 3 in the morning can you believe it?!??! spaniards are hardcore. everyone drinks and smokes heavily. it's the city that never sleeps. authentic paella. tapas galore! always liked the clothes and shoes at zara and guess where it originated??? in barcelona!!! so there were zaras left and right... huge 3 story ones with zara women, men, kids, and even zara home!! omg i was in candyland. and it's not like the one store in the galleria where there's only some of their collections and all the small sizes are always gone.... all of their fall collections were in store and there were actually smalls left!! i was one happy bitch. there's 13 all together in barcelona and we managed to hit up half i think. haha... but anyway, speaking of fashion.... people were dressed very cute yet suitable for the weather. it seems like everyone in spain in pretty. the guys and gals are all tall, slender, and beautiful. no wonder since everyone walks and takes public transportation and the standard of living is higher and the spices and flavor is not nearly as fat-packed and calorie-loaded as here in the good ol' lazy USA. brother suggested we tell everyone who asked we were from singapore rather than the US since that's clearly better off. i bet they think we're all fat and lazy... and they're right to some extent. people over there live such a modest lifestyle and aren't nearly as wasteful as we are over here. and everyone recycles. and even the pickpockets aren't dangerous. if you catch them, they will nonviolently give you back you wallet or whatver they took from you. happened to my brother and alot of his friends. i don't even know what else to say because there are way too many stories and i'm too much of a lazy american to type it all. posted an album on facebook. we must've taken well over 1000 pics from the trip and those selected 60 are only from my brother's camera. there's so much more from my dad's fancy digital camera i have yet to upload. and now here i am. back to reality with my vacation winding down. sigh........... i have a quiz and two tests waiting for me when i get back. second semester starts on the 2nd!! can you believe it.... 8 am is the intro to cardiopulmonary whoop ti do. i have to fly out on new year's day....  wahhhhh however, that means i will have to party it up even more on new year's eve. hehe new year's resolutions??? ................................................ 
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