John and George

A LOT happened on while Emma and I were adventuring around Europe over our break (including me spending basically all of  my summer money - is it unethical to crowdfund the rest of my semester??) but one of my favorite parts came at the very end of our stay, on our last night in the Hipstel in Barcelona. We had dinner there in the dining room with the rest of the guests where 5 euro got us some pasta, salad, a beer, and excellent company. We were stressed for time with our flight so early the next morning but we stuck around for the promise of a show and were NOT disappointed. 








"We Are Going Nowhere", composed of John, George, and a couple of friends they made at the Hipstel played guitar, trumpet, improvised drums, and tap shoes to put on the most Java-y show I have experienced since leaving St. Lawrence.
Isaac Asimov — 'Self-education is, I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is.' - I noticed this quote on the wall of the Catalan History Museum, which we visited that morning (it wasn't open bc it was a holiday but we got to go up to the terrace and see the beautiful views! (below).
The quote applied so well to the music of John and George, and to all of the experiences Emma Mia and I have had all semester. We've all thrown ourselves into our abroad semesters and soaked up as much as possible. 
I can't wait for us to get back to school and share all our memories!

Here are some more cool views from Barcelona!

The Sagrada Familia has been under construction since Gaudi first designed it and the first brick was lain in 1882. One of the guys we met at the hostel is convinced that the whole "to be finished by 2026" is a tourist trick, but either way I think it's pretty cool. Emma was there in 2005 and noticed so many differences. And all from the original design. How cool is that?

The crowd at the Hipstel was pretty cool too. We got a free halloween dinner of beautiful salad and truffle (???) pasta from the dancing young Australian below who was "boxing and partying throughout Europe" and more than happy to donate some Very nice wine to the Halloween 2014 cause. The hostel crowd was pretty random though - college students, grads, vacationers, families, real adults. We even got a new aunt (ipad - she documented the entire evening lol). She even invited us to visit her and her daughter in Florida! Maybe I can catch up to Mia's tan after all these Normandy clouds after all.

Basically, 4 weeks left and the total take-away is that you have to make your own time - fun, friends, experiences, lessons. Personally, I think foreign countries with friendly people are the best avenue. Until tomorrow - we're going to a soccer match in Marseilles! Bisous!