¡Hola! Bonjour! Ciao, back again, back again! It feels good to be back in my own bed (as much as I hate this IKEA mattress) and in familiar territory. It's been a loooong but exciting week of worldly exploration, as I've only just gotten back to Rome this evening since jetting off to Barcelona on Friday night and traveling to Bordeaux on Wednesday.

Looking through the 700+ pictures from this week (yikes), I can solidly affirm that I have had quite the adventure. I wasn't sure what to expect from Barcelona, as I had never really thought of visiting Spain, but the lively city has quickly turned into one of my favorite places. Just looking through the pictures of the amazing architecture of Gaudi found everywhere, parrots and springtime blooms, fantastical parks, beautiful beaches, and the mouth-watering food (foodie posts to come -- those are my favorite photos to look through) makes me miss how quirky and wonderland-esque Barcelona is, even though I have just arrived home. We did everything from visiting Parc Guell with the famous tiled, waving bench and Gaudi's whimsical home to climbing the steps of the torres in Sagrada Familia (as well as touring the inside for a good three hours -- I never wanted to leave!). We took it easy on the beach even though it was slightly too chilly to stay out for that long, got attacked by monstrous gusts of sandy wind, explored the various neighborhoods including the Gothic Quarter and the main stretch of La Rambla, and spent our nights sipping on delicious sangria and eating various tapas.

I was reunited with one of my friends from Cal in Bordeaux for a few days as well, as we did a little exchange of cities (she stayed with me in Rome last month). I got to see a different side of France removed from the stereotypical tourist trap of Paris, wandering around the smaller, southern french college-town in search for cheese-filled baguettes and galettes at the cutest of kitschy hole-in-the-wall creperies. It seems like all European towns have rivers, and this one was no disappointment, as we spent much of our time walking up and down the quai in hopes that the mirror pond would work in our favor (unfortunately we tried about 4 times but it never did what it was supposed to!). It was nice to catch up again and have some down time with a friend from back home, and I even meet some actual french people as she introduced me to some of her friends from the University of Bordeaux since she is in a full immersion program.

As much fun as I had in these new countries, I was also super ready to come back to Rome at the end of the week. Traveling takes a lot out of a girl! I've come to realize how comforting it is to know the language of the country you are in (even though I'm still just picking up Italian, it was frustrating having to speak in English all of the time and not know how to effectively communicate), and how much I am enjoying living and staying in Italy, because I could not wait and was itching to get on the plane on Sunday morning. When I arrived back at Ciampino airport and had a conversation about where to buy shuttle tickets in Italian I just felt so relieved, and when I transferred buses at Termini and knew exactly what I was doing and where I was going I realized that Rome is really turning into home. I feel like this happened at the end of the last break too, but I have a renewed love for Italy after visiting all of these other amazing countries, and I know I chose the right one to study abroad in.