Day of Decadence

View of the main château complex of Versailles from the top of the gardens

While I didn't do much traveling in France, I would never forgive myself if I never made it to Versailles during my semester in Paris. Third time's the charm right?

And there's no denying the sheer luxury and decadence of Versailles, it's really not my style. It's just...so much...of everything. My favorite part of the whole place were the gardens, they are breathtaking (even in the gloom) and there is more room to move. Inside the palace it's quite crowded with tourists, you don't get a decent look at the Hall of Mirrors (although I thought they would be a lot more mirror-y, if that makes sense). 

Monsieur Manet

A man ascends the steps of the Pont Solferino, which connects the Louvre to the Orsay.

Underrated

 Lisbon's orange suspension bridge brought back memories of the Golden Gate

Lisbon was the last stop during our 10 day long break. We absolutely loved it. Stay at Oasis Backpackers' Mansion: great staff, great location, we never wanted to leave. Also be sure to check out the "Theives' Market," it takes place every Tuesday and Saturday from 7:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. If you need old batteries, broken toys, or cheap underwear, this is the place for some serious one-stop shopping.

To the Feria!

 The dance floor of one of the public casetas during Feria in Seville, Spain.

Spring Break coincided with La Feria de abril de Sevilla, so we had to go! It was quite an amazing event: carnival rides, traditional Spanish dance and dress, cheap drinks, and lots of laughter. During one of our afternoons Alex and I made friends with an elderly woman who ended up treating me to dance lessons.

Unpaused

 The Magic Fountain show in Barcelona, Spain

Rather than kick myself for again neglecting my blog, I will begin the massive backed up update...so until further notice, all of my posts will be playing catch up.

Spring Break was spent in Spain and Portugal. A few of us left Paris early and ended up missing the chaos the Icelandic volcano caused (for a time, it caught up to us in Bacelona). The only bump in our road was missing Madrid, so itinerary looked like this: Paris --> Barcelona --> Granada --> Seville --> Lisbon --> Paris.

We ended up spending about 5 days in Barcelona, which when you think about it, wasn't so bad. Actually, it was rather funny thinking how people were complaining of being stranded in some European city they hadn't planned on being in, we were still in Europe, having the time of our lives. So we missed Madrid, it'll be there for a while. Sipping Sangria on the Barcelona beach for another couple of days was an alright alternative.