Barcelona, with a touch of Bordeaux

The castle we visited for lunch
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Hello All!

I left off with Paris... sooo. From there we drove through the French country side with many many chateaus.  I'm sad that it has been so difficult to post pictures - everything has been so beautiful. France has such a varied landscap.  Flat lands, huge mountains, and great vistas! We got into Bordeaux pretty late and just had dinner with the tour group and some spanish lessons.

The next day we left for Barcelona. Spain is so colourful! As soon as we crossed the border the rooftops changed colour and everything seemed more lively.  We had lunch in a medieval walled city.  It was pretty neat.  Which reminds me of a story from Paris.  We were on our way to lunch in the park when poor Lauren got hit by a soccerball.  Instead of us worrying about her leg, Katie, Lauren, and I pulled a kung-fu like stance and were ready to fend of muggers.  Apparently that's how they get you, the moment you're distracted.  We've heard that in Rome they throw fake babies.  I'm going to have trouble not trying to save the baby, but we're practicing with pillows hahaha.

Dinner in Bordeaux (from left to right) Rachel & Ben, Lauren (my roommate), moi, Amy & James
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Anyhow, back to Barcelona.  Right.  We went on a tour of the city were we stopped at a water fountain that was a light show timed to classical music.  Truly one of the best things I have seen in my entire life.  Very powerful. Later on night we went out to a night club on the waterfront.  There were so many gorgious sailboats.  Yikes!  Loads of money around Europe. The night club was fun but spanish men are terrible.  Luckily our tour manager is an ex-cop.  He gives a mean evil eye.

part of the crazy Gaudi church in Barcelona that looks like a hodge-podge drip castle.
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The next day Lauren and I explored all around - the olympic stadium, Gaudi's Sagrada Familia Cathedral (a crazy looking thing that resembles a drip castle that we used to make in Halifax), and Picasso Museum (he was a tad bit crazy too, but really fun).

Lauren caught the bus back with the group and I decided to go on an adventure.  I had heard that the hotel was just a wee bit off the map so I decided to hike it on foot - I wasn't finished exploring yet... 4 hours later I made it to the hotel.  Glad I did it though, I saw lots of great sights and got a real feel for the city.  Side note: Barcelona can be quite smelly.

tiny side streets in Balcelona - complete with washing hanging out the windows
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We drove from Barcelona to Nice were we've been for the past two days.  Nice was so pretty!  The first night we just got settled in and took a rest but the next day was full on exploring!  The water is a colour of blue that I've never seen before. So pretty!  That night we went for dinner in Monaco (stunning!) and had champaign and strawberries at the top of a mountain!  I don't know if I'll be coming home if the trip keeps this up! We popped into a casino - Monte Carlo...the minimum bid was $1000 euros.  not really in my price range.

harbour in Barcelona
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Today we drove onwards and visited a French perfumery.  Then stopped at the leaning tower of pisa and now we're in Florence!  Time is running out on the computer so I'll sign out now.  Keep the mail coming!

hugs

Laura