Brave Goes Abroad: Week 15.0: The Final Days

I'm playing a game that goes how many times can Liz type out this blogpost and then delete it all and I think I'm getting quite good at it. I'm in Week 15 of my trip with three days left to my program and my return ticket to the good old US of A does not exist (yet). This right here is the reason that words aren't coming together quite like I want them to today. I'm swamped this week with finals amidst packing up my apartment and organizing this last girls dinner and that last night out. This semester has hands down been one of the craziest and best times of my life and while I am so excited to get back home for summer and back to Texas come August for my senior year (!!), the idea of leaving Barcelona breaks my heart a little more each day.

"Everyone needs a little Barcelona in their life."

On Facebook the other day, I saw another study abroad student post the above quote as their status. To that I say, retweet, yes, 100 percent, preach. Everyone and I mean everyone needs a little Barcelona in their life. In the past couple of days, reminiscing on this semester with other study abroad kids, many people have asked what my favorite city has been and to that I say Barcelona. Did I love the Swiss Alps? Of course. Can I see myself living in London? Yep. Every new country, every new city I saw this semester amazed me and left me starry-eyed in a unique and special way. However, Barcelona has nuzzled its way into a soft part of my heart the way Cádiz, Spain, did five years ago and I am just so thankful for everything it's given me: new friendships, a new perspective, and the list goes on.

Alright, alright, so what have I been up to lately? A couple of things. Over the weekend, I was lucky enough to snag a friend's extra seat at the Barça vs. Valencia game. Barça won 2-0 with goals scored in literally the first and last minutes of the game and the stadium was alive. From where I sat on Saturday afternoon, I could not see a single vacant seat in the house. Everyone around me sang the Barça chants at the top of their lungs and no referee call went unquestioned by Barça's biggest fans. Luckily, the game still ended well for the home team. Go Barça.

I also got the opportunity to escape the city recently with some classmates. On Sunday night, a handful of us hopped on the train and rode out to a residential area just over the mountains where one of our teachers lives. She met us all at the station with her 3-year-old twins in hand and we walked to a place for dinner to review the crazy semester and get one last laugh out of all the times we drove her crazy. On the way to dinner, I held hands with my teacher's sweet little daughter, Alba, who simply could not stop smiling. By the end of the night I was saying things like, "so why again did I not babysit for you this semester??" But seriously, why didn't I? Mommyfiles Barcelona, anyone?

Another highlight from the past couple of days was breaking in the "Corsega Frat Castle" as we like to call it (aka our apartment). All semester long, my roommates and I have abided by our RA's rules and not had guests in the apartment but this past weekend we simply couldn't resist. While I was at the game, Tori made party announcements at the beach. That night a good group of people came over and hung out with us before the bars/clubs. It was a great last hoorah and clean-up wasn't bad at all. Miranda, Elizabeth, Tori and I (the CFC gang) plan to make apartment shirts. It started as a joke and now we're literally in the process of designing these babies. Pretty pumped.

Other highlights from this week:

-Gave into Park Güell for the infamous bench pics (see below)

-Tried the last restaurant on my list, Picnic, which is a great spot for brunch

-Discovered a somewhat magical and amazing cactus park in Montjüic

-Nicknamed my roommate Elizabeth "Pancakes Campbell" for her true pancake-making talent

-Finally experienced Pippermint, a bar known for their fishbowl-style drinks

-Spent more time at the beach

-Had a coffee and study date with Tor

-Got one last lunch with my local friend Xavi who has been an awesome tour guide this semester

So what's next? What comes in between Liz leaving Barcelona and Liz coming home? Well, if you know me well... goodbyes aren't really my strength, which is why and how I've been able to convince my parents to let me stay in Europe for a little bit longer. This Friday, I will be traveling back to London to stay with one of my TCU roomies and best friends, Sarah. In London, I'll get to see Sarah, Annie, and a handful of fellow horned frogs. I also have a date for afternoon tea set with one of my mom's good friends who is now living in London. Pretty excited for my first tea experience! From London, I will be traveling solo to Ireland, flying into the south of Ireland, spending time in Kinsale, and then training it up to Dublin where I get to catch up with old friends. After that, it's back to London. I'm working on another quick side trip to Scotland (the homeland... yes I'm part Scottish) with a friend from Connecticut, Taylor, but this is not yet finalized. Momma and Poppa Stallard have their eyes on return tickets now and it's gotta be any day that this part of my trip is set in stone. Trying to look at the bright side... I should be connecting through Iceland!! So while I'm not so fond of leaving Europe, pit-stopping in Iceland is probably one of the cooler things I'll get to do in my life. I'm sure of it.

Ok... thanks for tuning in another week friends! More stories, ribbons, and rambling next week on the blog. Happy week to you all :) #BeBrave