Amsterdam!!

A couple weekends ago, I traveled to Amsterdam, Holland with four of my friends. I absolutely LOVED Amsterdam! It is, by far, one of my favorite cities that I have ever visited. Canals run throughout the city, which makes it a beautiful place to walk around. The houses and building all have a very “European” look. We rented bicycles and rode around the city. Everyone there rides a bike! We rode to the “Iamsterdam” sign, which is recently a very popular tourist destination. One of my favorite things was visiting Anne Frank´s house. It is a museum, and you also see where Anne Frank actually lived. It was a great museum, although it was very sad.

We also strolled through the famous Red Light District, where prostitution is legal, and the women stand in windows and if their red light is illuminated, it means they are available. It was quite the thing to see! There are also a lot of “Coffee shops” that are popular with the tourists and natives. They sell legal cannabis. All the Dutch people also speak flawless English, which was a great relief! I loved the city, the delicious Dutch desserts, and the people (very tall in height). It was a fantastic trip! I would really love to go back to Amsterdam. :)

EMAs in Madrid :)

A couple weekends ago, the European Music Awards were hosted in Madrid. There were a lot of celebrities here for the weekend! My friend and I found out that a MTV party was going to be at the club, Pacha Madrid, on Saturday night. In hopes of seeing celebrities, we went to Pacha that night. Two members of the cast of Jersey Shore, Snooki and PaulyD, were in Madrid to present an award at the EMAs. We had heard that those two would be at Pacha, so we waited inside the club by the door waiting for them to come in. Finally, we saw the two come in and immediately head up to the VIP section. My friend, Andrea, and I really wanted to take a picture with them, so we tried to sneak up to the VIP section. Unfortunately, there was a bouncer that was very strict about letting people who did not have the VIP wristbands into the section. However, when the bouncers switched positions, we asked the new one how we could go upstairs to VIP. Long story short, we ended up bribing him with 40 euros and he let us go right upstairs. The VIP section was actually three floors, and it was so cool! After a lot of searching, we found Snooki, and we took a picture with her!!! We saw PaulyD, but then we lost him in the crowd. It was very exciting! All my friends in the U.S. are jealous that I got to meet the famous Snooki while in the VIP section of Pacha Madrid. :)

Paris!

This past weekend, I went to Paris with two of my friends. I had a great trip! Monday was a day off from school because it was a Spanish holiday, so it was the perfect time to enjoy a 4 day weekend in Paris. We visited all the famous sites (of course!) - The Eiffel Tower, the Arch of Triumph, the Louvre, Notre Dame, and the Moulin Rouge. My favorite was the Eiffel Tower at night time! It is lit up with millions of light and is gorgeous. Another great aspect of Paris is that the streets are filled with little stands and shops that make crepes. We ate a lot of nutella freshly-made crepes over the four days! They were delicious.

Before this weekend, I had no idea of how big Paris was! Of course I knew it was a huge city, but it is so much larger and more spread out than I had imagined. I liked Paris, but I was definitely ready to come back home to Madrid. Paris was so expensive, and the French people are not nearly as friendly and welcoming as the Spanish. I absolutely love Madrid. I feel much more comfortable in Madrid than I did in Paris. The Madrid streets and metro are cleaner, the people are friendlier, and I speak Spanish. Although Madrid is a large city, it is more manageable. I had a great weekend, and I was so lucky to spend it in Paris. However, by Monday, Madrid is where I wanted to be.