street packed in Casco Viejo of Bilbao for Carnaval....NUTS!!!

2 weekends ago was Carnaval, which is basically like Halloween but Europe and crazy.  It has more to do with the beginning of lent, and indulging before ash Wednesday, but most people don't pay attention to religious stuff here.  Everyone says they are "Catholic" if you ask them, but probably have gone in a church seven times in their lives or something.

Urdabai Biosphere....sweet island thing......yea

This past weekend we went to the Urdabai Biosphere, which was really pretty.  There were some boring museums (roughhhh) but the lunch was good, and yes I am OBESE.

Urdabai.....freaking out on the little cliff...

La Rioja.....beautiful!  with my friend Steph trying to take a picture over the wall too haha

El Fabulista!! Winery (Bodega means winery in spainsh)

Then Saturday, some friends and I went to La Rioja, which is the wine region of Spain.  Absolutely stunning.   Going sounded like a good excuse to wear my purple floppy hat, so obviously I took my friends up on this brilliant idea.  We went to a winery in this cute town that had unreal views of the vineyards for miles and miles with the beautiful mountains framing the view.  The actualy winery was very cool, and learning about the different wines and how the were made was so interesting.

Sunday, we went on a hike in the Pyrenees.  So beautiful!  I was sore the next day for sure.  The only thing was, we wanted to keep hiking, but the Spaniards that were leading kept stopping to talk, eat, enjoy...such typical Europeans...and we were typical impatient Americans.  Culture....haha good stuff.

Cool area in Urdabai

My friends and I have a tradition of making dinners on Monday nights....starting last week.  Hah.  We made fajitas the first week, and then we made shish kebabs....without skewers, so basically meat and veggies with potatoes.  It is fun to make stuff that is not Spanish every once in a while, and enjoy a night without having to speak only Spanish to our host families.

little face pintxo in La Rioja!  with legit wine...doin it like a legit Spaniard!  WOO

Yesterday it was beautiful out, so we laid in the sun outside Deusto, got 1 euro pizza and ice cream and set out to the beach in Algorta by my apartment.  Great day.  Oh yea, and we went to class, a bit of an offset to the fun of the day....riiiight.  These classes are getting in the way of my life.  Just jokin...but actually...

I am leaving for Dublin very late tonight to meet up with some friends for U of I's "Unofficial" Saint Patrick's Day. I can't wait to see some friends and go to Ireland again!  It feels like it has been so long since I have been there, and it will be good to get away from Bilbao for just a weekend.

all of us trying to plan our spring break.....kinda getting distracted on facebook and stuff...oops

I haven't written anything in a while because I have been super busy.   I guess that is a good and bad thing...

I am having so much fun here it is unreal.  I can't believe I have been living here for over a month.  Crazy.
The first weekend of February, I went to Barcelona with some friends.  It was absoultely amazing.  It amazed me how much people spoke English and how tourist-y it was too.




Barcelona!!

biggest marketplace in the world!  

Can't go to Barcelona (or Spain in general) without some delishh Paella

outside the Sagrada Familia with friends in Barcelona!  so beautiful!

At the "Ovella Negra" (Black Sheep) bar in Barcelona with some Delta Sigma Pi friends I met up with!

This past weekend we went to "Art after Dark," which is basically the Guggenheim art museum turned into this huge discoteca at night with dancing, drinking, etc.  Really cool!  Met some Spanish people and had a good time overall...

We also went for a trip to the south of France the same day as "Art After Dark," and we got French cheese and crepes...pretty solid.

My host mom has been pretty weird.  I am only allowed to shower between 8am and 11pm, which is frustrating because I have to leave for class at 8am so I have to shower at night most days....but I am trying to respect her wishes.  eh.

For valentines day we ate apples and little cookies....it is not as big here, but people still celebrate it.  Not as commercialized, but definitely similar to the U.S. on a smaller scale.

I am almost done planning my spring break...I am going to Paris for a week with Mom, Tom, Maureen and Luke and then I will fly to Prague to meet up with friends.  From there we will go to Amsterdam and Brussels, then finally back to Bilbao!  It should be a blast...so excited!!!

I got a tandem partner named Nerea.  She is legitttt Basque, and really cool.   It is awesome to practice talking with her and learning about her life.