Hey everyone!

I know it's been a suuuuuuper long time since I've posted...so bear with me as I catch you up on my life!

I went to Barcelona with my friends over Thanksgiving break. I was amazed by the architecture. We saw the Sagrada Familia, the Casa Milla, Parc Guell, among other things...Gaudi is one of my favorite architects, second only to Frank Lloyd Wright. I love how he includes so much color and nature into his designs...he takes ordinary programs for buildings and interprets them in new ways. I would say that his architecture is modern but it is modern in a new kind of way-curvilinear and creative. A lot of the architecture in Barcelona is like this-such a cool city!

We spent an entire day at the Sagrada. I did an analytical sketch on it(which took forever) but it turned out really nice. For those of you who don't know, the Sagrada Familia is a colossal cathedral. I don't remember when it was started, but they are hoping to finish it by 2025. I only hope that I am alive to see it's completion! Gaudi passed away a long time ago, so a lot of the design and the sculpture is not his handiwork, it's an interpretation of what he might have done. The interior was the coolest part-you walk into what looks like a forest of columns, a canopy of palm trees that seems to reach way up to the sky. The stained glass windows are merely holes punched into the thick curving concrete walls, reflecting all the brilliant colors of the rainbow. On the outside there are countless plants, animals, and figures adorning the building...perhaps it represents the notion of "birth" in general(in allusion to the birth of Christ). The four bell towers are shaped like gigantic pine cones. And there are various miniature towers with piles of colorful fruit representing the "fruits of the holy spirit." I think the main idea of the Sagrada is to take the typical program for a church and interpret it in a truly creative, beautiful way. I fell in love with the building.

I spent a lot of time walking around Barcelona and seeing parts of the city. I walked down to the harbor-which was magnificent. One night my friends and I ate out at a restaurant where we had "paella"(a popular spanish dish which consists of rice and seafood or vegetables). It was so good! Another night we came across an outdoor birthday party and danced to spanish pop music-which I really liked.

I also went inside the Casa Milla(Gaudi designed various houses('casas'), this being one of them) and walked up on the roof. The top of the wall curved all around, like a wave surrounding you. Numerous concrete structures rose out of the roof, like an army of cubist stormtroopers walking all around. (That's what they reminded me of!) On one of them Gaudi pasted together bits of broken glass. I thought, if Dr. Suess became an architect, this is what he would design...

All of the architecture in Barcelona was so cool. The first day we got there, it was a clear sunny day and we drove from the airport all throughout the city and got a taste of everything. We came across a really cool cemetery that I will never forget-it was carved into a large hill, the rows of gravestones cut out in multiple levels and weaving throughout the ground. Placed throughout the cemetery were various stone statues and plants, filling the spaces between gravestones. It was like a beautiful jungle...a maze of gravel and green. We kept telling eachother, "Look at that!...Look at that!" There were so many interesting things to see.

When I returned to Versailles we had an "American-French Thanksgiving dinner" with the french kids. The americans cooked the meal and the french brought desserts. It was a lot of fun. The next week we finished our group design project(the one with just americans), which turned out very well. For this project we had to design an art exhibition building for a real site in Paris. This involved going to the site and observing it, and developing all of the necessary floor plans, elevations, details, etc. This year is the first year we've done group projects, and I really like it.

The following weekend I bought Christmas presents for the french kids I live with. It was so much fun! I just walked around the Versailles market area(which is always booming with excitement-they sell fruits, vegetables, meat, etc. every other day, and clothes, furniture, etc. the others, like a flea market). It was my first time walking around the shops in Versailles. Even though it was simple, I loved seeing everything in French. I think that a lot of the american students here take these things for granted...I personally have fallen in love with everything and think everything is amazing, no matter how small it is.

For Christmas break I traveled to Germany to visit my cousin Lisa! She lives in Berlin. It was my favorite trip so far...I had such a wonderful time. After all these years, I finally had a chance to speak German with real German people...and I was surprised how much came back to me! In fact, I remembered pretty much all the German I had learned, which I was very happy for.

The first day in Berlin I went to a beautiful palace(The Schloss Charlottenburg) in the morning. Then I went on a walking tour where I saw the Brandenburg gate, the Reichstag(German parliament building), the Holocaust memorial, the Berlin wall, the book-burning square, and part of Museum Island(where the Berliner Dom is). Then later that night, we had dinner with a German family and I got to speak lots of German! I had a great time.

While I was in Germany I also got to visit Potsdam(just a half an hour train ride from Berlin) and Hamburg(which is three hours away from Berlin). I spent one day in each. Then the last day I spent back in Berlin, walking around and seeing all of the major buildings I hadn't. Berlin is a huge city, with so much to see! I went back to the Berliner Dom, walked to the top, and got a great view of the city. At night I watched a film in German and actually understood a lot. I also enjoyed a lot of the German food-snitzel, various breads, "Gluhwein"(warm red wine with spices), and all the treats from the Christmas markets. There were amazing Christmas markets everywhere in Germany-Lisa and I went to one in Berlin. They are so cool to walk through-with various Christmas gear, toys, ornaments, food, German chocolate, etc. A lot of them also had mini ice rinks-I went ice skating in one in Hamburg. Overall I had a great time-it was an amazing experience. I especially enjoyed speaking German after all these years.

I returned to France shortly before Christmas. I spent Christmas in Paris with a friend...we went to a church service in Notre Dame and then ate at a wonderful cafe where I had crepes for the first time! Despite it being Christmas day, Paris was still booming with excitement and people were everywhere. Lots of restaurants were open.

For the rest of the break I remained in Versailles and went into Paris often. Paris is a vacation in itself-hahaha :) I saw so many things I hadn't before gotten around to doing...I visited the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, Centre Pompidou, and various other buildings/monuments. I walked around a lot and got to know my way around the city better. Now I feel that I understand Paris very well and can picture a lot of things in my mind. I also went to a discotheque in Paris with another friend of mine. For new years I saw the eiffel tower light up...they had fireworks go off in the distance.

Another thing I did was walk through the Chateau of Versailles. I had been there before, but only briefly-this time I explored the whole thing. I saw the Hall of Mirrors along with the other beautiful rooms. I absolutely love the interiors of these historic buildings! Outside I walked along the grand canal and saw the petit and grand trianons and the Hameau de la Reine. It was a foggy day but everything still looked amazing. I'm glad I took the time to see everything.

I was absolutely amazing by the french paintings in the Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay. I loved everything I saw, but the paintings were my favorite...especially the Impressionist works by Monet, Degas, Renoir, etc. and those by Van Gogh. It was my first time seeing them up close and they were incredible.

So...that is about everything up until now. Tomorrow we go back to class and start our second semester here in France. Woo hoo! I am only half-way through! Already I have done so much and had so many incredible experiences...I can't wait to see what this next semester brings me!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and happy new year!! :)

~Diana