best Spanish phrase: "No pasa nada." It literally means "nothing happens" but everyone uses it to say "no worries/no problem/don't worry about it."
best sightseeing: Rome. There is SO much to see here! The Vatican museum and St. Peter's Basilica meant a lot to me since I'm Catholic, but even if that doesn't impress you, there are so many other cool sights like the Colesseum, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Castle Saint Angelo, and the Plaza Navona.
best view: Tibidabo Mountain, Barcelona. I thought that the view of Rome from the top of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica would win this one, but it falls just short of this Barcelona view. From the (very high) top of this mountain, you can the whole city, including the beautiful Mediterranean Sea. It was especially pretty when we were up there at sunset time. The sky looked pink/purpleish.
best travel deal: Portugal trip. Lexi found a deal for the 4 of us on expedia.com when the semester started for 2 nights in a Holiday Inn and airfare for only about $95 a person.
cheapest flight: Madrid to Paris round-trip for $30. But we had to buy round-trip bus tickets to the city center from the airport that cost more than the flight.
best hostel: Kabul Backpacker's, Barcelona. Other than the freezing cold showers, this hostel had it all. Good location, friendly staff, group activities, big lobby/hang-out area, Internet, and free breakfast.
best Christmas market: Paris. This Christmas market consisted of booths and booths on both sides of a very long street called... At the very far end of the street is the Arc de Triumph and at the other far end is the ferris wheel. During Christmastime they have very pretty lights all down the middle of the street. This market provides a beautiful atmosphere and tons of gifts, food, and sweets!
best theatrical experience: Les Miserables, London. This musical that tells the entire story through songs was moving and simply incredible.
coolest museum: The Louvre, Paris. As much as I wanted to support the Prado, the Louvre is just incredible. There are so many kinds of works to see, and even though I was only in there for about 45 minutes, I still really appreciated it. Even the actual architecture of the museum building itself, the pyramid and fountain outdoors, and the beautiful night atmosphere are amazing. The Vatican comes in a close second for actual "awe factor" of the works inside.
favorite bridge: Bridge of Angels, Rome. There are big angel statues all along this bridge, which is next to the Castle Saint Angelo. You can see the Vatican/St. Peter's Basilica from afar, and it's just really peaceful.
favorite palace: Palacio Real, Madrid. This is one of the major tourist attractions in Madrid, and it is in a great location near the Opera Real and restaurants, and right next to the big cathedral. There is a fountain in the plaza in front of it and the atmosphere outside is pretty. Inside, the interior decoration in each room is a little different and very elegant.
favorite church/cathedral: I can't really answer this one but think it's an important category. The one that I was most in awe of when I saw it was the Gothic Cathedral in Toledo. But this was the first of many big cathedrals I saw. The Gothic Cathedral in Sevilla is very similar and probably just as impressive. Templo Expiatorio de España in Barcelona was probably the most unique church I saw because it was so colorful/artsy and more modern. St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican also made a big impression on me, especially since I climbed to the top of it and went to mass there. I thought the Sacre Coeur in Paris was very pretty as well, and it's in a great location because you can see the whole city from its hill. St. Paul's Cathedral in London and the Notre Dame in Paris were also very impressive!
best metro: Madrid. After trying out the Tube in London, and metros in Lisboa, Rome, Paris, Barcelona, and Prague, I have to say Madrid's system is superior. It is very easy to understand, efficient, on time, and clean for the most part, and there are so many stops all around the city. If you are lost in the city, you can just keep walking a little more and will eventually run into a metro station. I was fascinated by metro systems in general and it was one of my favorite things about living in Madrid.
fastest escalator: Prague inside the Florenc metro station. When Angelica and I arrived in Prague, we couldn't believe the speed of the big escalators inside this station! Thus, 'fastest escalator' became a category in this column.
coolest McDonald’s restroom: Prague near the Florenc metro station. This restroom seriously had a blacklight/neon light ambiance. Kind of glamorous for a McDonald's bathroom, but it was interesting.
best meal out in a European restaurant: Divinis, Barcelona. I got a good piece of steak, french fries, Chardonnay, and café con leche. And best believe that we lingered over the meal and coffee for at least 2 hours.
best cookies: Ben's Cookies, Oxford/London. Ali took me here in Oxford and these cookies are amazing! They are big, soft, and warm out of the oven. I got 3 different variations of chocolate chip. Yum!
best gelato: Giolitti, Rome. Cleary very popular, this gelato place near the Pantheon has tons of flavors. You can get 3 different ones in a cone for only 2.20 Euro!
favorite Spanish drink: tinto de verano. It's red wine mixed with lemonade/spritzer. The best I had was in Sevilla!
best city for free tapas: Granada. They give you free, delicious tapas when you order just one drink at pretty much any bar. La Riviera was a really good place.
best cheap meal place: Cien Montaditos. I went here many times with roommates and friends for a cheap meal. "Cien Montaditos" lierally means "100 little sandwiches." They have 100 kinds of combinations on the menu, like chorizo (Spanish sausage), ham, brie cheese, Caesar salad, and (my personal favorite) pollo asado with ali oli. You should probably order at least 3 if you want to feel satisfied, but they're really cheap.. ranging in between 1-2 Euros. And Wednesdays are "Euromania!" with almost everything on the menu costing only a Euro, including drinks! They have nice big glasses of tinto de verano, and another drink I came to like, "cerveza clara," which is beer and lemonade. There are tons of locations all around Madrid, but the one I went to the most is the one near the Opera metro stop by Palacio Real.
best tapas and sangria in Madrid: La Llama. We went here one of the first weeks with Conchi, Cris, and some of her friends, and then near the end of our time to celebrate my birthday :) We got chicken, patatas bravas/fries, calamari, sepia (cuttlefish?), chorizo, bread, and lots of sangria. They also gave us free alcohol-free watermelon shots.
best nightclubs: Kapital in Madrid and Mae West in Granada. Kapital (as I've discussed before) is a 7-story club that alternates dance floor, bar, dance floor, bar, etc. They have techno/house, pop, hip-hop, and salsa/Latin. Mae West in Granada was just really cool! I think it was two stories but a little different set up. It seemed huge and there was a big bar in the center of the dance floor. They also had music video screens that went with the music!
most frequented metro stop in Madrid (other than school and home): Sol. Off lines 1, 2, and 3, this stop leaves you right in the middle of the famous Plaza de Sol, surrounded by lots of different restaurants, shops, bars, clubs, and street performers. It's also walking distance from Palacio Real, Plaza Mayor, Gran Via, and the Tirso de Molina area.
best study abroad city: Madrid. Don't know if that's a fair category for me to judge since Madrid is the only place I have studied abroad, but every time I went somewhere, I became more glad that I chose to study in Madrid. Not to hate on the other awesome places and choices, but I think Madrid just has it all. You get the full culture immersion by living with a host family, speaking the language, and eating the food every night for dinner. Madrid's location is perfect because you can visit other parts of Spain easily, as well as most of Europe, for pretty cheap! You get the big city feel, but it really doesn't seem so big when you get to know your way around. And.. the nightlife is awesome.
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