Day Trip to Banyoles

hello everyone!

This is going to be a very short post but I thought you might enjoy it. I'm still working on sorting through all the pictures from when my parents were here (SUPER long post coming soon...if not the longest yet!)

Day Trip to Banyoles
Isabel took Bianca and I to her hometown of Banyoles (about an hour north of Barcelona, near the french border). We left the house around 11 and rode in Isabel's car with her friends Kika (from Mallorca) and Nellie (originally from Ibiza but lives in Barcelona). It's so funny - when they're together, they're like a group of giggling school girls! It was so fun hearing their exchange of stories in Catalan.

Isabel dropped Bianca and I off at the beautiful Lake of Banyoles  ,  a natural lake located in a tectonic depression. In the meantime, Isabel went with her friends to visit her sister in law and do some shopping. 


Bianca and I strolled around the lake, admired the views, and enjoyed the crisp autumn/winter air. Check out some pics below:

Banyoles Lake (see the duckie in the water??)

Banyoles Lake

Park area around Banyoles lake

Walking path near Banyoles Lake

Banyoles in Autumn/Winter

Lake of Banyoles

Lake of Banyoles

Cute ducks at Lake of Banyoles

Can I take you guys home with me? 

Or perhaps you??

Beautiful view of the mountains and Banyoles Lake

Look at that beautiful blue sky!

See the snow on the mountains in the background?!

 Fabulous Lunch in Banyoles (with pictures!)
Afterwards, we felt like true Spaniards - we had a 2.5 hour lunch! We had lunch at a local restaurant and became very good friends with the waiters. One was from Columbia and the other from Morocco.  By now, I'm sure you all know how much of a foodie I am such that I take pictures of ALL my meals (well, the ones I like that is!). Bianca and I each ordered from the menu del dia, which included two plates, a drink, coffee/tea, and dessert. This is what we had:

Pasta and Meatballs in Chicken Broth....mmmhmm! Delish on a Winter day!

Grilled asparagus with a HEAVENLY tomato-and-goodness-knows-what sauce

Some grilled fish with roasted sweet bell pepper with a lemon wedge!

Chocolate cake with raspberry middle (see the red part) with chocolate sauce... YUM!

After our dessert and coffee (Bianca)/tea (me), the waiters kindly brought us small shots of peach and apple liquor. It literally tasted like apple juice, it was delicious. He told us a lot of locals drink it as a digestive to the meal. We thanked him then he brought us ANOTHER shot of something called ratafia, a liquor made of herbs. 


We left around 4 pm and were back in Barcelona by 5:30. 
It's about 7 pm here local time, Bianca's napping and I'm (of course) blogging and catching up on e-mail. 


Transitioning back to SCU
I can hardly believe that I only have 1 week left here in Barcelona. I feel like it was only yesterday that it was November 1st. Part of me is really excited about going home  and the other part is very sad because I've made so many great memories here and I feel like I've grown up a lot. Barcelona has a special place in my heart as do the other places I've visited and people I've met. 


What started this transition for me? Well, I decided to order my school books for Winter Quarter. For four classes, the bookstore quoted me $868 for new books or $593 for used books (if they're available that is). Isn't it ridiculous how expensive textbooks are?! And it's only for the new editions....grr!! And as many of you also know, I do love a good bargain. I recently found a site called Help Save My Dollars and in their textbook section you can actually compare the price of books from book renters, half.com, barnes and noble, etc. So that saves a TON of time researching. I almost always use half.com anyways but It's nice to double check just to see if I'm getting a good deal. Anyways, so guess how much I spent on books? Well, almost all the books I bought are either brand new or like new and I got them for.....$392 (including shipping and handling!) I saved more than 50%! I figured now was the best time to buy before the prices go up and students start buying their books for back to school in January. Not to mention with the holidays people are a little slower with sending the books. Enough with my rambles... I just love sharing a good deal! 


Well, I think I'm going to attempt to be productive and work on one of my papers due next week. Hopefully I'll have that post from when my parents were visiting up soon. Possibly tomorrow. Possibly Sunday. We'll see! 


Hope you're well!