La Merce

This weekend was La Merce, a famous festival in Barcelona. Its to honor the Saint Merce, I believe. Don't quote me on that. What's the best part about the festival is it isnt a big tourist attraction because it is meant to celebrate Barcelona as a city, so really just the locals all come together and rage. There are concerts and traditional festivities all weekend, like the Castelles, which are huge towers of people. They literally stack themselves up on top of each other until they are as tall as a building. It's crazy. Apparently this year it was very important because the Castelles were all in a competition. Again, don't quote me on this. Fire is also a big part of the weekend, from fireworks to just big shows of "devils" and "beasts" (aka people dressed up) running through the streets with fireworks in their hands. To be honest its probably really dangerous, but that's what I love about Europeans... they do not give a single fuck (sorry, language). I wish I had more pictures of all the craziness, but my camera is no good, and to be honest, we could never get to anything on time to see it. Either because we're late, or we just couldn't find the specific area of the city.

Friday night we got to the Plaza a little too late and missed the big events... but its was ok, because Saturday made up for it. We spent the day seeing some sights, including La Sagrada Familia, architect Gaudi's famous castle-like cathedral. We thought it was free entry (because most museums offer free entry during La Merce), but of course it wasn't. So being the cheap Americans we are, we took pictures from outside and went on our way. That night we took the longest metro ride ever out to Forum. "We" being myself, Katherine, and our new friend Drew (Drewseph #2). They had a huge music festival in Placa de Forum, all with apparently very popular Spanish bands. I obviously had never heard of them. We got there a bit early, so Katherine, Drew, and I bought a few beers from the illegally-selling gents across the street, shoved them in our pants (classy) and went through security to get a good seat. Europeans underestimate just how determined Americans are to sneak booze into concerts. The first band we saw was on a smaller stage, which was the only stage we could find at first. The band was sortof like a mix between Kings of Leon and Radiohead. They played a song I could've sworn was a cover of House of Cards by Radiohead. I had been having a really bad night up until then, but being in a crowd of happy singing Spaniards will turn a girls night right around.

When the first band finished playing, we met up with some more friends and headed over the hill to the main stage. It was unreal. Imagine the biggest outdoor concert you've ever been to... then triple it. You come over the crest of a hill into a sea of people the size of Rhode Island. We all linked arms and I led our group into the middle of the crowd (thanks highschool concert obsession, I can navigate a crowd like no ones business) where we stayed and danced and played for hours. The band must have been famous, because everyone was singing along besides us. We then found a techno stage with a lightshow and turned the dancefloor into our own. At one point we got Spaniards to form a circle around Jane break dancing. God love her.

The next day we saw some more sights (including the Castelles) and went home to sleep off the weekends afterglow. No one had slept more than a few hours each night.


I'll add more pictures once I can steal some from friends. I don't use my camera... to be honest its just not good quality. I hope you all are enjoying this blog... I'm trying my hardest to have a good time here, but I still can't act like my entire world didn't just flip upside down. I am so out of my comfort zone, I'm away from family and friends that love me and can console me... and it just really is not fair that when something goes wrong I am all by myself. I have great friends here, don't get me wrong... but sometimes its not enough when you've only known someone three weeks. I miss you, home. I need you.