PS. I Love You

Well, I've talked about it enough in previous entries, but in case anyone didn't know, I was in Ireland this past weekend with Katherine and our friend Jess! And let me tell you... I have never fallen in love with a place the way I fell for Ireland. I wish I had studied there ha. Of course, we were only there from Friday to Sunday, but we managed to see a lot. We flew in to Dublin early in the morning Friday and caught a double decker bus (!!!) to our hostel. Our hostel, by the way, was immaculate. I've never seen a cleaner, cooler looking hostel. Everything was purple, they had murals all over the walls, and the common area was sooo nice. As we were checking in, two Spanish women were trying to communicate with the reception desk but there was a clear language barrier, so we volunteered to translate for them. I've never felt so useful with my Spanish knowledge.




Anyways. First order of business was to get  a cup of coffee to prepare for the day. We found a coffee place that gave us the biggest cup of coffee we've seen since September. We were so used to tiny little shots of espresso with maybe some milk in it, it was such a shock to get a big Central Perk sized cup of coffee. And free water! That's non-existent in Barcelona. We then toured around our side of the river, seeing the buildings and shops, and stopping for lunch at a vegetarian restaurant. After lunch we walked across town to the Guinness factory to do a tour! It was actually really interesting, and the entire museum was shaped like a tall glass of Guinness. We learned how they make Guinness and why its so dark and rich, and how to pour the perfect pint. At the top of the museum was a bar called the Gravity Bar, where you get a free pint and and a chance to see the whole city from above. The entire outer wall was pane glass, and you could literally see all of Dublin and the mountains in the background. It was so beautiful! Plus, sitting enjoying our free Guinness we were faced with the fact that everyone spoke English for the first time. In Spain, no one really understand English, so you can talk about whatever you want, as loud as you want, and not have to worry. This is not the case in an English speaking country. I'll spare you the details, but we seemed to really surprise/entertain a fellow museum go-er. I'll leave it at that, haha.

After the museum, it was starting to get dark (ohhh winter) but we still wanted to see the sights, so we had a nice night tour. We wandered around with our cute little maps and saw as much of the important Dublin sights as we could with the darkness. For the most part, everything was lit up, except the St. Patrick's Catherdral, which was a little disappointing. We still managed to see the Dublin Castle and plenty more. We eventually made it back to the city center, where Temple Bar is. Its a big cluster of real Irish pubs, shops, and restaurants. We did some gift shopping and got dinner at a cute little Irish pub/restaurant. I had Guinness and beef stew, keeping with the theme of the day. As we left the restaurant we ran into some street performers playing some happy Irish tune, and about 30 people were dancing to it in the middle of the road, getting really into it. One little girl actually started step-dancing. It was so cute.

Feeling a little tired, we decided to head back to the hostel to rest a bit, grab a few drinks, and meet some fellow travelers. While we were getting ourselves together in our room we met one of our dorm mates, a nice kid who was also studying in Spain (Salamanca?). He was tired and wanted to sleep, but we convinced him to come out with us. After all, you're only in Ireland once... though I hope I can return as soon as possible. We ended up going to a karaoke pub down the street from the hostel, and Katherine impressed everyone by belting some classic songs (homegirl can sing). We came home to meet one of our other roommates in only the best way possible. Naked. Nice to meet you too sir. And your other naked friend. She seems nice. That's what you get for being in a room with 12 people you don't know.

Saturday was my favorite day... ever. We woke up early to catch a tour bus/van to Wicklow and the surrounding area. Its just outside of the city, and has some amazing Irish landscape. I'm not sure if you've ever seen the movie "PS. I Love You",  but we literally saw the exact spot they filmed when the main characters meet for the first time. The romantic little bridge overlooking the Wicklow mountains and big green fields of heather. It was absolutely incredible. Not the movie part (though that was cool), but the view itself was unbelievable. From one point on the tour, we stopped to see this big black lake (black from peat), with a white sand beach. It was called Guinness lake because it looked like a glass of Guinness. They really love their Guinness there.

We made a few stops for photo op's in similarly beautiful areas before coming to a small town. We stopped to visit a monastery and had time to view not only some of the oldest monastery buildings in Ireland but also the surrounding grounds. We hiked down to a beautiful lake with a waterfall, where I literally ran around like a little kid because I was so excited. It felt so good to be out in the country and out of the city. The air was so fresh and clean, all the leaves were changing, and it had never felt so good to get my boots dirty in mud and grass. I love Barcelona, but being so far from trees and nature was getting to me. It made me realize I could probably never live in a city, at least not for long periods of time. If I did I would need to have a getaway option of mountains and trees handy. There was a small market of local goods and products, and I of course treated myself to a big wool sweater. First of all, I was freezing even in my 8 layers and legitimately needed it. And I just wanted it. They're so comfortable and warm. I love it. The guy knew our tour guide so he gave me a good deal :)

Our last stop was in another small little town. Population 2,000... pub count 10. Hahaha. I love Ireland. We got some lunch and a tour of a weaving factory. It sounds dumb but it was actually pretty cool. Jess learned how a weaving loom works! We would've gotten some fine wool products there but it was sooo expensive. So we played in the gift shop and then just wandered around outside for a while. I could not get over how good it felt to be out of the city.

That night we made nice with the naked man from the night before. He was French (but he looked like a Jonas Brother), studying in Galway, and in Dublin with two friends from home on holiday. We all joked about the girl from the night before and eventually made it downstairs to the common room to meet our other friend from the night before and his buddy that flew in that morning. We all hung out and had some drinks, getting to know each other. Jonas's friend from France had an awesome Robert De Niro impression, despite barely being able to make a full sentence in English. Poor Katherine had a weird allergic reaction to something we ate (I think I poisoned her by making her try Digestives with chocolate and caramel, which I was ecstatic to find in the grocery store because Barca never has them)... but we got her Benedryl and she was ok. We all went out to a pub in Temple Bar and heard some great live music. A guy sits in the back of the bar with a guitar and sings, and everyone just dances and enjoys good company. A nice Irish gent schooled me in dancing, spinning me around about 100 times, dipping me, tossing me around. It was so fun. So DIFFERENT than Barcelona. People in Ireland are genuinely just nice people.

I almost cried at the airport this morning. I am madly in love with Ireland. Everyone is so nice to you, everything is so beautiful. I love the country side, I love the atmosphere of the city. I love that people will dance on the street with strangers, that every pub plays live music (Galway Girl being a very popular song), I love the accents, the culture, the food... everything. I am moving to Ireland at some point in my life. I already miss it. Who wants to come with me?


Only six more weeks in Barcelona. I can't believe how fast it's going by. It makes me sad... but I also think I'm ready to go home. I miss ya, America.

PS. I love you ;)

Adventures in Firenze Land and Halloween Spain-Style!

So there are literally too many pictures to share... so please feel free to click the following links to see some picture albums of Florence. The first is mine, the second is Katherines. She sortof has a lot better pictures, and much more that her nd I are actually in. So enjoy!

* http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2239310097389.2109459.1087110167&type=1&l=fb0a5be663

* http://www.flickr.com/photos/69342369@N08/

So this past weekend was spent in the most romantic way. Alone with Katherine Davis in Florence, Italy, seeing the sights, eating Italian food, and shopping! We took an early early early morning flight, per usual, so we would have the whole day in Florence to explore. Within seconds of walking out of the hostel post checking in, we stumbled upon this awesome wall made of local art, graffiti, newspaper clippings, etc. Feli was right... you can't go ten feet in Florence without seeing art. We walked through the tiny winding streets, past all the big name shops any city in Italy would have (Gucci, etc), through the Piazza della Signoria with the giant arch as an entrance, and to the Duomo, a gorgeous cathedral made of white and green marble. It was truly stunning. We stopped to have lunch and coffee at a small pizza shop on a side street, where we become friends with the waiter (of course) and asked for some good bars to go to later that night. After wards we found the leather market! That was unbelievable. It was a big market that stretched through multiple streets, packed full of people admiring and haggling for fine leather goods. Florence is big into leather. I mean big. Even the wild market has genuine hand-made leather goods. I got the Gabrees some good gifts :) Oh, and Papa Bear if you're reading this... I wore that bead necklace you got for Grandma in Italy when you studied abroad in college, and they were selling the SAME necklace in the market! It looked like I had just bought it, haha.

  
After the leather market, we toured the Santa Croce Church, which is apparently considered "the Westminister Abbey of Florence" because it hold the tombs of Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo, and Rossini. Connected to the church is a famous leather school where students learn to make leather goods the right way. We got to see some of the work being done too! One of the younger guys working let us take a bunch of pictures of his work station, including the fires they use to heat their tools. Fun! By this time we were pretty beat, so we toured the streets a bit more then headed home to the hostel (of course stopping at a store to pick up some beer). We moved our bags from the luggage room to our room, got cleaned up, and headed downstairs to the common area to see if we could meet some fellow travelers. As we passed the front desk we heard an Aussie girl trying to explain how to spell her last name to the clueless front desk clerk, we laughed at how awful that must be, and commented on how she seemed like a really nice girl. As luck would have it, this girl Tegan and her boyfriend Dan were the people we met later on! We all sat in the common room, sipping drinks, and getting to know each other while another couple from Australia joined in while eating their dinner. They were traveling after school pretty much blindly. They had already been all over Europe, and intended on seeing more, plus the States, and Mexico with no time constraints or set flights/hostels in mind. How lucky. When it became too much to bear to watch the other couple eating their delicious food, we all decided to join forces to find a restaurant. We managed to find a pretty rustic looking place and had a delicious dinner, complimented with wine that I later (upon return from the bathroom) would dump an entire glass of into my lap. Classy, Grace. By the end of dinner it was clear we were just too tired to go out to the bars, so we all called it a night and got some good sleep for the next day ahead. Unfortunately, due to poor planning, Dan and Tegan didn't get the hostel the next night because there were no vacant beds :(

Saturday was the day we basically saw the whole city. Literally. First order of business, running/cabbing it to see Michelangelo's statue of David. We were very late for our tour, and very far from the museum, so we had to take a cab to ensure we'd actually get in for our time slot (they're pretty serious about it). Let me tell you though, it was worth it. The museum of Academia itself is beautiful, and has a lot to offer, but the statue of David really is just amazing. Apparently it was made from a stone that was declared "unworkable" and left to waste away in a courtyard, but Michelangelo, in his infinite genius, made it work. The intricacy of the statue is flawless, David's carefree pose and intense gaze actually makes you develop a little bit of a crush on him. not saying I did. It's just a marvelous piece of art. We weren't supposed to take pictures but Katherine and I of course did... so creep those for sure.

After David, we got breakfast and continued to wander the streets with no real goal in mind. We ended up getting back to the Duomo, and we decided to climb the bell tower next to it. It was like climbing a mountain to get to the top... and those of you who have ever had the pleasure of hiking with me (the names Ben Hyde and Cesar Osuba come to mind) know I am just a TREAT when asked to physically exert myself. I did the math... we climbed the equivalent amount of stairs as it would take to get to the 17th or 18th floor of a building. I have almost no muscles... so by the time we got to the top I was dead, but it was worth it. The view was incredible... you could see the whole city and the surrounding mountains. Amazing.

The rest of the day was spent meandering around, seeing some sights, we toured a small cathedral, hit up the leather market again to snag some more gifts for our American loves, and eventually made it back to the hostel. We made friends with a guy in our hostel dorm, who introduced us to his large group of friends he was traveling with, and ended up getting dinner with them. the group was split 50/50... half of them loved us, hung out with us at dinner, shared common interest, the works. The other half did not feel the same. I think we were intruding a little on their vacation. That's fine. After dinner we again decided to be a lame and tired, so we just went right to bed. Granted it was like 1am. Our last day we spent having a long lunch and being reeeaall relaxed. We spent an hour sitting in one of the plazas, eating gelato and people watching. Actually, it was more like dog watching. We found one little baby nugget pup that was just so excited to meet new people, new dogs, and see new things. Soooo cute. I wanted to cuddle him.


LAST NIGHT was Halloween! Barcelona has recently been getting very into Halloween because of all the tourism it gets, so there was a lot to do. Katherine and I had bought mascarade masks in Florence for the occasion, so we paired them with cute dresses and called it a costume.We spent half the night at our friend Lila's apartment just hanging out with friends, and ended up going to a club called "Opera", which was hosting a big party for Halloween, free entry. Of course though, this means every American and his/her mother was there. It was so packed and out of hand, they had to call a cop in to control the crowds. At that point, we decided to bounce. Overall though it was a good night. Good weekend.

 
Next week is Ireland! And then the week after that Vick Nish comes to visit! So so so so soooo excited!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

This week has been/will be relatively uneventful.... so I thought I'd entertain you regulars with things I've come to learn and accept about the Barcelona culture and its people.

                          Good:
- Everyone has amazing fashion sense. Well, almost everyone. Men wear scarves and sweaters, and the occasional fitted suits to work. Women always wear heels, even to the grocery store. Obviously there are sub-cultures, but even those adorable little bohemian Spanish girls look better rolling out of bed than I could with years of fashion school under my belt (which I don't have).
- All of the streets have big recycling bins that look like Disney's "Wall-E", with separate ones for paper, glass, plastic, and even compost! Tourists, however, throw their giant hangover sized water bottles in the trash can like they get paid for it. Rude.
- They nap. EVERY DAY. Stores close down a few hours every day so people can go home to eat lunch with their family... AKA nap. I've taken to this custom, even though I technically don't need it because I don't get lunch at Feli's, but sleeping is one of my favorite past-times.
- Dogs are so well trained half of them don't need leashes on the streets. They just follow their owners like, well, puppies. Tory and Ginger would be long long gone if we ever tried this (bless their little wandering hearts).
- Food here. Tapas, perfect. Cafe con leche, perfect. Pan con tomate, perfect. Sangria, perfect. Beer and wine is cheaper than water... are you seeing a trend? They're going to have to roll me onto my plane home.

                          The Bad..
- I think it's a law that as you get older, you have to be more of an asshole on the street. Teenagers dodge around the crowds like bullets, middle aged people will stop in their tracks and at least wait for YOU to move out of their way, and the older citizens tend to just walk right through you if you don't move. Some sort of self righteousness these Barcelonians have. No matter how determined I look, how loud my boots are stomping on the pavement, a Spanish woman waddling down the street people watching will still see herself as more important than me, the American listening to her ipod and hauling it to class. I've even seen them do this for cars. CARS, that have a green light and the right of way. They don't stop for anyone. Oh well. At least they respect themselves.
- They really really don't like Americans. No matter how hard I try to speak Spanish, they will always just roll their eyes (something I still find the most condescending move ever) and speak in English. My Spanish is not that bad. If anything it's proper. Sorry I don't speak a mile a minute, but I know I'm saying it correctly. Let me try to get better by responding to me in Spanish!
- Everyone is also really skinny. Like stick skinny. I don't understand it, with all this delicious food here, and they eat like 7 meals a day. And I never see people running on the streets, unless its Katherine (or just Americans). Maybe it's because they all go to the gym? Or smoke cigarettes. I vote the latter, because everyone and their mother has a cig in their hand at all times.
- Public displays of affection. Couples in this city are not afraid to show they are in love, which is fine... but at least keep it above the belt on the metro, eh? It's hilarious, heart wrenching, and mildly disgusting at times. I'm over it.

                          The Ugly
- The city itself is very safe, but pickpocketing is a big issue. Of course, you just can't be stupid about it and you'll be fine, but the fact that you have to hug your purse in the center of town makes me sad. They're good too. They'll brush past you and bam, your wallet's gone.
- The Spanish economy is failing miserably. Probably because of all the napping and partying they do. Beggars on the street break my heart. There's one guy outside of my apartment who is so adorable I just want to give him everything I own. The one's that come up to you while your eating outside or waiting to cross the street are pretty bad too... I wish I could help them all but I just cant. Spain needs jobs!
- Spanish men have this idea that every American girl in a bar immediately will go home with them. I don't know who's giving them this idea, but they should probably go back to the states, because I'm trying to enjoy myself without getting mauled. Poor blondes too... they LOVE blondes. They've never seen them. Poor Katherine gets told at least twice a day that someone loves her. Actually I guess that's not so bad, but in the context they mean it, it is.


I'm sure I have more. Maybe some time I'll add them.

Peace out America! (And Spain! And London! And Germany? And Russia? I figured out I can see when people from different countries read my blog... people in Russia are into it I guess? Awkward.)

Love in Spain is wild

So yes, I do have a story to elaborate on the title of this entry. But let's backtrack a bit to tell some tales of the weekend. First of all I had the worst week, two exams in my two hardest classes as well as a presentation of War Correspondents in my journalism class. Yikes. The presentation actually opened my eyes to a whole new view of the world though... those guys that go to foreign countries and give news reports on the war, ones that actually travel with soldiers and witness it first hand... they're nuts. I really want to read the book The Bang Bang Club, its about a group of war correspondents, mostly photo journalists, that have seen the worst of the worst. It just tells the stories of their lives, how they deal with the stress, etc. It seems really interesting. I learned about it while researching for my presentation.

Anyways, with all that junk out of the way, I went to Seville with the parentals and Emily this weekend. Apart from the stress of traveling by my lonesome, it was a really great weekend. Seville is such a quaint little city, very relaxing. We did a tour of the cathedral, wandered over to Plaza Espana, which was beautiful, and even went to an international festival with little trinkets, food, and beer from all over the world. I got a beer called Judas (haha) from Belgium which was like 9% alcohol. It was delicious! If you all can find it in the states I recommend it! All in all it was a great weekend. Last night we all came home on the same flight, and the Gabrees spent their last night in Barcelona. We went out for dinner down by the water, and our waiter kept a constant supply of sangria coming all night, including one made with champagne. Delicious.

Today might have been the oddest day ever for me in Barcelona. For starters, it has been raining all day... something that was not conducive to my outfit of a light t-shirt and leather boots (nice try Weather.com), but has pretty much not happened since we got here. It was cloudy one day last month, and apparently it rained one night of Merce (something I missed somehow)... but it really just hasn't rained here in months. Maybe its the start of the wet season? I almost forgot what it was like. It still sucks, that's for sure. I mean I love rain for playing in when I have the right clothes for it, and I love nothing more than cuddling in bed when its raining outside... but I think it just made everyone crazy today. This leads me to my story...

So I'm standing waiting for the metro, soaking wet after running from my class to the station... and its packed. Everyone is riding the metro today because no one wants to be outside. Anyway, this guy comes running up behind me and ducks around my shoulder, slamming me into the guy behind me, grabs a woman in front of me by the shoulders (which I at first though was a cute boyfriend/girlfriend interaction until he does what comes next), rips her from the crowd and slams her into the wall behind everyone. You could hear her head crack against the cement. She obviously crumples to the ground crying, all while he starts screaming obscenities at her about being a whore. The guy who I slammed into during the process grabs him by the back of his shirt trying to catch him but he wriggled free and took off down the corridor. Some rando who must have seen the whole thing happen came bolting out of no where and caught him, dragging him back to the scene of the crime. I tried to stay and see what was going to happen, but the guy who I fell into previously told me I should probably just get on the train. Turns out hes an American student studying in Barca too, he was just trying to be a hero by stopping the guy. I told him it was probably good he didn't get too involved, but I thanked him for letting me use him as an airbag, haha. We figure the guy was mad at an ex-girlfriend for cheating on him and/or just moving on, but YIKES. He could've handled that wayyyy differently. Spaniards are crazy.

Spain steals the Gabree family

As I've mentioned a thousand times previously, the Gabrees are in town! Dave and Sandy came in friday morning, with Emily following soon after. When I got out of class I anxiously waited to get a call from the hotel (I must love them) telling me they had arrived. When the time finally came, I went to go see the parentals for the first time since August. Of course by the time I get to the hotel, they're already down the street, buying candied almonds from a street vendor (Dad.). I tried to show them around their part of town, stopping in at a cafe to get "clara"s... a combination of beer and lemon fanta (and or lemonade depending). When Emily called from the hotel, we went back to greet her as well and give her a big "Bienvenidos a Espana!". I made them truck some goods over from the states for me, including my favorite organic body wash, some make-up, and a few long sleeve shirts, but Papa Bear and Emily went over the top by going halvsies on a new camera for me!! Its just a little digital camera, perfect for fitting into my purse and whatnot. Apparently I made it obvious I wanted a camera over here via my blog haha. I intend on buying myself one of those nice Nikon ones once I can actually get a job and afford things. Not to try to pretend I'm a photographer, but simply because I like taking a picture of something and having it actually look like what it was of, without red eye and weird lighting (aka the camera I used to have from sophomore year of highschool haha).

                                                 Casa Batllo

                                                   Sangria and Tapas!

Anyways. We took to the streets, new camera in hand! I walked them down Psg. de Gracia, where all the rich people used to live in the 20th century / still do now. The architecture is really amazing because everyone wanted to show off how rich they were, so a lot of people hired Antoni Gaudi to design their homes. We then stopped for some tapas and sangria at a place where all the tapas on the menu have corresponding pictures. I thought it might be easier for them to understand what they were ordering, because half the time even I will just blindly order something I think sounds good. It ended up being delicious, typical of anything in Barcelona. After our bellies were full, and our heads a little cloudy from overly strong sangria, I took the fam up to Plaza Espana, where the big castle on the mountain is, and took them to the top of the old bull fighting arena. Its now a heinously overdone mall on the inside, but the view of Barcelona from the top is pretty gorgeous. We took a break for naps and showers, and then met up later for dinner with miss Katherine Davis at a restaurant the hotel recommended. Like I said before, I don't know where the nice places are to eat. I don't eat out unless it costs me under 6 euros. Bargain dinners! Dinner was fantastic, as was the wine. Two of the Gabrees' favorite things, me included in that stereotype.



After dinner we all had intentions of going out on the town. I wanted my friends to meet my parents, and vice versa, but the place my friends decided to go to was wayyyy to packed for Mama and Papa. They politely declined the offer and headed to an outdoor bar to sip some wine before jet-lag crashing. Emily on the other hand, stayed out all night with me! The bar that was incredibly packed was a place where you literally pay 3 euros for a glass of ice, a bottle of soda, and they put a big bottle of alcohol on the bar for you. You are free to pour at your leisure. Now... if they did this in the states, that place would get shut down in seconds. People would be in the streets vomiting and or dead. Spaniards though, can handle their alcohol. The American tourists... not so much. Thankfully we were not those people. Well... maybe Drew. Emily got to meet all my friends and some! Then we took her to La Fira, that circus themed bar with the big tent over the dance floor, got some free drinks from the bartenders (how nice), and danced to the American songs all Barcelona bars/clubs play. Apparently the Spanish entertainment industry just isn't up to par with Beyonce and Kid Kudi.

The next morning everyone slept in. Mama and Papa bear didn't even wake up until 12:30! When we were all finally out of bed, we rambled on down to Plaza Catalunya to get coffee and see some sights. Katherine and I's friend Erin joined us for some play time on las Ramblas. We stopped at La Boquerria, the huge market tucked away in the side streets of La Rambla. Its apparently the oldest market in Europe, and the coolest. There's just so much fresh food, fruits, veggies, chocolates, break, meat, fish, candy, smoothies, wine... you name it, they have 30 different kinds of it. Of course the parentals loved it. Dave especially. We lost him about 8 times because of his famous move of disappearing into a side alley to look at something and not telling anyone. But he always came back wielding something yummy he shared with the group, chorizo, cod fritters... oh yes. We then did a short tour of the Gothic area, saw some cool art, bought a few gifts for people who will remain nameless seeing as I don't know who reads this thing (god love ya for doing it). Then I took them to Sagrada Familia, the giant cathedral designed by Gaudi. It really takes your breath away. I hope they liked it.

This day was the longest... after Sagrada, we walked down towards the water in hopes of finding an art fest/market, and ended up stumbling upon the Occupy Wallstreet protests going on in Barcelona. Of course it was called something else... but they had the same concerns. Jobs were a big part of it. Whats funny (or maybe not so funny) about Spain, is it looked like a parade. People were dancing and playing music... something you wouldn't see on the US. We ended up finding the art fest, which was incredibly cool and had lots of handmade crafts (and a techno DJ, which was weird), and then had dinner at an Argentinian style restaurant. Not too shabby. Afterwards, Papa Bear dragged us into a jazz club for a beer and a listen... we only heard about 2/3 of one song before the band packed up, but it was still pretty fun.



That night we took Emily to the bar Chupitos, the bar that only does shots. Glamorous, wild, shots. We made her take one where you roast a marshmallow on an open flame from liquor being lit right on the bar surface. We were all so exhausted we decided to have a relaxing night at a casual bar, where there were no places to sit so we awkwardly stood at the bar until three Spanish boys invited us to sit with them. The language barrier was pretty rough but they loved Katherine for throwing out a few phrases Santos taught us in Mallorca... mean, crude phrases. Also hilarious. They loved it that we knew slang bad words in Spanish.

Añadir leyenda

The next day we were up at dawn for a tour to Montserrat with Mama and Papa Bear. We had to ride in a van with a few other random tourists and a driver that must have been on cocaine... but it was worth it because Monserrat was beautiful. We took a tram up to the top of the mountain and hiked around, saw the cathedral, got lunch, and bought some fresh local cheese at the mini farmers market. Spain is so cute. I'm so glad I live here sometimes. Then we got to go on a wine tour at a vineyard that is completely organic. It ended with a tasting, of course, and it was so interesting to hear about how different soils/climates/fertilizers create different wines. Also fun... free wine. Lots of it. not only the tasting, but somehow due to confusion at the end of the tour, we got two free bottles of Cava (Spanish champagne)... Not mad. I also got a bottle of wine! My first bottle bought solely for me. Nice wine, that is. Wine to enjoy with friends. Not 1 euro wine to drink straight from the bottle while I'm doing my make-up with Katherine before we go out. Ohhh my life. Of course we ended the night by going to dinner on the Rambla and getting gelato! Yay! Emily almost got mugged by a crazy person, but homegirl knew to grab her bag as he threw himself into her. He definitely tried to steal something from her but she's a champ and wouldn't allow it. Sucks to suck, crazy robber.

Yesterday was the last full day the Gabrees spent in Barcelona. While I was in class they went to the beach, shopped around, ate tapas... then we all met and did a tour of Casa Batllo, which was just as absolutely gorgeous on the inside as it is on the outside. That night, we made the hasty decision to eat at a random restaurant Emily found on her iPhone... turned out to be the best restaurant in Barcelona. No, really. Bill Clinton eats there when he's in Barca. As does Eva Longoria. We ate like movie stars, basically. And... presidents? The waiter was adorably funny, and we even got a live acoustic guitar show during dessert. Oh Spain, you really know how to treat a lady and her family. Today the Gabree family minus me are all going to Valencia, and I will meet them in Seville on Friday.

More to come on the fabulous adventures of Dave, Sandy, Emily, and Grace Gabree... oh and Katherine, because she's the third child now.



WOOOOOOOOOOOF! I keep saying I won't ever write such long blogs but so much happened in one weekend. It's like the first week I was here... all over again. Sorry America! If you read this far I'm proud of you <3

Calm.

The Gabrees leave for Barcelona today!!! The whole bunch, Emily, Sandy, Dave... not Tory and Ginger, although I did try for them. I am so excited to show them around my city, take them to see the sights, everything. I'm a little apprehensive though, because for as long as I've lived here, I don't know all that much about the city. I can show them the beach, and La Rambla, Sagrada Familia, the Catedral... But I don't know much of the history behind these things. I also don't know where any good places to eat are. Gabrees are big food people. And wine. We know how to indulge, I suppose haha. Unfortunately, I'm on a budget here, so I don't know where the nice restaurants are, or where to get classy wine. I can find a 3 euro falafel and a 1 euro bottle of wine with my eyes closed... but this is going to be a bit of a vacation for me as well. I'll actually be able to experience fine dining. That's rare for me here, ha.

What I am not too excited about is the amount of work I have here. It was a horrible, horrible idea to take four of my five classes at Spanish Universities. Unlike IES, the study abroad program that knows we're all deadbeats and just want to play in Barcelona, these schools assume I came to Spain to have no life and work my ass off. I have more work here than I would in Vermont. Three ten page papers are due in a month. Plus midterms the next two weeks, presentations in every class, and 400 page "readers" that must be completed by the final. WOOOOOF. Looks like I'll have no life in Spain anymore. Hopefully I learn something from all of this. That is the point, yes? I just hate the stress... I buckle under stress. Hard. And I complain. Obviously. Look at what I'm doing right now. I need to remind myself to be calm, and remove all other unnecessary evils from my life so I can focus on the here and now. I have to do whats right for me right now.

Last night Jane invited Katherine, Jess, Erin, and I to meet her parents, who are here for the week. They are the most adorable people ever, and it explains so much why Jane is well, Jane. They were so welcoming and open, not to mention hilarious. We ended up going to dinner with them at a nice seafood restaurant by the beach, where we dined with family friends of the Siegels. It was delicious. Spanish food is so perfect. No additives or preservatives. Everything tastes so real. Its fantastic. I can't thank the Siegels enough for being so kind as to take us to dinner. It was so nice to meet them, and also have a night away from awkward dinners with Feli speaking Spanish to us, ha.

Oh, we also ran into these guys the other night. Apparently Barca was playing Scotland, so a bunch of Scots were out on the town getting their drink on. Clearly this was the outfit to wear to show respect for the Spanish team. Some were in kilts, some in flamenco. This guy though... damn.

Karma?

I think I'm suffering enough for things I've done already... I would like to know why karma has a vengeance for me. From the series of minor misfortunes yesterday (I won't explain and complain) to today I would have to guess this is karma for something really really stupid, perhaps? Today was just the icing on the cake. I had bought a cute and cheap floral pattern shirt from a store called "Lefties" a few days ago, something I was pretty excited about because it only cost 4 euros and it was adorable... and as I proudly showcased it today with white shorts, I started to realize something horrible had happened. I noticed during class that I had blue all over my hands. I asked my friend Kim if it meant I was sick (I was guessing gangrene), and she told me to try washing it off. When I got to the bathroom, I realized the blue dye from my cheap crap shirt was rubbing off all over my favorite shorts and all over my skin... I looked like a smurf. By the time I got home to change it has progressed to ruin part of my school bag, my bra, and my belt. I hate you, blue floral shirt. It is currently hanging out to dry on the bars outside my window (we live in a prison), along with my shorts, that I handwashed with body wash because I didn't know how to explain to Feli in Spanish what was going on / why I needed detergent.

#WhiteGirlProblems.

We don't have school tomorrow though! Yay! I may or may not go to a film festival outside of the city... maybe hit up the beach... work on my multiple ten page papers piling up... the possibilities are endless.

Oh and even better news! Flights to both Dublin, Ireland and Florence, Italy have been booked! We intend on going to Galway once we get to Ireland, see a bit of the country instead of just going to clubs in the city. I am so excited! It's going to completely screw me over as far as school work goes... but when else will I be in Europe? (That's a lie, I plan on moving back here at some point in my life.)

Sorry my life isn't more interesting America.