I just got back from London and it was so refreshing. It was nice, first off, to speak english, all the time, to everyone. I could ask for help from anyone at anytime...what a relief. It was also nice to be taken care of, to have Taylor (Lunsford, I'm not referring to myself in third person) lead me throughout the city. I was so happy to simply follow along behind her goggling at clock towers, theaters and store windows.
It was an accomplishment to simply get to London by myself on Easy Jet, a somewhat sketchy airline. After walking out on to the tarmac (something that I never do) and an easy ride on the aptly named easy jet, I arrived in London Luton airport. I killed the time during my 55 minute bus ride in to London by listening to The Beatles and Kate Nash (the two most British groups I had on my Ipod) and was truly enchanted by the empty and dark London streets. It was amazing to me that at 1am the streets were quiet, in Barcelona, people don't even begin going out until 2am.
Taylor met me at my bus and we slowly made our way to her flat on the inefficient night busses. A brief stop at Star Kebab, an indian restaurant, for chips with curry finished the night and I QUICKLY fell asleep on the couch.
In the morning, we ventured to Hampton Court, on of Henry VIII's palaces. My excitement for the trip grew once I found out that there were not only costumed actors at the palace, but that we were also able to wear robes and join in on activities like a courtly dance class and a meeting with the queen and her advisors. After getting lost in a perfectly manicured bush maze, we stopped for a quick lunch of tomato soup and crusty bread. Mmm, what could be better on a chilly day than tomato soup in a royal garden.
That night I was able to visit Alex at her apartment which was, unfortunately, on the opposite side of the city. After riding on the most tightly packed subway you can imagine for 11 stops, I finally arrived. It was so fun to just hang out at Alex's apartment, we cooked a long and simplified version of chicken parmesan for dinner before heading out to some pubs for cider. The cider was wonderful, but the BEST was strawberry beer. Who would ever want to drink beer when cider exists? It blows my mind.
Saturday was quintessentially British. After pad thai for lunch, we headed downtown to see the sights. We made quick stops at everything I needed to see, including Buckingham, Big Ben, the Globe...and finished the afternoon with my favorite part of the trip, high tea.
The tea was in an old and slightly stuffy hotel, we were seated in the drawing room where small groups of ladies chatted and snacked. Our tea came with complementary champagne and from the time the champagne arrived, the fanciness never ended. I chose a black currant and hibiscus tea which was served in an adorable individual tea pot. We were also given a selection of sandwiches, scones, candied apples and pumpkin tarts. The food was amazing. I've always loved scones, but I feel that I can say I had never had a truly great scone until this tea. We slowly ate and drank until our bellies were full and tastebuds were exhausted.
We had some time to kill before heading to our musical, so we pit stopped at Harrods. Something that I didn't think I would be that impressed by was simply amazing. We turned the corner to find Harrods sparkling with tiny lights, but the exterior opulence was minimal compared to the floors of decadence inside. We wandered aimlessly from floor to floor admiring the vogue clothes, home goods and food, as well as the people who were able to buy them.
Our musical, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, was more extravagant than any show I've ever seen. It focuses on 3 transvestites as they journey across the desert in a bus named Priscilla. As you can imagine, the costumes were over the top in the very best way. Every song that you would expect to be sung, was, including I Will Survive. I can't imagine a more fun musical to attend!
My last day in London was filled with markets. We first went west to Portabello Street, a collection of antique vendors selling everything from magazines to fur coats. We left empty handed and headed to Camden Market, a gigantic intertwined maze of vendors. You can buy anything at Camden Market, from craftsman jewelry, to antique luggage to pleather jackets (which I purchased). You can and should also buy the trashiest of trashy chinese food. The asian woman lure you in with a sample and then give you a "special" price, which, if you're like me, you won't be able to pass up. Three pounds for a overfilled bowl of, well, whatever the woman decides to give you which could include, chicken, veggies, noodles and, my favorite, a sort of tempura fried dough ball. I ended the night with my 20 pound pleather jacket in hand (I worked the guy down from 35 pounds) and in severe need of fruit or some other healthy snack.
I adore London and absolutely can't wait to go back! I was sad to be home in Barcelona, but the weather today is sunny, my Señora fixed a wonderful dinner last night and I feel very European in my pleather jacket. I guess Barcelona isn't so bad.
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Where is Andorra?
Today I went to Andorra, the tiny country nestled in the Pyrenees directly between France and Spain. I had, really, one main goal in visiting Andorra: get a passport stamp. My roommate had read online that the stamp is Andorra's Coat of Arms (neat!) and I wanted one. Since I started with this anecdote, you're probably assuming that I didn't get a stamp. If so, you're correct. Did you know that when you're traveling within EU countries you don't get you passport stamped! But worse, the office in Andorra that gives stamps and all of the post offices were closed because it was Sunday. I know, our planning wasn't very well though out.
However, there were two things that made up for my lack of a passport stamp:
Yes, that is a copper teapot in my hand. I bought that amazing, antique copper teapot at the same store that was selling this shirt:
There was pretty much nothing else to do in the quirky country of Andorra, so we ate a nice lunch and headed back on a bus to Barcelona about 4 hours after arriving.
However, there were two things that made up for my lack of a passport stamp:
Yes, that is a copper teapot in my hand. I bought that amazing, antique copper teapot at the same store that was selling this shirt:
There was pretty much nothing else to do in the quirky country of Andorra, so we ate a nice lunch and headed back on a bus to Barcelona about 4 hours after arriving.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
El Correfoc
Last night was the climax of the La Merce celebrations-Correfoc (fire run). My teachers have been talking about the Correfoc since I started class, so I had been looking forward to it, but I had no idea how absolutely insane it would be.
To start, a few days ago we all received an e-mail from IES warning us that if we were planning to attend Correfoc we needed to wear protective clothing (long sleeves, closed-toe shoes, hats...). I took this as a pretty extreme exaggeration, "how crazy can a parade really be," I thought.
The night rolls around and after much discussion, my roommates and i decided on long-sleeved shirts, tennis shoes and shorts (it's hot, we didn't want to be completely covered). I didn't even bring any head cover, again, I couldn't imagine needing a head cover for a parade.
We left early and made our way down the street toward the start of the Correfoc, as we approached, we were overcome by the sounds of various drum groups each jamming to their own specific beat. The street was filled, top to bottom, with people dressed in colors corresponding to their specific group. Each group had drummers, people dressed as devils who later would be the people with fire and, in most cases, some sort of huge beast that shot fire out of all orifices.
We made our way through the crowd, stopping at each beast to take pictures and walked toward the "Gates of Hell" where the parade began.
After about 20 minutes of anticipation, a man's voice came over a loud speaker. He spoke Catalan so I don't know what he was saying, but he sounded like an announcer for a haunted house radio commercial. It was kind of terrifying. Suddenly, ear-piercingly loud fireworks that were attached to the gates began to go off and a red cloud of smoke billowed out from around the looming gates.
By this time, we had realized that we were standing on the wrong side of the gates, so we slowly started to make our way through the crowd. The crowd was the most dense group of people I have ever been in, at times I felt like I couldn't breathe, not from claustrophobia, but from being squished so tightly between people that my lungs couldn't expand. Luckily, I made it through (with my purse and all of its contents) and found a prime location on the side walk right at the beginning of the parade.
Within minutes, we learned just how crazy Correfoc truly is. As the groups came through the gates, they lit firecracker-like torches that were attached to tall poles that individuals held and ran through the crowd with. These fire torches rain huge flaming sparks down on to the crowd. Not only did you need head covering (which luckily one of the girls I was with had an extra), but you also need to cover every part of exposed skin. I learned very quickly that the sparks hurt when the touch your legs, hands and neck.
Each time (every few seconds) that a fire runner ran in to the crowd everyone huddled and ducked to find relief from the relentless flames. There were, of course, the young locals who, instead of ducking, ran in to the street to dance and frolic in the sparks, but I was not brave enough to expose my bare legs to the sparks.
The parade went on for nearly 2 hours. Two hours of fire, drumming and constant firework sounds...I wouldn't have missed it for anything. I have to come back at some point in my life to experience Correfoc again. Everyone needs a Correfoc experience.
At the end of the night my roommates and I were talking about how a fire festival like this would NEVER be allowed in the U.S., thank goodness for study abroad or I would never get to experience such a wild festival!
To start, a few days ago we all received an e-mail from IES warning us that if we were planning to attend Correfoc we needed to wear protective clothing (long sleeves, closed-toe shoes, hats...). I took this as a pretty extreme exaggeration, "how crazy can a parade really be," I thought.
The night rolls around and after much discussion, my roommates and i decided on long-sleeved shirts, tennis shoes and shorts (it's hot, we didn't want to be completely covered). I didn't even bring any head cover, again, I couldn't imagine needing a head cover for a parade.
We left early and made our way down the street toward the start of the Correfoc, as we approached, we were overcome by the sounds of various drum groups each jamming to their own specific beat. The street was filled, top to bottom, with people dressed in colors corresponding to their specific group. Each group had drummers, people dressed as devils who later would be the people with fire and, in most cases, some sort of huge beast that shot fire out of all orifices.
We made our way through the crowd, stopping at each beast to take pictures and walked toward the "Gates of Hell" where the parade began.
After about 20 minutes of anticipation, a man's voice came over a loud speaker. He spoke Catalan so I don't know what he was saying, but he sounded like an announcer for a haunted house radio commercial. It was kind of terrifying. Suddenly, ear-piercingly loud fireworks that were attached to the gates began to go off and a red cloud of smoke billowed out from around the looming gates.
By this time, we had realized that we were standing on the wrong side of the gates, so we slowly started to make our way through the crowd. The crowd was the most dense group of people I have ever been in, at times I felt like I couldn't breathe, not from claustrophobia, but from being squished so tightly between people that my lungs couldn't expand. Luckily, I made it through (with my purse and all of its contents) and found a prime location on the side walk right at the beginning of the parade.
Within minutes, we learned just how crazy Correfoc truly is. As the groups came through the gates, they lit firecracker-like torches that were attached to tall poles that individuals held and ran through the crowd with. These fire torches rain huge flaming sparks down on to the crowd. Not only did you need head covering (which luckily one of the girls I was with had an extra), but you also need to cover every part of exposed skin. I learned very quickly that the sparks hurt when the touch your legs, hands and neck.
Each time (every few seconds) that a fire runner ran in to the crowd everyone huddled and ducked to find relief from the relentless flames. There were, of course, the young locals who, instead of ducking, ran in to the street to dance and frolic in the sparks, but I was not brave enough to expose my bare legs to the sparks.
The parade went on for nearly 2 hours. Two hours of fire, drumming and constant firework sounds...I wouldn't have missed it for anything. I have to come back at some point in my life to experience Correfoc again. Everyone needs a Correfoc experience.
At the end of the night my roommates and I were talking about how a fire festival like this would NEVER be allowed in the U.S., thank goodness for study abroad or I would never get to experience such a wild festival!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Potatoes
Since I've been in Barcelona for a few weeks now, I am beginning to notice which foods are served more frequently than others. We have chicken a lot, and pan con tomate, but there's one thing that we eat more of than I can even fully explain, Potatoes!
We have potatoes with pretty much every meal, which I am happy about because I love potatoes, even if I'm going to have to buy an extra seat on my ride home. Normally we have the potatoes with something else like chicken and fruit to at least slightly balance out the carbs, but this weekend my lunch was the most carb-filled experience I think I'll ever have in my life.
I sat down at a beach cafe in Cadeques and decided to order tortilla de patatas, a traditional spanish dish made from eggs and potatoes. It's one of my favorite things that I've had so far in Spain so I was really looking forward to a nice hearty meal.
I didn't know just how hearty it would be.
Turns out that the tortilla de patatas was under the bocadillo (sandwich) section, which I didn't realize, so my 4 euros bought me a sandwich made from two thick (half loaf sized) pieces of bread, FILLED with cooked potatoes.
That's right, a potato sandwich!!! Potatoes and bread, nothing else!!
Needless to say, although it tasted good, I simply couldn't eat it as a sandwich, so I ate the potatoes by themselves.
As absurd as this seemed to me, carb on carb, I asked my Food as an Expression of Culture teacher about it and she said it's very common. If these beautiful, skinny Spanish girls really do eat potato sandwiches, I'm ticked out of pure jealousy.
We have potatoes with pretty much every meal, which I am happy about because I love potatoes, even if I'm going to have to buy an extra seat on my ride home. Normally we have the potatoes with something else like chicken and fruit to at least slightly balance out the carbs, but this weekend my lunch was the most carb-filled experience I think I'll ever have in my life.
I sat down at a beach cafe in Cadeques and decided to order tortilla de patatas, a traditional spanish dish made from eggs and potatoes. It's one of my favorite things that I've had so far in Spain so I was really looking forward to a nice hearty meal.
I didn't know just how hearty it would be.
Turns out that the tortilla de patatas was under the bocadillo (sandwich) section, which I didn't realize, so my 4 euros bought me a sandwich made from two thick (half loaf sized) pieces of bread, FILLED with cooked potatoes.
That's right, a potato sandwich!!! Potatoes and bread, nothing else!!
Needless to say, although it tasted good, I simply couldn't eat it as a sandwich, so I ate the potatoes by themselves.
As absurd as this seemed to me, carb on carb, I asked my Food as an Expression of Culture teacher about it and she said it's very common. If these beautiful, skinny Spanish girls really do eat potato sandwiches, I'm ticked out of pure jealousy.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Desserts, a grave and Dali
I just got back from my adventure up and down Coasta Brava (the "wild coast," just north of Barcelona that reaches up in to southern France). It was beautiful, even with rainy skies. We were able to see Roman and Greek ruins, EAT (the all-caps to let you all know just how much eating I did) in beautiful costal towns, visit the Dali museum, watch TV in English, sleep in pillow-top beds with black-out curtains covering the windows and see a grave of one of the most famous Spanish poets that no one (at least on my trip) had ever heard of. All in all it was a wonderful, fast-paced trip.
Quite possibly my favorite part of the weekend was traveling to Collioure, a tiny french seaside town. We actually only made the trip to see the grave of Antonio Machado. Who is Machado, you may ask (as I did and am still wondering)? Machado was, apparently, a famous Spanish poet who was forced in to Exile during the Spanish Civil War. However, this is still the only information that I know about him. As the time approached when we were suppose to view his grave, there was a noticeable whisper throughout my 80 or so peers, wondering who the heck Machado was. We were all perplexed. But, because we were making a special stop just to view the grave we all assumed that it would be at least slightly spectacular, interesting, weird, cool, neat, pretty...
We got of the bus, made our routine bathroom stop (this time with no toilet paper, yay public bathrooms) and headed toward the gravesite. About three blocks up the road, we turned on to a side street and in to a grave yard. A regular graveyard. However, when I walked in most of the students who were simply walking in front of me in the group were already leaving. I assumed that we were at the wrong place, until a friend came up to me and said "there it is," pointing to an older-looking, but very unsuspecting grave.
We travelled to FRANCE to look at a normal grave!!!
Good thing the city was absolutely beautiful, and since we were in France I took the liberty to have two desserts with lunch:
1. A crepe (of course, nutella and bananas...nothing is better)
2. A semi-fired, semi-baked lemony pastry covered in sugar
Also, it turns out that in France, they speak French. This seems very simple, but when you've spent the past three weeks stumbling through Spanish when all you really know how to speak is English and you sit on a bus for 30 minutes, get off and are expected to speak ANOTHER language; it's a shock! I don't even know how to say water in french. So we spoke broken Spanish and everyone else spoke French and I got my desserts.
A wonderful weekend on the coast!
Quite possibly my favorite part of the weekend was traveling to Collioure, a tiny french seaside town. We actually only made the trip to see the grave of Antonio Machado. Who is Machado, you may ask (as I did and am still wondering)? Machado was, apparently, a famous Spanish poet who was forced in to Exile during the Spanish Civil War. However, this is still the only information that I know about him. As the time approached when we were suppose to view his grave, there was a noticeable whisper throughout my 80 or so peers, wondering who the heck Machado was. We were all perplexed. But, because we were making a special stop just to view the grave we all assumed that it would be at least slightly spectacular, interesting, weird, cool, neat, pretty...
We got of the bus, made our routine bathroom stop (this time with no toilet paper, yay public bathrooms) and headed toward the gravesite. About three blocks up the road, we turned on to a side street and in to a grave yard. A regular graveyard. However, when I walked in most of the students who were simply walking in front of me in the group were already leaving. I assumed that we were at the wrong place, until a friend came up to me and said "there it is," pointing to an older-looking, but very unsuspecting grave.
We travelled to FRANCE to look at a normal grave!!!
Good thing the city was absolutely beautiful, and since we were in France I took the liberty to have two desserts with lunch:
1. A crepe (of course, nutella and bananas...nothing is better)
2. A semi-fired, semi-baked lemony pastry covered in sugar
Also, it turns out that in France, they speak French. This seems very simple, but when you've spent the past three weeks stumbling through Spanish when all you really know how to speak is English and you sit on a bus for 30 minutes, get off and are expected to speak ANOTHER language; it's a shock! I don't even know how to say water in french. So we spoke broken Spanish and everyone else spoke French and I got my desserts.
A wonderful weekend on the coast!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
An entire loaf of bread
Since we didn't have Spanish class this Saturday (we did last week..it was sooo lame!) I, with my roommates and a new friend, venture to Tossa de Mar, a small beach town north of Barcelona.
It was absolutely picturesque (besides all of the naked boobs, nearly everyone is constantly topless...not my favorite part of the beach). A 14th century castle sits literally on the beach and is open for you to walk around in. Although I did make it to the top of the castle, I quickly came back down for the laziest weekend of my life.
On Saturday morning, when we arrived at 9:00am, we stopped at a small tienda to buy fruit and water, however there was also 1.5 liters of Sangria for 1.97 euros which we of course couldn't pass up and an entire loaf of bread for 90 cents (my favorite buy since I came to Spain).
I spent 100% of the day (from about 10:00am until 6:00pm) laying on the beach, dozing in and out of sleep, people watching, starting and finishing my bread and listening to songs in English.
You're probably wondering, is she burnt to a crisp? The answer, surprisingly is "no." I did get burned on the right side of my calf, my right hand and my right ear (the sun was clearly on my right), but my numerous sunscreen applications, for the most part, were successful.
At night we took a bus to Lloret de Mar, a town that was supposedly 15 minutes away but turned out to be about 30 (luckily the bus ride was pretty) to stay in one of the few hostels that wasn't full in the area. I had pizza for dinner and we returned to our room to take LONG showers and watch TV (yes we had a TV and our hostel only cost 11 euros per night...a real deal!) however to our dismay all of the channels were in Spanish (we weren't shocked, we were just hoping for CNN or BBC, anything to veg out to). However, we did find High School Musical on the Disney channel (which in any other circumstance I would be opposed to) with English singing, they dubbed over everything but the signing, so we all sat around and waited for the characters to sing in English.
My favorite songs for a lazy beach day:
1. Simon and Garfunkel--The Only Living Boy in New York
2. Jack Johnson--Staple it Together (mostly all of Jack Johnson really, I mean he lives in Hawaii)
3. Kate Nash--Birds
4. The Temper Trap--Sweet Disposition
5. She and Him--EVERY SONG!!!!
It was a beautiful, restful weekend.
I can't wait to start classes tomorrow!! Finally, a routine!
P.S. My new school is Hogwarts...more to come!
It was absolutely picturesque (besides all of the naked boobs, nearly everyone is constantly topless...not my favorite part of the beach). A 14th century castle sits literally on the beach and is open for you to walk around in. Although I did make it to the top of the castle, I quickly came back down for the laziest weekend of my life.
On Saturday morning, when we arrived at 9:00am, we stopped at a small tienda to buy fruit and water, however there was also 1.5 liters of Sangria for 1.97 euros which we of course couldn't pass up and an entire loaf of bread for 90 cents (my favorite buy since I came to Spain).
I spent 100% of the day (from about 10:00am until 6:00pm) laying on the beach, dozing in and out of sleep, people watching, starting and finishing my bread and listening to songs in English.
You're probably wondering, is she burnt to a crisp? The answer, surprisingly is "no." I did get burned on the right side of my calf, my right hand and my right ear (the sun was clearly on my right), but my numerous sunscreen applications, for the most part, were successful.
At night we took a bus to Lloret de Mar, a town that was supposedly 15 minutes away but turned out to be about 30 (luckily the bus ride was pretty) to stay in one of the few hostels that wasn't full in the area. I had pizza for dinner and we returned to our room to take LONG showers and watch TV (yes we had a TV and our hostel only cost 11 euros per night...a real deal!) however to our dismay all of the channels were in Spanish (we weren't shocked, we were just hoping for CNN or BBC, anything to veg out to). However, we did find High School Musical on the Disney channel (which in any other circumstance I would be opposed to) with English singing, they dubbed over everything but the signing, so we all sat around and waited for the characters to sing in English.
My favorite songs for a lazy beach day:
1. Simon and Garfunkel--The Only Living Boy in New York
2. Jack Johnson--Staple it Together (mostly all of Jack Johnson really, I mean he lives in Hawaii)
3. Kate Nash--Birds
4. The Temper Trap--Sweet Disposition
5. She and Him--EVERY SONG!!!!
It was a beautiful, restful weekend.
I can't wait to start classes tomorrow!! Finally, a routine!
P.S. My new school is Hogwarts...more to come!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Listen, Barcelona
In the past few days, I've been doing a ton of settling-in tasks that have made me realize a few things about Barcelona. Although I still love it, here are a few things that I am annoyed with:
1. The shower (no matter what temperature it's on, which for me is cold since it's so hot all the time) constantly fluctuates in and out of boiling hot and ice cold water.
2. I am not allowed to take a long shower, a nighttime rinse off, or anything other than one short shower a day (which wouldn't be a big deal except that I am constantly sweaty and there is no A/C to cool me off, EVER)
3. There is no A/C!!!
4. Smoking, I don't understand how smoking isn't outlawed everywhere, I am so tired of constantly breathing second-hand smoke everywhere I go (even in restaurants...everyone smokes)
5. Constantly having to guard my belongings with my life (just once I would like to sit without my purse between my legs...but don't worry I wont stop being cautious out of my own laziness)
6. Having to allow for more than 5 minutes to get to class (living on campus is pure heaven, having to leave for class at least 30 minutes before it begins really stinks)
All in all, I am settling in to regular life in Barcelona. I am starting to be okay with 9:00pm dinners, speaking/reading/understanding Spanish, and I am definitely settling in to the beautiful scenery.
I changed in to a different Spanish class, which I really enjoy and I am very ready for all the rest of my classes to start on Monday (let's get real, I've always loved school)!
I've grow an extreme adoration and constant craving for Nutella and pan con tomates (literally bread with olive oil and tomatoes rubbed all over it).
Tonight we had vegetables that my Senora cooked with olive oil, vinegar, garlic and another spice that I've tasted in her cooking and other cooking before, but I do not know what it is. She tried to explain in Spanish, but as you can see, I didn't understand. Hopefully I'll find out soon!
Still loving Barcelona, just a little more realistic about it.
1. The shower (no matter what temperature it's on, which for me is cold since it's so hot all the time) constantly fluctuates in and out of boiling hot and ice cold water.
2. I am not allowed to take a long shower, a nighttime rinse off, or anything other than one short shower a day (which wouldn't be a big deal except that I am constantly sweaty and there is no A/C to cool me off, EVER)
3. There is no A/C!!!
4. Smoking, I don't understand how smoking isn't outlawed everywhere, I am so tired of constantly breathing second-hand smoke everywhere I go (even in restaurants...everyone smokes)
5. Constantly having to guard my belongings with my life (just once I would like to sit without my purse between my legs...but don't worry I wont stop being cautious out of my own laziness)
6. Having to allow for more than 5 minutes to get to class (living on campus is pure heaven, having to leave for class at least 30 minutes before it begins really stinks)
All in all, I am settling in to regular life in Barcelona. I am starting to be okay with 9:00pm dinners, speaking/reading/understanding Spanish, and I am definitely settling in to the beautiful scenery.
I changed in to a different Spanish class, which I really enjoy and I am very ready for all the rest of my classes to start on Monday (let's get real, I've always loved school)!
I've grow an extreme adoration and constant craving for Nutella and pan con tomates (literally bread with olive oil and tomatoes rubbed all over it).
Tonight we had vegetables that my Senora cooked with olive oil, vinegar, garlic and another spice that I've tasted in her cooking and other cooking before, but I do not know what it is. She tried to explain in Spanish, but as you can see, I didn't understand. Hopefully I'll find out soon!
Still loving Barcelona, just a little more realistic about it.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Nutella and Spaghetti
To start, Parc Guell is incredible! I want to go back everyday...I wish I could have a private showing so that no one else was around and I wish it'd be about 65 degrees outside also. Everywhere you look in Parc Guell you're surrounded by something strange and so beautiful.
Upon entering the main columned structure at the top of the entrance, we found musicians playing classical strings, but as we walked through the park, they weren't the only performers. There was a duo playing classical Spanish guitar, a woman dressed in Flamenco attire (turns out she was only posing for pictures which was a real let down, I wanted some Flamenco dancing..good or bad would have sufficed), my personal favorites were the two sets or random, skinny shirtless hippies simply blowing really big bubbles. Everything seemed to fit so well in to the mix-matched park.
For lunch, I am trying to cut back a little bit since the portions my Senora serves me for dinner are MAMMOTH, and it's so good that I usually come close to finishing them. I stopped and got some pineapple and a banana to eat in Parc Guell; found a shady spot and listened to a Spaniard sing Bryan Adams' "Summer of '69."
But after Parc Guell was when I had the real treat, I stopped in a fruit stand to grab some nectarines and these random street side nectarines (after washing them in one of the many fountains throughout the city) were literally the very best I have ever had. They fell off the pit, mmm, I would have eaten 10, but restrained myself to one and one for later (it seems like later is rapidly approaching, I can't get this nectarine out of my head!)
A slightly Spanish version of spaghetti for dinner and Nutella for dessert rounded out a nearly perfect day. (It would have been perfect if it weren't for the extreme heat)
Upon entering the main columned structure at the top of the entrance, we found musicians playing classical strings, but as we walked through the park, they weren't the only performers. There was a duo playing classical Spanish guitar, a woman dressed in Flamenco attire (turns out she was only posing for pictures which was a real let down, I wanted some Flamenco dancing..good or bad would have sufficed), my personal favorites were the two sets or random, skinny shirtless hippies simply blowing really big bubbles. Everything seemed to fit so well in to the mix-matched park.
For lunch, I am trying to cut back a little bit since the portions my Senora serves me for dinner are MAMMOTH, and it's so good that I usually come close to finishing them. I stopped and got some pineapple and a banana to eat in Parc Guell; found a shady spot and listened to a Spaniard sing Bryan Adams' "Summer of '69."
But after Parc Guell was when I had the real treat, I stopped in a fruit stand to grab some nectarines and these random street side nectarines (after washing them in one of the many fountains throughout the city) were literally the very best I have ever had. They fell off the pit, mmm, I would have eaten 10, but restrained myself to one and one for later (it seems like later is rapidly approaching, I can't get this nectarine out of my head!)
A slightly Spanish version of spaghetti for dinner and Nutella for dessert rounded out a nearly perfect day. (It would have been perfect if it weren't for the extreme heat)
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Only 3 Hours to the Beach
These are the things that I loved about today:
1. Nutella for breakfast
2. Seeing the elevator through the window in my shower
3. Wearing my swimsuit under my clothes all day in preparation for the beach (actually this just made me sweaty because it was a one-piece, but I thought it was worth mentioning)
4. Believing that it would only take us a few minutes to get to the beach
5. Getting side-tracked in the barrio gotic (Gothic Quarter) on the way to the beach, by a beautiful cathedral, spanish classical guitar players and tons of tiny side-streets
6. Following some people in swimsuits in hopes of finding the beach (turns out they were headed for a smoke shop...sick)
7. Finally finding the beach after 3 and a half hours and enjoying sangria and a flatbread with cheese for lunch
8. Getting in trouble for laying on chairs that you ad to pay for (there was no sign and the man came up and yelled at us after wed been laying in them for a good 15-20 minutes)
9. Watching a naked baby play on the beach
10. Realizing that if we had taken the metro, it would have only taken us about 10-15 minutes to get to the beach
11. Choosing generic looking lotion in Corte Ingles, only to find out that it cost 35 euros (needless to say I still don't have any lotion)
12. Coming home exhausted to learn that we had a walking tour with our RA right then (turns out that my Senora had told us last night, but we had thought she was having a party...looks like we need a little more Spanish practice)
Almost everything that happened today turned out to be a hysterically hilarious misunderstanding. Barcelona is great!
Barcelona, te amo!
1. Nutella for breakfast
2. Seeing the elevator through the window in my shower
3. Wearing my swimsuit under my clothes all day in preparation for the beach (actually this just made me sweaty because it was a one-piece, but I thought it was worth mentioning)
4. Believing that it would only take us a few minutes to get to the beach
5. Getting side-tracked in the barrio gotic (Gothic Quarter) on the way to the beach, by a beautiful cathedral, spanish classical guitar players and tons of tiny side-streets
6. Following some people in swimsuits in hopes of finding the beach (turns out they were headed for a smoke shop...sick)
7. Finally finding the beach after 3 and a half hours and enjoying sangria and a flatbread with cheese for lunch
8. Getting in trouble for laying on chairs that you ad to pay for (there was no sign and the man came up and yelled at us after wed been laying in them for a good 15-20 minutes)
9. Watching a naked baby play on the beach
10. Realizing that if we had taken the metro, it would have only taken us about 10-15 minutes to get to the beach
11. Choosing generic looking lotion in Corte Ingles, only to find out that it cost 35 euros (needless to say I still don't have any lotion)
12. Coming home exhausted to learn that we had a walking tour with our RA right then (turns out that my Senora had told us last night, but we had thought she was having a party...looks like we need a little more Spanish practice)
Almost everything that happened today turned out to be a hysterically hilarious misunderstanding. Barcelona is great!
Barcelona, te amo!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Tortilla de Patatas y Sangria
I can't believe I live here, I've already fallen in love with Barcelona and I haven't even been here 24 hours. My senora, Antonia is wonderful, she only speaks Spanish to us and I can tell that from this morning to this afternoon I am already beginning to get a better ear for understanding what she says.
After a long, very bumpy flight from JFK, I finally got to Barcelona around 8:30am and after about an hour and a half I was ready to get a taxi to my new home. The bags that I brought were harder to pull than I expected, luckily at the airport I was able to grab a push cart (after a police man sadly watched me struggle and even offered to watch my bags so I could go get a cart, P.S. I thought it was a trick, turns out he was a genuinely nice man).
I was the first of my roommates to get to our apartment which means I got the single room to myself! The housing is so much better than I expected, I have plenty of space and Antonia will do ANYTHING to make us comfortable (she insisted on ironing my shirt when I asked to borrow the iron). Once Erin and Natalie arrived and after unpacking and an unintentional hour and a half nap, we decided to explore!
We didn't even make it downtown, but I can't get enough of Barcelona, the streets are modern but quaint with extremely old building interspersed. The streets are filled with cars and mopeds, but they aren't overcrowded or noisy (in fact we sat at a street side cafe and had no problem talking in our regular voices).
After tons of uphill walking, we decided that we couldn't finish our first day in Barcelona without a glass of Sangria, so we shared a liter at a cafe near our apartment (possibly our new favorite spot) and headed home for dinner.
Little did we know that Antonia made us a full, incredible, huge meal complete with ensalada, pan con aciete, a Mallorca pan dish, tortilla de patatas (which she swears is the best in the city and I completely believe her) and ciruelas (plums) for dessert. I couldn't be happier or more comfortable.
Barcelona, I love you.
Ready for tomorrow!
After a long, very bumpy flight from JFK, I finally got to Barcelona around 8:30am and after about an hour and a half I was ready to get a taxi to my new home. The bags that I brought were harder to pull than I expected, luckily at the airport I was able to grab a push cart (after a police man sadly watched me struggle and even offered to watch my bags so I could go get a cart, P.S. I thought it was a trick, turns out he was a genuinely nice man).
I was the first of my roommates to get to our apartment which means I got the single room to myself! The housing is so much better than I expected, I have plenty of space and Antonia will do ANYTHING to make us comfortable (she insisted on ironing my shirt when I asked to borrow the iron). Once Erin and Natalie arrived and after unpacking and an unintentional hour and a half nap, we decided to explore!
We didn't even make it downtown, but I can't get enough of Barcelona, the streets are modern but quaint with extremely old building interspersed. The streets are filled with cars and mopeds, but they aren't overcrowded or noisy (in fact we sat at a street side cafe and had no problem talking in our regular voices).
After tons of uphill walking, we decided that we couldn't finish our first day in Barcelona without a glass of Sangria, so we shared a liter at a cafe near our apartment (possibly our new favorite spot) and headed home for dinner.
Little did we know that Antonia made us a full, incredible, huge meal complete with ensalada, pan con aciete, a Mallorca pan dish, tortilla de patatas (which she swears is the best in the city and I completely believe her) and ciruelas (plums) for dessert. I couldn't be happier or more comfortable.
Barcelona, I love you.
Ready for tomorrow!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Adios Tejas, Hola Barcelona
T-minus 32 hours until I begin my journey across the Atlantic to Espana.
These are a few of the things I've been doing for the past few days in preparation for my trip, eek!
1. Translating the things I say in English in to Spanish in my head (often unsuccessfully)
2. Looking up words for the things I know I am going to need upon arriving in Barcelona: hairdryer=secador de pelo
3. Reading forums to figure out which bank to open an account at once I'm in Barcelona. It seems like ING Direct is a good choice, if anyone has another suggestion let me know!
4. Figuring out how to buy a SIM card (I unlocked my Iphone, I simply can't live without it...I don't know what I'll do once I actually graduate college and have to flip the bill all by myself)
5. PACKING, thank you Space Bags.
6. Venturing to the store almost daily...I always remember something else I need about an hour after my trip to Walgreens, Target...
7. Google Mapping the area around my apartment, over and over and over.
**8. Eating at all of my favorite restaurants and all of the food that my mom makes that I am going to miss so bad for four months. (Especially my beloved tex-mex)
If anyone has any Barcelona suggestions, let me know, I'm up for anything at all (as for now I'm mostly clueless)!
Excited, nervous, almost Spanish!
These are a few of the things I've been doing for the past few days in preparation for my trip, eek!
1. Translating the things I say in English in to Spanish in my head (often unsuccessfully)
2. Looking up words for the things I know I am going to need upon arriving in Barcelona: hairdryer=secador de pelo
3. Reading forums to figure out which bank to open an account at once I'm in Barcelona. It seems like ING Direct is a good choice, if anyone has another suggestion let me know!
4. Figuring out how to buy a SIM card (I unlocked my Iphone, I simply can't live without it...I don't know what I'll do once I actually graduate college and have to flip the bill all by myself)
5. PACKING, thank you Space Bags.
6. Venturing to the store almost daily...I always remember something else I need about an hour after my trip to Walgreens, Target...
7. Google Mapping the area around my apartment, over and over and over.
**8. Eating at all of my favorite restaurants and all of the food that my mom makes that I am going to miss so bad for four months. (Especially my beloved tex-mex)
If anyone has any Barcelona suggestions, let me know, I'm up for anything at all (as for now I'm mostly clueless)!
Excited, nervous, almost Spanish!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
There's Nothing Better than Tasters
Enjoying a new addition to Grapevine Main Street, Grapevine Olive Oil Company. Not only is the store absolutely adorable and the manager sweet as can be, but you can taste all of the olive oil and balsamic before you buy it!!
If you stop by, you have to try the Vanilla Balsamic, Peach Balsamic and the Coconut Balsamic, they will blow your mind!
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