Number of weeks since I boarded a plane headed across the Atlantic Ocean to Barcelona, Spain: 4.
Number of weeks since I’ve intended to create a blog of my grand adventure: 4.
As a result of this behavior, I’ve decided to reduce this update into some sort of list format so as to avoid getting too long-winded (this strategy is destined to fail).
For starters though, an introduction:
I arrived in Barcelona just four short weeks ago, deposited on the doorstep of what was to be my home for the next four months, an eclectic
Spanish apartment with a beautiful view, a large bedroom, and swastikas, yes, swastikas, on my living room floor tiles.
It was definitely going to be an unforgettable semester. My new life was a whirlwind of activity over the next few days as I got acquainted with my new apartment-mates, Faris, from Belgium, Telió, from France, and Courtney (a fellow UR student and, coincidently, RPCS grad).
We have also since added Pedro, from Brazil, and Julia, from Los Angeles. We participated in just under three weeks of intensive Spanish class, which consisted of 2.5 hours of Spanish class a day, accompanied by all the sightseeing and free time we could hope for. Real life set in just a few days ago when we finally started real classes on September 28, and I plan on a separate blog update of the real-life part in a week or so. I’ve been adapting to cooking for myself, doing laundry with the most frustrating washing machine in existence and no dryer, and of course, the most outrageous sleeping and eating patterns I’ve ever experienced—lunch around 3, dinner around 10, sleep never.
This is sure to be the longest update I’ll ever attempt, but I’m being long-winded for three reasons: 1) I’ve been so, so busy these past few weeks and haven’t had time to do anything other than keep a blurby journal that I’m adapting into novel form for you all to read, and 2) I hope from all of my excruciating detail, you’ll be able to really get a feel of how amazing I can already tell you Barcelona is, and 3) I will be sure to be much better about updating my blog from here on out so as to not bore you out of reading further.
So here goes, a month in Barcelona, Top 5-style:
Top 5 Comidas típicas
- Patatas bravas—Amazing combo of cooked/fried potatoes topped with a spicy red sauce as well as a garlicky white sauce. The best ones thus far were found at La Cervecería Catalana, a wonderful restaurant we had the chance to try—after a three hour wait—but it was worth it.
- Paella—The standard Catalan combo of saffron-rich rice with veggies and all sorts of seafood, especially good near the Barcelona Port.
- Pan con tomate—Take a piece of baguette, rub a garlic glove on it, then rub a halved tomato all over it, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt, what’s not to like. Note, this is not the same thing as bruschetta, but it’s definitely a winner in my book.
- Escalivada—A delicious medley of roasted red peppers, onions, and eggplant, paired with anchovies and olives (Dad, I’m slowly learning to like them).
- Calamari (and mussels)—Since we’re on the coast, they’re better here than in the United States, enough said.
Top 5 Bebidas típicas
- Café con leche (o café solo)—Coffee in Barcelona is strong, usually served espresso-style, but add a little milk, and it gets even better. I anticipate finding myself at UR’s 8:15 Coffee Shop this spring, ordering espresso shots with the other Euro kids, and reminiscing about the fall.
- Sangria—A delicious concoction of red wine, brandy, and fruit.
- Cava—Barcelona’s version of champagne.
- Chupitos—Throughout the city there are a number of bars where you can find any type of creative shot you could imagine, most of them on fire, some of them not so delicious, most of them fantastic.
- San Miguel/Estrella—Barcelona’s finest beers (Ok, so probably more in line with Bud Light, but still a good bargain).
Top 5 Aspiring purchases
- Harem pants: A huge hit among nearly every local woman I’ve seen, these pants, alternatively dubbed by my UR and Bentley peers as ‘Aladdin pants,’ or ‘diaper pants,’ are definitely a must-buy before I return home.
- Any and all Spanish jewelry
- A tattoo: “Paz” on the bottom of my foot. Just kidding, Mom (but really, you should probably check my foot when I get home).
- Bungee jumping: Again Mom, just kidding, mostly.
- FC Barca scarf
Top 5 Barcelona experiences (so far)
- Sitges—Our first weekend in Barcelona, Jess, Courtney, Ryan, Blair, Aleena, Kelli and I hopped onto a train with our new friends who go to Bentley in Massachusetts: Hana, Matt, Sam, Doug, Jeff, Sarah, Mike, and Mike. We headed north to the absolutely beautiful seaside town of Sitges, where we spent the day relaxing, sunbathing, eating some delicious paella, and taking in the (very) gay population. Prize sighting of the day: Speedo thong, on a guy.
- Las Ramblas/La Boquería—We’ve ventured to Las Ramblas approximately four times now since we arrived, and I don’t think I’ll ever tire of them. La Rambla is an avenue in Barcelona where you can see any and every street performer your heart may desire, and for a small contribution, take a photo with them. There is also a stretch of the Ramblas that has small animals, birds, bunnies, whatever you may want, for sale. Then there are the flower stands, and then we arrive at La Boquería, the largest, most overwhelming market I’ve ever experienced. Chocolate, candy, fruit, vegetables, seafood and meats of all shapes and sizes, cheeses, nuts, olives, breads, the list goes on and on. After exiting La Boquería, chocolate truffles and a fresh-squeezed juice in hand, we continue along Las Ramblas towards the caricaturists, portrait artists, watercolorists, painters, and last, but not least, the excellent selection of vendors of everything form sterling silver jewelry to leather cuffs to funky scarves. We’ve already made friends with one of our favorite jewelry vendors, and will hopefully be able to acquire group deals any day now.
- La Mercé—La Mercé (La festa major, as I learned in my Catalan class) rolls around every fall from September 23-27, and consists of some of the most incredible and unbelievable traditions I have ever witnessed. Thursday, the 24th, we ventured towards the Placa Sant Jaume at around eleven o’clock in the morning, and were swept into the quickly forming crowd. All around us, mixed in with the crowd, were massive puppets, or ‘gegants,’ that are constructed each year for the festivities. The giants then started dancing and afterwards, processed in a parade down the avenue towards the Ramblas. Next, we had the opportunity to watch ‘castellers,’ which are essentially human towers, formed by trained companies who brace one another and form towers many levels high, until a small child no older than four or five years old must climb to the top successfully before the tower can begin to dismantle. As we were packed into the crowd like sardines, we suddenly realized that one of the castellers groups was constructing their tower directly in front of us! Oktoberfest in Munich interrupted the rest of our weekend (not complaining), but upon our return on Sunday, we had the chance to go to Montjuic, the site of many of the 1992 Olympic Games buildings, as well as some gorgeous fountains lit by a psychedelic light show. As the light show progressed along with the fountain’s constant movement, we were again packed like sardines into a vast crowd, and I watched the largest fireworks show I have ever seen, set to the tune of international movie soundtracks (Pirates of the Caribbean included, of course). The fireworks show marked the finale of the 2009 La Mercé celebrations, and the next day, I read in the La Vanguardia newspaper that the festival attendance had surpassed last year’s attendance by 100,000 people—that’s right, the attendance was 2.6 million people.
- La Pedrera/La Sagrada Familia/Parc Guell—Antoni Gaudí’s influence on the city of Barcelona seems endless, and we’ve already had the opportunity to visit these three architectural marvels. La Pedrera is an apartment Gaudí was commissioned to build, and the rooftop statuesque chimneys are astounding. La Sagrada Familia, visible from our apartment window, was Gaudí’s last work during his lifetime. He died during its construction, and it is still in the works under different architects and isn’t expected to reach completion until around 2026. We have also visited La Sagrada Familia two times and counting, and it looks a lot like a sand castle, a la Gaudí style. Last, but definitely not least, the Parc Guell is one of Gaudí’s masterpieces, roughly resembling a life-size version of CandyLand.
- Museu Picasso/MACBA/Museu de la Xocolata—A few days into my stay here, I bought an ArtTicket, a discount card that allows me to visit seven or eight of Barcelona’s most renowned museums. Thus far, we have visited the Museu Picasso, an overwhelming collection of Picasso’s works from the start of his career through his last years. Who knew Picasso’s career lasted over 60 years, and he apparently also completed collections of prints as well as ceramics? We also had the chance to visit the MACBA, the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, which I’d definitely like to visit again, because try as I might, I still have trouble grasping contemporary art most of the time. We also got to visit Barcelona’s very own chocolate museum, where our tickets for entry were actually delicious dark chocolate candy bars. The museum itself was interesting and informative, but the best part was definitely the cup of drinking chocolate, roughly resembling homemade chocolate sauce, that I had at the end of my visit.
Top 5 Everyday Barcelona wonders
- The cafés—Around every corner and along every street, there are hundreds of small cafés of every shape and size, each with a ‘menú diaria’ usually comprising a tapa or two, paella, and finishing off with ‘crema catalana,’ the Catalan version of crème brulee, which comes to around 9-15 euro. I usually just stick with a café con leche, and perhaps a croissant.
- The Metro—Barcelona’s Metro system is the most smoothly-running, dependable mode of transportation I could ask for, clean, safe, and always packed with a variety of people for people-watching. As an added bonus, along most of the connecting Metro line corridors, we encounter musical performers of every instrument, and every skill level. Some of the most accomplished musicians have definitely made my day when I hit the Metro, and some of the worst, most abrasive performers have still made my day as I laugh to myself and continue along my way.
- Itaca/Dow Jones—Our local favorites include Itaca, a ‘bocadillo’ bar/café right around the corner from our apartment that is always reliable and definitely delicious. Just down the street, we also have Dow Jones, a locals-frequented bar whose menu fluctuates as the stock market would, with beer prices jumping up and down according to demand.
- Barceloneta—Summer here lasts until mid-September, and even afterwards, the weather still stays pretty warm. We’ve been to the beach just a few metro stops away a few times, and each time, I’ve been greeted by local’s calling out, “Cerveza, Agua, Coca-Cola Light,” and additional chants of, “Massaje?” I get home from the beach and find the phrases stuck in my head for the next few days. Oh, and the number of topless women is astounding, that definitely took some getting used to.
- Catalan—In Barcelona, there are two official languages, Castellano (or the Spanish that I actually understand and can speak), and Catalana, the seemingly half-French/half-Spanish language spoken by every single person in Barcelona. Traveling to Spain and expecting to speak the language with everyone has definitely been somewhat stunted by the fact that everyone prefers to speak Catalan. I’m enrolled in a class to learn Catalan, but my teacher seems to have decided to take the same route—she is teaching us Catalan, but her strategy is to speak Catalan at us until we understand her, which is definitely going to be a challenge.
Top 5 Not so much fun experiences (I.e. the dark underbelly of playing grown-up in a foreign city)
- Lost luggage: We arrive in Barcelona after way too many hours of traveling, but nonetheless in one piece, and find that one of Courtney’s bags didn’t quite make it; the next few days entail many broken conversations with the Barcelona airport until her bag finally arrives from the Heathrow airport.
- Trip to the emergency room: A week or so in, Courtney takes a little spill at one of the many, many Barcelona clubs, and after about a week of avoiding the situation, we ventured out to the Barcelona Hospital Clinic to brave the emergency room, Spanish-style. Her insurance is initially denied, after a phone call to Madrid, and then to the U.S., we resolve that problem, and then after explaining what hurts and where it hurts and what happened approximately five different times, we spend three hours in the waiting room before finally getting her taped up; prognosis: sprained ligament.
- Credit card fraud: Ok, so I’m still a little fuzzy on whether it’s actually fraud, but we arrive at the FC Barcelona football stadium on a Saturday night to pick up our tickets for that night’s game against Atlético Madrid, only to be informed that our confirmation numbers don’t work. As it is FC Barca, we of course had to buy new tickets, and the game was a blast. I then spend the next week or so arguing with the company in Spanish over the phone, before finally filing a fraud claim so as to speed up the process of getting my money back. Still missing from my bank account: $275.60 for the two tickets I purchased.
- Barcelona scheduling issues: Apparently in Barcelona, it’s completely normal for classes to switch not just days, but also times, just a few days before classes are to start. Spaniards seem disinterested in paying any attention whatsoever to schedules or the time of day or anything of the sort. I am currently maneuvering the UPF add/drop procedure which basically goes like this: just go to the classes you want to be in, and then on October 5th, we will tell you whether or not you can actually stay in them. Exhibit B: the previously mentioned FC Barca game was initially to take place at 9:00 on a Sunday. Recall that we were at the stadium on a Saturday; a few days before the game, the game changed times to 10:00 on Saturday. Again, I haven’t seen a single Spaniard get the least bit flustered by this behavior.
- Lose a friend (and a phone) in Munich: When we headed to Oktoberfest last weekend, we tried the buddy system, but our friend Amelia had a bit of trouble with that. Three hours, a bag of candied nuts to rejuvenate us in our search, and a police report later, she arrived back at our hotel room. Oh, and my phone also didn’t make the trip back from Munchen; I need to remind myself my jean pockets aren’t deep enough for a phone.
Travels
- Munich (Oktoberfest): (September 25-27)—This past weekend, I, along with seemingly every other University of Richmond junior studying in Europe, trekked across the continent to visit Munich, Germany for the yearly German celebration of Oktoberfest. We spent the weekend catching up with friends, maintaining a carbs-only diet of soft pretzels and pizza, rounded off with more carbs from our steins of beer, and having our first experience of traveling outside of Barcelona. My favorite parts of the weekend were standing atop a table inside the Hofbrauhaus tent at 8:00 a.m. claiming our space and looking for other UR students to join us, chanting and singing song after song with the entirety of thousands of others in the tent (including numerous Germans in lederhosen), and of course the fantastic gingerbread cookie that I brought back to Barcelona with me as a keepsake.
Next up:
- Costa Brava, Spain: (October 3-4)
- Amsterdam, Netherlands: (October 9-12)
- London, Great Britain: (October 23-25)
- Paris, France: (November 6-8)
- Valencia, Spain with mi familia?: (November 20-21)
- Italy (Rome/Florence/Venice): (December 3-8)
P.S. In addition to the photos I’ve included, I also have a Flickr page packed with more photos of my adventures, should anyone be interested; they are in chronological order with the most recent photos first: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39332893@N03/
If you’ve read this far, muchas gracias, and I’ll be sure to limit my posts from here on out.
Besos,
Liz
