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Published: January 29th 2012
UB
Gardens in the university.Bon dia!
This week has felt like a month with all of the activities we have done! I'm going to try my best to set up the pictures in the order of the week.
Monday we we're able to meet our directors, Maria, Ana and Pedro to give us the deal on general safety and housing issues (no alcohol, no visitors, walk in 2's). Basically what Mom kept saying at the airport 😉. Finally being able to put faces with 'Facebook' names was exciting. You can always tell who the american students are in Barcelona. We stand in a circle that gets larger and larger then breaks off into smaller circles and we're obnoxiously LOUD. Go figure! Most of us spent the first day wondering the city and trying to get a feel for our new home.
Tuesday we met again at the University, about a 15 minute walk/ 3.5 minutes by metro, about classes and schedules. I will find out my schedule this Tuesday and classes start Wednesday after the results of our placement test come in! After our meeting and getting yelled at by professors for being loud, we all seperated into our little
UB
Gardens in the university groups and walked around. Some friends and I decided to walk down the main shopping street "Las Ramblas" to go down to the port area, and in total we had walked over 7 miles! One stop was this amazing market place "St. Joseph's" that had the biggest strawberries and freshest food I've ever seen! We stopped and got tapas y sangria during 'siesta'. Each day around 2-3 the shops close down and people go to the outdoor cafe to converse and have a glass of wine or drink.
Wednesday I was able to fulfill a lifelong dream of mine, to see the work of Salvador Dali. Dali is a famous surrealist artist who grew up in Figueres, only an hour and a bit drive north. On the ride we were able to see the Pyrnnes Mountains that seperate Spain from France, so beautiful! The town itself is kind of like Hyde Park, in that it is centered around the tourism of Dali (like FDR). Walking 10-15minutes in any direction of the museum and you wouldn't even know it existed if not for the signs pointing to it. The museum is an old theatre that our tour guide, Sonya, told
UB
Outside the university us had burned down during the Spanish civil war and Dali bought it and made it his workplace. Each room is SO different from the last and each floor is a different 'period' of his work. The ceiling of the room that holds his famous melting clock, and my favorite Galatea of the Spheres is one of the most exquisite and beautiful things I have ever seen. I even laid down on the ground to try to get the best picture I could, no pictures do it justice. Also his jewlery collection is to DIE for. Dali did sculptures, paintings, jewlery, scenery, 3D art, optical illusions and was simply a master of his craft. That night we got to experience first hand a Barcelona/Real Madrid game. The whole city flocks to bars and restuarants, tv sets and radios to listen and cheer on for their city. The energy is contagious, waiter's wear jerseys and work in between watching plays, and everyone yells and cheers in unison! After the tie, the bars cleared out and people went into the streets to sing and chant for Barca and Messi.
Thursday we went on a bus tour of the city with Sonya
Placa Catalyuna
Plaza closest to the University, magic fountain during the day. as our guide. We saw a lot more than I have pictures for, just becuase the pictures just don't give credit to the views. First we went up past the Olympic Stadium and to the very top of Montjuic. Another view that was too amazing for words. You can see the WHOLE city and all the way over to the sea. Next we went to St.Maria del Mar Cathedral and I loved the stained glass work and detail. Everywhere in the city it is crazy to think that someone took the time to carve into stone....on a ceiling, and they definitely did not have a little giant ladder with safety features. Next was Park Guell, an area with all different sculptures and art done by Gaudi, and also his house and 2 others. His art is more abstract and made from old glass and recycled things he had found. Lastly was the Sagrada Familia, the one Papoo and Ruth saw and had pictures of. We didn't go inside or go up to it but the whole bus was actually quiet when we saw it up ahead...and we're a chatty group! Gaudi started working on the cathedral in 1883 and continued
Spiderman!
Random carnival was happening down the street and look who i found! until he died, however it wont be finished until 2030! Afterwords some girls and I went to a cafe to eat and took my first 'siesta'...for 4 hours (oops!). Apparently jet lag hits you a couple days after you get there....who knew?
Friday we all took the proficiency test along with another group of american students in different programs that are going to be in our classes with us. We wont find out how we did until tuesday when we get our ID and schedule from our director. Friday is cleaning day in the house and we made it our first kind of roomate day where we shopped, tried to work out with online videos (which Nuria laughed at). That night we met up at a bar called Ovella Negra that is more like a tavern with stone walls and long tables to sit at (if you can find one). My friend and I turned to talk to the people behind us in hopes to get their table eventually and one is a ticket vender for the Barca game and the other goes to EVERY GAME and meets Messi and get's something signed. He showed us all the players
Las Ramblas
The main street for shops on his phone and got a good deal on tickets to a game in february! I guess it is a good thing to talk to strangers! ; )
Saturday it was rainy, which some of you know flips my mood completely so we didn't do much adventuring but tried not to waste the day too much and tried a new cafe close to our house. We also have a bar "Bar Chiqui" across the street that sells 1euro beer! Instead of all going out in a herd of 30 from our program, a few of us tried a new bar on Ramblas de Reval (Mini Ramblas) and it was completely different from Ovella but we still loved it!
Today some friends and I went to check out a gym downtown and I might have fallen in love with the guy at the front desk (sorry mom!) and tried a chocolate crepe that was too rich to even finish. We came home and had paella de mariscos. Even though I don't normal eat or like seafood I ate my whole plate and my stomach is a little angry at me but it was worth it to try the classic
St Josephs Market
Fresh fruit meat fish chocolates, anything and everything! dish! Now i know not to order it with seafood but with pork or chicken instead! After lunch, which is the biggest meal on Sundays instead of dinner like other days, my roomates and I took the metro down to the Picasso Museum. We couldn't take pictures but it was really interesting and I will be going back to take the headphone set and more time to walk around. Since it is Sunday a lot of museums are free after certain times and get pretty crowded. Now we're about to sit and eat dinner (OYE!) and then relax and get some good sleep and do some more exploring tomorrow!
That was my week! I don't know if you guys can post questions on here without an email, but if you can, please do! Once classes start I wont be visiting as many fun things so I need something to write about!
Thanks and enjoy the pictures! Love you all!
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PAPOO
non-member comment
ERIN, WE LOVE READING YOUR JOURNAL AND SEEING PICTURES OF SUCH A LOVELY PLACE. WE ENVY YOU AND WISH WE WERE THERE WITH YOU. LOVE, PAPOO AND RUTH