Blogs from Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, Europe - page 26

Today was a day I had planned as a free day. The weather was so sunny and warm that I broke out my short sleeved shirts and left my jacket at the hotel. But first I needed to deal with my plane reservation for tomorrow. I was scheduled to leave Barcelona around 1, arriving in Casablanca around 1 with the time change, but when I went onto Royal Air Maroc's website, I had been moved to a 9:30PM flight without any notice. That kind of messed up my plans for Casablanca. After much brouhaha, I was able to get an agent on the phone. The best I could do was to move my reservation to 7PM. It still doesn't work well with my schedule, but at least I won't be arriving at the hotel around midnight. ... read more

1. The most American influence I have noticed here is in the music. There's a coffee shop that I get a cafe con leche at every day before school. Everything in the shop is in Catalan, but the music consists of Dido, Michael Jackson, Van Morrison and the like. All of the clothing stores play rap and hip hop that was popular in the US a few months ago. Clubs, bars, and metro stations all play American music. There's always someone set up in the metro tunnels playing music and hoping for a bit of extra change. Whenever the music involves more than playing a saxophone or violin, it's of American covers. On Monday I was on my way to the park and listened to a man sing, "I'm stuck in Folsom Prison, and the time ... read more

Travel day from Madrid to Barcelona through Zaragoza, Spain The day was long. Our bus ride from Madrid to Zargoza was approximately 4 hours. However, upon arriving at Zaragoza, we visited the Basilica of the Pilar. As the story goes, thVirgin Mary appeared at a pilar in the square of this town during the Middle Ages. The Basilica was built around the pilar. Many pilgrims visit the site to kiss the pilar. The bus ride from Zaragoza to the seaside town of Calella, where our hotel was located, was another 4 hours. Of course after dinner, the kids couldn't resist walking down to the beach to put their feet into the Meditteraean Sea! ... read more

Spent a good couple days here in Barcelona. The thing that initially caught me off guard here was seeing everything in Catalan. At first I thought the Spanish part of my brain was on the fritz, then realizing it looked partially French, had to take me a moment to remember this area has it's own 'official' language that looks Spanish-ish but is not (Catalan). Some of the things are comprehendable if you understand Spanish, but not knowing French, I'm not sure if it resembles French (other than being another Romance Language).. But people do speak Spanish here. It took some getting used to the "accent" here- I had little difficulty in Central/South America, but here it is a bit more lispy and flowing... It's hard to explain unless you hear it. So, took a flight from ... read more

Our last day in Rome, headed to Barcelona, Spain. Livia was so kind to drive us in the morning. I mean, she was blessed with our presence, so it was only right of her to drive us to the airport... haha, jk. She has been a great host and friend! It has really changed our experience here for sure. Livia, you will not be forgotten! Come to Chicago and we will return the favors and hospitality. After arriving in the airport, I had to check in my carry-on bag because it was a centimeter too big. Damn airlines need to get on the same system.. need to design the bags so this DOESN'T HAPPEN. I knew it was gonna happen because it happened to me coming from London to Rome. We flew Vueling airlines, which is ... read more