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Published: October 18th 2006
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BIENVENIDOS A KATIE!
Our very first Barcelona Visitor! Thanks for coming Love!!! Believe it or not, its already been a month that we've been in Barcelona, and seriously, it feels like a WEEK! It’s true…time FLIES when you're having FUN…and we've had a LOT of HELP having FUN these last few weeks. Let me explain…
We got to Barcelona on September 10th; found an ADORBALE 3-bedroom apartment on the 11th; interviewed roomies, chose a solid bloke from Holland (Sven), and moved in on the 12th! I suppose you could say, when we put our minds to something, we get it done!
I think it's also safe to say, settling down did NOT mean slowing down! In the matter of one week, we had found an apartment and a roommate, settled in with a trip to IKEA, found and began attending a fantastic Spanish tutor, made some friends, researched local job opportunities, and prepared our new apartment for our very first exciting visitor, KATIE!
Katie D. is a good friend of Dawn’s from high school and also a friend of ours from college...who so happened to be a fellow Delta Gamma, I might add 😊 I didn't get to know Katie very well at U of I, but I'm so grateful
to have spent one of our first weeks in Barcelona with her! She is SO easy to get along with; she has a contagious laugh, and you can talk with her until 6AM in the morning and still think that it's only midnight! And for the next 5 days, we did just that...stayed up talking till 6am EVERY night! We also explored the city together and drank cafes con leche like it was going out of style! Because that’s what you do in Spain…especially amongst good friends! Katie…it was a PLEASURE having you with us! THANKS!
With no time to rest, I jet-setted for a quick getaway to see MIS TIOS (My Aunt and Uncle…I'm breakin' out the Spanish…hehe!) in Marbella. Marbella is a beautiful city down south along the Costa del Sol…though if I didn't KNOW I was in Spain, I swear I would have thought I was visiting a quaint British Colony because I'm pretty sure more people spoke English than Spanish! Nonetheless, that did not subtract from the city’s splendor and charming character. It was lovely, and I had such a marvelous time hangin’ out with Mis Tios! It was my Uncle Talal and Auntie Jenni,
who we spent time with in Dubai...so I knew it was going to be a guaranteed great time! We visited the market, ate at 5-star restaurants, walked about the town, relaxed by the pool, visited Porto Banus, and simply enjoyed one other’s company (I have to admit…they totally spoiled me, which always makes a girl feel spectacular…heehee!). It was a remarkable retreat for me! If you're reading this, Thank you Uncle Talal and Auntie Jenni!
Upon arriving back to my city (yup, Barcelona, MY city!…I like the feel of that!), I tried to quickly get back into the groove of things…workin’ out, Spanish class, research, etc…but it wasn’t very long until our NEXT jolly guest arrived...TIM FORD! Tim Ford is a friend of mine from San Francisco who was visiting Spain because, basically, he’s got skills!…numb-chuck skills, ninja skills, but most importantly, GOLF skills! He and his friend, Spooks, won a competition in the States that made them eligible to enter a golf competition in Spain! Now, if that isn’t impressive, I don’t know what is! Bottom line, is we had a great time catching up over tapas and sangria, and the boys made us gals feel very special
Being Spoiled!
By Tim and his crew at fusion restaurant, Shoko, in Barceloneta with their thoughtful generosity.
So, here I am thinking…ok, now it’s time to get back on track, do your Barcelona thing…but, NOPE, not yet…it was ONLY the beginning of our visitor escapade. We had 7 more visitors on their merry way! Just call us Hostel Dawnoline or Hotel Darbacu, but whatever we may be, I think we shove 5-star…heck, even 7-star, off the rating charts…we may have even created our very OWN constellation...CYDD (pronounced kye-ed, a.k.a. our initials, or more creatively, Create Your Desired Destiny!). Look for it next time you look up at the sky…heehee!
Anyways, there was no delay until our fabulous guests, Dinna, Veary, Janet, Samantha, Christopher, and Mis Primos (there’s the Spanish again), Bassam, and Tony arrived! Overwhelming you may think? Yeah, we had initially thought so…but they proved to be such easy-going, helpful, FUN, giving, and not to mention, FUN guests...wait, did I say FUN twice?!!?...well, I meant it!!!
Dawn and I constructed a thorough itinerary for the gang and we managed to accomplish the majority of it…I give us an ‘A’ for effort and an ‘A-‘ for execution…I suppose you could say it's difficult to get an early start to your
Tapas and Sangria!
We can do it Spanish style a nuestra casa too! Samantha, Janet, Tony, Bassam, Caroline, Chris, and Veary day with 9 people to account for! But…we still achieved a lot and I, myself, had a SPECTACULAR time...I think the crew did too! Our accomplishments:
•We made tapas at the house and drank sangria before taking the Barcelona nightlife by storm!
•We rode bikes ALL AROUND the city and visited famous sights such as La Catedral, Mare Magnum, Port Vell, Port Olimpic, Parc Ciutadella, Arc de Triumph, Sagrada Familia, Gaudi’s work on Passeig de Gracia, and Las Ramblas….IN DISGUISE! The photos will do the telling…heehee…how ELSE were we going to make sure we didn’t lose each other???
•We visited Mt. Tibidabo, taking the tram to the highest point in Barcelona.
•We also checked out Mt. Montjuic, the Olympic Stadium, and took a cable car across the city to Barceloneta.
•We enjoyed chatting over dinners (a sushi buffet included…heehee…in fact, I think WE put the US in SUSHI!).
•AND…Dawn and I were COERCED by our visiting friends to open up myspace accounts…heehee…I never thought I would do it…but it is,…dare I say,…somewhat addicting!
Needless to say, we had a TREMENDOUS time together! We were able to savor the city with our cherished friends
Barcelona By Storm
We had no choice but to! Heehee. Caroline, Bassam, Tony, Dawn, Chris, Samantha, Dinna, Janet, Veary and family, and enjoy the many graces of their company! In fact, our apartment feels vacant now…it’s as if Dawn and I sent our kids away to college and are now faced with empty nest syndrome…heehee! We love and miss you all! Thank you ALL for being SO gracious with us and coming all the way to Barcelona to give us some much needed LOVE from home!
This leads me to today! Time for us to get our act together…well, try to at least! With a few days of down time under our belts, Dawn and I have had time to recall that we are, in fact, still jobless. Dawn has an Aussie mate coming to town tomorrow, along with her PARENTS…which will be another brilliant adventure…and then we begin our JOB SEARCH...so stay tuned for the excitement to come!
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Brooke
non-member comment
HELLO!!!
Hey girls! How are you? I love your blogs. What an unbelievable experience!!! Please tell Catherine I said hello - that is fabulous that she came to visit. What an amazing experience!!!