Week One

It has been officially one week since I arrived in Barcelona. I already have so many stories. I've made friends- Americans, Chileans, Argentineans, Spaniards and Italians. My first day in Spain was interesting to say the least. We were picked up at the airport and brought to our apartment. Upon arrival I had tears in my eyes. I couldn't believe the beauty. It was everything I had imagined and more. The beautiful marbled floors and tiles- just the attention to detail old Spanish architects would put into their work. I couldn't believe that this was the place I was going to be living for the next four months of my life.

I will keep this post short and sweet. There is so much to tell but I'd rather not go into the boring details. Upon arriving Mary and I had to buy bed linens. We ended up getting lost on the metro and walking out on the street on accident. We got over trying to take the metro and took a cab to El Corte Ingles- a Spanish department store where only one employee spoke English. Little did we know Europeans measure their bed sizes by cm. We knew our beds were full so we had to point to display beds to figure out the correct size. This was definitely my initial 'culture shock.'

Our first orientation and my first taste of Catalan food was Thursday. We grabbed a quick lunch on Passeig de Gracia before orientation. I had my first bocadillo- a small Spanish sandwich and an ensalada. It was interesting to say the least.

Friday we went on a city bus tour with an official tour guide. This was one of my favorite activities so far. We began the tour at Arc De Triomf.

From the arc we went to La Sagrada Familia (the Holy family) a large Roman Catholic church built by the infamous Antoni Gaudi. Building began in 1882 with Gaudi becoming involved in 1883 and halted in 1926 when Gaudi died- only a quarter of the project was finished at this time. The project is said to be finished by 2026.

From La Sagrada Familia (which I can see from my balcony) we went to Montjuic (mountain of the Jews). Montjuic is the Jewish cemetery and home of Barcelona's 1992 Olympics. The mountain has the most beautiful view of the entire city.

Friday night after the city tour we went to the Barcelona Pipa Club- a speakeasy pipe smoker's club which frequented people like Salvador Dali. This has been my favorite bar yet.

Saturday night we went out for a Spanish specialty- paella. Restaurant 7 Portes was rumored to have the best paella in the city. It was super yummy and we even got to sit at the same table Salvador Dali would sit! From there we had our first sangria at Paddy's Lane- a bar just down the street.

Sunday we roamed the Gothic Quarter which is the centre of the old city in Barcelona. Most of the buildings date back to the medieval times. It is it's own world. I want to definitely go back there soon to take more photos.

Monday was the first day of escuela. I am taking photojournalism, international marketing and business, beginning spanish and architecture and painting in Barcelona. I am slowly but surely getting into the groove of things. I know where my schools are (there are three) and I finally understand how to use the metro system. I am looking forward to a good semester and months of traveling and exploring. Until next time...