Becky in Barcelona

Paul in March

2011-04-01T00:31:00.004+02:00

So... Paul went skiing halfway through March, and he ended up falling and breaking his arm. He was out of school for 2 weeks, and I helped out and got him out of the house for a few days.

His arm is in a soft cast because his humerus is broken.. the upper part. And to put it in a hard cast would mean casting it all around his back, and they just dont do that anymore. But he's pretty find in a soft cast.. I never see him complain. He didn't even cry when he broke it.. just kept skiing and occasionally pointing to his arm and "ee-ing".

Day 1: Monday 28th

I had Paul from 10am-2pm, and that was EXTRA early for me. He was in a good mood though and we took the bus down to the beach for a walk. We made a pitstop at Toni's to take Cuca for a walk... and it was so cute.

Paul's walked Heidi's dog, Maggie, before.. but Maggie is so big and she just pulls Paul around. Cuca is small so it was a lot different... Paul would stop to touch a motorbike, Cuca would stop to smell something... it made me think that Paul could have a dog!

We made our way to the beach and it was so beautiful out and we enjoyed the sun and sand and had a little rest to watch the waves.

But poor Paul can't go swimming for 2 months while his arm heals...

Day 2: Tuesday 29th

Today I had Paul from 2pm-6pm, and since Toni had a soccer game at 5 we made our way over there. Paul has practically no attension span.. so I didn't know how he would do. But he was so cute and laughed a lot and watched the game... in his own way.

Day 3: Thursday 31st

Today was hilarious. I had Paul from 10am-2pm again.. and we went down to Plaça Catalunya and I TRIED to walk down La Rambla but Paul had his own ideas... he dragged me a different way and on towards the Cathedral. We had a cheese sandwich outside at 11... and then he practically ran into the church.

I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it for myself... but we were in there for an hour. AN HOUR. He would find a bench... sit for a while... tap on it... and then get up and walk around and explore something else... and just when I thought it was time to go... he would find a different bench and sit down. I couldn't get him to leave. And he was so good... he had random outburts and I would tell him to be quiet or we had to leave, and he kept pointing to the bench because he wanted to stay. I tried to get him to leave by walking out to see the geese...

But after he saw them (aka paid them no attention) he went right back and found a spot on a different bench. I was so bored... I stared at every detail of the stained glass and the organ... but an hour in the Cathedral is enough for anyone. We saw so many tour groups come in and out... and he kept wanting to sit close to them. Maybe he was listening...

Finally after over 50 minutes he got the giggles and the... the "shouts". He was the opposite of quiet and I kept warning him and threatened to leave and even got up and tried to walk out... telling him that we've in a church and people are praying and we have to be quiet! But he just yelled louder and pointed to the bench. I asked him if he wanted to see Toni... and he said "TuhTuh" and pointed to the bench.... Sorry buddy, Toni wasn't coming to sit with us.

I didn't know how I was going to get him out... so I put on my really excited voice and told him Toni was waiting for us at his school (which was half true) and he finally got up and I directed him to the door so he didn't run to another bench.

Oh Paul.... some days he really surprises me.

Random March

2011-03-28T23:24:00.007+02:00

March was full of a lot of fun little experiences....

On the 19th Toni and I went for a hike (kinda) and up to the huge tower thing by Tibidabo to see the view. So nicee....

Later that night we were in the Born district looking for a gift for his dad because it was father's day, and his dad's saint day. We stumbled upon a foc thing.... i don't really know what it's called. But it's really fun to watch...

FOC means FIRE... and it's so funny to hear people say it

This video is right at the beginning of the (for lack of a better word) performance. It's not so exciting with the fire-crackers/sparklers, but you can hear the drums really well...

Then the people, who are dressed like devils, basically run around and dance with these long sticks that have sparklers on the end... they spin around really fast and it creates really nice visuals...

The BEST part of the performance was when one of the firework things fell off the poll.... we saw it race across the street, hit the wall we were sitting at, and then get stuck right under our feet. We were sitting on a bench that was slanted funny, so when Toni picked his feet up too quick, he fell backwards into the crowd and onto his back... poor thing... but a great laugh.

On Wednesday the 23rd it was MY Saint Day :D Toni took me out to dinner at La Mamma and we had some really good pizza and an amazing sangria that was orange and made from cava instead of wine.... such a nice night out... he's such a good boyfriend :)

And on Friday the 26th I found a new BAGEL place!!!! It was soooo good! And Toni and Tiago finally got to try their first bagel.... for a long time Toni thought it was a donut... bagels are really hard to explain to people who don't know what they are. The virgins loved them.

The last exciting thing from March was that a friend of Jacqueline's from Boston came here for a long weekend with family friends and I showed them around! Jen and Justin were here to celebrate Justin's mom's birthday, and on Thursday I took them around La Rambla, BoDeB, Santa Maria, Cathedral and some more... we walked 5 miles. Dying.

They were staying in an AMAZING flat called Casa Serra. It was incredible... Toni & I were invited to the party on Friday night (25th) and we had a lot of fun with the kids and the family. Here's a little glimpse of the apartment:

And on their last night in Barcelona we went to have dinner and drinks with them and we bumbed into EL GAT!

It was to be around some Americans, and Toni & I are going to visit them in Boston this summer!

So that is the end of March.... and April is already looking so busy!

Calçotada

2011-03-28T22:52:00.004+02:00

Finally a Calçotada!

This is the time of year for the traditional Catalan bbqs.... calçotadas.

I went with Toni's family to a nice restaurant in the mountains for my 1st calçotada experience..

The 1st round is the calçots. They're like long huge onions... andI hate onions. I was really scared to try them...

First you take off the outer charred layer of black, then you dip it into the red sauce thats a mix of red peppers, nuts, garlic and some other stuff... and then you eat. Delicious. Toni probably ate 20 while I ate about 8. And it practically filled me up.

Your hands get really dirty so you have to wash them after haha

The next round was the meat...

Steaks, pork, sausage, ribs... all kinds of mysteries meats that I had to try! But it was all really good. Joan Ignasi (Toni's brother - aka BRU) is like an animal with food... he ate so much, and never touched the fork.

After the huge meal we all walked around so we didnt explode on the ride home. Toni's mom drank like half a bottle of wine... and I don't remember what we were talking about, but he told them that I don't want to be part of their family... and in her tipsy state she got upset and kept asking me why... I had to punch Toni for that one. & later on in the walk Agnes was talking about how full she was their mom said it was because she was pregnant... and that she better be careful because twins run on both sides, and she was a twin herself. I told her that my brother and sister are twins.......... now she wants me to have tonis twins so she can take care of them hahahah

But it was a nice little walk after a really good meal.

St Patricks Day

2011-03-28T22:15:00.003+02:00

As we all know in the states, St Patricks Day is March 17th and is one of the biggest drinking nights of the year. What they know in Spain - is nothing. This was all the Spanish people's 1st St Patties... so thank goodness it landed on a Thursday so we could actually enjoy it.

I spent all the morning shopping for green shirts for me and Toni. What I ended up with was a turqoisey-green mix that practically matched... looked good and green in the dark... and blue in all the pictures.

At least his socks were green.

We went to Ryan's Irish Pub in the gothic district to meet up with friends of Toni's brother. We had some 1€ beer and .50€ green shots... and to my happy surprise - they had green beer!!!!!! I really didnt think there would be any in Barcelona... lucky us. And Toni had his 1st Irish Car Bomb and almost threw it back up. But he got a hat for drinking Guiness and he was happy.

Thursday night was a VERY busy night for us... we left Ryan's and went to the Chinese bar/restaurant that everyone from Toni's uni goes to to get drunk. And that we did. I taught the bartenders how to make lemon drop shots, and the brain hemmorage shot, and we had a nice time with those.

After that, Toni, Emma, Andreea & I took the bus down to Port Olympic to meet up with Toni's friends from high school who were having their uni party.... In Spain the universities make parties for different things, and this party was for completing half of the degree.

It was pretty posh and a lot of fun, and everyone loved the cool hats.

Busy busy late night.... and a St Patties Day to remember!

Carnival!

2011-03-28T20:13:00.004+02:00

So... before LENT there is Carnival... a week of crazy parties to get all your sinning out before your give things up for 40 days. It's the same thing as what happens in Brazil, and as Mardi Gras.

The biggest celebration around Barcelona is in Sitges... a 40 minute train ride south. And it was insane.

Sunday night (6th) I went with my favorite gay men, Edwin, Kym, and Andres.

They were half naked, and the life of the party haha... we hung out around the beach and watched the parade. We had like 5 liters of sangria for 15€ and it was so strong and so good... We mingled with the people around us and met some really NYPD guys... They handcuffed me and beat Edwin with their stick.. and it created a wonderful friendship haha

Since that Sunday night, we have partied with the cops... wait.. names.. Craig on the left from England, and Cedric on the right from France. We hung around them until we all got lost (and we did get lost...)

The next major night was Tuesday... and this time Toni came. So Carnival is the Halloween of Europe -- except it's meant to be funny, not scary. So we were very funny.

We hung out with the boy crew for a while before finding some Americans at a bar... and we had a nice view of the main street in Sitges

You would never think this was a Tuesday night. It was madness..... we hung out til maybe 430ish and then took the long drive back to Barcelona.

There was, of course, a police checkpoint for the highway... and Toni had to blow to prove his sobriety.... He blew JUST the right amount... and the police said if this was last year, he would have been in trouble...

INTERESTING FACT ABOUT SPAIN!

The longer you have your drivers license, the more alcohol you're allowed to have in your blood while you drive.... every few years the number changes for you, so you can drink more and drive more..... thoughts?

My 1st Carnival experience, and hopefully not my last! Next year - Canaries!

Lady Gaga

2011-03-03T01:40:00.006+01:00

After reading Matthew's story and laughing about it all day...

As I was eating lunch this random heterosexual frat bro came up to me and said, "Yo dude, that looks like super healthy! Are you like a health freak? Or are you getting a head start on summer?"

My response? "Actually I saw the new Lady Gaga video and was inspired so I googled her meal plan and tried to duplicate it."

He gave me a look that I interpreted as 'WOW That is the gayest thing I have ever heard in my life.' He then said, "That's cool" and walked away.

...I decided to watch new Born this Way video.

My 1st reaction.... WOW. I hated it... but I watched this little girl Maria Aragon sing it because she has over 17 million hits, and I liked it more...

Then I really wanted to see the lyrics....

So I watched this: Born This Way with Lyrics and I stopped at 2:28 and thought about it...

She already mentioned GOD in the song... and she's talking about "Capital H-I-M"..

this can be taken as HIM or Him... Him = God... but what is HIM? & she says:

"A different lover is not a sin; Believe capital H-I-M."

GOD would not say that a different lover is not a sin....

GOD wants us to have only 1 lover.... so H-I-M isn't God....

And I googled that.... and found this: H-I-M Discussion

H-I-M = His Infernal Majesty = Satan

Of course it does..... Satan WOULD tell you to have different lovers......not God.

I'm not trying to get all religious... I'm just stating the facts......

I DO think the song has a positive message though.... but the whole HIM thing.. weird.

Manresa

2011-02-28T14:43:00.004+01:00

Happy Monday! Last day of February... bring on March!

During my free-time (aka when I'm bored) I check out the Barcelona group on CouchSurfing to see what's going on.... people are getting together to go to museums, have movie night, hiking, running... all kinds of things.

I found one post about people going to this thing called Fira de l'Aixada... I looked it up... and decided I wanted to go too! It's a medieval market in a town about 40 minutes outside of Barcelona. I invited Alexia (Paul's sister) because I know she loves medieval things, and she was more than excited to come with me and Toni.

We got up early on Saturday morning and were in the town Manresa around 11am. After a sausage sandwich for breakfast.. I was ready to go.

The whole city center was decorated to look medieval... there were 7 different squares to visit with different shows and activities going on all day.

There were so many booths to look at, and we saw them all. Alexia got her name written in a medieval calligraphy and it came out really nice.... and right afte that, it was time for the King and Queen to arrive!

There were towns people and nobles walking around, drunks and gypsies... there was even a town retard on a leash... and they gave him to Alexia haha... everyone loved Alexia all day. The people who participated in this fair were really great and were always in character.

Of course I loved the human castle... because I had only seen it on TV. It's a typical Catalan... activity? Sport? Hobby? I don't know what it is... but people compete and work harddd and the castles can be really huge. There's always little kids at the top so it is really dangerous... but really cool to watch.

We also went inside an old medieval... place. Toni and Alexia said it used to be the street of the town... and then it got covered up and kind of lost, now it's being restored and turned into something... I dunno... I don't speak Catalan and Toni doesn't pay attention.

The best thing about the festival for me was that Alexia was in heaven! She always said she wishes she could live in medieval times and see what it was like.. and this was pretty close! We both felt like we weren't even in Spain... or at least not in the 21st century... it was so well done... it smelled like medieval times (I guess)... It was really nice to spend the day with her :)

We took a break from the market and went to a chuch right down the road...

In 1512 Ignasi of Loyola visited Manresa after visiting Montserrat. He lived there for almost a year, and while he was there he spent time in a cave and wrote a book about religious practice... he carved some crosses in the cave........ He created the Jesuit demonination and later he became a saint. So... this cave has become a shrine, and you can still see the crosses that he carved 500 years ago.

Toni went to the school called Saint Ignasi... so he knew all about it; his school used to go spend the night in the hotel and have religious retreats and stuff...

It was a nice little break before heading back to the market... Toni was exhausted by this time (4pm) so we hung out a little more and bought some goodies - cheese and cake. Everything we bought during the day started with the letter C... Corn, Candy apple, Cheese, Cake... so good.

By the time we reached Barcelona we were all exhausted... it was a long day and lots of fun.

2-23

2011-02-24T00:16:00.006+01:00

Wellll my show is taking way too long to load so I decided to make a post. It's the last week of February and I'm ready for March... But let me recap the last month.

In the beginning of the month it was the Chinese New Year, so Toni & I went to look around.

It was actually a lot cooler than we expected and we felt like we spent time in Little China.

Valentine's Day was on a Monday this year, so we had a party the Saturday before. I made a bunch of heart-shaped cookies with different [naughty] pictures on them and some words, loving and also naughty. I had a huge sangria mix with cava, strawberry juice, and some rum... and we were ready to party.

It was a total cock-fest. There were way too many boys and not enough girls, and although I was feeling bad about it, no one seemed to care.

Jhuvi, Denys, Isabel, Me, Tom, Kym

ALSO! New Americans came... so I made some new friends for the semester. And the party was quite successful... after the 1st round of sangria-mix I made some insane mixture that got everyone wasted... it had red wine, white wine, orange juice, vodka... Lord knows what. And we all drank it out of this typical Catalan contraption that is really fun and really messy... if you don't know what you're doing it gets all over you. We all know from experience.

We were all wasted... Toni & I didn't even go out and I woke up with my clothes on... One boy fell asleep on a bench in the middle of no where and got pickpocketed, 1 guy ended up at the police station after getting in a fight, 2 people hooked up that we never expected, and one car got broken into and the people stole 3 boys jackets... so basically... we're glad we passed out early.

This past weekend our friend Tiago had 2 friend's in town from Portugal. We had a nice Portuguese dinner and played some drinking games that got us all way too full of sangria. We walked to some Chinese bar where I got to meet all of Toni's friends from his major - geography. So that was nice to finally meet the people he talks about and that I see in pictures.

Portuguese boys & Emma

And after a bunch of us went to Nick Havanna's for a while to dance. Lots and lots of fun... but a little too much Spanish music for me... everyone gets so excited and I have no idea what's going on haha... at least I had the Portuguese boys there who were also clueless.

Pinky, Me, Tiago, Toni

So it's been a good month... we have some fun plans this weekend.... so STAY TUNED!

Montserrat

2011-02-02T19:49:00.007+01:00

Hellooo February!

Yesterday, after waking up around 1PM, Toni & I decided to spend a few hours at Montserrat before I had to babysit. His mom, who has been there many times, suggested otherwise...... going at 9AM. So this morning I woke up at 730 and left at 8 to go spend the morning at Montserrat.

Montserrat is a mountain about 35 minutes outside of Barcelona, and I've wanted to go since this summer. It's been a sacred area since the 12th century when the Black Madonna was found there... it's a statue of the Virgen Mary holding baby Jesus, and they have black faces. She's the patron saint of Barcelona and very important to the Catalans.

On top of the mountain is a monastery where a bunch of monks live and pray for the world. There's also different religious points throughout the mountain that you can walk to, and a handful of hiking trails to spend the day on. (I sound like such a tour guide)

After months of pestering Toni... we finally made it there.

Beautiful blue day with no clouds in the sky... and freezing cold temperatures. I didn't expect it to be so cold... because I didn't use my brain to think about how this is a mountain. There was snow in some places.....

Of course, being fat people, we were starving and spent a small fortune on a small breakfast. I got the traditional cheese that can only be bought in this area... I forget what it's called... but it's like cottage cheese I guess. I've never had cottage cheese. But I added honey to it, and the tasteless blobs of cheese became sweet and delicious and Toni reminisced about his childhood.

It almost looks like eggs and cheese in this picture... but it's not :P I even bought some cheese for tonight and tomorrow! And some honey to go with it :)

We started our freezing day by getting into the sun... Now.. Toni hardly ever curses (in English)... but today he was throwing out the F-bomb like it was candy at a parade... I kept reminding him (through my punches) that we were at a SACRED mountain... but he kept forgetting.

We headed to the church but we couldn't go in unless we wanted to hear the church services.. and since it was over an hour long in a different language I passed. We walked all around and he explained all the religious meanings of everything... he acts like he doesn't know a lot about these kind of things.. but he's a religious and Spanish history genious compared to me.

We stuck some coins in a bin and grabbed a red candle before heading over to the walk with a million candles all lit for personal, important reasons.

Toni read the prayers to me and we finally picked our candle's final resting place. Unfortunatly, I burned the sides of the red plastic and our candle looked quite black... but our ugly, deformed candle was still perfect for our prayers (that his mom made sure we remembered to say).

We still had some time to spare before checking out the church, so we went on quick walk that I can never say right so I know I won't type it right... but it's the walk that goes through the 12 stages of Jesus's death and resurrection. It was too quick - and next time we will go on a LONG walk, but it had a nice view of the monastery.

When it was finally time to go inside the church... we were greeted by the scent of incense and a surprisingly small group of people. I've read that when it's busy you have to wait in line for everything, and we had basically no lines. But it was beautiful. Stained glass, incense holders every 2 feet, it seemed magical.

We went through the small rooms with a breeze that I'm sure have had long lines twisting through them, walked under the Arc of Angels, up the Stairway of Saints, and went right to her....

THE BLACK MADONNNAAA!!!

In all her splendid glory. I read that she was found in that exact place and the monks weren't able to move here so they built the santuary around her... I don't know about that... but she really had a lot of decorations around her. And her ball (that represents the universe) is meant to be touched or kissed... but I didn't believe Toni so I didn't do it... but it's true.

After walking through the backways of the church, we reentered and got our seats for the boys choir.

This choir is the oldest boy's choir in Europe... having been around since the 13th Century, and it's become one of the most famous and renound choirs in Europe. I did some research on them, and the ages range from 10-14 and the boys live on the mountain during this time. I swear when they started singing I almost cried... it was so light and singular and so beautiful.. made me miss being in choir!

It was a wonderful morning... we left by 2 and were back in Barcelona for lunch and work. When it gets warmer I want to spend more time there and explore more of the mysteries of Montserrat.

Laberinth

2011-01-31T20:21:00.005+01:00

Toni is back!!!! YAY! & we didn't waste anytime to go on adventuressss

On Sunday (30th) we went to el Parc del Laberint, which I have wanted to explore for a while.

It wasn't too cold... and it wasn't too crowded, so it was just about perfect.

The parc was so nice... there were statues and gardens and dirty ponds with fish... It must be so nice when it has flowers and it's not just green. But it was a nice escape from the city.

Even though it's still inside Barcelona, it's on the edge of the city and it's also on the edge of the mountain, so compared to Parc Ciutadella, it's very foresty, and it's not on flat ground... there's stairs and hills and a little waterfall.

The actual laberinth was in the center of the park, and it wasn't that big... but it did keep us lost for a while. And since it had been raining the day before there were big mud puddles that we had to maneuver around and jump across. But we made it to the center in 8 minutes.

Getting out was harder... we thought there were other exits.. but we had to go back out the way we entered and it took 13 minutes to get out haha... we were basically alone, except for about 6 screaming, running teenage boys.... seems like a good place to get your energy and play

It was a really nice day in the parc and I recommend it to everyone! I even ran into some Americans that I knew!

Later that night we met up with another couple and went for a walk to Buenas Migas in the raval and had some tea and cookies...

It was strawberry mango tea and it was soooo so good.

We spent the rest of the night eating pizza, patatas bravas, and watching the Espanyol game outside of Barcelona at Rodrigo's house. Espanyol lost.... and in our depression we played the games on xbox that you move your body... I beat Toni in boxing and he was mad at me the rest of the night :)

End of January

2011-01-29T01:27:00.007+01:00

Well, January is almost over.... it's been slow... I haven't had much to do.. but I've had some great visitors :D

Toni and I signed up for CouchSurfing (check out our profile HERE) and we got people wanting to come stay with us right away! (because we're awesome...)

Christiaan and Etana were here in the beginning of the month. She's from New Hampshire and he's from Cali and they both study at HOFSTRA, and since my sister goes there... I figured they were safe to have for our first 'surfers'. They're doing a year abroad in Amsterdam (lucky) and spent the holidays travelling. They fit right in with everyone and I had a good time showing them around.

I took them around La Boqueria and all throughout the gothic area, and a freshly-shaved, Aladdin look-alike by the name of Andres joined us :)

We found this really cute cider bar where you pour your own cider a special way.... it didn't taste very good (to me)... but it was still fun.

They were here for 3 Kings Day and we all went down the street to watch the parade where the kings arrive into the city and all the kids get to see that they're here and it makes them go to bed extra early (how come we dont have a parade for Santa?)

The parade was really crowded and I was really annoyed at first because people had brought ladders and were sitting on top of trucks and garbage bins.... and my camera didnt work for the first 15 minutes, so you can imagine what kind of mood I was in.. but in the end it was nice :)

3 Kings Day is on the 6th of January and Toni and I had to be at his house extra early... everyone leaves a shoe out overnight and you get a present in your shoe :) We all unwrapped presents (even me) and I got a wonderful trip to Paris or the Canary Islands from Toni, and a fondue set that I wanted :D After... I wasn't prepared for the food. We ate soooo much.... and then we had to go to his Uncle's house... and have more food. We almost died.

This is the special cake for 3 Kings Day... inside there's a bean and a king... whoever finds the king, wears the crown... and whoever finds the bean has to pay for the cake. Guess who found the bean...........

And the day after is the best.... SALES! Matthew and I had a crazy shopping day and Toni had to save us via motorbike because our bags were too heavy and our feet (ok my feet) were too tired. Matthew reluctantly and nervously took his FIRST motorbike ride...

On the 9th Toni got HIS 3 Kings present... tickets to see the futbol team Espanyol play :D

It was a lot a lot of fun and we won 4-0

If you've never heard of Espanyol it's because they're the 'other' team in Barcelona.... they're like the Mets to the Yankees... they suck and theyre living in the shadow of the worlds greatest... but theyre slowly improving :)

After that Toni went back to England for exams and Matthew went back to LA... both on the 11th... what a TERRIBLE day!!!!!!! Life was pretty boring after that except for 2 more couchsurfers....

Naomi came from Amsterdam for a few days and she was great... she radiated kindness and joy and Edwin and I adored her. And we're both dating a Spanish man, who I got to meet breifly during Bo D B sandwiches... She helped celebrate Edwin's 21st (coughcough) birthday and we got drunk off chupitos the last night :)

Tisho came from Bulgaria and he is a master world traveller. He lived in Iceland for 6 years and now is living back home.... he is incredibly smart and we had some very interesting conversations while visiting Parc Guell and eating Italian buffet... and Bo D B's.

Actually... Tisho and I did a lot of eating now that I think about it :)

Now it's the end of the month and Toni comes home tomorrow... so a lot more adventures are waiting in my future

December RECAP

2011-01-04T16:23:00.007+01:00

Ok this is rediculous!!! When i got back from London, of course my laptop didn't work and I haven't blogged at ALL....

QUICK RECAP!!

Had a great time in London with the Onbargis, Alexia came and I met their cousins that I've never met before but heard so much about. Toni joined us Friday night when I took the kids around while the parents went to their grownup wedding... and we crashed the wedding with Chloe and her cousin :)

Heidi left on the 17th for England-France so I've been off. I had a huge party in my flat on the 18th because all the Americans left on the 22nd and Erik moved out on the 20th... Toni was supposed to fly in but of course his flight out of London got cancelled because of the snow... but the party had to go on.

I made gingerbread men and cupcakes and eggnog with some American girls and Toni's sister... they turned out so cute. & the party was amazing.. so many people... but I was too depressed to enjoy it and I cleaned all night haha.

Angela's friend Andres arrived the night of the party and she was a good tour guide until she had to work... so since I didn't have anything else to do I took Andres around. He says I should do it for a living... I should think about it.

Matthew and Jacqueline moved in with us on the 20th and were supposed to leave the 22nd for Dublin but they didn't get on their flight because Ryanair was going to charge them 180€ for their luggage being overweight... and since they missed that flight they missed their flight to London. So we kept them here and we spent the day in Sitges.

I had some nice dinner parties with some old friends and some new; great food and great conversation...

Toni finally came the 23rd right at midnight and in time to tell me Happy Birthday.

AND MY BIRTHDAY!

Toni and I had a really nice lunch with Paul and Alexia at their house and Paul cracked us up the whole time trying to steal chocolate and eat all the cheese.

Toni bought me the dress I wanted and we had a nice party at my house and exchanged Secret Santa gifts!

And of course went out for chupitos, because it's my favorite :)

For Christmas we had a huge dinner with Toni's family and we were sooo full.. it was like a marathon. And they stuck candles on their cake to celebrate my birthday :)

The Barcelona World Race started on the 31st so on the 30th we went and checked out all the boats (15) and got all the free thingst they pass out, and on the 31st we went to see the start of the race.

We had another nice, small party on New Years, but before that we had ANOTHER huge dinner at Toni's and at midnight we had to eat 12 grapes at every dong of the clock.... it gives you good luck for the year :)

Ohh... and Matthew and Jacqueline still hadn't left yet... Jacqueline had 2 cancelled flights on the 26th and 28th... and then she missed her flight on the 2nd... she FINALLY left on the 3rd haha... you tell people they can stay for 2 days and they end up staying for 2 weeks!!! haha but we had a lot of fun with her and Matthew...

Aaaaaaand Matthew's still here and he's being a diva and making me go shopping with him... so I'll have to finish later :)

LONDON Weekend

2010-11-23T17:52:00.004+01:00

........Saturday morning we had to wake up around 9:30 to finish packing and catch the 11am bus to Girona to fly off to London. I got home from the club around 5am... and Lindsay arrived at some unknown time. When the alarm went off at 9:30 I asked if she finished packing... and since she said yes we went back to sleep for 15 more mintues. Then... when the alarm went off... she asked for more sleep. I said NO WAY WE HAVE TO LEAVE IN 10 MINUTES! And thats when I discovered that she in fact had NOT finished packing....Still drunk from the night before (I should have filmed this) Lindsay quickly shoved everything into her new suitcase and layered on 3 jackets (I had on 2) and we made our way to the metro station.

We just made our bus with about 5 minutes to spare and she knocked out for the hour after reliving the night through the rediculous pictures I took.

Our flight to London was terrible. Then we had to take a van to the center of London... then the metros were SO messed up and packed that there was no way we were fitting on with Lindsay's 3 bags and my 1. We eventually called a cab but they didn't accept credit cards and we had to scramble around to find an ATM... 17 pounds, and 8 hours later (from when we left my apartment) we were in the hotel room with the squeakiest floors in the world.

THEN I had to find Toni...

The station his bus took him to as huge... trains, buses, metros, shopping, food... he said meet him at the subway... which I thought meant metro but really meant the food place.... I said I was at Burger King... and then the police informed me that there were 2 BKs.... It took about 20 mintues to find eachother but we finally did.

Worst Day EVER! But we were in London.....

We went and saw Harry Potter 7!!! So excitinggg.... and of course when we got out of the movie the metro was done running for the night (at midnight on a Saturday!?!?!) and we had to figure out the bus and it took about 45 minutes to get home... exhausting.

Toni & I read a magazine and planned the next day in what appeared to be the living room of the hotel (actually, it was a Swiss Cottage) while drinking beer and eating Spanish nuts.

Sunday was the big touring day! We saw (almost) everything important in London..

Big Ben

Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace

Brittish Breakfast

London Eye

Tower Bridge

and more... very touristy...very coooold... but very fun.

We were exhausted and spent some time at home... and of course when we went out for dinner (at 10pm) everything was closed except for an American place that was full of Italians and Spanish tourists who eat late.

On Monday Lindsay's only option to get to the airport was a 6:40am shuttle... so saad to see her go! But it gave Toni & I the chance to go to a museum.

We spent hours at the National Gallery... we saw paintings by da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Monet, Renoir, Turner... and so many more. I loved seeing paintings that I studied in class.. very exciting.

Exhausted and hungry we headed over to St. Paul's Cathedral and had pizza before exploring the inside... of course you have to pay to see the most beautiful parts of the cathedral... but it was nice to see everything else.

And of course we had to have tea in London before catching the bus back to Southampton.

Lindsay's Last Week

2010-11-23T17:30:00.004+01:00

.I'm sitting in Toni's chilly living room in Southampton trying to pass the time while he's in class... and I have to update! SO MUCH HAPPENED!!!

Let me think. Wait.. let me check fbook pictures. Easier. OMG it's been over a week... geeezzzz

Well it was Lindsay's last week in Barcelona so we did all the things on her list.... here's the highlights:

On Tuesday (the 16th) we went and had the BEST patatas bravas with Matt at Bar Tomas.

It's a place he had heard about and Toni verified it's greatness... he used to go for lunch when he was in high school... and in deed there were about 20 kids from his school there eating. And the bravas WERE amazing.

That night we went and had 3.5L of Sangria at L'ovella Negra (The Black Sheep) with Joan...

and after 1 liter we were all drunk and calling this "the big mistake".. so we filled 3 water bottles full and kept it for the next night.

Thursday night we went out to the Dow Jones bar... but Joan mistook it for the Spanish version called La Bolsa... and funny enough, all the Americans ended up there as well.

The prices of the drinks are displayed on a screen and they go up and down throughout the night depending on what's popular.

And right next door is Sutton (Joan's favorite spot) and spent the night with him and all the Americans... and the winner of the Spanish version of American Idol was performing and it was really weird....

On Friday we had the best pizza everrr at La Bella Napoli.

We finished in about 10 minutes flat...

That night (Friday) was Lindsay's last night and we pregamed at Pippermint...

95 Euros for 13 liters of goodnes... it was pretty crazy... but a lot of fun to share with everyone.

We went out to a place called MIOH... a bar with a dance floor near the American guy's place (and conveniently a few blocks from our place too)... there were 11 of us at least so we had a lot of fun... and Lindsay had NO SLEEP that night................ (to be continued)

11-15

2010-11-15T21:17:00.008+01:00

Holaaa... I'm feeling a little feverish :/ But let's talk about the weekend!

On Friday Linz & I went to bed at 9:30... woke up at midnight to get ready to go out... and ended up going back to sleep.

We spent Saturday with Heidi & went for a nice walk around the Gothic parts of town.

And we had a busy night bar hopping... we started off at 11 in El Bosc De Les Fades which is a museum/bar that is really cool to be in... if you click the link you can go through a "book" that has pictures of the bar.

Then we quickly got dressed at home and walked up Aribau to Cyrano... the bar where you pour your own drinks :)

Next we went to a bar up the road where we met up with some Spanish friends... hung out until 3 and then went to Costa Breve for the night....

Lindsay had 4 different rum&cokes... 6E, 4E, 3,50E, and 10E... so different!

We had to leave at 5am, though, to catch the bus to Heidi's because her mom had to leave for work at 6. We passed out nicely on the couch.

On Sunday Heidi went to her mom's video shoot around 2 so we went to Montjuic with Matt (from LA). We sat on a blanket in Palau Sant Jordi and had a nice Catalan baguette with PB&J :D

It was a gorgeous day for a picnic and Matt & Lindsay talked all about LA.

We decided to get some coffee and got a quick snack at the little shacks that I always see... they cook up sweet potatoes and they smell sooo good... and WOW... they tasted even better... even though they look like crap.

We had to be back at Heidi's around 8... and after we got home at 1am Lindsay kept me up until 4...

Todayyyyy we got up and did some laundry (such clean girls) before going to my FAVORITE tapas restaurant that Toni brought me to... Maitea. So good... and not so expensive.

Then we traveled down to the gothic area again and went to my favorite church Santa Maria Del Mar...

And THEN we conveniently found Bo D B... a sandwich place that was on Lindsay's list of things to do. And it was amaaazing. Her friend, Brian, studied abroad here and gave her a long list... of course he sent us to all the places Americans go to. Out of the 10 people eating, 6 were Americans.

We walked out so full (after only eating half of our sandwiches) that we had to try extremely hard to not puke on our walk home.

And theeeeen we conveniently found PAPABUBBLE! The candy shop where they make the candy by hand in front of you... another place on her list (from me this time). We had some samples... and some fresh warm candy that was still soft. So good.

Now we're home... I'm exhausted after 6 hours of sleep at 4 hours of walking around...

AND! They changed the locks downstairs to the front door because it was half broken so tomorrow I have to go buy a new key :/

I better not be sick all week!!! LONDON ON SATURDAY!

11-12

2010-11-12T19:59:00.007+01:00

Fridayyy! The end of the week.. except we still have to babysit Saturday & Sunday :( No days off for us this week.

Sooo... On Wednesday we went to the FC Barcelona gameee!!!!

We went with a bunch of Americans & Joan, it was about 15 of us.

They played AD Cuenta... which is a crap team... so we didn't get to see all the best players :(

BUT! They DID put Messi in in the 2nd half!!!!!! & he scored :D

The stadium wasn't packed... but it was still a fun game. We won 5-1!

And we celebrated with Barca shots at Espit Chupito!

Thursday & Friday (today) Linz & I went on the bus tour... East Rout, then West Rout. We basically saw EVERYTHING there is to see in Barcelona.

On Thursday we saw La Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell...

We babysat after our big adventures we babysat and then we went down to the Port Olympic and went into the.... ICE BAR!!!!!!!

It was freezing... so we only stayed for a little bit before heading home.

Friday was a gorgeous sunny day and we hopped on the tour bus again after getting Lin a Spanish cell phone.

Went all around Montjuic and around Placa Espana and spent some time at the mall before heading to Heidi's for the evening. Hannah Montana & cookies... exhaustedddd... siesta then going out!

Time for a loooong weekend!

11-9

2010-11-10T12:19:00.005+01:00

Monday! Linz & I had a nice day of shopping planned....

She starts off every morning with a croissant and cafe con leche.

We went to soo many stores but only bought things at Bershka and Stradivarius. Long sleeve shirts, scarves... Linz got a nice jacket. Essentials.

We had a nice walk down La Rambla and through some back streets (that look more like alleys) and made our way to Can Paixano. Brian recommended it to us... everyone orders the rose cava (pink champagne) and a sandwich... you stand up and eat and throw your napkins on the floor.

We were so overwhelmed at first that we almost left.. but the bartender/waiter/server spoke un poco english and helped us get a jamon y queso sandwich... cured ham and cheese, warmed to perfection. And we had a bottle of the rose cava that we could NOT finish. It was all really good.

After lunch we walked over to Parc de la Ciutadella... the largest park in Barcelona and definitely the most beautiful.

We walked around there for a little while before heading off for a siesta before watching Heidi.

After babysitting we invited Joan Ignasi over for mojitos downstairs.... 3x10Euros... very nice.

After we sucked down the strawberry mojito deliciousness we decided to venture off to Bar Marsella, a place I found in my tour guide book this summer and forced Toni to go to.

It's been around since 1820 and all the famous artists that have come through Barcelona have spent their time there... Gaudi, Hemingway, Picasso.... So of course we had to go experience the rich cultural history. And they have Absinthe.

It's so disgusting... you mix it with sugar and water to make it less potent and easier to drink... but I don't know how people just sip on it. We took it down in shots and chased it with OJ.

It's still... so... disgusting. But the 3 of us had a good time admiring the old, dusty bottles and the tiled floors and the chandeliers that appear to have never been cleaned. It was a journey just to get there... in the RAVAL... but it was fun!

11-7 (Lindsay)

2010-11-07T23:22:00.005+01:00

And theeeeeeeeeeen... LINDSAY ARRIVED ON WEDNESDAY! At an early 6:45am... NOT fun meeting her at the airport (haha jkjk)

We had a great Spanish breakfast and spent the morning catching up and taking a nap!

I showed her around La Rambla before babysitting for the night.

Thursday we went to la playa! THE NUDEY BEACH! So funnnyyyyyyyyy... it was warm and sunny and just a little bit windy

And we took the red thing in the air to Montjuic and found our way to the castle... after taking some other tramvia thing in the air.. but we had beautiful views and it was so worth it.

And THEN... later that night... we found the best bar ever.

Espit Chupito. There's close to 400 shots to choose from... And we had 7 of them.

^Harry Potter^

Boy Scout

Pop Rocks

Big Papa

Lorenzo

Asaco

Cuenta Verde

Pretty much amazing... most of them have like... a little show that goes along with them. and they taste amaing.

Friday I made dinner for us and Juan and Roberto... pasta carbonara. It was my first time and they all liked it! YAY ME! After we went out to Espit Chupito again and had 8 more...

Willy Wonka

Buscando a Nimo

Bob Marley

Cucaracha

Altocha

Merengue

Pastel

Luna

So this will be come a normal routine... On Friday night we went out with Joan and his friends to Port Olympic and bar hopped all night... fun times.

Saturday we spent in Sitges with Joan... had lunch, which included the sangria that changed our lives...

and walked in and out of the small streets before admiring the sunset by the church. I love Sitges.

Then we went out with the Americans to a "cave bar"...

they had live jazz and salsa and it really looked like a cave so it was a good time... but we headed home early because we had a big Sunday.

Because today we had to watch Paul from 9am-9pm... so 4 hours of sleep later, Lindsay got her 1st impressions of Paul.... when we walked inside he was laying in the middle of a pile of pictures. Typical. & she watched me struggle to get his socks and shoes on.... he hates winter clothes

We had to watch Heidi too so we picked her up and headed down to La Rambla and got a peek at the POPE who was in town... just a small little glimpse of him in his Pope-mobile...

but we got a BIG glimpse of the protesters...

We had a GREAT lunch and spent the rest of the day at Tibidabo... it was short, but a lot of fun for everyone.

11-7 (Martin)

2010-11-07T22:39:00.005+01:00

Ok... it's been sooo busy!!!! I NEED TO UPDATE!!!!

Where do I begin... last weekend (October 30th) I had a WONDERFUL AMAZING visitor by the name of MARTINOO!!!

Margot & Henry decided to come to Barcelona while Martin was on break and we had a great weekend.

Saturday I met them at La Rambla and we walked all around and had tapas for dinner.

I showed them my apartment and they left for the night and I had a nice American Halloween party!

Americans, Spaniards, and some other internationals, all dressed up... lots of fun.

Sunday I met Martin & Co at La Sagrada Familia and we spent the day hopping on and off the Tour Bus.

We had a great walk around Parc Guell and I had a dinner date with Martin and spent the night with him in their amazing hotel.

Monday I took Martin to TIBIDABO and he had the beest time! Well, the haunted hotel scared the crao out of him and we had to exit prematurly so he wouldn't have a heart attack...

But the rest of the day was amazing... cotton candy, rollar coasters, and lots of smiles!

Tuesday was so sad... they left for Paris and we spent the morning at Park Ciutadella and at the beach and Martin was so depressed about leaving the sunny Barcelona weather.

I think they all were... so I'm sure they'll be back soon! But 1st I have to go to Paris :D

10-26

2010-10-26T21:19:00.006+02:00

:( Yo soy enfermo... I'm sure I'm not saying it the right way.. but I'm sick.

I woke up yesterday morning in England all stuffed up and headachy... but at least it came on my last day! All that cold weather.. no me gusta.

Friday Toni & I toured all around the city... we walked about 6 miles. We saw Bargate, which was build around 1180. It was literally the GATE into the city.

We followed the old walls around and saw St. Michaels church, which is the oldest building in the city... built in 1080. We saw the Tudor House... which, being American, I had no idea who the Tudors were... but they were a dynasty... royalty... there's even a TV show about them. If you want to know more, click here: :D I bought a pin of the Tudor rose :)

We also walked around an old church that was bombed in WW2 and no longer has walls... and we ended the trip at the marina and saw the docks and some famous Titanic places.. like the tavern Leo (Jack) played cards at for his pass on board...

Saturday we woke up bright and early and took the ferry to the Isle of Wight. Then we biked 13 miles to 2 different cities:

We started in Cowes and went to Newport (in a light rain).

In Newport we saw the Carisbrooke Castle, only after going uphill in rain and hail. We almost didn't go inside.. but I'm so glad we did because it was amazing! Probably my favorite part of the island (that we saw). Parts of it were 750 years old... lots and lots of history.

From Newport we biked to Sandown and had beautiful blue skies. And we found a beautiful beach. We had lunch/dinner at a nice restaurant and returned the bikes before wandering down to the shore.

This picture is so funny because he was attacking me but of course he stopped when the picture took.

It was so cold by the end of our trip and we were glad to leave the bikes in Sandown and take 3 different buses to get back to the ferry. Ok... maybe he wasn't glad... but I was glad we didn't have to bike 13 more miles!

Saturday night we went to a nearby pub called The Talking Heads and shared a pint of cider... we tried an ale but almost died... ciders are so gooood.

Sunday was spent relaxing.. we had a BBQ outside with Toni's roommate Petros, who's Greek and very funny. Then Toni played in his 1st water polo game... they lost. And I cooked mac & cheese for dinner, which was loved... and.... WE CARVED A PUMPKIN!

This is the best part.. because ALL October I've been nagging Toni about carving a pumpkin, which he has never done.... I didn't know how I was going to find one in Barcelona since they don't celebrate Halloween here... but we found them in Southampton!!!!!

I did most of the carving... Toni tried to do an eye... but you see... his knife slipped and now our Jack (well Toni calls him Wilson) has a scar from his eye to his mouth. New name: Scarface. Wilson Jack Scarface.

It was a great trip... but too cold! I'm glad to be back in Barcelona with the warmer sunny weather! But I'll miss my Toni Ros until I see him next month!

10-21

2010-10-21T16:39:00.007+02:00

Wow... it's been a while. So let me do a quick recap...

I've been living in my flat for 3 weeks... and I love it. Everyone is great and so much fun...

Toni's been gone in England so we skype all the time.

I miss him... and it's really hard not having him around to help me with everything.. but I realized that he is my crutch and I use him instead of doing things on my own... so everything from grocery shopping to openeing a bank account has been stressful, but I did it alone and I'm proud of myself. :D And I still spend time with his family... even though he's not here ;)

I went to a bar with his brother one night and you got to pour your own drinks!!!! And it wasn't expensive.. and I walked there from my house.. AND they gave free popcorn... haha

My girl Meredith from ECU came in the beginning of the month with 2 of her friends. They're studying in Santander for a semester and I got to play tour guide for a day!

We had a party at my house that night and we went to a disco called BIKINI... it was pretty fun. Toni's brother, Joan Ignasi, came and we all had fun dancing on stage with a fat old guy who knew every dance move in history.

My flat seems to have parties every weekend... but I'm not complaining! It's so much fun.. there's people from all over the world... Poland, Sweden, Ukraine, South Korea, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Brazil, and some Spaniards mixed in here and there.

I've been meeting so many differnet people and having a lot of fun. I love my flat and my flatmates!

Last weekend we had a huuuge party... I invited all my Spanish friends and the Americans I met on the bus in early September. There were sooo many people.. like 60 people... that's a lot for a flat! But it was the BEST time... the Americans and my Spanish friends went to club called Rivellinos for the night and had an amazing time.

Today, at this very moment... I'm sitting in the library at Southampton University in the South of England... and it's freezing outside. It's freezing inside too...

Toni came home (to BCN) Monday to visit and do some things at his Uni, and yesterday (Wednesday) we flew together here.

Last night we went and saw his waterpolo club team play against some other team... and after we all went out. On campus. There's a bar on campus. And a club on campus... in the student center. And it wasn't lame....

Here people are crazy. There's many social clubs... and they all have these interesting theme parties where they all wear costumes and go out together. I'm pissed I didn't bring my camera last night because it was sooo weird for me... especially since it was on a Wednesday.

Here's a list of the different costumes I saw:

-Na'vi (from Avatar)... and I don't mean blue clothes... I'm talking about full body paint and ears and very detailed makeup and hair and everything....

-Pirates... who were very loud and drunk... and we were walking and a girl yelled PIRATES! And it was so hard not to yell AARRGGHHH!

-Cowboys & Indians

-Nerds

-PJs

-Gangters... all wearing NY paraphanalia and chains and fake guns

And it was a FOAM party... so everyone was soaking wet and covered in foam... we stayed out of it... it was 0 degrees Celcius when we left the house around 9... I did NOT want to walk home at 1am soaking wet...

And then there were the waterpolo guys... They all wore their speedos as underwear (which I think is gross)... and when they got drunk enough they all stripped down and ran through the foam and basically showed off their waterpolo bodies.

The waterpolo players all hang out together.. when they go out they wear their red social shirts and the boys hand out with the girls and it's pretty cool... I met some nice people.

AHH!! And they had beer pong tables set up and Toni was so amazed because he has only seen it on American Pie. I showed him how to play and he wasn't bad haha

So we had a fun night... I slept all day while Toni went to class and now I'm here... in the library. Tonight we will go shopping and I'm making my famous lemon chicken (which he is terrified of... not because of the lemon... or the chicken... but because I'm cooking)... and we are going to a bar to see one of his friends perform with their band.

But for now I'm stuck in the library for another hour........

CHEERS! MISS YOU ALL!

10-4

2010-10-04T14:21:00.008+02:00

Monday. I've been so busy that I haven't been able to blog!

Actually I've been so UNbusy that I haven't had anything to blog about....

BUT THE BIG NEWSSS! I moved into my new room on Friday!!! YAY!

Here's some pics:

The view outside

The Living Room

The Kitchen

My Room

I still don't have bed sheets or a blanket and it's not properly finished yet... but this is it

I'm not used to living in a city... or having a window by a street... so it's pretty noisy and sometimes it take a little extra exhaustion to fall asleep... but i like my window and my city life.

Friday night I babysat Heidi... we had pizza & ice cream and watched a movie.

Saturday I was taking a nap and woke up to hear drums... so I went outside to explore and it was a little parade with the drummers and FIRE PEOPLE! Or "fire devils" as i like to call them.

Then I went outtt! Juan and his friend Javier picked me up and we hung out at this girls apartment for a while before heading to Sala... which is on Muntaner and in walking distance from my place.Juan is just too too tall... he told me this story about how when he was younger he would ask his dad to do things... and he would always tell him "you're too big". Like - Dad, I want to ride a horse. You're too big. Dad, I want a bike. You're too big. OK SO GET ME A BIG BIKE!

And on Sunday I took Paul to the pool... he wasn't feeling to well though.. he slept on the bus ride there.

There was a really cool airplane show and I heard all the noise before I figured out what it was... jets doing tricks and setting off flares... they would come close to the CNB and it would be sooo loud!

Hmm my video's not working right now so I'll upload them later.

We hung out at home and he fell asleep... woke up to the promise of PIZZA, we all ate and then Leila, Alexia and Paul all came to see my apartment. They liked it :D

TO DO LIST

2010-09-30T13:22:00.005+02:00

*NIE Number

*Bank Account

*Spanish Cell Phone

*Bicing Pass?

9-30

2010-09-30T12:57:00.006+02:00

Last day of September... I left for Barcelona a month ago... and it's been a good 1st month!

I found an apartment (I move in tomorrow)

This is the view of my street (the A is my door!)... so exciting

I found a job (I started on Monday)

She's 12 and British but born in Spain, her name is Heidi and she hates homework haha

I ran a 10K (ran... walked... same thing)

We actually finished in 1:21... 10 minutes faster than we thought!

Toni left for England... saaad... but it's ok. We have BBM & Skype and he'll be back Oct 18th for a few days... then I'll be there for the week of Thanksgiving... then he'll be home for 3 weeks for Christmas.. then he's home! So quick... I might need more of a holiday from him :P

I sent him a package on Tuesdayyy... spent a few hours walking around and picking out all these nice things for him... hmm... maybe I shouldn't write this up here... but I don't think he ever reads this... well I just won't put details... but I'm SO excited for him to get it! I should make him Skype with me while he opens it so I can see his face... it's going to be like Christmas.

I packed all my clothes today and I've been making a list of things I need for my apartment and I'm getting VERY frustrated.... I lived in a dorm for 4 years and an apartment for 2 years... I have EVERYTHING I could need for an apartment... and now I have NOTHING!

I'm pissed I have to re-buy HANGERS, SHAMPOO, PILLOWS, A GYM BAG... stupid stuff like that that I have PLENTY of at home... just not in Spain. I'm ready to fly home and ship everything I need over here.... Maybe I'll make Lindsay bring some of my stuff when she comes :D

9-26

2010-09-26T12:58:00.006+02:00

Ahh the weekend is almost over! Time for a recap...

Friday I hung out with Toni and his family. It was La Merce... and since his mom's name is Merce... it was her Saint's day, which means she celebrates and gets presents (of course I looked up MY saint's day... it's March 23rd). We went out to eat at El Barkito which is literally around the corner from them... we had octopus, shrimp, squid, mussels... and I had swordfish. It was a lot of fun and the food was amazing. His parents were very sweet to include me.

Later that evening Toni & I went to Sitges to walk around and relax... we had some frozen yogurt at the place I go to every time I go to Sitges (wow 3 whole times).. so good. Walked in and out of shops and laughed at all the crazy little things...

Then I spotted a tea shop... and I just love tea shops... I love smelling the different kinds and looking at all the tea contraptions.... we bought some delicious peach & vanilla tea that Toni picked out... but if I could read spanish I could have picked it out too.

We hung out by the church and enjoyed the sea wind (that his mom warned us about) before heading back to Barcelona.

Saturday was spent PACKING Toni's bag for his study abroad and running around and doing his errands... when all was done we went to La Rambla and caught a little of the celebrations of La Merce.... the drum corps (which is just a bunch of weird people).

But it was really cool... we saw maybe 20 different groups stroll by all playing different beats.

THEN IT WAS TIME FOR MAGO!

Mago de Oz is a rock & roll/hippie/renaissance band that isn't extremely popular but has a very loyal fan base. Alexia is in love (maybe obsessed) with them and she had been dyyying to go to a concert... so I joined her and her 2 friends for the night.

It was pretty intense. I recognized a few songs but the rest I didn't know... I think the best part was watching Lexi jump up and down and be completely happy in the presence of this band. She even touched the lead singer at the end...

After the concert I went to our favorite bar with Toni, Juan, Alex, Joan Ignasi, Mireia & Carlos.. a nice little goodbye drink for Toni.

But we didn't stay long since we had to get up at 730 to get ready to head to the airport.

I tagged along with him and his parents all the way to the Girona airport (45 mins away) to see Toni off to England. He will be spending 4 months at the University of Southampton. I'll miss him! But I'm excited to have a reason to go to England!