Day 20 -- June 10

After class, Jane and I were walking home (hungry, as usual) and decided to stop in a little café on the way to the metro and order patatas bravas. Patatas bravas is a very popular dish in Spain; they are basically potatoes (sometimes fried, sometimes not) with a spicy/mayo sauce over them. I actually really liked them! Afterwards, I took a siesta and then got ready to go out for dinner. Nichole, Jane, Meg and I decided to go out for tapas because I had never had them before (tapas are very small portions of food that really only feed one person). We went to Passeig de Gracia, which is a big street near Plaza Catalunya. The tapas bar we went to sat us almost immediately, and our placemats were the menus with pictures of everything on it.

We ordered two each – Spanish tortilla (potatoes and eggs), cod, steak with cheese, shrimp kabob, patatas bravas, and brie cheese, all of which came on a piece of bread. 

Spanish tortilla:

Fried cod:

Some others:

After eating those, which were relatively cheap, we figured that if we wanted to be full, we’d have to order like 10 more each so we moved on to another restaurant. We decided to split things, so we ordered a salad with melted goat cheese on top, a pizza, and pesto pasta. The meal was DELICIOUS, and we stayed and talked for a little while. After that, we met a couple of our friends in Plaza Reial where we ended up spending the rest of the night. It was such a great girls night, and it helped me to stop thinking about the negative things and start realizing what an AMAZING opportunity this is and how great this city is!

Day 19 -- June 9

Today after class, Jane and I went to the ISA office for a bit and then traveled over to George Payne for an afternoon snack.  After deciding that we obviously should order something to eat, she reminded me that they have a “2 for 1” deal every day, where you can pay one price for two items on the menu. After asking the bartender about this deal (although we really only wanted nachos), she told us that it couldn’t be two appetizers but we could have a meal and an appetizer. Now, I know all of you think I’m very intelligent so this may come as a surprise to you, but the two of us discussed this for about five minutes; all the while, I was suggesting buying the cheapest item on the menu and saying that we didn’t even need to eat it – we’d get the nachos for free and just eat those! I’ll also throw in that the nachos were 5.50 and the cheapest meal on the menu was about 8 euros. Jane finally realized what was going on and was like, “wait, why don’t we just order the nachos?” As you can imagine, we got a huge kick out of it so I thought I’d share with y’all. After dinner, Jane, Alicia, and I decided to go out to the Magical Fountain and see how it was. It definitely was not what I expected, but it was still very pretty! The fountain had lights and made all different formations, and there was opera music in the background. After that, we met our friends at a 
restaurant for about an hour and then headed home. 


Here is a video of the Magical Fountain! It wasn't super awesome, but still pretty cool to see.

Days 16 & 17 -- June 6 and 7

I think I’m going to start updating my blog two days at once, because now that school has started there are not many super exciting things to write about (not a complaint! I love doing nothing!) Yesterday (the 6^th) I woke up, went to class, and had lunch with the girls like usual, and then I walked to the ISA office with Jane. She had to figure out plans to get to her flight, because she forgot to book her flight in Barcelona and did a round trip to and from Madrid instead. After a little while, I ran out of things to do so I went down to the beach with a few other friends in ISA. We were there for about two and a half hours, but I was getting really itchy (my skin hates it here) so I left around 6:30 to come home. For dinner, we had our usual salad and the chicken fajita-type meal we had before, except this time with tortillas. It was great! The only things that could have made it better were cheese and sour cream J I may ask her if we can have a small bowl of shredded cheese with our meals (they tell us to talk to them and tell them what we want, I’m not trying to be needy). Afterwards, I had a banana and then came in the room. I finished my homework by 9 and just sat around playing for about an hour before I laid down.

                Today, I woke up and kept setting off my alarm, so I was running close to time again. It’s so hard to get up here, especially when I have to go sit in Spanish class for 5 hours! I grabbed a diet coke and a donut from Dunkin “Coffee,” as they call it here, and got to class on time, but I was still exhausted. I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but our classroom is on the 4^th floor and we have to take the steps. They seriously never get easier to do, and it doesn’t help that I basically sprint between metros because the ferrocarril and metro are so far apart in the station! Oh, which reminds me, I basically did a superman jump into the metro this morning. I was running up the stairs and CROWDS of people were coming down and I literally had to sprint through them and jump on the train as the doors were closing. It was like the movies, except for probably not as exciting. Anyways, I was basically falling asleep in class so I grabbed a coffee during our 30 minute break. After class, I ate my salad in the cafeteria with the girls, and then I went home to take a short siesta. Of course, the one day I didn’t go to the ISA office after class I had an email saying that my package was in for me!

I napped until around 5:10, when I was woken up by sirens outside of my window (it’s usually open because there is no air). I always hear loud noises and honking etc. but this time was excessive. I got up and went to the window, and there was a lady laying face down in the road, her bike by her side. I don’t know if she was hit or if it was from the rain, but she was not moving and I immediately started praying for her. It scared me, because I wasn’t sure if she was even alive. They kept checking her pulse and finally were able to turn her over and put her on a stretcher, where she moved her arm to put on her pulse. I was so glad to see her move, because I was not sure if she was going to be okay. After that, I went down to the ISA office to get my cards (thanks y’all, I love them!) and then ran by a bar to meet my friends about a surfing trip this weekend. Unfortunately, the hostel we were booking through isn’t working (a couple of people tried their credit cards and they won’t work) so we aren’t going to go. Some of them are going to try another hostel, but I’d rather save the money and do something fun in Barcelona. I came home for dinner around 8:30 and we had gazpacho (at my request J - I really like it!). She kept insisting I eat more, but I wanted to save room for dinner. However, for our main course, we had deviled eggs stuffed with seafood. I’m going to be honest, that is not my idea of a great dinner. So I had a bigger portion of salad and 2 eggs (she made a lot and I felt bad) and then came in the room for some chocolate. I just finished homework so I’m heading to bed! Miss you guys. xox

Day 15 -- June 5

This post is going to be really boring. I woke up today around noon (you all know that I like to sleep in when I can) and literally did nothing the entire day. I skyped with Maa-Maa and Paa-Paa and then with everyone at the house! It made me very happy to be able to see my dad as always, mother for the first time on skype since I left, sweet little daisy, and also Sheri, Colleen, etc. I finished up my last bit of homework, and I watched the Glee finale for the 3rd time since I rented it on Thursday. My feet were hurting and I wanted a break from hiking and walking and exploring; plus, the weather was cloudy so I thought it might rain (it never did). For dinner, Rafaela made cheese pizza for me!!! I love cheese and bread. This made me very happy. She made lots of different vegetables for Sara and gave her some turkey for her salad. Afterwards, we had bananas and then came into the room to get ready for the night. Time for me to get to sleep, I'll update next time something exciting happens! xox

Day 14 -- June 4

Today, we had an excursion in another coastal town called Sitges. We had to be at the bus stop at 10:30, we left at 10:45 and our first stop was to see how cava was made at a place called Codorniu (remember, cava is Spanish champagne) at 11:30. We watched a short film on the beginnings of Codorniu, looked a little in the museum, and then were taken to the underground cellars to learn how they used to make the cava. The underground cellars had a capacity of holding up to 100 million cava bottles, but she said that it was never at full capacity. We took a train through 1^st floor just to be able to see it all. The cellars were so huge that they had “street names” in front of the aisles because of the possibility of getting lost. After seeing all of the bottles, we were taken to a tasting room where we got to try two different types of cava: pinot noir and gran plus ultra. They were both dry wines, but gran plus ultra was the driest they sold so I definitely like the pinot noir more.

                After the cava-tasting, we drove about 30 minutes to Sitges, and almost everyone went down to the beaches. I was really hungry, but Rafaela put imitation crab meat in our salads and I am very picky about the type of seafood I’ll eat. I love crab meat, but I love it when it’s from a seafood restaurant J I appreciate her creativity though! So needless to say, after about an hour I was really hungry and decided to go to grab a hamburger at the restaurant that was on the beach (remember that I said “on the beach” not beside it, or a quick walk from it, but literally right off of the sand). The restaurant only had seating outside and a counter inside (which I assumed was for to-go orders) so I walked over in my bathing suit to order a cheeseburger. I realized I didn’t think I was supposed to be inside so I stood outside at an empty table by the door, and the waiter came over to take my order. As soon as he left, the lady beside me started saying something (I’m pretty sure she was telling me to put a shirt on) but I was so flustered by her rudeness that I couldn’t understand what she was saying. And then another lady, her friend I guess, started telling me I was rude and going on and on so I walked to the sand while my friends grabbed the burger for me. She must have told the waiter something really awful about me, because my burger was purple and looked like goat brains. Okay, so I’ve never seen goat brains, but if I had to imagine what they looked like this hamburger would be right on. I ate like 2 bites until I was too grossed out and I had to throw it away. A few friends and I went walking along the beach and came across some interesting sights, as expected on any beach in Spain.

              Around 5:30 we left for Barcelona, and when I got home my stomach had a pretty bad pain in it (I’m assuming from the goat brains). I told Rafaela that I didn’t feel well, but she told me that it wouldn’t be from the hamburger – she is a stubborn old lady, gotta love her. I only put a small portion of fish and green beans on my plate, but I had to force down the last couple of bites and then immediately had to leave the table because I thought I’d be sick. I took an hour nap and then felt a lot better, so I left to go hang out with some friends. It was a really fun day!

Day 13 -- June 3

Today I woke up to my roommate asking me if I was going to class. “Of course I’m going to class,” was what I was thinking, and then I realized there was probably a reason she was asking. So when I replied yes, she told me it was almost 8:15 which is 5 minutes before I normally take the metro. I basically sprinted to the bathroom to brush teeth, change clothes, and then ran out of the door. I am proud to say that I arrived at 8:58. We got out an hour early, so I sat in the cafeteria with my friend Caitlin, and we got most of our homework finished for the weekend. After class, I went home for a nice siesta and then dinner around 8. Rafaela made us fried chicken burgers and French fries (my kinda meal) and salad. Afterwards, Sara and I met Jane, Nichole, and Meg at the beach to just sit around and hang out, but it started raining around midnight or 12:30 so we all went back home.

Days 11 & 12 -- June 1 !!!MY BIRTHDAY!!! and 2

          I’M 21 TODAY!!! Ahhh if only I were in the US, it would feel much more real. Either way, I’m super excited J I feel so old! Today I woke up a little late, and of course the morning didn’t start out ideally. I went to wash my face and in the middle of rinsing off the soap, Rafaela came into the bathroom, said something I didn’t understand, and turned off the water. Thanks? She walked out and then turned back around to remember to tell me happy birthday and kiss me on my wet, soapy cheek. Then, while I was getting ready I dropped my favorite gold, sparkly Bare Minerals eye shadow all over the ground, so of course that made me really angry at 7:30 am. When I finally left for class, I was running late so I couldn’t eat breakfast, but I really needed to stop by the ATM outside of my apartment so I could grab a coffee during our break. The ATM was broken and wouldn’t give me any cash and I couldn’t stop anywhere else because I was late. Luckily, all of the bad luck was temporary and as soon as I got to the metro stop where I usually meet my friend Jane to walk to class, she had a chocolate chip croissant waiting for me J We went to class for the first two hours (which were as agonizing as before) and then had our 30 minute break. I was excited because after 2 days of forgetting cash, I finally had it to buy the coffee that everyone said was so good – and then my friend Alicia bought it for me! It was very sweet of her. After that, the last 2 and a half hours of class seemed like they lasted forever until FINALLY it was time to leave and start getting ready for the night.

Jane and I walked to the ISA office for a bit so that she could print something and speak to Antonio, and then we went to a bar that a friend had told me about (1 euro beers) so that I could buy my first legal beer! And yes, it was as exciting as I had expected it to be. To be completely honest, I wasn’t really excited about my birthday because of two reasons. A) I’m in Spain and the drinking age is 18, so it didn’t make much of a difference. And B) I wanted to be with my friends and family since it’s such an exciting time. The day just didn’t feel right because in America I would have been with my friends since the night before, and they would have made such a big deal out of my birthday (I know it sounds stupid, but it’s not). But once I was finally able to buy a beer (I could have bought it before but this was my first legal one) I got excited for the night! My friends Jane, Jaselle, and Amanda all went with me for a little while to see if I could find a cheap and cute dress for the night, and I ended up finding a really cheap little black dress at H&M. I wanted to be at the restaurant by 730 and was running really late, so I basically sprinted through the metros to get home. I jumped in the shower (and left the water running because I was in a hurry and Rafaela wasn’t there) and got ready in about 45 minutes to an hour, but when my friends found the Mexican restaurant (La Trajinera) around 7:55, they said it didn’t open until 8:00 so I’m glad we didn’t get there on time.

Once it opened we went in, ordered guacamole and cheese dip (which was basically a block of cream cheese), and 2 pitchers of margaritas to share between 7 people (me, Sara, Jane, Nichole, Meg, Don, and Chelsea). I got chalupas for dinner (because it was the only dish that I knew what everything was in it) and they were delicious! Our waiter didn’t speak English, so he couldn’t really explain what things were if we didn’t know the word. After dinner, we asked for the bill and he was taking forever, but we were having a good time and enjoying the company so we didn’t even notice – until we heard the happy birthday song playing on the loud speakers and the waiter coming over with a big chocolate brownie and a candle (and a cowboy hat). It was so sweet! Then, about 5 minutes later, the waiter brought the entire table free margarita shots. The meal was a bit expensive overall, but the experience was great and our waiter was so nice. After that, we went out to La Rambla (that big street I’ve talked about before) and were looking around for bars to go to. A man standing in front of a hotel heard someone say it was my birthday, while we were getting free passes to something, and he told me he wanted to buy me a drink. He was all dressed up and knew the manager of the hotel that we were passing, so my friends and I followed him into the restaurant of the hotel and up the stairs into the lounge area where he told the bartenders to give us a bottle of cava (Spanish champagne). The best part: he got us the champagne and left. I know that sounds terrible, but Spanish men tend to be a little clingy if you give them any attention at all, even looking them in the eyes. He was very nice! 5 more people joined us there, and we went and ventured out to find a bar (because we were pretty sure the drinks there were going to be really expensive). We passed a bar that we were considering going into, and as per usual there were guys outside trying to get people to go. We decided, “What the heck, we might as well.” As soon as we walked in, the bar was full of guys and the bartenders started chanting, “AMERICA! AMERICA!” It was very strange, but it was so funny. We stayed there for a while because they had specials, and a few more people met us. After the bar, we went to a discoteca (dance club) that was not too far, and stayed there for the rest of the night.

All in all, it was SUCH a great birthday and I really like my friends here! I was so worried about feeling lonely/sad on my birthday, but I underestimated my friends here J They are so great, and they made my birthday so much better than I would have ever expected it to be! Needless to say, I did not get up to go to class today which is not a problem because we can miss two full days. I went up to the school at 2:00 for a meeting with ISA, and then Jane and I got McDonalds and parted to go back to our houses. We were all pretty tired today. I put these two posts together because I literally did nothing today. I sat on my computer and did my homework all day, and that would be a pointless post by itself. For dinner tonight, we had our usual salad, spinach, zucchini, onions, and HAM (which she said was turkey despite the fact that it was pink – after one bite I thought I was going to puke). I had to completely cover it in spinach to finish the rest, and now I’m not feeling so great. It’s time to finish homework and get to sleep though. I miss you guys and can’t wait to be home to legally have a drink with you now! Xox goodnight!