This first week and a half has been absolutely amazing. This city is so alive and so beautiful! We've explored Las Ramblas, the main shopping area of town. It's really neat but there are alot of pickpockets so we always have to be very aware of our things. I've walked by a few Gaudi museums and La Sagrada Familia but haven't had a chance to go in them yet, but am really looking forward to it. The clubs are great, a little touristy but fun, the bars are a blast, and the men are beautiful.
(Gaudi; La Sagrada Familia; and rooftop with Gaudi to the left and La Sagrada Familia to the right)
A friend of my mom's from church, Roberto, owns a tapas restaurant in Hollywood (it's called Tinto - go if you have a chance, it's fantastic!!) and the bartender is from Barcelona and his younger brother, Cristian lives here now. So Cristian took me around the city last week to get a local perspective. He would speak to me in English and I would speak to him in Spanish so we could both practice, it's a great learning experience. And he wants to take me around the city again this week so hopefully I'll become more and more like a local.
On Saturday night I got back from Ibiza. It was the most surreal place I've ever been to. It's a tiny little island off the coast of Spain and it's beautiful! The beaches are breathtaking and the nightlife revolves around clubs and famous DJs. They close the island at the end of September so tourists can't visit anymore so it's only locals.
Thursday night we saw 2 DJs who I have wanted to see for a long time: Deadmau5 and Michael Woods both of whom were fantastic! I'd heard deadmau5 wasn't great live but he rocked it! And he threw in some dub-step (for those of you who don't know, it's a kind of techno/house music) and then he left his booth, sat cross legged on the front of the stage and mixed some song from his ipad which was really cool!! And then Michael Woods finished off the night wonderfully! We got home as the sun rose and then just laid on the beach all day and explored the island.
Friday night we saw Calvin Harris, Pete Tong and Laidback Luke. The venue was small-ish and we were able to get right next to the DJs. We got so close that Calvin Harris winked at me and then Laidback Luke smiled at me and shook my hand. I just about died :)
(TOMS in Ibiza; Ibiza at night)
But vida es buena! Real classes start this week so I guess it's back to reality - or as much reality as you can have when you're studying in Europe in 4 months. It will be nice to have a schedule and a little structure.
My senora, Conchita, is great! She lets us have our freedom but really tries to make us feel at home as she is our surrogate mother until December. She cooks us dinner every night (she's a great cook!) and leaves us things for breakfast in the morning. We only speak in Spanish to her so it forces us to become part of the culture - which is exactly what I wanted from studying here! It's only been a week and a half and I can already tell my Spanish is improving.
(Casey, Kristiana, and me at La Cascada)
That's all for now but I hope everyone is doing well and I'll keep you posted on all my Barcelona busquedas.
Besos,
Kathleen
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