The Purple and Gold Came to Visit Me in Barcelona

As some of you may know, the Lakers played a preseason game against Regal FC Barcelona a week or so ago. As some of you may not know, I have had my ticket since July. The day I heard they were going to be in BCN, I went home and bought my ticket. I actually bought two because I knew that I would be able to find someone who would love to go - and I did, my friend Christina who is from LA and also studying in BCN.  I wasn't going to take any chances of not being able to go to a game which clearly fate had planned for me to attend. And thank god I did; by the time I arrived here in September, tickets were already 600 euros and a few weeks before the game were entirely sold out. I was prepared for that seeing as how Pau Gasol was born and raised in Barcelona and played for them at one point.

So not only were the 2 time reigning NBA champs going to be playing but Pau was returning home.
The day before the big game, the NBA set up a 'fan zone' in a plaza near the stadium. They had some courts set up for demos and contests and they had a table for some meet and greet. After my classes were finished, I took the metro over in hopes of seeing some of my boyfriends.

Me and the Larry O'Brien NBA Championship Trophy...that Kobe and Derek Fisher have kissed :)

To my delight, Andrew Bynum and Devin Ebanks were signing autographs. When it was my turn to go up, Andrew looked at me and said (like he's never spoken a day of Spanish in his life), "Hola!" I quickly responded with, "Hey! I'm Kathleen!" He laughed and said, "Oh heyy what's up, I'm Andrew!" (I had to stop myself from saying, "Yes, Andrew, I know haha") But anyways I told him that I was from LA and had had my ticket since July and couldn't wait to see them play. He was very excited that a local from home would be there supporting them.

(Andrew Bynum and me)

So then it was time for the hometown hero, Mr. Pau Gasol, to arrive. I know that Pau is tall but good lord the man is a giant! I was standing next to him when he high fived me and I was actually craning my neck to see his face. I guess that's why they call him our big man. He and Ricky Rubio (plays for BCN and also high-fived me) did a demo for crowd and got every hyped for the game the following day. It was really fun to watch not only because I was a few feet away from them but seeing the people of Catalonia respond so welcoming to Pau was really great. 

(Pau right before he high fived me); (Pau and Ricky)

So finally it was game day. I donned my Kobe Sunday whites jersey, lent my Eddie Jones jersey to my friend Christina, and we were off! No one at school could believe we were actually going to the game - green with envy doesn't even begin to describe it. The game itself was amazing. Although the Lakers lost by 4, it was a great show of talent, skill, and passion. 

(Christina and me at the game)

The next day people who dislike the Lakers and knew I had gone to the game tried to rub it in my face. The only thing I could say to them was, "I honestly don't care that we lost. Yea, it would have been great to win but even just being in the stadium and being a part of that game was the greatest thing I could have asked for." Not only is that 100% true, but it shut people up pretty quickly haha.

But I know that for the rest of my life I will remember that time when the Lakers and Kathleen Harper happened to be in the same foreign country at the same time and I managed to go see. If that's not a true fan with dedication, I don't know what is :)

Montserrat

If you ever have the opportunity to come to Barcelona, you MUST visit Montserrat.  It is a mountain chain just outside of BCN and it is truly amazing. It is mostly famous for the Benedictine abbey that is located on the mountain side. It is called Santa Maria de Montserrat which houses the Virgin of Montserrat sanctuary.  Many people believe this is where the Holy Grail in Arthurian myth is located.

 (Kristin, Ally, Honor, and me with the monastery); (Me at the top of the mountain with the caynon)

Also, just the sheer immenseness of the mountain had us in awe. It really makes you think about how much natural beauty there is in the world.

Follow the Lederhosen

Oktoberfest. How can I put into words my experience at this wonderful festival?  Well I guess I'll begin with the fact that I am sitting here, alive, writing about it...so there's one thing, right?

But let's back up a little bit and start at the beginning. I arrived in Munich last Friday afternoon and was meeting 3 of my friends who are studying in London, France, and Sweden at the hotel. It was quite the exciting reunion in itself...and adding the upcoming festivities, people in the lobby might have thought we were a bit crazy.  We regrouped and headed to the fairgrounds. Since it was the afternoon, we couldn't find a table inside any of the tents but we joined some lovely German ladies at their table outside of the Paulaner tent. We learned some very important words from them: Prost - cheers, hendle - chicken, and beer - beer. We spent the afternoon there and explored the grounds a bit, taking in the scene and preparing ourselves for the full day on Saturday.

 (Lucy, Cynthia, Andrew and myself at the Paulaner tent)

In order to get a table inside the tents (you have to be sitting at a table in order to get served) we woke up at 6am on Saturday so we could get to the tents by 7 to stand in line. There were probably about 70 Santa Clara kids who were all at Oktoberfest last weekend and everyone was planning on spending the day in the Hofbrau tent - the most international and lively tent at Oktoberfest.  They let us into the tent around 8:20 with pretzels (bigger than your face) and first beers ( in a stein that is as big and weighs as much as a small baby) at 9 and first hendles (half of a chicken...yes half of a full chicken) at 10.  The German's don't mess around with their traditions haha. 

(I guess they serve beer at Oktoberfest...who knew?)

Anyways we separated from the Santa Clara group which I was happy about because most of the fun of Oktoberfest is meeting people from all around the world. We ended up sitting with some great German, Irish and Austrialian people.  By chance, the Aussies are coming to Barcelona tonight for a week and so I´m going to show them around the city and two of the Irishmen went to Clongowe´s Wood College - a boarding school my dad´s cousin is a Jesuit at and my brother attended for a semester; such a small world! Anyways we walked through the tent as the day went on, I ran into a few people from home and high school - once again, such a small world. But we were showered and in bed by 11 on Saturday night - the early bird catches the beer, I mean worm, right? haha

(TOMS at Oktoberfest)

(Me with some lovely Germans in lederhosen)

Sunday started the same as Saturday, early to the tents to spend the day in Spaten - one of the most traditional tents at Oktoberfest. This means that we were just a few of the only people who were not in lederhosen or German dresses...which was great! We enjoyed a few hours in there and then proceeded to the ferris wheel and then the beautiful city of Munich.  Unfortunately my camera died so I don´t have any pictures from Sunday but we were able to see some great historical sites of the city - it is definitely a place I would want to go back to and see more of. But I do have this...

 (Welcome to Oktoberfest)

All in all, the weekend was a huge success. Reunited with friends, met some really great people, saw some pretty places, and drank some delicious beer. I´m not sure if I have it in me to do Oktoberfest: Round 2 next year but I am so glad I was able to go and those will be memories I will cherish.