Me Encanta Barcelona!

Its been just one week since my arrival in Barcelona and yet I feel like I've been here for much longer. I've already done so much and my knowledge of the city grows exponentially everyday that I am here. For now, school consists of just one class (spanish) at 12:25 and it is much more of an introduction to Barcelona and Spanish culture than a grammar class at this point, and thus I don't quite yet feel like I'm at school. This Monday regular classes start up, however, and I'll be reminded that I am not just on vacation.

The beauty of Barcelona impresses me every day and the warm sun and 60 degree temperatures help as well. Even in the first few days I was here during the cold snap I kept reminding myself how much warmer it is than Michigan. Today the temperature at midday got to about 60 and I was thrilled to be able to take off my coat, but I noticed I was the only person I saw with just a t-shirt on. Even at 60 the people in Barcelona were fully zipped up, many with scarves wrapped around their necks to boot.

One of the first things we did in Spanish class was a scavenger hunt together. Not only was it a great way to meet everyone in my class (who all happen to be very cool people) but it was also allowed us to explore and get to know the city a bit more. The heart of Barcelona is the square or plaza de Catalunya and most of my exploration as well as this scavenger hunt has been focused around this lively, colorful area. One of the things I love about this part of Barcelona is the old style city streets and alleys. Though they can be a bit unnerving at night (and thus we tend to avoid them), during the day these small alley ways are amazing to explore, filled with small cafes, cervecerias (bars), and dessert shops among other things. In this area and much of Barcelona, everything is focused around plazas and because of this the streets aren't organized like they are in New York. There are main streets that clearly travel certain ways but the small streets branch off from these almost like veins or roots going in all directions.

There is so much to explore in plaza catalunya and since the IES center is located there I have walked around quite a bit after class (the warm weather promotes this as well). Las Ramblas is the main strip of this area and is an incredible sight to see you during the day and night. During the day it is a bustling area full of markets, small stands, artists, street performers, and pedestrians. The street performers are not really performers but rather just photo ops as they consist of people dressed in elaborate costumes which draws people to take their photo (which you are obliged to tip them for). These two (below) sit on their bikes for hours, only moving when they hear the clink of a coin in their bucket. They really look like statues when they don't move.

Just off las ramblas is la boquería, an incredible fresh food market. Fresh fruits, vegetables, cuts of meat (you can find some pretty gross stuff haha), seafood, and more fill the market daily. I have gone several times and each time I have to buy the 1 euro fruit smoothie (if you go at the end of the day they will sell you 2, sometimes even 3, for the same one euro). It is made strictly from the market fruits and are 100% natural fresh squeezed juices and the taste proves it. I seem to have an unquenchable thirst for them. I snagged a pretty nice picture of the smoothies that also shows the early morning sun creeping in to this open market (other boquería pictures follow:

My favorite night thus far has to be my first game night. Barcelona football (soccer) is life here and I am extremely happy to become a subscriber to that lifestyle. In the states it is hard to be a big soccer fan but here there are so many outlets for the passion that it is almost forced upon you. These are a people who are so soccer crazy that they sell tickets to the games at local ATMs! Recently I bought my first ticket and I am excited to say that I will be seeing Barcelona play Sevilla this Saturday at the famous Camp Nou stadium (which, of course, I will write about for this blog). But as I was saying, my favorite night involved first dinner (tapas; small, almost samples, of several different dishes) with some friends followed by watching the Barcelona-Tenarife (a team from the Canary Islands I believe) game at a local Irish Pub. Although it was an Irish pub (the bartenders actually were from Ireland) it mostly consisted of locals and we were, to my knowledge, the only Americans there.

One local approached us and said he overheard us speaking English, asking us where we were from, what we were doing in Barcelona, etc. He spoke English quite well and when I said I was from New Jersey he noted he had just been in New Jersey-- Asbury Park to be exact. Of all the places to be in the U.S. in January he had just been in Asbury Park? Turns out (and I guessed correctly) that he was a Bruce Springsteen fanatic and had gone to see his idols hometown. Though he spoke English, he had several friends with him who did not and I began conversing with them in Spanish. Thankfully they put up with it and I had a great time finally getting to really practice my Spanish, leaving the Pub on a high.

There is so much more I could talk about: the metro, the food, how much I hate the euro, etc., but I have to stop typing so I can keep on living! There is so much to do, so much to enjoy and I have only just skimmed the surface. So here are a few more photos to do the talking. ¡Hasta luego!