Barcelona: Second Time Around

Well, where should I start? Oh, well I guess I should talk a little bit about the DELE prep class that I am taking. I signed up to take the Spanish B1 exam, and it is VERY hard. I feel like I do fine when we do comprehension, which is when we listen to audio, and the reading, but when it comes to writing and speaking with correct grammar, forget it! After my first day, I was distraught, but then I told myself that although I thought I was proficient in Spanish when I came to Spain, I honestly had nothing, and I definitely wasn't prepared for the strong Andaluz accent! But, yes, after five months I am not going to be a fluent speaker, but I have improved tremendously over these past three months (boy, does time fly by!)
Another thing that I thought I had, but really didn't, was independence. Yes, I have been told many times that I am a strong individual, but that doesn't mean that I am independent. But hey, this past Friday, I flew from Sevilla to Barcelona all by myself, without any anxiety, and I got to and from the airport all by myself. And not only that, I had a great conversation (in Spanish), going to Barcelona, with a Norwegian architect. She was shocked that I knew who Bjorn Daehlie is, but for those that are familiar with the book Sophie's World, the author, Jostein Gaarder, is her mother's ex-boyfriend. Don't know how many degrees of separation that is, but it's just like my connections to Taylor Swift and Christopher Lloyd. (Forget the return flight. I sat next to some kid who was about my age, but obviously gave me the body language that he didn't want to talk. But I did talk to some San Diego State med students, that looked like stereotypical Americans, who were quite hilarious!)

Anyways, so I left my apartment for the airport, on Friday, at 6:30 (blah!) I got to the airport a little too early, but now I know how much time I will need when I go to Valencia at the end of the month. So, with my free time I had a coffee and read El País, and also observed some incredibly studious looking priests. 

So, all went smoothly, and I met Alejandro (the son of a work colleague of my parents) and Elisa, his girlfriend, at the airport. We then went to Alejandro's apartment, to drop my stuff off, and then headed out to the Passeig de Garcia, which is where many of Arte Noveau houses, two (I think) of which were designed by Gaudi. We went to one, Casa Batlló, and it was INCREDIBLE!!!! I think that I need to go to the Sagrada Familia again, to just go inside, and not under the wrath of jet lag, but it's also a little overwhelming. Casa Batlló felt intimate, and I could easily soak everything in. What was so interesting about Casa Batlló was how Gaudi incorporated all of these natural elements into the building. For example, the ceilings looked like ripples of water, or the front of the house looked like scales, while the balconies looked as if they were carnival (not a natural element, I know.) He also, put a lot of thought into everything (obviously) and symbols of Cataluna, like the scales represent the dragon that Saint George slayed, the patron saint of Cataluna.

After we went to a restaurant called Lizarron, which is a Basque (?) chain, where you can buy little sandwiches called pinchas. I got five, at first, from the buffet line, but then waitresses came around and around with more and more. I think that this would be the best place to go after completing the Camino de Santiago, or even better, the Appalachain Trail, because you can easily eat a ton of good food at a decent price.
We walked on Calle de las Ramblas,* which was busy and crowded, but still really cool! We went to Mercado de San Jose (which is also called the Bocaderia?) It was so incredibly colorful and lively, and I learned that there was an insect shack there (last time I had an insect was at the BioDome, in Montreal, for my sixth grade field trip.) There were also tons of fruits and vegetables from abroad, like dragon fruit, which I can't even find in the US.

Marzapan

We then walked towards the water front, and went into a ship museum for a little bit, which had a replica of old Barcelona. After resting our feet for a little bit, we then went to a really cool comic book store. I didn't buy anything, since I don't know anything about comics, but I did see an interesting non-fiction comic about nomads, and I wish I had bought it, but I guess I should learn to just go with my impulses! We then walked past the Barcelona Cathedral, the first church to be constructed outside of the city walls, which was magnificent.

We then went to Alejandro's apartment to get my bag, and then went to meet his parents, Conchi and Manuel. Conchi is a work colleague of my parents, who specializes in audiovisual media for schools, and is also from Sevilla. We went out to dinner at a Japanese fusion-like restaurant, which was great because it was the first meal that I had, in Spain, where I had a whole dish to myself. The things that I miss!
Saturday we went to Barrí Gothic, where we had a Catalan lunch in a restaurant call L'Havana. It was delicious! I mean the food here in Spain really does prove how different each region is. For instance, I would never find mussels with tomatoes in Sevilla, or have cheese drizzled with honey for dessert.

After we walked around the neighborhood, which is a very hipster-like, with all of these cool second-hand stores and dred-locked skateboarders doing their thing (Barcelona is the skateboarding capitol of the world.) Later, we went to a place called El Barro, which was originally a market, but was vacant for a long period of time, until 2003, when people wanted to make it the provincial library, but discovered ruins underneath, that were related to the Catalan Revolution in 1714.

Sunday, el Día de la Madre, we had lunch at Conchi's house, which was the most healthy and delicious lunch that I have had here in Spain: tomato and avocado salads with lean hamburgers. And for dessert, Elisa, who is from a town in Valencia, brought Spanish horchata* (the first I have had here in Spain) accompanied with fartons polo, long, sweet, brioche-like pastries.
                                 
Before we went to the airport, we went to look at the beach house where my family and I will be staying this summer, in the town of Castelldefels (more like the corner.) It's so awesome because it's right by the beach and stores, opposed to when we go to Georgetown, Maine, and we always need to drive ten minutes to get to Reid State Park and thirty to Bath. It will be a different experience, but I am excited for my next visit to Barcelona this summer.

I saw some incredible things while in Barcelona, and I am so happy that I came again. Right now I think I'm done with traveling in big groups, and would much rather prefer to have a real local show me the ropes of their native terrain. I mean, this weekend I gained a totally new perspective about Spain, Cataluna, and the world! But I think the most important thing is that I was surrounded by people that were willing to speak to me and make conversation. I mean, I was speaking in Spanish almost the whole weekend, and I had a great time. This honestly hasn't happened to often during my time here in Spain, so here's an incredibly thankful shout-out to Alejandro, Elisa, Conchi, and Manuel. Thank you so much for such a great weekend! It really made a difference!




*Ramblas has two difnitions- fast water or a street where there is a big sidewalk in the middle.
*Horchata is different in Spain because it is made of chufa, or tigernuts