So we finished up the amazing city of Prague by going up the hill to their amazing castle and gothic church which have been there for centuries. i loved prague and its quaintness and castle arcitecture but i only have a little bit of time on the computer so i will try to recap what I can for you that has happened recently...
Berlin is a very very interesting city with extremely poignant
history. we took a 4 hour walking tour of the city the other day
(mostly through east berlin) and the things this city/country has gone
through over the past century is pretty unfathomable. hearing about
the berlin wall and the division of the iron curtain is one thing, but
then seeing the city that was split down its heart by a wall with a
death zone, and seeing how the city developed differently on both
sides is truly astonishing. it is weird after going to cities with its
most important history being hundreds of years ago to going to a place
like this where the city is only 19 years old.
Berlin is also absolutely huge. the metro system is expansive,
underground overground with trains and buses and metros. it takes us a
good 45 min to get from our hostel into the city center. the
architecture here is also extremely modern, and you can tell how much
of a production economy they are just by looking around. there is also
rele cool graffiti everywhere.
We visited everything from the famous Brandenburg gate to the Pergamon museum with ancient Babylonian, Greek, Roman, and Egyptian ruins, with an ancient Babylonian gate that was buried underground for years. we visited parts of the Berlin wall that have been turned into a modern artistic, graffiti cultural mural. We have eaten good sausage and curryworst, and drank good cheap beer. the people here are so nice, and they seem to want to try and help you understand their city as best as possible.
Today we woke up early and went on this tour of the
concentration camp that was the nerve center for the holocaust (I cant remember all the names of places off the top of my head, when i get home ill tell you), and it was really interesting and depressing. The one thing about this camp was it was a production and work camp as opposed to solely a death camp, so it was different than i was expecting (huge and open areas with brickworking and machinery things along with the death places) but still sad.
Well im running out of time here so I am going to have to say goodbye, tomorrow i leave for Amsterdam so ill let you know how it is after my nine hour train ride tomorrow!
David
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Italy and now Prague
So its been a while since my last post and so much has happened but i will try to give you a quick update. We went to Florence then Rome then Venice and now I am in Prague. Florence was an awesome city, the architecture is amazing, the Duomo is unreal (and we walked all 400 steps to the top to get and amazing aerial view of the city), the David in the Accademia was one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen (it is hard to explain until you get there and realize the absolute enormity and perfectness of it), we went on a wine tasting tour in Tuscany, ate some wonderful food, haggled with street vendors, saw some unbelievable churches and just had a great time.
Rome was a big incredible city. the romans were amazing people, and the scale and grandour of everything they accomplished is breathtaking. the city is so cool in the fact that the city seems to have layer upon layer of history thrown on top of each other, the first starting over 2000 years ago. we saw all the ancient roman sights, saw all the fountains and acquaducts and cool always-flowing water fountains. then there was the vatican. i cant even explain it properly enough to justify the magnificence and scale of detail and money that must have gone in to build the entire thing. the artwork by rafael and michaelangelo is incredible, and the cathedral is enormous (the biggest in the world). we saw all of rome and walked around through other crazy stuff but those were the highlights.
after the airline lost our bags for a day coming back to barcelona, and after the airline i was taking to venice went bankrupt but didnt tell any of its customers so we got one hour of sleep on these couches in a hotel i stayed at previously and had to buy new tickets that left at 630 and after taking a 15 and 70 euro respectively cab rides for going to the wrong terminal/airport respectively we finally arrived in venice.
Venice is a cool city, with the water running through the town and there being "water atxis" which are like there metro syste, but on water, the city is unlike any in the entire world. we continously got lost in a labiryth of streets and bridges, but the uniqueness of the city (along with its combination of East meets West style) is unparralled.
So now i am in Prague, which is probably my favorite city I have visited thus far. there is a huge castle overlooking the city, cobble stoned streets, eastern european aricticture with gothic and a lot of castle looking spires. there are big squares and lots of green, the bars are pretty cool, we went to this wild one that was all made out of crazy metal stuff and there was this live reggae guys performing. there is the big charles river cutting through the middle of the town, and our hostel is right outside the big main square with an astronomical clock tower, a big castle tower thing, and it is pretty nice too.
Tommorrw we are going to go to the other side of the river and go to the big castle, and hopefuly find our way up this big hill to have an epic view of the town. oh and i want to bring home some absinthe from here, there are some crazy ones with beatles and worms in them which looks pretty wild.
So i have been having the time of my life out here, a few more days here then on to Berlin, hopefully without all the travel problems I have had previously. Hope everyone is having an awesome summer!
Rome was a big incredible city. the romans were amazing people, and the scale and grandour of everything they accomplished is breathtaking. the city is so cool in the fact that the city seems to have layer upon layer of history thrown on top of each other, the first starting over 2000 years ago. we saw all the ancient roman sights, saw all the fountains and acquaducts and cool always-flowing water fountains. then there was the vatican. i cant even explain it properly enough to justify the magnificence and scale of detail and money that must have gone in to build the entire thing. the artwork by rafael and michaelangelo is incredible, and the cathedral is enormous (the biggest in the world). we saw all of rome and walked around through other crazy stuff but those were the highlights.
after the airline lost our bags for a day coming back to barcelona, and after the airline i was taking to venice went bankrupt but didnt tell any of its customers so we got one hour of sleep on these couches in a hotel i stayed at previously and had to buy new tickets that left at 630 and after taking a 15 and 70 euro respectively cab rides for going to the wrong terminal/airport respectively we finally arrived in venice.
Venice is a cool city, with the water running through the town and there being "water atxis" which are like there metro syste, but on water, the city is unlike any in the entire world. we continously got lost in a labiryth of streets and bridges, but the uniqueness of the city (along with its combination of East meets West style) is unparralled.
So now i am in Prague, which is probably my favorite city I have visited thus far. there is a huge castle overlooking the city, cobble stoned streets, eastern european aricticture with gothic and a lot of castle looking spires. there are big squares and lots of green, the bars are pretty cool, we went to this wild one that was all made out of crazy metal stuff and there was this live reggae guys performing. there is the big charles river cutting through the middle of the town, and our hostel is right outside the big main square with an astronomical clock tower, a big castle tower thing, and it is pretty nice too.
Tommorrw we are going to go to the other side of the river and go to the big castle, and hopefuly find our way up this big hill to have an epic view of the town. oh and i want to bring home some absinthe from here, there are some crazy ones with beatles and worms in them which looks pretty wild.
So i have been having the time of my life out here, a few more days here then on to Berlin, hopefully without all the travel problems I have had previously. Hope everyone is having an awesome summer!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Short update
So after ancient castles, Roman arenas and aquaducts, fields of sunflowers, monasteries and gothic churches, amazing food and cute towns, we have finally finished up with beautiful Provence and its amazingly nice people and headed towards Nice. Nice has been an interesting little city, much bigger than any of the towns in provence, and is a cutesy little french town with tons of sidewalk cafes and tons of little shops (as well as all of your high end french designer fashion super stars like louis votton dulche and gabonna however you spell those things and others) the beach boardwalk was very pretty but there was no sand, simply rocks that heated like an oven under your butt. so it was a nice place to spend a half day but I am ready to move on. So tomorrow is an almost all day train ride to the awesome city of Florence, I cant wait to see what is in store for me there!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Meeting up with the Family
So my days in Barcelona are officially over :( I took my spanish final, had a few fiestas with my friends and then bid them goodbye. well technically barca is not completely over because I am going back for one day, but essentially over. My dad and marlys came out for a few days, took the roommates out to some awesome place to eat amazing seafood, and I took them on a tour around the city. Then my mom and John and kelly came out so I took them around barca as their official tour guide showing them some of my favorite things that I have experienced over the past month. From cool sites such as Arc de Triumf and La Sagrada Familia, to good food such as doner kabobs and this place CDLC, to entertainment, sights, and plenty of cool Gaudi. I think they got a good feel for the city and hopefully they had a good time, even if I did walk them about ten miles every day.
So we took an early train to Southern France and are currently staying at a nice hotel in Sant Reme de Provence which is South of Avignon. Intial prognosis of France is the following: the food is absolutely amazing. It comes awesomely prepared and is some of the best dishes I have had. The wine is awesome and cheap, the people are really really nice (I know right! maybe its cuz we are in small cities or something) the landscape is awesome, and its unbelievable the history that is behind this place. We went and visited the castle fortress of Lea Baux which was first built in the 12th century. The ruins still show an awesome amount of history and turmoil. We also saw a monastery first built in 98 AD and also visited ancient Roman churches and arenas. And this was only in our first real day here! Its a good thing we rented a car which allows us to get from place to place much easier. Tommorrow we are going to visit some wineries as well as one of the biggest Roman acuadeucts. There is other stuff ont the agenda, but I let the parents figure it out, it is nice not having to do all the planning for the first time in a month. oh and its also awesome not to have to really pay for anything, yeah it will only last so long but ive got to take advantage of it while its here.
In two days we are going to drive over to Niece and spend a day there and then take a train to Florence. I am extremely excited for what lays in store for me. This place is as different from Barcelona as I could possibly imagine, but it has so many awesome qualities that Barca didnt. Oh, and btw, this language is impossibly hard. But everyone here sounds so cool, their language is so beautiful, they even manage to make english sound good with their accents! The only things I know how to say are hello, good-bye, good night, good day, and the check please. Yeah it makes things a little difficult but we manage haha. well this was only a short post as Im sure a lot are going to be from here on out but hope everyone is having a good summer!
David
So we took an early train to Southern France and are currently staying at a nice hotel in Sant Reme de Provence which is South of Avignon. Intial prognosis of France is the following: the food is absolutely amazing. It comes awesomely prepared and is some of the best dishes I have had. The wine is awesome and cheap, the people are really really nice (I know right! maybe its cuz we are in small cities or something) the landscape is awesome, and its unbelievable the history that is behind this place. We went and visited the castle fortress of Lea Baux which was first built in the 12th century. The ruins still show an awesome amount of history and turmoil. We also saw a monastery first built in 98 AD and also visited ancient Roman churches and arenas. And this was only in our first real day here! Its a good thing we rented a car which allows us to get from place to place much easier. Tommorrow we are going to visit some wineries as well as one of the biggest Roman acuadeucts. There is other stuff ont the agenda, but I let the parents figure it out, it is nice not having to do all the planning for the first time in a month. oh and its also awesome not to have to really pay for anything, yeah it will only last so long but ive got to take advantage of it while its here.
In two days we are going to drive over to Niece and spend a day there and then take a train to Florence. I am extremely excited for what lays in store for me. This place is as different from Barcelona as I could possibly imagine, but it has so many awesome qualities that Barca didnt. Oh, and btw, this language is impossibly hard. But everyone here sounds so cool, their language is so beautiful, they even manage to make english sound good with their accents! The only things I know how to say are hello, good-bye, good night, good day, and the check please. Yeah it makes things a little difficult but we manage haha. well this was only a short post as Im sure a lot are going to be from here on out but hope everyone is having a good summer!
David
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Last week in Barcelona :(
So this is officially my last week in Barcelona which is kind of sad, and I cant believe how fast this month has flown by. I have done things every single day here and there is still things that I havent had the chance to do. Well to update you on the past few days...
I went to Madrid this weekend, and decided it was a cool city, but different from Barcelona and no where near as cool. It is a very big and crowded city, very modern. There were a ton of banks and financial districts, i didnt like the architecture anywhere near as much as barca, it just seemed like a really big city. One thing about it that I thought was cooler than barca was the fact that it was an extremly clean city, and also the fact that there was lots of green mixed in with the city (trees bushes parks and actually a prak with a lake in the middle that you could rent paddle boats and paddle around) We stayed in a relatively nice hotel in the city center and prob the best thing I did there was visit the Palacio Real which is the royal palace there. It was an absolutely incredible building (the inside) there were gold plated tapestries and gigantic silver chandiliers and the coolest paintings everywhere. The entire building was completely over the top decorated with wild things, gigantic carpets and every room had different themes to them. It was another place where you couldnt take pictures which was unfortunate cuz its hard to explain it but if you have ever been to hearst castle it is similar in design.
I also went into the Prado museum because it is supposedly one of the best museums in Europe or something, but I was honestly really bored. It was a bunch of paintings (mostly religous) from a long long time ago (14th to 19th century)
I also went into the photographic exhibition of Annie Leibowitz who took photos of many famous people/things (one of her popular ones was pregnant demi moore for vanity fair i believe) but it was really cool and interesting
Then I was suppossed to fly home to meet up with my dad and marlys, however I forgot my passport and they said they wouldnt allow copies. So I had to scramble around trying to find a way to get back to barca and eventually got to the train station and took a high speed train back home which took only 2.5 hours (9.5 by bus and 1.5 by plane so it was a pretty cool way to go)
Then the next day with my dad we went around the city, got a good lunch, went down to the beach, checked out a few cool sites including some old catholic churches and roman fortress (stuff ive already seen earlier) and the cool gothic quarter, then went and saw this light show at Montjuic. It is Belagio like display in the middle of one of the squares and was pretty cool.
The next day we must have walked at least 10 miles, covering the entire city from one far end to the other (using a lot of metro of course) We went up to the highest point in barcelona called Tibidabo. There is a cable car that takes you up a good portion of the mountain (which we couldnt find and ended up walking the entire thing) and then a car/tram thing that is pretty vertical jutting through the side of the mountain that takes you the rest of the way up. Up at the top there is an amusement park (i know random right?) and some bars and restaurants and this early 19th century church with a statue of Jesus looking over the city which they allow you to walk up the windy staircases and get to the base of his feet. It was an amazing 360 degree view, and I didnt realize that behind barca away from the beach are lots of green mountain/hills which are really pretty.
Then we went back to the other side of the city and got onto this gondola-like thing that was built to connect Olympic village and the new modern area to where they built the stadiums and swimming pools etc. It was another good view from the other side of barca, and went over the harbor and dropped you off right down by the beach.
Then dad and marlys took my roommates and I out to eat at this amazing restaurant right on the Marina and we got a schmorgesborg of amazing seafood. It included everything from mussels, octopus, hake and other fish I have never heard of, to my dinner platter of lobster paella, which was probably the best thing I have eaten yet in Europe. The roommates and I then went out with lots of people from our program and had a fun night.
Next on the list is my Mom, John and Kelly coming out for a visit for a few days. I have a ten min oral presentation tomorrow morning which I made a cool powerpoint for earlier today. Thursday is my final and the family coming out (which is going to really help since I am running out of money much faster than I expected out here, too bad the dollar is so weak) so it will be nice to get some good food and take them around and show them my city for a few days before Italy. I dont know how much I am going to be able to blog after my program ends, but I will try to keep up with it as best as I can. Have a good week and see you soon Mom!
David
I went to Madrid this weekend, and decided it was a cool city, but different from Barcelona and no where near as cool. It is a very big and crowded city, very modern. There were a ton of banks and financial districts, i didnt like the architecture anywhere near as much as barca, it just seemed like a really big city. One thing about it that I thought was cooler than barca was the fact that it was an extremly clean city, and also the fact that there was lots of green mixed in with the city (trees bushes parks and actually a prak with a lake in the middle that you could rent paddle boats and paddle around) We stayed in a relatively nice hotel in the city center and prob the best thing I did there was visit the Palacio Real which is the royal palace there. It was an absolutely incredible building (the inside) there were gold plated tapestries and gigantic silver chandiliers and the coolest paintings everywhere. The entire building was completely over the top decorated with wild things, gigantic carpets and every room had different themes to them. It was another place where you couldnt take pictures which was unfortunate cuz its hard to explain it but if you have ever been to hearst castle it is similar in design.
I also went into the Prado museum because it is supposedly one of the best museums in Europe or something, but I was honestly really bored. It was a bunch of paintings (mostly religous) from a long long time ago (14th to 19th century)
I also went into the photographic exhibition of Annie Leibowitz who took photos of many famous people/things (one of her popular ones was pregnant demi moore for vanity fair i believe) but it was really cool and interesting
Then I was suppossed to fly home to meet up with my dad and marlys, however I forgot my passport and they said they wouldnt allow copies. So I had to scramble around trying to find a way to get back to barca and eventually got to the train station and took a high speed train back home which took only 2.5 hours (9.5 by bus and 1.5 by plane so it was a pretty cool way to go)
Then the next day with my dad we went around the city, got a good lunch, went down to the beach, checked out a few cool sites including some old catholic churches and roman fortress (stuff ive already seen earlier) and the cool gothic quarter, then went and saw this light show at Montjuic. It is Belagio like display in the middle of one of the squares and was pretty cool.
The next day we must have walked at least 10 miles, covering the entire city from one far end to the other (using a lot of metro of course) We went up to the highest point in barcelona called Tibidabo. There is a cable car that takes you up a good portion of the mountain (which we couldnt find and ended up walking the entire thing) and then a car/tram thing that is pretty vertical jutting through the side of the mountain that takes you the rest of the way up. Up at the top there is an amusement park (i know random right?) and some bars and restaurants and this early 19th century church with a statue of Jesus looking over the city which they allow you to walk up the windy staircases and get to the base of his feet. It was an amazing 360 degree view, and I didnt realize that behind barca away from the beach are lots of green mountain/hills which are really pretty.
Then we went back to the other side of the city and got onto this gondola-like thing that was built to connect Olympic village and the new modern area to where they built the stadiums and swimming pools etc. It was another good view from the other side of barca, and went over the harbor and dropped you off right down by the beach.
Then dad and marlys took my roommates and I out to eat at this amazing restaurant right on the Marina and we got a schmorgesborg of amazing seafood. It included everything from mussels, octopus, hake and other fish I have never heard of, to my dinner platter of lobster paella, which was probably the best thing I have eaten yet in Europe. The roommates and I then went out with lots of people from our program and had a fun night.
Next on the list is my Mom, John and Kelly coming out for a visit for a few days. I have a ten min oral presentation tomorrow morning which I made a cool powerpoint for earlier today. Thursday is my final and the family coming out (which is going to really help since I am running out of money much faster than I expected out here, too bad the dollar is so weak) so it will be nice to get some good food and take them around and show them my city for a few days before Italy. I dont know how much I am going to be able to blog after my program ends, but I will try to keep up with it as best as I can. Have a good week and see you soon Mom!
David
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Relaxing week
So after my previous crazy weekend, I have the feeling that everything is going to seem pretty mellow from here forward. So far this week has been exactly that. I went to a few museums, the Museo de Maritim (which is a museum built from an old shipyard down by the harbor, and has lots of replicas and many preserved old items from Barcelona's maritim history. They were in fact the power of the sea a few centuries ago, and there was a lot of interesting information) and the FC Barcelona football museum, where they have the Champions Cup (the biggest award in club soccer, basically winning the Super Bowl here...) and got to see the 120,000 person stadium. It was absolutely massive, with all the seats packed together. I couldn't even imagine the place filled to capacity, with hundreds of thousands of screaming rambuncous fans. It is one thing I really wish I could see here.
Another day I went up the 200 meters to the top of one of the towers of La Sagrada Familia and had an excellent view of the city, albeit from a very precarious position. I also went to the Gaudi designed Parc Guell, which was originally designed to be a country club for elite Barcelonians, but after the financier died, the city commissioned it and turned it into a public park. It is a strange, almost fantasy land like park with weird houses that look like gingerbread house, cool sculptures, a leaning towers, strange caves; basically a very strange and surreal park designed by the cities most famous arcitect.
Other than that it has been a very mild, relaxing week where i seem to have done a lot of walking/exploring around districts and finding cool places to eat. Tommorrow our class is going to do an exchange thing with another spanish school where their students are learning english, and we are going to talk with them and do activiteis etc which should be really fun. After that I am going to take a train up north to nicer beaches away from the city and see how they are. This weekend I have an excursion with my school to Madrid, we are taking a 9 hour bus right (ugh!) and then get to stay in a hotel and the next day get a tour of the city. My dad and step mom are coming out this weekend as well so I am going to fly home early to show them around a bit. So, have a good weekend and ill try to post some pictures up if I can!
David
Another day I went up the 200 meters to the top of one of the towers of La Sagrada Familia and had an excellent view of the city, albeit from a very precarious position. I also went to the Gaudi designed Parc Guell, which was originally designed to be a country club for elite Barcelonians, but after the financier died, the city commissioned it and turned it into a public park. It is a strange, almost fantasy land like park with weird houses that look like gingerbread house, cool sculptures, a leaning towers, strange caves; basically a very strange and surreal park designed by the cities most famous arcitect.
Other than that it has been a very mild, relaxing week where i seem to have done a lot of walking/exploring around districts and finding cool places to eat. Tommorrow our class is going to do an exchange thing with another spanish school where their students are learning english, and we are going to talk with them and do activiteis etc which should be really fun. After that I am going to take a train up north to nicer beaches away from the city and see how they are. This weekend I have an excursion with my school to Madrid, we are taking a 9 hour bus right (ugh!) and then get to stay in a hotel and the next day get a tour of the city. My dad and step mom are coming out this weekend as well so I am going to fly home early to show them around a bit. So, have a good weekend and ill try to post some pictures up if I can!
David
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Craziest weekend of my life
So I just had the craziest experience of my entire life this past weekend. I will try to give you a quick run through but I am tired and have early class tomorrow so I will go into a little more detail in a future blog.
We saw the tour de france on thursday, I camped out in the rain for 2 hours to get a good spot on the inside corner of one of the biggest turns on the stage through barcelona that was actually walking distance from our apartment. It was pretty incredible, I was close enough to touch them as they screamed by and I actually freaked out a little bit when the pentalon came through because I held my camera out to far over the side and the first person had to swerve a little bit. But it was really cool to be that close to one of the biggest sporting events in the world.
Later that night we went to a concert put on by the biggest DJ in the world right now, DJ Tiesto (he's from Sweeden I believe) he plays this crazy electronic techno dance music and builds the crowd into a frenzy it was pretty wild. There were probably 4000 people in one of the biggest clubs in Barca but it was so packed you had a tough time moving.
Then we caught the early train to san sebastian and hung out there for basically 2 days. It is a cool little beachy town that reminds me a lot of Santa Barbara. The whole town has a really laid back vibe and everything is slow moving. The food there was awesome, I forgot off the top of my head what there famous dish is, something with an x in it oh well. I got to see my buddy from school there, hung out in a cool hostel and then caught a bus to Pamplona, adorned in the traditional white pants white shirt red belt and red bandanna around your neck.
San Fermin (running of the bulls) was the craziest 24 hrs of my life. There is a gigantic party where everyone is dressed all the same run around crowding the street hanging on balconies bar hopping and just having a blast. The popular drink there is red wine mixed with coca cola and you put it in this wine satchel and spray people in the streets with it, it was pretty wild.
After a quick nap in the park with tons of other people, I proceeded to make my way down to the street where the running of the bulls takes place. the street were absurdly crowded and very narrow, and I had no idea what to expect. we started our run right after dead mans corner and waited a little bit letting people run past in order to be able to actually run besides the bulls. Suddenly you heard thundering hooves on concrete and everyone sprinting towards us and knew that was the time to take off. soon enough 5 of the 6 bulls went sprinting by me about 4 feet to my right. we then followed them into the sold out 15000 person stadium where everyone is cheering and chanting. The last bull finally made it into the stadium (after mauling and goring 5 people, one very badly) and then they have a festivity.
They release one bull at a time (he jumps over a group of people sitting on the ground in front of the release gatte), with corked horns, and let him run around the stadium attempting to buck people. Everyone tries to run by and touch the bull (except if you grab his tail the crowd starts booing and chanting puto because it is really disrespectful to the bull) I was able to slap one of the bulls on the butt a few times, but then one of our friends got bucked pretty hard and so we jumped out of the stadium to take care of him. after a 9 hour train ride i am back home, alive, with no gorings, and ready to chill in barca after a wild weekend. talk to everyone soon.
We saw the tour de france on thursday, I camped out in the rain for 2 hours to get a good spot on the inside corner of one of the biggest turns on the stage through barcelona that was actually walking distance from our apartment. It was pretty incredible, I was close enough to touch them as they screamed by and I actually freaked out a little bit when the pentalon came through because I held my camera out to far over the side and the first person had to swerve a little bit. But it was really cool to be that close to one of the biggest sporting events in the world.
Later that night we went to a concert put on by the biggest DJ in the world right now, DJ Tiesto (he's from Sweeden I believe) he plays this crazy electronic techno dance music and builds the crowd into a frenzy it was pretty wild. There were probably 4000 people in one of the biggest clubs in Barca but it was so packed you had a tough time moving.
Then we caught the early train to san sebastian and hung out there for basically 2 days. It is a cool little beachy town that reminds me a lot of Santa Barbara. The whole town has a really laid back vibe and everything is slow moving. The food there was awesome, I forgot off the top of my head what there famous dish is, something with an x in it oh well. I got to see my buddy from school there, hung out in a cool hostel and then caught a bus to Pamplona, adorned in the traditional white pants white shirt red belt and red bandanna around your neck.
San Fermin (running of the bulls) was the craziest 24 hrs of my life. There is a gigantic party where everyone is dressed all the same run around crowding the street hanging on balconies bar hopping and just having a blast. The popular drink there is red wine mixed with coca cola and you put it in this wine satchel and spray people in the streets with it, it was pretty wild.
After a quick nap in the park with tons of other people, I proceeded to make my way down to the street where the running of the bulls takes place. the street were absurdly crowded and very narrow, and I had no idea what to expect. we started our run right after dead mans corner and waited a little bit letting people run past in order to be able to actually run besides the bulls. Suddenly you heard thundering hooves on concrete and everyone sprinting towards us and knew that was the time to take off. soon enough 5 of the 6 bulls went sprinting by me about 4 feet to my right. we then followed them into the sold out 15000 person stadium where everyone is cheering and chanting. The last bull finally made it into the stadium (after mauling and goring 5 people, one very badly) and then they have a festivity.
They release one bull at a time (he jumps over a group of people sitting on the ground in front of the release gatte), with corked horns, and let him run around the stadium attempting to buck people. Everyone tries to run by and touch the bull (except if you grab his tail the crowd starts booing and chanting puto because it is really disrespectful to the bull) I was able to slap one of the bulls on the butt a few times, but then one of our friends got bucked pretty hard and so we jumped out of the stadium to take care of him. after a 9 hour train ride i am back home, alive, with no gorings, and ready to chill in barca after a wild weekend. talk to everyone soon.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Arc del Triomf, parc de la Ciutadella, Jardins de Fontsere, Parc Zoologic, Museo de Picasso and Esglesia de Santa MAria del Mar
So as you can see from the title of this post, I have kept myself very busy the past few days. I visited the Arc del Triomf which is this gigantic arched structure in the middle of these three really beautiful parks. It is pretty amazing and was supposedly a "triumphant" accomplishment (hence the name) because the finished building it on time, something like 40 years...I will try and post a picture online of it, but if not just look it up, it is really cool. The parks around the area were tranquil and beautiful, it kind of reminded me of central park with this peacful scene of people lounging around, playing games, excersising, relaxing and talking, smack in the middle of a bustling ruidoso city. There were also a few museums but since I went on monday I was not able to go into any of them. There is also a zoo with some thousands of animals, however I think I wil pass on that one considering we have one of the best zoos in the world in san diego.
The next day I made a trip down into one of the older districts and saw the Picasso museum. A few cosas sobre lo:I dont like museums that much, so this wasnt the most exciting thing for me (the Dali museum being a great exception) I never really liked picasso that much either, i thought he was just a weird expressionis, cubist artist. But i heard it was something worthwhile to see so I went. I took away a few things from it first off, I didnt realize that Picasso was actually an amazing artist, he didnt just paint weird cubist things. The museum contained most of Picasso's earlier works, from when he was a little biy until around his 30 somethings. In this time he went through many experiemental phases where he tried many different artistic styles. He copied famous styles from his era and the ones earlier than his, mastered them and then got bored and experimented doing differet things. So it was kinda cool to see him progress through the beginning of his life and how he kind of morphed into the strange cubist style he is mostly known for. I was not allowed to take any pictures (there were actually guards in every single room) so there is not any visual evidence of what I saw there...
Then I checked out the Esglesia de Santa Maria del Mar which is a gigantic gothic catholic church in the middle of what is now a cute shopping district. The church was amazing! the walls were covered in stained class windows (some which were upwards of 50ft tall) and the ceilings were upwards of 100 feet. There were many statues and scultptures etc and the whole scene was very somber with locals there praying and buring candels saying hail mary's etc. It was very dark and I therefore was not able to take very many pictures either, but it was a really cool thing to see.
For the nightlife, we found a cool Irish pub called George Paynes, went to an "Ice Bar" where you need to put on a parka and hat (its 4 degrees celcius) and gloves and go inside this freezer where everything is made out of ice-the bar the tables the counters the glasses the seats (with fur on top of it) the ground, everything! it was really cool but you couldnt stay in there long because it just got too cold after a while. So hopefully you enjoyed the update talk to you soon!
David
The next day I made a trip down into one of the older districts and saw the Picasso museum. A few cosas sobre lo:I dont like museums that much, so this wasnt the most exciting thing for me (the Dali museum being a great exception) I never really liked picasso that much either, i thought he was just a weird expressionis, cubist artist. But i heard it was something worthwhile to see so I went. I took away a few things from it first off, I didnt realize that Picasso was actually an amazing artist, he didnt just paint weird cubist things. The museum contained most of Picasso's earlier works, from when he was a little biy until around his 30 somethings. In this time he went through many experiemental phases where he tried many different artistic styles. He copied famous styles from his era and the ones earlier than his, mastered them and then got bored and experimented doing differet things. So it was kinda cool to see him progress through the beginning of his life and how he kind of morphed into the strange cubist style he is mostly known for. I was not allowed to take any pictures (there were actually guards in every single room) so there is not any visual evidence of what I saw there...
Then I checked out the Esglesia de Santa Maria del Mar which is a gigantic gothic catholic church in the middle of what is now a cute shopping district. The church was amazing! the walls were covered in stained class windows (some which were upwards of 50ft tall) and the ceilings were upwards of 100 feet. There were many statues and scultptures etc and the whole scene was very somber with locals there praying and buring candels saying hail mary's etc. It was very dark and I therefore was not able to take very many pictures either, but it was a really cool thing to see.
For the nightlife, we found a cool Irish pub called George Paynes, went to an "Ice Bar" where you need to put on a parka and hat (its 4 degrees celcius) and gloves and go inside this freezer where everything is made out of ice-the bar the tables the counters the glasses the seats (with fur on top of it) the ground, everything! it was really cool but you couldnt stay in there long because it just got too cold after a while. So hopefully you enjoyed the update talk to you soon!
David
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Las Ramblas, Salvador Dali, las playas etc.
Wats up everyone, its been a few days since I last blogged for all of you so Ill try to give you an update.
First off, I just want to say that I am having such an awesome time here in Barcelona, so shout out to la familia who helped get me here...
Random facts, people have seen Barry Bonds LL Cool J and Chris Bosh (I have only seen Bosh) since we have been here in Barca anyway...
So the other day after school I went cruisin around La Rambla which is a giant street with street performers and lots of shops which cuts through the center of the city and runs down to the beach. I got some awesome pictures of some performers, some with wild costumes (alien, missing head, gargoyle weird things) or would stand like statues they were pretty cool. they also sold all types of animals-baby squirrels, groundhogs, chickens, baby ducks, pigeons, all types of weird things.
the month of july is also the month of las rebajas, giant sales, all over the city where the stores are trying to get rid of inventory for the year. Everything is still pretty expensive and I dont have the money to be buying much but it would be a great time to get some really nice clothes and stuff for much cheaper.
The next day we did an entire day trip to the salvador dali museum and went to this beach on the mediterreanean and right on the French border. Salvador Dali is the coolest artist I have ever seen and his works are amazing! he doesnt just draw or do paintings, he does every type of art imaginable, the museum was 5 or 6 floors of just crazy stuff, look him up. One room was an entire room that was made into a face, there were couches for eyes, a weird sculptor nose drapes for hair a bed for the mouth. it was awesome. he also liked experimenting with 3d and optical illusions, there were some works that if you close one eye they look different or there is a mirror that projects different things when you look at it from different angles. you could stare at his works for hours and see different things in them they are so intricate. i wish i could explain better but they are so hard to understand without actually seeing them...
Then we went to the beach which was so beautiful! the water is amazingly clear you can see the bottom from something like 20 ft. The water is also so salty in the mediterreanean that you can just float out in the middle with no effort...
My roommates are really cool, we are getting along great, we split up chores and shopping lists for what people needed to get for the apartment and are going to rotate them by weeks. we have a great time going out together, and it is cool starting to really get to know them ...
I am trying to figure out a trip to Pamplona to run with the bulls (and yes i am running) and maybe get to san sebastian to visit my friend who is studying abroad there
Random facts: it is incredibly hot here! it was 95 degrees today and i could not even sit on the beach for an extended period of time without having to jump in the water (which is the absolute perfect temp). There are a ton of people here in the city, however traffic does not seem bad at all, and all means of transportation seem very well organized, the infrastructure of the city must be well done (and the subways are awsome and fast and come every 4 min) taxis are cool too cuz you dont need to tip. it doesnt get dark here till about 10 and thats when people start to eat dinner.
Well have a good 4th of July talk to everyone soon!
David
First off, I just want to say that I am having such an awesome time here in Barcelona, so shout out to la familia who helped get me here...
Random facts, people have seen Barry Bonds LL Cool J and Chris Bosh (I have only seen Bosh) since we have been here in Barca anyway...
So the other day after school I went cruisin around La Rambla which is a giant street with street performers and lots of shops which cuts through the center of the city and runs down to the beach. I got some awesome pictures of some performers, some with wild costumes (alien, missing head, gargoyle weird things) or would stand like statues they were pretty cool. they also sold all types of animals-baby squirrels, groundhogs, chickens, baby ducks, pigeons, all types of weird things.
the month of july is also the month of las rebajas, giant sales, all over the city where the stores are trying to get rid of inventory for the year. Everything is still pretty expensive and I dont have the money to be buying much but it would be a great time to get some really nice clothes and stuff for much cheaper.
The next day we did an entire day trip to the salvador dali museum and went to this beach on the mediterreanean and right on the French border. Salvador Dali is the coolest artist I have ever seen and his works are amazing! he doesnt just draw or do paintings, he does every type of art imaginable, the museum was 5 or 6 floors of just crazy stuff, look him up. One room was an entire room that was made into a face, there were couches for eyes, a weird sculptor nose drapes for hair a bed for the mouth. it was awesome. he also liked experimenting with 3d and optical illusions, there were some works that if you close one eye they look different or there is a mirror that projects different things when you look at it from different angles. you could stare at his works for hours and see different things in them they are so intricate. i wish i could explain better but they are so hard to understand without actually seeing them...
Then we went to the beach which was so beautiful! the water is amazingly clear you can see the bottom from something like 20 ft. The water is also so salty in the mediterreanean that you can just float out in the middle with no effort...
My roommates are really cool, we are getting along great, we split up chores and shopping lists for what people needed to get for the apartment and are going to rotate them by weeks. we have a great time going out together, and it is cool starting to really get to know them ...
I am trying to figure out a trip to Pamplona to run with the bulls (and yes i am running) and maybe get to san sebastian to visit my friend who is studying abroad there
Random facts: it is incredibly hot here! it was 95 degrees today and i could not even sit on the beach for an extended period of time without having to jump in the water (which is the absolute perfect temp). There are a ton of people here in the city, however traffic does not seem bad at all, and all means of transportation seem very well organized, the infrastructure of the city must be well done (and the subways are awsome and fast and come every 4 min) taxis are cool too cuz you dont need to tip. it doesnt get dark here till about 10 and thats when people start to eat dinner.
Well have a good 4th of July talk to everyone soon!
David
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Flamenco Show
Whats up everyone, so let me try to remember where I left off...I am starting to love Barcelona more and more every day that I am out here, the city has so much going on all the time, especially late at night, and has so many people in it from all over the world. The architecture is amazing, the beach and boardwalk is awesome, and the metro system is so convenient (i still need to figure out the bus and the train).
Some things are very different here though. the culture is so much slower than in the US (except for the cars and mopeds which drive crazy and wont stop for pedestrians), everyone strolls everywhere they go and seem to be in no hurry. The ciesta is a real deal, especially in the non touristy sections and most shops shut down and there are much less people walking around the city in general. There is some word which i cant remember which kind of translates into "sitting on the table", and it is where everyone just sits around and socializes for a good while after eating, usually smoking a cigarette (almost everyone seems to smoke out here) and having a coffee. Street signs are confusing, with them up on the sides of houses and never really in a logical place, and many times they arent even up there. so I have found walking around the be troublesome, but I am getting it down more and more everyday...
So for an update on what I have been up to...it takes me about 20 min to get to the beach, walking and taking the metro station. I have gone running on the boardwalk there, which is really long and wide with concrete and wood. In the middle of my run there is a kind of jungle gym thing for working out, with pull up bars and push up and ab workout devices, so I am extrememly sore after running and working out the past few days, Im actually hoping to come back in decent shape with a combo of excersising and eating small, healthy portions.
On that note, most people out here seem to be in very good shape, mostly thin and fit. The prefelance of obesity in the US embarrassing, we should stop eating at so many fast food places and not deep fry everything and have gigantic portions where a lot of food gets wasted. Not to mention our huge gas guzzling cars and the fact that most people over here can speak english but most americans cannot speak another language, we should stop thinking the US is the center of the world and try to be more respectful i guess, but anyway i digress...
I went to a discoteca last night the was themed in tribute to michael jackson (RIP you were the man), which was really fun, many of the big discotecas are underground and have multiple stories, and they dont get popular until 2 in the morning...
I saw a Flamenco dance show which was really cool, the dancer was awesome ill try to post videos as soon as I can. It is a spanish singing/guitars/knid of bongo things and a kind of tapdancer, with a really pretty tight long and flowy spanish dress. After that a group of us went out to eat papas (small almost appetizer like meals) and sangria and tonight I am going to relax and get some sleep, cuz tomorrow I am going to walk around the entire city and keep figuring out stuff.
Upcoming events on my agenda...There is this enormous sale during the month of July where most of the cities stores have good deals all month, Im gonna get a FC Barcelona jersey for sure, the girls here are all excited to go shopping though lol, there is a huge shopping scene with tons of different shops (girls be jealous)
On friday we are going on a day excursion to the Salvador Dali museum, which should be awesome, I really like his work. The fourth of July is coming up when I am going to be that obnoxious american, and the tour de france is coming though Barcelona for the first time since 1965, so that should be awesome as well.
Well until then, adeu!
David
Some things are very different here though. the culture is so much slower than in the US (except for the cars and mopeds which drive crazy and wont stop for pedestrians), everyone strolls everywhere they go and seem to be in no hurry. The ciesta is a real deal, especially in the non touristy sections and most shops shut down and there are much less people walking around the city in general. There is some word which i cant remember which kind of translates into "sitting on the table", and it is where everyone just sits around and socializes for a good while after eating, usually smoking a cigarette (almost everyone seems to smoke out here) and having a coffee. Street signs are confusing, with them up on the sides of houses and never really in a logical place, and many times they arent even up there. so I have found walking around the be troublesome, but I am getting it down more and more everyday...
So for an update on what I have been up to...it takes me about 20 min to get to the beach, walking and taking the metro station. I have gone running on the boardwalk there, which is really long and wide with concrete and wood. In the middle of my run there is a kind of jungle gym thing for working out, with pull up bars and push up and ab workout devices, so I am extrememly sore after running and working out the past few days, Im actually hoping to come back in decent shape with a combo of excersising and eating small, healthy portions.
On that note, most people out here seem to be in very good shape, mostly thin and fit. The prefelance of obesity in the US embarrassing, we should stop eating at so many fast food places and not deep fry everything and have gigantic portions where a lot of food gets wasted. Not to mention our huge gas guzzling cars and the fact that most people over here can speak english but most americans cannot speak another language, we should stop thinking the US is the center of the world and try to be more respectful i guess, but anyway i digress...
I went to a discoteca last night the was themed in tribute to michael jackson (RIP you were the man), which was really fun, many of the big discotecas are underground and have multiple stories, and they dont get popular until 2 in the morning...
I saw a Flamenco dance show which was really cool, the dancer was awesome ill try to post videos as soon as I can. It is a spanish singing/guitars/knid of bongo things and a kind of tapdancer, with a really pretty tight long and flowy spanish dress. After that a group of us went out to eat papas (small almost appetizer like meals) and sangria and tonight I am going to relax and get some sleep, cuz tomorrow I am going to walk around the entire city and keep figuring out stuff.
Upcoming events on my agenda...There is this enormous sale during the month of July where most of the cities stores have good deals all month, Im gonna get a FC Barcelona jersey for sure, the girls here are all excited to go shopping though lol, there is a huge shopping scene with tons of different shops (girls be jealous)
On friday we are going on a day excursion to the Salvador Dali museum, which should be awesome, I really like his work. The fourth of July is coming up when I am going to be that obnoxious american, and the tour de france is coming though Barcelona for the first time since 1965, so that should be awesome as well.
Well until then, adeu!
David
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
So its been a few days since I last posted so this will be a long one. First off I am realizing how expensive it is to live out here, food and drinks are expensive but I didnt even think about all of the random things I would need to buy like fans for our house (its hot here!) detergent, notebooks, cleaning stuff, and im going to need to get some stuff i forgot to bring like good flip flops and a beach towel, which I cant believe I didnt bring!
So here is an attempt at a little update, there is just so much to say its hard to fit it all in (and i apologize for the bad informal writing in advance im just blabbing my thoughts and typing as fast as I can)...
Classes started monday and they are my favorite thing that has gone on so far that Im here if you can believe that! i am in such a easy spanish class, I am one of the better ones in it but i am still horribe, there are two people who have never even taken spanish before but the class makes me realize just how horrible I am at spainsh, i wish i would have taken it later in high school when I actually might have been interested in it.
My teachers name is Nuria and she is the coolest, sweetest lady ever! she looks like she is in her youung twenties and acts and dresses like it too, but she is actually 39. she is rele nice and helpful and speaks mostly spanish but mixes it in with english to help us every now and then (the other spanish classes are entirely in spanish, which would have been good but I am such a beginner it is helpful) she is so funny, she asked me if i had a novia, and i said yes (y ella es una novia muy guapa) and asked me how long i was dating her blah blah but she told everyone if they could get a spanish novio/novia then they would get extra credit cuz suppossedly one girl got one last session and she got rele good at spanish cuz he didnt speak english. but yeah she is just rele entertianing haha
so there are only 7 people in our class, and it just so happens that 5 of them are from cal poly, how weird huh? the only one i knew was one girl though but yeah classes go 9-12 with a 15 minute break in the middle and they actually go by rele fast. But the class is kind of intensive, we have homework everynight due the next day, class is mandatory (if you miss more than 2 you automatically fail the course) as is participation. there are two midterms and a final at the end, i think four "compositions" which are writing assignments and an oral presentation at the end of the class session. so hopefully i learn some good stuff, so far everything has been review, but it is good for me anyway...
I went to the beach with my roommates the other day, it was pretty crowded (but nothing like on the weekend when I saw it from this bus tour of the city we got to go on) and it was kind of trashy. but its funny there are the persian guys who walk around and try to sell you beer and drinks on the beach and these little asian women who try to give you a massage. the sand was not that nice but the water was, im gonna try and check the other beaches eventually to see if they are any nicer...
So one different thing about these beaches, people dont really mind showing off there bodies haha all the guys wear tiny swim trunks or speedos and a lot of the women are topless. but it seemed that the only ones who were topless were the older women which was pretty strange haha but yeah its kinda weird seeing the women being so nonchalant about their boobs hanging out everywhere haha...
the metro is a good way to get around here, but it seems like i am mostly just walking everywhere and taking taxis, i am still rele confused about all the streets and everything, i rele need to go out on my own and just check them out. all the street names are hidden up on the sides of buildings and some streets just dont have any signs so it gets really confusing. i think i am going to take the metro down towards the water and just find a place to be able to jog around and just check out the area, i really need to get around more but the city is huge!!!
sorry that turned into such a long ramble, but im sure you like hearing about it, ill try to keep updating as best I can!
adeu!
David
So here is an attempt at a little update, there is just so much to say its hard to fit it all in (and i apologize for the bad informal writing in advance im just blabbing my thoughts and typing as fast as I can)...
Classes started monday and they are my favorite thing that has gone on so far that Im here if you can believe that! i am in such a easy spanish class, I am one of the better ones in it but i am still horribe, there are two people who have never even taken spanish before but the class makes me realize just how horrible I am at spainsh, i wish i would have taken it later in high school when I actually might have been interested in it.
My teachers name is Nuria and she is the coolest, sweetest lady ever! she looks like she is in her youung twenties and acts and dresses like it too, but she is actually 39. she is rele nice and helpful and speaks mostly spanish but mixes it in with english to help us every now and then (the other spanish classes are entirely in spanish, which would have been good but I am such a beginner it is helpful) she is so funny, she asked me if i had a novia, and i said yes (y ella es una novia muy guapa) and asked me how long i was dating her blah blah but she told everyone if they could get a spanish novio/novia then they would get extra credit cuz suppossedly one girl got one last session and she got rele good at spanish cuz he didnt speak english. but yeah she is just rele entertianing haha
so there are only 7 people in our class, and it just so happens that 5 of them are from cal poly, how weird huh? the only one i knew was one girl though but yeah classes go 9-12 with a 15 minute break in the middle and they actually go by rele fast. But the class is kind of intensive, we have homework everynight due the next day, class is mandatory (if you miss more than 2 you automatically fail the course) as is participation. there are two midterms and a final at the end, i think four "compositions" which are writing assignments and an oral presentation at the end of the class session. so hopefully i learn some good stuff, so far everything has been review, but it is good for me anyway...
I went to the beach with my roommates the other day, it was pretty crowded (but nothing like on the weekend when I saw it from this bus tour of the city we got to go on) and it was kind of trashy. but its funny there are the persian guys who walk around and try to sell you beer and drinks on the beach and these little asian women who try to give you a massage. the sand was not that nice but the water was, im gonna try and check the other beaches eventually to see if they are any nicer...
So one different thing about these beaches, people dont really mind showing off there bodies haha all the guys wear tiny swim trunks or speedos and a lot of the women are topless. but it seemed that the only ones who were topless were the older women which was pretty strange haha but yeah its kinda weird seeing the women being so nonchalant about their boobs hanging out everywhere haha...
the metro is a good way to get around here, but it seems like i am mostly just walking everywhere and taking taxis, i am still rele confused about all the streets and everything, i rele need to go out on my own and just check them out. all the street names are hidden up on the sides of buildings and some streets just dont have any signs so it gets really confusing. i think i am going to take the metro down towards the water and just find a place to be able to jog around and just check out the area, i really need to get around more but the city is huge!!!
sorry that turned into such a long ramble, but im sure you like hearing about it, ill try to keep updating as best I can!
adeu!
David
Sunday, June 28, 2009
So today has been a pretty long day. we went out to the clubs last night and stayed pretty late (they dont really get popular until 2am and i would say prime time is around 4am) in fact, everything here in barcelona seems to be running late. everyone moves around slowly, and eating is much more than a meal, it is more of a social experience. breakfast is usually small and late, lunch is around 2pm and then there is the ciesta period (kind of a nap time where the city slows down and a lot of shops close and some people get it off work) before waking up again later at nigh. dinner is usually around 9 or 10pm. i have only been here for a few days however so i am just getting caught up with all the different cultual aspects.
this mornign we had a bus tour of the city, got to see where they had the olympic games in 1992, go through the gothic district, the realy old parts of town, shop in a barrio thing, check out the beach and the bay and got to see some awesome structures, including a few of Gaudi's masterpieces, including the still unfinished yet gorgeous "La Sagrada Familia" i am excited to actually go inside it as well as check out more of Gaudi's awesome arcitecture
i couldnt figure out the metro system, and took the wrong one so had a 45 walk (including a period of having no idea at all of where i was) back to our apartment which is on Carrer de Mallorca in the Eixample district, which is really neautiful with a lot of old houses and buildings. hopefully i can figure it out better from now on, especially since I am starting school tomorrow, which I am actually really looking forward to. I am just going to be taking beginning level spanish, but i am excited to learn and if the class is too easy, I might even petition the dean to move up a level, we will just have to see how it goes.
I took some pictures and am going to download them later today, so hopefully I can have some of them up for all of you to check out.
Hablen con ustedes pronto!
David
this mornign we had a bus tour of the city, got to see where they had the olympic games in 1992, go through the gothic district, the realy old parts of town, shop in a barrio thing, check out the beach and the bay and got to see some awesome structures, including a few of Gaudi's masterpieces, including the still unfinished yet gorgeous "La Sagrada Familia" i am excited to actually go inside it as well as check out more of Gaudi's awesome arcitecture
i couldnt figure out the metro system, and took the wrong one so had a 45 walk (including a period of having no idea at all of where i was) back to our apartment which is on Carrer de Mallorca in the Eixample district, which is really neautiful with a lot of old houses and buildings. hopefully i can figure it out better from now on, especially since I am starting school tomorrow, which I am actually really looking forward to. I am just going to be taking beginning level spanish, but i am excited to learn and if the class is too easy, I might even petition the dean to move up a level, we will just have to see how it goes.
I took some pictures and am going to download them later today, so hopefully I can have some of them up for all of you to check out.
Hablen con ustedes pronto!
David
But the city is awesome! its cool seeing how old the city is and the different ways the buildings are built and stuff. we have a pretty good location i guess, we are within walking distance to school and i think it is just a simple metro station away from the main downtown area...the apartment is really cool too! its really old and the ceilings are high, but everythig is kind of crammed together (the bathroom is tiny the rooms are tiny the hallway to one of the other guys rooms (which is kind of downstairs) is tiny, but the apartment is so old and gives off a cool vibe. I have my own room which is really nice, and it is right at the front of the house, with the central living stuff down the hallway.
I walked around the city yesterday to try and stay up and checked out the area where they had the 1992 summer olympic games, but it wasnt that cool cuz I could only see the outside of everything. We went out to the bars last night but I was pretty tired ad so just checked out this one place and then I caught a taxi back.
I walked around the city yesterday to try and stay up and checked out the area where they had the 1992 summer olympic games, but it wasnt that cool cuz I could only see the outside of everything. We went out to the bars last night but I was pretty tired ad so just checked out this one place and then I caught a taxi back.
Just letting everyone know I got in fine from my long trip, it actually went really well, I was able to sleep off and on for a lot of it. I got through customs fine and it was a relatively simple transition into barcelona. I met up with other kids from CEA, one from Cal Poly and another who is my roommate. Everyone seems to be extremely nice, and fortunately there were some good spanish speakers in our group. we went out to eat already, walked around the city and got some food and cervasas. Everything is starting to slowdown for the mid day siesta (nap) but I am still pretty awake so I decided to email you guys and then maybe take a walk around the city just by myself. We have a reception dinner tonight where we meet the rest of the CEA group (about 70 of us) and then they have activities and tours of the city and moving in to our apartments over the next two days. So it should be exciting, this seems like an awesome city and I cant wait to get more of it!!!
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