barcelona, capital of catalunya and my last stop

Kim and I are staying in a cute boutique hotel in Barcelona right on a main street. Yesterday, we walked around the city all day until we crashed on our beds for a late afternoon nap. Barcelona is a lot more like a big city than Granada. There are wide avenues and tall buildings with lots of people roaming around. Since Barcelona is the capital of Catalunya, Catalan is used on signs everywhere. Catalan looks a little like Spanish because it has its root in Latin but it is more closely linked to French while Spanish has been influenced more by Arabic. I´m just glad that people speak Spanish here- that makes me happy.

So we took a stroll down La Rambla which is the central street of Barcelona that leads to the Mediterrean port. We thought it was really amusing that vendors sell birds and other little critters on the street...we think we saw ferrets too. We wandered into the Boqueria market to find tons of seafood and meats. Yum...pig heads and fish everywhere. I don´t usually get too grossed out by markets but this one was a little much by the end. Somehow we still ended up eating seafood for lunch... In the market, they offered quite a variety of sea creatures. I got a picture of a swordfish´s head that I would share if I could.

We continued down to the port to Colombus´ monument and walked along the waterside before heading up towards the Picasso Museum. We almost didn´t go to the museum but we were both glad that we did afterward. The museum had a lot of work from his early years and then highlighted a couple moments later in his life. He was an amaxing artist from the time he was 15. At 16, Pablo (since we´re on a first name basis) painted an impressive realist work that really showed that he could´ve been like other artists. He got more and more unique as time went on. Towards the end of his life, he did an intensive study of Las Meninas by Diego Velazquez. I saw Velazquez´classic barroque painting in Madrid so it was really cool to see where Picasso took it. I was really impressed with his originality in taking apart such a famous work.

After soaking up Picasso, we visited la iglesia de Santa Maria del Mar- Church of Saint Mary of the Sea. It was a nice break to be inside a quiet church but we both got the feeling that it was more of a museum than a church. Nonetheless, they architecture was intriguing with its ancient rose window and repition of the number eight throughout the building.

We eventually made our way back to the hotel but without making lots of stops in little shops along the way. We called it a day at about 7pm because we were so exhausted.

Today the plan is to rent bikes and ride around in search of Gaudi´s famous architecture throughout the city. Tomorrow we´ll probably take a trip out of the city to a Monastery on Montserrat... a nice break from the city´s hustle and bustle. Saturday will be our last day in the city and then we´ll be returning home on Sunday. It is really weird to be coming to the end of such a long trip but I´m definitely looking forward to seeing family and friends...and God willing, I´ll get to be in one spot for awhile.

Hasta luego, mis paisanos!

bienvenida a espana!

Hola Hola!

I got to Spain safely and soundly. My first stop was Madrid where I stayed with a friend's friend to avoid the whole hostal situation (which I was prepared to do). I was only there two days but I made the most of the time. My friend from Westmont, the lovely Karissa Young, has spent the whole semester studying in Madrid so she showed me around the city. The Christmas lights have just been put up around the city and it looks gorgeous at night!

Karissa and I went to the Reina Sofia Museum to check out some Picasso, especially his famous "Guernica" painting. We also saw some of Dali's surrealism which was pretty trippy as you can imagine. Crazier than that is that it snowed in the city while I was there! Huge snow flakes were falling and turned into slush on the ground- that's definitely a rarity in Madrid. That also means it was freezing there- a little bit of a shock going from warm Israel to cold Madrid.

I also went to Museo El Prado while Karissa was in class on Tuesday so I could see all the famous paintings. That place was huge so I didn't get to everything. Then, I met up with Karissa for lunch and some more wandering and shopping throughout the city. I decided to take a night bus to Granada that night at 1:30am... we enjoyed kebabs with Karissa, Allison and Allison's Chilean novio David. I loved talking to David about Chile! We both got to reminisce a bit...

So I left with all my stuff that I've been lugging around for 4 months- One heavy backpack(laptop!), one stuffed suitcase and a purse. I actually can't believe that all my stuff still fits in my suitcase because I've been acumulating souvenirs and such along the way. My night bus wasn't so bad but it was kind of weird to do it all alone after traveling with so many people. I actually got to sleep almost the entire 5 hours and we arrived to Granada at 6:30am. It was also freezing here. I got a local bus to April's apartment building and stood outside for half an hour trying to ring the bell that apparently wasn't working. I finally got the porter to let me in, although I don't think he wanted to let a strange girl in. I knocked on the apartment door until her roommate got up the courage to open the door not knowing that it was me. That was my little adventure getting to April's place in Granada on my own.

I went to work with April- amiga from highschool- where she teaches English and then to her worship band practice at church. We got yummy tapas with her friends at a really cheap tapas bar. It's only 1.80 euro for a drink and a free plate of tapas! It's funny being in Spain because the schedule is so different. We end up eating lunch around 3-4 and dinner doesn't usually happen until 11pm. Basically, we stay up late and sleep in.

We went out the other night and mainly encounter drunk foreigners... lots of Americans giving us a bad reputation. We went to a salsa club with a lot more locals and danced for a few minutes but the floor was really slippery and I couldn't help but slide around during every turn. We moved on to another crowded place for a bit that played techno beats.

My stepmom Kim just got here yesterday! She flew into Malaga (about 2 hours on bus from Granada) and I surprised her by meeting her at the sirport when she thought she would have to figure out how to get on the right buses to reach Granada. We went to Malaga's center for lunch and eventually headed back to Granada. I think she was glad that I was there to figure out the buses and all because she doesn't really speak Spanish. It's no fun being alone in a strange country where you don't speak the language...

I'm so glad to finally be in a Spanish speaking country after all the other places I've been. I feel much more at home here. I was worried that my Spanish abilities would be really poor because I hadn't spoken in so long. After about a day, I felt really comfortable speaking. To say the least, I'm happy to be able to practice and learn some new words from Spain. Que guay! I've especially enjoyed talking with Graciela, April's Argentine friend, and others we encounter along the way.

Well, I'm off to see the city now!
Hasta Luego...

ps I would add pics but it seems that my laptop may be broken...we'll have to see about that one.