My first month in Barcelona! October 20, 2009

I arrived in Barcelona one month ago, time is flying by! I can finally call Barcelona home, I’ve settled into my flat, started school, found a job teaching English and I’ve meet some amazing people. Just to quickly summarize my first month here, below lists the top 10 highlights of my time here so far:

1. Going to my first Barca game!

2. Riding bikes though the streets of Amsterdam and admiring the gorgeous canals throughout the city.

3. Experiencing my first Merce and the all culture Barcelona has to offer.

4. Dipping my foot into the Mediterranean Sea for the first time.

5. Starting school at EADA and attending the opening ceremony at the Palacio de la Música Catalan.

6. Walking though the gorgeous streets of Barcelona and admiring all the breathtaking architecture.

7. Relaxing at el parque de la Ciutadella and people watching.

8. Meeting my EADA classmates from all over the world and getting to know them while learning about their cultures.

9. Trying new foods and being creative with my cooking (BTW - I found peanut butter last week, such a relief)!

10. Making new friends and enjoying the Barcelona nightlife.

Being exposed to so many different cultures and exploring Barcelona has definitely been a learning experience. I honestly learn something new everyday, here are a few of my favorite fun facts:

• Nudity is legal in Barcelona, people can walk around naked if they want to, but luckily, it’s very uncommon and not that many people do it.
• In Spain, when people say “tio/tia” it doesn’t mean aunt/uncle, it’s their word for dude, homie, etc.
• Pan con tomate was invented during the war because the soldiers  only had stale bread so they rubbed the tomato on the bread to make it moist. It’s still made the same way and is a popular tapa.
• Some of my favorite new words/phrases are: “guay” – so awesome/cool, “pijo” – posh, vale – okay or yes, “no pasa nada” – don’t worry about it, “me mola” – I really like this, “majo” – good person.
• When you order coffee or lunch at a cafe, you don’t have to pay right away – you enjoy your drink/meal first then pay (people are really trusting).
• When you ask for a tortilla, you get a tortilla Espanola.

Miss and love you all!

La Mercè 2009 Recap September 28, 2009

Well, I survived my first Mercè, this is definitely a week I’ll remember. During the day there are a bunch of festivals and family friendly activities, but at night it was pretty much a huge party in the streets of Barcelona. There were a bunch of concerts taking place all throughout the city with music and bands from all around the world. Streets and plazas were closed down and on Friday and Saturday the concerts at the Forum continued until five in the morning. After the concerts, the city was trashed, there were cans and bottles all over the streets, but what shocked me was that come the morning, it was all cleaned up.

I can't remember, but I think The Hives are on stage in this pic.

Programs were passed out a week prior, but all the events listed were in Catalan so with some of friends, I was able to decide on which events to attend. I made sure to see the traditional Mercè events such as the Castells (human pyramids), Gigantes (people walking in giant paper mache costumes) and catch some of the concerts in the park. Although there were some events that I stumbled upon that were unexpected such as, Correfoc. Correfoc is a Catalan tradition where people dress up as devils and parade down the streets while drumming and setting off huge fireworks. It was actually really scared when I saw it, there were sparks flying in the air and people watching were pushing trying to avoid the sparks from hitting them – I’m not a big fan of fire. There was also an amazing firework and fountain show that closed the Mercè events in Plaza Espana on Sunday. The fireworks show was themed around popular movie music and lasted for about 45 minutes. Sparklers were passed out when you entered the park and at 10:30 p.m. everyone lit their sparkler and held it in the air, it was an amazing sight and an awesome way to put a close to the week long event.

Bad picture, but you get the idea... everyone with their lit sparker!

One of my favorite things was that a lot of the museums supported Mercè by offering discounted or free entrances to their museums. I visited both the Museu de la Xocolata (a museum dedicated to the history of chocolate and a bunch of chocolate sculptures) and Poble Espanyol (a mini Spain, with replicas of all the main attractions and streets throughout Espana).

A Wally sculpture made out of chocolate! Museu De La Xocolata - Carrer Comerç 36, en El Born, Ciutat Vella

Poble Espanyol - Avinguda Marquès De Comillas 13

La Mercè 2009 September 26, 2009

Mercè is the biggest weeklong festival held in Barcelona to celebrate their patron saint Virgin of La Mercè. Beginning on September 24, there have been over 500 free events going on throughout the city such as music concerts, firework shows, light shows, parades and many more activities. The whole city unites to put on this festival for people of all ages, it’s absolutely amazing.

Castells are human towers that just pop out of the crowd out of nowhere… a small kid climbs to the top for the finishing touch, so awesome! My video was really shaky, but click here to view some examples posted online.

Gigantes and cabezudos parade.

The busy streets of Barcelona.

One of the many stages set-up around the city.