Miercoles, el 2 de Junio, 2009

Well we've been in Barcelona for 3 full days now. As we get to know the city better and find our way around more easily, we are all discovering that this is an awesome place. The architecture is absolutely amazing, the food is delicious, the beach is unlike anything I've ever seen, and the people are very friendly.

We are studying and living at the Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, which is actually in a suburb called Sabadell. We have 2 classes Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in the morning (finishing just in time for a siesta) and the rest of the time is free. It's about a 25-minute Metro-train ride from the university to La Plaza Catalunya (in the center of Barcelona). From here, we have strolled La Rambla, a street with a wide median full of vendors, street performers and people, with restaurants, cafes, bars, and shops lining each block for the better part of a mile until the street dead-ends at the harbor of Barcelona. A short walk down the boardwalk along the Mediterranean takes us to the beaches of Barceloneta (the coastal district). We spent most of Monday at the beach, much to the chagrin of my now-bright-red torso. (Monday was a holiday in Barcelona, as the townspeople celebrated La Festa de Salud - the festival of health/good living - with countless little mini-parades on seemingly every street). We've walked around other districts of Barcelona during the day to see the world-renowned architecture. Every building is a masterpiece, especially the cathedrals. Around many of the cathedrals and other famous buildings, social areas have developed with outdoor restaurants and cafes, tapas bars, and street performers (including one awesome guy who had the entire crowd of people singing along to Bob Marley songs). We've found some great deals on food, drinks, and ice-cream ("gelato" in the regional Catalan language, helado in Spanish) in these areas. and in the back-streets surrounding them.

Meal times have consistently been some of my favorite times of the day. We have a complimentary breakfast spread at the hotel which includes all sorts of cured meats with cheeses and bread, cereals, breakfast pastries, some eggs, toast with Nutella (a European version of peanut butter - basically chocolate and hazelnut flavored spread... you can find it in most stores in the states nowadays), coffee, and juices. For lunch we usually choose to make sandwiches in the hotel rooms or something of the like to save some money. Dinners have been taken in the city. Paella, great pizzas, pastas, lots of seafood, and tapas make up the bulk of the fare. Local wines, some beers, and especially sangria are served with most meals and are delicious as well. I've enjoyed searching off the beaten path for some unusual or at least cheaper restaurants that most tourists probably don't encounter. 

The night life in Barcelona is very active. Bars and clubs are not hard to find and have treated us well. We've taken tips from past travelers, locals, and students that we've run into (even another big group from Texas A&M - whoop!) on where to go to have the best time at the best price. We've found some good spots already that I'm sure we'll be frequenting during our 5-week stay.

Since we only have class Monday through Wednesday, and then group day-trips on most Thursdays, we have 3-or-4-day weekends to do some traveling on our own. There are cheap flights within Europe (some for less than 15 Euro) and cheap hotels and hostels to stay in. Most of our group is flying to Rome this coming weekend, but Scott, Christina, and I have chosen a lesser-known destination: the tiny country of Andorra. Andorra is located right on the border of Spain and France in the Pyranees Mountains. It's about the size of a large city and it is mostly known for ski resorts and picturesque scenery. We found a great deal on a bus that will take us there form Barcelona in about 3 hours, and we got a hotel room for about 15 Euro (about 20 U.S. Dollars) a night each. There's a chance of rain, but we're excited anyway about doing some hiking and maybe some biking in the mountains!

Anyway, I hope to post some pictures soon, it just takes a while for everyone to gather them and load them up. Life is good for us in Barcelona, and I hope it is good for y'all too!