Just thought I might add, in case you didn't already know, that if you click on the photos they will enlarge

Los Pireneos

"I kind of forgot that places like this actually exist," I recall saying casually to my friend while trekking through the Pyrenees just yesterday. I'm sitting here looking out my window at clusters of modern buildings and streets thinking that it's kind of crazy that twenty four hours ago we were in one of those places. We were in Taüll, a small village of 300 hidden and tucked away in the Pyrenees mountains. It was one of those places that most have never heard of or will ever step foot in, but has so much mysterious charm and awe because of it.

When we got in on Friday afternoon the rain promptly followed the dark and ominous clouds that seemed to time their arrival over Taüll with ours. At first I thought that this was the last thing I could want to happen during our free time to explore the village however it cast a rather sublime tone over the town. We wandered around the village on narrow cobblestone streets carving their way through the old stone buildings of the seemingly abandoned old town. The two twelfth century romanesque churches at each end of the village provided shelter from the rain. I had such a peaceful feeling of comfort and awe while sitting on a pew in the dark 900 year-old stone churches listening as it poured outside. The view from the top of the bell-tower was also quite incredible.

That night we found hot chocolate in a very small restaurant next to one of the churches and sat listening to the rain outside and enjoying the warm atmosphere inside. There I found a friend named Flo, a giant Pyrenees dog who walked into the restaurant like he owned the place and of course wouldn't leave your side once you start petting him. A gentle tap on the back from an outstretched paw would remind you of his presence the instant you stopped petting him. At around midnight we left the restaurant and simply walked up the small hill to our hotel.

Thankfully the rain stopped when we awoke at 8 am the next morning and boarded a bus for Igüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park, one of the 14 national parks of Spain. When the bus drove as far as it could we were packed like sardines into old rickety Land Rover jeeps with two rows in the back facing inwards. While zipping up the extremely narrow and curvy paths up the mountain I tried to avoid looking out the window when going around a curve as a sheer drop took the place of the road below us. Somehow we made it safely to the trailhead and went on a breathtaking 4 hour hike in such crisp, fresh air. The scenes were absolutely incredible and seemed to me the epitome of nature. The photos really don't do justice and it is so hard to put such beauty into words.

I highly doubt that I'll ever be able to return to the same spot but it sure has made its mark on me. Each thought I have about the town of Taull and of the national park that we barely made our own mark in with only 4 hours to explore still and always will strike me with a bit of awe.

lunchtime:

Roadblocks:

Flo!

12th century church

San Sebastien!

I don't even know where to begin while thinking about San Sebastien. The fact that all eleven of us were so reluctant to board the bus back to Barcelona on Sunday, such an amazing city in itself, seems like a good indicator as to just how sensational it was. I'm pretty sure we lucked out by traveling there last weekend because the regatta races were in town. I had no idea what a huge deal regatta was here in Spain but the people, the town, and the crazy fans sure let me know.

We took the 7-hour overnight bus to San Sebastien on Thursday night and arrived at 6 am. Not a whole lot to do at that hour as nothing was open, so naturally we decided to hit the beach. Now I'm actually glad to say that so many promises of surfing lessons by friends in California fell through since I'm able to say I learned to surf in San Sebastien. One of the guys we were with gladly gave a few lessons to me and two other girls on the trip. I almost emerged from my hunched-over form to stand upright completely but not quite. Definitely next time.

After a few hours at the beach we walked just a couple blocks to our hostel and after climbing four flights of a steep spiral staircase (my calves are still a little sore from climbing it constantly) a very friendly husband and wife greeted us. They provided us with maps and recommendations on where to go to explore the city.

It took no time for us to discover the pintxo bars in Old Town. Pintxos are like tapas, but way better. The bars generally have standing-room only and everyone crowds around the counter eating pintxos and drinking kalimotxos, half wine half coke, the signature drink of San Sebastian. Paying is all based on the honor system, when you finish you simply tell the bartender what you have had to drink and how many pintxos you ate. They generally cost about 1.50 euro each which was pretty easy on the pockets. After just a couple weeks in Barcelona finding cheap yet great places to eat is always a plus.

We generally stuck to all cheap or free attractions while in San Sebastien. The first night we walked quite a ways to one end of the city to take the funicular up the mountain though found it just closing when we finally arrived. We still enjoyed the night view of San Sebastien just across the beach and watching the waves crash quite violently against the edge of the walkway we were on. The next day we did a bit more walking/hiking up to the giant statue of Christ overlooking the city and of course the view was incredible. Little did we know that the trails to and at the top would be absolutely packed with people watching the regatta races the next day.

I haven't seen anything quite like what was going on all over San Sebastien for the races. The entire town and surrounding areas seemed to take the day off and fill the streets, beaches, and any of the city's surrounding hills with a decent view of the beach to celebrate and watch the regatta races. People were dressed in their team's color from head to toe romping around the beach and crowded streets with thunder sticks yelling cheers and chants or singing songs. So many enthusiastic people provided such great photo opportunities. Some just bluntly asked for me or Katie to take their photo. I only filled up my 4 gigabyte SD chip with roughly 700 photos.

After this experience I can only wonder how intense people must get during fútbol or other popular sports here. Spain seems to use any excuse to celebrate. I know of four festivals in Barcelona alone coming up within the next couple months and apparently there is one tomorrow in Barcelona! I wish the US would follow suit!

At the top of the tiny statue of Christ on the hill in the photo above:

Packed streets of Old Town:

Just a few fans:

Our favorite pintxos bar:

Hasta Lunes

I'm about to board the overnight bus to San Sebastien for the weekend, camera in hand and an open mind to absorb the city and find some wonderful things to share on here on Monday.

ps. Someone asked me for directions today on my way home from class this morning. I walked the rest of the way with a slight boost of confidence knowing that I am finally starting to blend in and might possibly pass for a local :-)

Tapas!

My skeptically raised eyebrow was by no means alone in the room as I watched vinegar, honey, ketchup, tabasco, worcester sauce, olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper follow each other into the same pan. The result: a delectably delicious red sauce to cover a plate of fried potatoes commonly known around here as patatas bravas. Also on the menu were pinchos, tortilla de patatas, aioli, and champiñones al ajillo. Tapas, as you probably guessed already, were the theme of the evening last night as I and twelve others attended a tapas cooking workshop at Escola de Cuina Terra d' Escudella. That's cooking school in Catalan.

Before entering the kitchen we sat through a brief introduction and history of tapas by the head chef who's name I cannot remember for the life of me. According to el cocinero tapas were introduced by a king in the middle ages with an incessant upset stomach from the constant binge eating and drinking of those times. His very wise doctor advised him to eat several small meals a day to ease his pain and as a result the king introduced this diet to the rest of Spain. These meals adopted the name tapas, which means lid or cover, because the small plate on which they are served was often placed on top of the wine glass to prevent excessive drinking. I do not understand exactly how this prevented excessive drinking since simply removing the plate from the top of the glass does not appear to be all too difficult, but that's how the story goes. (I also find it funny that I have heard an extremely similar story as to how the famous Spanish lisp came to be however Wikipedia insists that it is an urban legend). Anyways I think we can conclude that however they may have come about, Spain would not be quite as yummy without tapas.

After the brief history lesson we followed suit of the chef by tying on our plastic white aprons. He of course was not in plastic, but in a professional chef's hat and white coat, over pajama pants and Crocs might I add. We followed him to the kitchen and each posted up in front of a cutting board and knife at one of several stations around the kitchen. Throughout the lesson we were each given ingredients to slice, dice, or peel at our station which were collected to be cooked, stirred, whipped, mixed, fried, or grilled at some point and place around the kitchen. The chef gave me the honor of making the champiñones de ajillo (musrooms and garlic). I won't lie in saying this wasn't the least complicated dish with hopes that he selected me randomly and didn't single me out for it. Nevertheless we all were able to observe and join in a bit on all the dishes making it a great learning experience.

The tapas were definitely the best I have had so far in Spain. This could be due to the satisfaction of knowing the personal effort put into each dish or maybe we are all just great chefs in the making. I'd like to think the latter.

A tasty tid bit: whenever the people here eat bread or toast they cut a tomato in half and rub it on the bread until the top layer of bread has a nice coating of tomato juice, then drizzle a bit of olive oil on top...it's quite delicious...you should try it!

Corners, Bikes, and Dishes

The world is full of wonderful things to learn. The US can learn so much from here by putting to use ideas that Barcelona, and I'm assuming Western Europe in general, already have. While here I've noticed several subtle ways in which Barcelona has taken steps to further appreciate and protect the atmosphere around here or add efficiency to almost anything. One can see this through innovative ideas in architecture, engineering, and technology that appear on city streets or within city buildings. I have listed a few below:

1. They cut corners:

One of the best ideas I think I've seen appears on the street corners of my neighborhood L'Eixample (the "x'' here is pronounced "sh"). No right angle exists when two streets meet at a corner because the corners have been chamfered or cut-off, I guess you could say. This is not only a cool visual affect but also allows for more traffic visibility, light, and parking within the intersections. At least five parking spaces fit along the chamfered portion of the corners, where none could fit on a normal right angle corner. My description probably needs a little visual help:

2. They have a bicycle-friendly community:

The way barcelona accommodates and provides such large numbers of bikes strikes me, and coming from Davis, future home of the national bike museum, I feel at home. If you are a resident of Barcelona you can purchase a card or pass that allows you to take one of the candy-apple-red bicycles from any of the several city bike dispensers, any time of the day, use it for a few hours, and return it at any other city bike dispenser around the city. If you take the bike out for more than a few hours the card simply charges you for extra time when you return it. I have heard that other larger cities in Europe offer this service as well. What a great way for residents to eliminate cars on the streets, breathe some fresh air, and get a little exercise on the way to work or the store. I wish that foreigners could join in as well. These bikers are welcomed and well accommodated by the streets as there are several "bike highways" between buildings inaccessible to cars. Unlike in the US where bikers often have to share the road with drivers to their left and parked cars to their right, bikes that do bike on the street here have a lane separated from the street by parked cars to their left or small partitions.

3. They are green goers:

Some more small yet energy efficient ideas can be seen in any of the rooms in my residencia and in several other buildings I have been in. In order to turn on lights or air conditioning, your key must be placed in the wall by the door. Obviously when you take the key as you leave the room, electricity in your room will be temporarily disabled thus making sure none is wasted in empty rooms. The air conditioning also automatically shuts of if you open a window. I must say I have seen similar things in some US hotels.

Something else kind of cool: the cabinet that store dishes over the sink in our room has no bottom and as there are dish-racks for shelves, dishes can simply be put away after washing and drip dry into the sink.

A view of Barcelona from the top of Montjuic

Cool fact: At the 1992 Olympic diving events photographers used a perspective to make it look like the divers were diving over the city without the Montjuic pool beneath them. I found one photo online if you're interested: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/04/12/article-1169486-00279DA300000258-329_468x273.jpg

And so it begins...

I don't think the angle between my chin and chest ever dropped below 90 degrees on my way to class this afternoon. I was always looking up. Yes there was the occasional downward glance to make sure I wasn't falling off the curb or stepping on a dog, but who would bother looking at the ground when you're passing by the Arc de Triomf or observing one ornate historic building after the other? I am stoked that this will be my daily 15 minute walk to school.

As I expected the reality that I am not here on vacation for four months hit me as I walked through Starbucks and upstairs to reach the CEA building where all of our classes are held. The fact that food and drink are prohibited upstairs and in classes probably eliminates quite a bit of Starbuck's potential profit from CEA students. Since I don't really drink coffee this didn't bother me nearly as much as it did others and I don't think I'll mind having to walk right through the smell of Starbucks coffee to get to class each day.

Anyways classes didn't put quite as big of a damper on my walk this morning as I thought they would just hours before at Starbucks. I am extremely excited for photography since I recently purchased a DSLR camera and can't wait to actually know what I'm doing with the camera and for our photography fieldtrips around Barcelona. This class is my cup of tea. Since it ended during siesta the walk back home was not as lively but the city will be back up and running when I return for my next class at six.

ps. photos really will be up soon!

We've been in our permanent place of residence for about 8 hours and after settling in, sprucing it up, and filling the empty cabinets with food and bare necessities it's finally starting to feel a little like home here (quite the contrast from our initial impression this morning). We first walked into our room that somewhat resembled a bomb-shelter with a metal curtain covering the window, and modern decor that just seems so empty and sterile. However after a much needed nap we unpacked, added some personal touches to our living space, and walked to the supermarket around the corner to stock up on fresh food and necessities. Now we finally have a place to call home and get into the routine of the Spaniards.

We experienced a bit of this routine last night after paying the bill for our tapas dinner and realizing it was 12:30. Nonetheless the city was alive and crawling with people, as always, and we joined right along the Las Ramblas strip until 2 am, early according to Spaniard standards. I don't know how they do it here, my mind and body are so maladjusted and still have no sense of time. Now I understand the whole concept of the siesta and I am cutting this a bit short because of it. Naptime!

Estoy Aqui!

I am here! Currently running on roughly two and a half hours of sleep since 9:30 am on Tuesday (New York time) I have already been out and about in the city and have officially decided I am going to like it here. At least a little bit. Okay a lot a lot.

The eight hour plane ride consisted of roughly six hours of European history and the development of languages occasionally broken up by personal stories of Miguel, the I would say 70-something year-old man in seat next to me. Little did I know that I would learn such valuable lessons, hear such touching stories, and learn interesting tid-bits like the fact that Andora is the only country in which Catalan is the official language, during my flight. He is quite the proud Catalonian even after living in several countries, currently in Queens, New York, and affirmed all that I had heard about how proud those of Catalonia are of their language and heritage. Also, after visiting Spain every year for over 40 years, Miguel pointed out with a blatant sense of pride that this was the first time there had been Catalan translations, as well as English and Spanish, of everything announced over the loud speaker of the plane. I understood little to none of the Catalan. Anyways, in any gap of silence when Miguel was preparing his next lesson or story I tried to sneak in a quick nap, obviously not too successful as I am rambling on quite out of it.

Nonetheless this lack of shut-eye has not slowed me down since we got off the plane. After we arrived to our hotel, Catalonia Plaza, we had a brief scare during check in as we heard shouts and turned around to see several men sprinting out of the lobby. All twenty of us had absentmindedly piled our luggage on the floor behind us while at the check in desk which proved to be tempting bait for pick-pocketers who must have seen a large group of obvious Americans walk into the hotel. They didn't get away with anything this time but it instantly increased our awareness. Lesson learned.

Of course there was no desire in the air to go to our rooms and rest so of course we set out for the city. From Las Ramblas, to the Port the Barcelona, to countless picturesque alleyways, to the metro system we have explored and tasted a bit of what life to come in Barcelona will be like. Over three hundred pictures later, which will hopefully be posted soon, we made our way back to the hotel. We have a welcome banquet in a couple of hours and then all are eager to get back out on the the town once again. More updates to come!