Such a great start to what is clearly going to be another amazing month in Spain. Started off at internship with a busy week which I love! This week I worked on a project that kindof epitomizes a few of the points in my last entry, I was researching and making presentations of case studies of advertisements utilizing famous people/celebrity endorsements and other meat company marketing strategies for none other than a new client specializing in none other than...jamón, por supuesto!
On Monday, we also went to this absolutely incredible outdoor concert symphony that they put on in Plaza Mayor. It was a huge, impressive stage with the entire Plaza dedicated to the orchestra and seating, and the performance didn't even begin until 10 pm because that's when it starts to get dark! The music was so beautiful and despite being in the city center, it was one of the quietest I have heard the city since I've been here. Everyone was admiring the music and completely respectful of the performance, there was hardly even whispering to distract from the music. It was part of a summer concert series called Veranos de la Villa that has been taking place all over Madrid at different historical venues, and we were lucky to see it, despite the summer thunderstorm that rained on us sporadically but luckily held off until the end, and to be honest a little rain felt kindof nice when it's still over 90 degrees at 9:30 pm!
On Tuesday, one of my roommates Élan and I decided to be particularly adventurous and go to an Intercambio (roughly translates to "interchange"), which I have been wanting to do since I've arrived here! An Intercambio is basically a group, this particular one meets at a bar/restaurant twice a week and goes to see a movie on fridays, that anyone can attend and basically just talk to people and get experience practicing various languages. We were surprised to find that it was mostly native English speakers that were in high demand, because there are a ton of Spaniards who want practice with their English, so we made a few friends and had some really entertaining conversations half in Spanish and half in English. It's definitely a fun experience and something that really feels like making the most of being here! I wish they had something similar in the States, because it's such a great idea and a great way to meet people and they're very common here.
Then, Thursday began our weekend vacation escape to BARCELONA!! I almost did my program in
Barcelona instead of Madrid, and although I'm so happy with my decision to be here I knew that Barcelona was top on my places to visit while in Spain. I'm extremely glad that I did because I absolutely fell in LOVE with the city! I think part of it was being near the beach, and how much it reminded me of San Diego. Some of the highlights from an extremely eventful and fun-filled weekend:
- We took the train in, which again the public transportation here never fails to impress me! Incredibly comfortable, fast, clean, easy, and the one thing in Spain that is incredibly efficient and prompt. Our hostel, Equity Point Center, was right on one of the main streets, Paissag de Gracia, and again was yet another really positive and lucky hostel experience! Also had a bar, cafeteria, free breakfast, lots of sponsored group events and tours, and tons of people to meet from all over.
- In Barcelona, they speak a dialect of Spanish called Catalán, which is a mixture of Spanish and French. It was really interesting to see how words and signs were spelled or named differently, it really sometimes felt like an entirely different language. But I was happy to discover that most people spoke clear Spanish as well, so it really wasn't difficult to get around, and we actually got to practice a lot of Spanish which is always good. In fact, one of the cab drivers told us that there are very few "native Catalans," and a lot of the people currently living in Barcelona moved there from other places. It's not hard to understand why!
- The beach was such a refreshing sight for sore eyes! Barcelona, though clearly a beach town, isn't known for the most beautiful beaches in Spain, but they were just fine for me! There was a boardwalk with tons of people roller blading and (Davis I miss you!) bicycling! And running - what a refreshing change to see people working out! The marina, called Barceloneta, was so gorgeous as well and totally reminded me of Mission Beach and Seaport Village in San Diego. I felt right at home there right away! The beach was super crowded with tons of people enjoying Sangria and the fresh coconut that vendors would walk around selling (myself definitely included)! You could also buy a massage on the beach from vendors walking around the crowds.
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| View down the beach with the W hotel in the background |
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| Barcelona version of Sangria, made with their own traditional sparkling wine called "cava" |
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| The Rambla del Mar, off the main boardwalk bordering the ocean |
- Another thing besides the beaches and the bikes that made Barecelona instantly incredible: a huge, huge, amazing market of fresh fruit, vegetables, fish, meat the likes of which I have NEVER seen before. If you know me at all, this is a huge selling point haha! I could have spent days in here! It was called La Boqueria Mercat St. Josep, and all of the food there was as beautifully and creatively displayed as it was delicious (literally the best peach I have ever tasted in my life)! There was fruit that I have never seen before, fish that are almost still living, fresh squeezed fruit juice everywhere, organic wraps, salads, incredible gourmet desserts, fresh jamón on skewers, and so much more!
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| No idea what this fruit is in Spanish or English.... |
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| Or this one... |
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- The Mercado was right off of this amazing main street called La Rambla, filled every day with street vendors, performers, touristy stands, food - basically a lot of really excellent ways to spend your money! We spent hours here on two different days, just walking around looking at everything and sampling some truly authentic tastes of Barcelona
- La Sagrada Familia: the famous cathedral built by Gaudi in Barcelona, it was absolutely beautiful! Just when I was starting to think that all cathedrals were starting to look the same, Gaudi pulls out this masterpiece that is so much brighter and more "fun" for lack of a better word. Barcelona is most famous for Gaudi's work all over the city, and this is the central masterpiece of it. I found I really appreciate his style, it's very colorful and creative and makes use of a lot of cool shapes, animals and materials.
- Also on the note of Gaudi is his famous Park Guell, which houses several of his famous sculptures, houses, benches, etc. It literally looked like an artistic disneyland! So much fun to walk all around, admiring the scenery and the art. And it was a good thing that it was so nice and worth it because it was basically on top of a mountain. Made for some great views and some really painful uphill travel time.
- Gaudi also has designed several houses around the city that are mixed in with all of the regular houses and architecture and adds a lot of excitement to the city and the streets.
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| Shout out to Kendra: this is the building you were talking about I think! It's called Casa Batiló and is one of the houses designed by Gaudi! |
- Torre Agbar: so beautiful when it's lit up at night! An interesting shape (haha) and actually is owned by Barcelona's water company and houses most of their offices, but is a popular sight at nighttime. We visited it one night before going out in Barrio Gótic (The Gothic District, but don't even think about trying to call it anything other than "Barrio Gótic" because everyone will look at you like you're insane, even though really? "Districto Gothico" you couldn't figure it out?) which had a ton of really fun dancing bars and clubs!
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- THE FOOD!! Always a big selling point for me, clearly. The food in Barcelona was incredible, especially the seafood! Our favorite was a nice dinner we went to on Friday night called "Fishop" where it was set up as halfway between a really fancy nice restaurant and a fish market. It was decorated so cute with blue and white stripes and chandeliers, but also an option on the menu was to walk over to the ice display of fresh uncooked fish and ask for recommendations from the chefs! They would suggest a fish and a kind of preparation, I got a tuna steak and it was probably one of, if not, the best seafood meals I have ever had! Not to mention the ceviche, sushi and other delicious tapas we sampled there!
- Another bonus point for Barcelona: public restrooms (cleverly called "Toi Toi's") actually exist! And places to refill water bottles - what a concept!
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