Musings

The weather finally got nice again yesterday, so it's been great to see the sun again(something i got so accustomed to so quickly). Yesterday, I had a day full of classes, but it was just so nice, that in my one break I went down to the beach to do a little reading. (what a nice option to have!) It was so peaceful sitting in the sun and getting some reading done. So many people are at the beach for it being January. (However, all the locals are bundled in bulky coats and scarves. Strange, but I guess it's a cultural thing. )One kid was swimming yesterday, but I'm pretty sure he wasn't from here and just was doing it to say he'd swam in the Mediterranean.

Yesterday after my classes, I hung around town and hit up a few shops(including the grocery store to buy a few things). I love to walk around the grocery stores here. The food is not completely different then our food, but some things they eat seem really random. I don't know, I just find it fun to wonder up and down the aisles, trying to read the cans and guess what could be made with the food. One type of food, pan tomaca, is authentic to Catalan cuisine. I actually had it for the first time yesterday in a sandwich. People in my classes talk about how strange it is, but I found it to be yummy. It's basically crushed tomatoes ,some spices, and olive oil. It's brushed or crushed onto the bread. (basically to replace a sliced tomato). I guess you can make it yourself, or they sell it in the store. I really enjoy putting marinara sauce on my sandwiches back home, so this is similar and yummy.

Anyway, after wondering around the store, I went to a wine testing that I signed up for at school. It was in a really neat, very old wine shop. The testing took place in an old back room, surrounded by wine racks. Very cool and classy. I actually felt a little too classy, haha. I'm not the world's biggest fan of wine, but I figured maybe if I learned about it, i'd appreciate it a little more. The class was very informative, and we learned a lot about wine, how to "properly" drink it, how to classify its aromas, how to tell its various qualities, etc, etc. We also learned more about cava, the authentic drink of Catalunya, which of course I enjoyed. Wine is so dang cheap here. The one bottle we tried he said they sold for 3E. He said the same bottle would go for about 20E is France, and who knows how much back home. He explained that there is an overload of wine production here in Spain, which makes it so cheap.

This morning I woke up and went and saw La Sagrada Familia before my class. It was really neat, still a work in progress, but very massive and impressive. I am going to go back and get a ticket to go inside when I have more time.

Tonight at midnight, I'm leaving on my first trip outside of Barca! A few friends and I are traveling to Madrid. I'm really excited to experience another Spanish city, and we all figured Madrid was a good city to start out as a travel destination. We are going by bus, which probably won't be the most comfortable accommodations, but it was what was cheapest. Everyone raves about how cheap European travel is, but to get from Barca to Madrid is so pricy! I could have flown to London for cheaper than to Madrid. At any rate we got a good deal on the bus, and we'll get there tomorrow morning, then spend all Saturday and Sunday in Madrid, then bus it home just in time for classes Monday morn.I will have to tell you all about my adventures when we return.