Day at the Beach

Last night, I went out with a group of 5 of my closest friends here to this bar that is a very local spot. Everybody there was speaking in spanish except for us which I thought was awesome. It's good practice to be able to go out and talk with the locals and order drinks in spanish since some of my friends speak very little spanish so I can't speak it on a daily basis. The bar was called Forest of the Fairies or something like that and the inside is decorated like a fairie tail. Looking at the ceiling is like looking up into a tree canopy and there and mock-trees and flowers throughout the place. It was like walking into a story book. The only weird thing that we noticed was that there was no music but actually it was really nice because we found a table and talked for a few hours.

That bar closed at about 1:30 so we took a long walk through the city to a popular bar called Chupitos or "Shots". I swear that there is a wall of like 100 shots that they'll make for you so rather than picking one at random, we asked the bartender about her favorite. The first Alex and I tried together was an "orgasmo". The bartender made us turn around and face away from the bar and take the shot without looking back. As soon as we each took it, they put a head massager on our heads... it was weird but the shot tasted like chocolate. The second one that we had was a complete surprise... I don't even know what it was called. She handed us a skewer with a marshmallow on the end and suddenly starts a fire on the bar. Nicole, Alex, and I started roasting them over the fire until they were done, dipped them in our shots as instructed, drank them down, and then ate the marshmallow. That one was really good too. Other people from our group got the fire shot which they actually light on fire before you do it. My only complaint about the bar in general is that it is tiny! We hardly could move so after we each had 2, we left for a long walk home. Alex and I walked with Tony and Felipe back to our place and they only had a few blocks walk after dropping us off. Overall, it was a good but pretty chill night.

Today, Alex and I woke up at 11 for breakfast and then went back to bed about 2 hours afterwards because we were still exhausted. I don't know what it is but I am always exhausted here. It's probably just that we are constantly running around sight-seeing and I walk EVERYWHERE. I think that'll get better as I get used to it. If I keep it up, I'll be in awesome shape by the time that I get back to the states. I am really considering getting a membership for these bicycle rental stops rather than taking the subway everywhere. First of all, I'd be able to see a lot more of Barcelona, it's a lot better for me, and I think it would be cool to cut out the need to pay money to get some place. I think some of my friends think that I'm crazy but I think it would be awesome to ride a bike to class (all downhill :)) and walk home. I'd only have to pay for the initial membership fee and it's unlimited from there. Let me know if that sounds like a good idea or if I sound just crazy.

After waking up from a nap, I found that I had received a text from a friend saying that we should meet up. He said he was going to be at the Columbus Statue at 4 and that we should meet him there so then we could walk to the beach together. Alex and I met him there at 4 and walked to the boardwalk to meet up with Nicole and Tori. Port Vell is gorgeous! There are hundreds of sailboats with taller masts than I have ever seen. All over the boardwalk, there are palm trees, performers, and tons and tons of people. I'll have to go back with my camera when it's charged again to take pictures so you guys can see too. We got down to the ocean and the sun was starting to set. Needless to say, it was beautiful. You get a nice view of the city, the mountains, and the ocean all from the same spot. We stayed there for a long time looking at rocks, relaxing, and taking pictures. I think what I'm going to do from now on is to collect a single rock from each country/beach I go to and as much sea glass as I can find. I am considering making a mosaic when I get home with them.

The sun was just about done setting when we decided that we were all getting hungry so we found a restaurant close to the beach to get dinner from. Being that it was Sunday and that Sunday in the Hernandez house is traditional spanish food, I chose to get something familiar... Lasagna! It wasn't exactly what I'm used to but it was really good. The cheese was like nothing I've ever had before... sorta runny and almost white in color but it was delicious. Afterwards, we all left to make our ways back home so we could be there by 8 pm (dinner time in Spain). I was satisfied with how full I felt which I figured was a good thing. Dinner's always a big surprise and it's better to go in feeling full if you're not sure that you're going to like what's being served. We also have extra food in our room in case we have issues with the meal.

Dinner consisted of tortillas espan~oles (basically a patty of eggs and potatos), salad with bits of tuna, some sorta funky cheese, and my worst nightmare bits of what she calls ham. I think knowing what to expect as far as taste-wise helps because we were able to eat a little more than last time. Eating it sandwiched between pieces of bread or the egg helps a lot. Chasing it with a cucumber or something like that with a completely different taste tricks your taste buds long enough to let it go down. Three glasses of water were also a welcome part of my meal.

Now, I'm about to get ready for bed since the official first day of all classes is tomorrow. Afterwards, we're thinking that we'll take a walk down to the "Barrio Gotic" or the gothic neighborhood to see another market that's supposed to also be beautiful and Santa Maria del Mar Chapel. If I can, I'd also love to see the Sagrada Familia (another Gaudi masterpiece that's still under constuction) which I've been dying to see since I knew I was coming to Barcelona. It's another one of those things that you'll need pictures to understand so... those will soon come. For now, I'm going to get my stuff ready for classes and then go to bed. I'll talk to you all soon.