If we are walking uphill, we are going the right way!

After went we on our little bar crawl the night before it was time to see what else Barcelona had to offer.  I found a cooking class that taught you how to cook paella and sangria. Paella is a Spanish dish that typically that of vegetables, seafood, rice and spices. We were in!

Saturday morning consisted of homework and getting a quick workout in before hitting La Rambla.  We got to the bar that was hosting the cooking class and it turned out to be about 20 Australians that were doing the class as well.  Aussies are EVERYWHERE! It is their winter so they all leave and travel around, I am not complaining because they speak English; nice change compared to butchering a conversation in Spanish.

The cooking class was awesome; the chef first took us to the open-air market and showed us how to buy the fresh produce.  We then went to the bar and the chef showed us how to prepare the meal, we were served endless sangria and tapas while he was preparing the paella in the largest pan I have ever seen.  After the paella was prepared and needed to sit we went and learned how to make sangria.  I now know how to make the best/strongest sangria!  They asked if anyone wanted to try to make a batch behind the bar… no one said anything so I obviously offered myself.  It was really cool to get behind the bar and mix up a delish pitcher of sangria.

After the delish paella Tamara, two Aussies (that I met at the paella class) and myself decided to go to the Magic Fountain.  It is a HUGE fountain that plays music and does different routines according to the music.  When we got there it was a mad rush to get near the fountain and once it started it didn’t seem that “magical”.  We stood there for about 30 minutes and decided it look like a big Buckingham Fountain and that we were going to leave.  A bit disappointed I talked to Maria and she said if we had wait just a bit more it would have started the music and the routine.  Bummer!! I will have to go back.

Sunday morning I decided to go to the highest point in Barcelona, Tibidabo.  I took a bus up to the top of the mountain that took about 40 minutes speeding along little winding streets.  The view was amazing; I could see all of Barcelona and other surrounding cities.  It was outstanding!  There is an amusement park at the top along with a cathedral.  I thought it was kind of strange to have an amusement park, but it was pretty cool because the rollercoasters went over the edge and back. I did not go on, there was no way!  It was definitely a view I want to see again.

(The cathedral on top of Tibidabo)

My 2^nd roommate arrived on Sunday!  Her name is Kristine and she is from Norway.  She is here for 2 weeks to take a Spanish course.  And I must say I have been very lucky with roommates, both are awesome!  We all get along very well and like to go out with each other, it seems like we have known each other a lot longer than just 2 weeks.

 (Nicolle, Kristine and I)

Monday, August 13^th came around very fast!  I had class and then afterwards the three girls from my class, Kristine and I decided to go to a language exchange.  When we walked in the lady running the event was stoked that four of us were native English speaking teachers.  So it was great practice on our Spanish and practice with teaching non-English speakers.  We met some great people and many of them were very fluent in English.  The bar we went to was a British bar and they had Strongbow cider!  Score, something other then Estrella! (Barcelona’s budlight).

Wednesday, August 15th a festival started in Gracia which we planned on going to.  Gracia is a neighborhood in Barcelona.  It is a nice, hip area; comparable to Wrigleyville or Lakeview.  The different streets in the neighborhood had a competition as to who can decorate their street the best, and it had to be recyclable products.  It was very inventive! I went with the girls from my class, Kristine and the guys we met the Monday night from the language exchange.  It was nice to feel like I knew people!  The guys brought a bunch of their friends and we had a huge group walking around and listening to the bands.

(Gracia Festa)

We ended up walking around a long time having the cheapest beer ever.  A can of beer is 65 cents!  I can’t get over how cheap it is here.  A can of Heineken is 80 cents if you want to be a big spender.  Uncle Tom will love it here!

Thursday we decided to have a roommate night and got a few bottles of wine and hung out at the park overlooking the city.  We then moved to a little bar right outside our apartment building and had a few more drinks.  That bar will be a new favorite since it is so close!!

(this was taken from my bedroom window)

Since Nickie and I have yet to go to the beach, we decided we HAD to go Friday.  We took the bus to the playa and scoped out where to catch some rays.  To our surprise there were a ton of topless people; old, young, big, little, all different kinds! Everyone was free-boobing! It was crazy to see people just stripping down to nothing to change, seems like everyone is very comfortable with themselves.  I will be keeping my top on….

Tonight Nickie, Kristine and I are planning on going on a bar crawl…We will see how this goes!