barcelona

That was an intense trip.

Let me start by saying that Alba's house has no heating...

Secondly, Alba had 2 other friends who were visiting her while I was there too. Alba's room mates are not the nicest people. There was the Swedish girl who we just called "la sweca" (the Swede) who didn't allow anyone to sleep on the couch. (not sure why but I imagine it might be because she wanted to leave the common spaces as common spaces and not turned into bedrooms for transients. but I mean, come on, its just a few days...brat) and then there was the English couple who Alba said was nice, but then I realised she only thought that because her English is bad and she wasn't really understanding what the English people were saying. They were HORRIBLE. I still get a knot in my stomach when I think about them.

Alba's 2 visiting friends were Carol(ina) and Antonio. They were super nice and I'm glad I met them. They are both based out of Madrid so that means I have more friends in Madrid now.

The first night Carol and I slept in Alba's bed and Alba and Antonio slept at another friends house (Christina) because the 3 of them stayed out really late.

The second night we all stayed out until 9AM and I just ended up crashing on the couch until 4 pm

The third night I slept on Albas floor.

The fourth and fifth night I came home to find Antonio and Alba (just friends) sleeping in the bed. I was fine sleeping on the floor but they insisted i sleep in the bed too. so there were 3 of us in 1 bed.

BASICALLY I didnt sleep much in Barcelona. (mom please dont send me an e-mail telling me to get sleep and take care of myself because generally i DO, just Barcelona was a different situation)

The first 2 or 3 days I just hung out with the Spaniards, and MAN did my Spanish improve in those days!! it was super intense. It takes so much energy at first to only listen and speak in Spanish. I really need to only hang out with Spanish speakers in Madrid. Too bad most of my friends here are American... Since the Spaniards all already had been to barcelona a bunch of times, they didnt want to do all the touristy stuff. So we did a bunch of local things which i'm greatful for. The language barrier makes saying what you want politely difficult. so after just saying what i wanted to do one time. I'd stop because I didnt want to seem rude or bossy or selfish or etc etc to Alba who was so kind to let me stay at her house (after only having met her once in madrid) and I was really so thankful for that. by the end of the 3rd day my american friends from madrid had arrived to barcelona. I was really excited to just speak a little english with them and relax and be a tourist. we went to (my favorite architect) Antoni Gaudí's magnum opus,  Sagrada Familia , as well as his Parque Güell. Those were the two things I was most looking forward to seeing (again- because I saw them 3 years ago when I was in Spain too).

Barcelona is a gorgeous city, but its not very Spanish. The people there don't even really call themselves Spanish, they say they are Catalan, and they speak Catalan (which is very similar to Spanish, and they speak Spanish as well) Generally, they want independence from Spain. The people are NOT friendly there. Unlike Madrid where you can make friends anytime anywhere. In general, I concluded that If I were Spanish, I'd probably want to live in Barcelona. But as an American wanting a Spanish experience I'm so glad I am in Madrid where people speak Spanish, ARE Spanish (from all different parts of Spain) and are friendly too! I LOVE MADRID! Its funny, every time I'm away from Madrid, I miss it. Its always so fun to come back to it :)

Next time you're in Barcelona, looking for a healthy place to eat (because sometimes you just are hasta los juevos from eating so much bread and ham and cheese and beer) check out these places:

maoz-This is a chain vegan falafel joint where you can fill your pita up with as may toppings AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WANT!!

juicy jones- You will get a seizure when you walk into here but it will feel really really good. Every inch of wall and ceiling is covered with every color of paint imaginable. The colorful menu consists of some really healthy really rich smoothies and their food list is too vast to try and explain so just go there and be healthy and happy!

woki market- Asian fusion food. you pick your noodles, toppings, and sauce. lots of vegetables and lots of smiles :)

ok thats all for now, im going to go attack the christmas market that has opened across the street from my flat!!!