Wednesday, April 17, 2013

This is my last post before I leave Barcelona to go on our Mediterranean cruise. I am not sure if I will have a chance to post again before I return to Minnesota.

We slept in until about 8 am this morning and organized our packing. I wrote my blog post in Word, because I am having problems the internet connection in the apartment. We headed off to breakfast, the four of us with five vouchers for breakfast. Since my brother and sister-in-law arrived a day later, we ended up with 2 extra breakfasts that we took as take out. We made a trip to the store to stock up on Spanish chocolate (it said no added sugar, so we ate a whole bar yesterday to make sure my friends would actually enjoy my gift). I bought five big bars and I hope they do not melt before I return!

Sigrid (my sister-in-law ) and I shopped at a store--in my younger days we would have called it a "variety" store, but one of my Spanish instructors referred to it as the "Chino." These stores are run by people of Chinese descent. Sigrid stocked up on scarves and socks, etc for the trip. Back at the apartment, we finished packing and drank the "cava" that the University of Tarragona gave me. We sat on the terrace again just enjoying the end of our stay. We will now get ourselves off to port terminal. Hasta luego--nos vemos!

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

My internet connection is very spotty at this apartment so even though I would have liked to review the website for the Universidad Oberta, I can’t. Instead my husband, my brother and I go around the corner for breakfast. The apartment includes the breakfast but since they have no room, we have vouchers to go to a nearby bar (it is more a bar than a restaurant). There we can get coffee, juice, and a croissant, donut or muffin (it’s not called a muffin, but it’s like a muffin). My sister-in-law was enjoying catching up on her sleep and so we took her breakfast back to the apartment. It was time for me to go, so I walked to the metro, transferred to another line at the “Clot” stop and then transferred to the tram line for the last leg of the journey along the southern part of the Diagonal Avenue.

The building for the Universidad Oberta was a busy place, but their offices were only on the second floor. Anna Zuniga came down to meet me and then showed me around the technical processing area, pointed out the IT services area and then showed me on her computer the website for the Universidad Oberta. It is a totally online university that opened in the 1990s and they have a well-developed website for their students. They use Open CourseWare for their portal and include everything each student needs to succeed. At one point I asked Anna what she thought about MOOCs—a recent proliferation of mostly free online courses. She thinks they are a current fad that might be useful in some cases. However, the support and quality of online courses offered by institutions like Universidad Oberta make it unlikely that MOOCs will threaten them.

I left Anna and returned to the apartment. The others had walked to Passeig de Gracia and looked at the Gaudi houses. They arrived back at the apartment a bit later and we set off in search of paella. We took the metro to Barceloneta by the port and soon found a restaurant. We sat outside and had the seafood paella from the menu del dia. This means you can pick an appetizer, an entrée, a drink, and a dessert. We had sangria for four, shared various appetizers, seafood paella for four (in one large pan) bread, and ice cream for dessert. The waiter was impressed that we managed to finish the paella!

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering along the beach, just enjoying the day and the scenery. We ended up at the bottom of the Rambla and strolled along with a crowd of people. We saw living statues and took a few pictures. At the top of the Rambla we stepped into the Triangle shopping center and used the ATM, stocking up on Euros for the trip ahead. Then we took what I assume will be the last metro ride of the trip and came out of the metro with the Sagrada Familia church looming over us. It is quite a sight!

We arranged our transportation to the ship for the next day and then spent the rest of the evening doing laundry and getting ready for the cruise. We had CNN on, watching the sad scenes from the Boston Marathon and wondering what demented person or group is responsible.

We emptied out our refrigerator so we had fruit, wine, beer, cheese crackers and other miscellaneous items out on the terrace. Just another lovely evening in Barcelona! Tomorrow we are on to Phase four of my trip: The Cruise…

Monday, April 15, 2013

I was up early today for a library visit--the Universidad Autonoma which is located in Bellaterra, a half hour ride on the train (to the north? my sense of direction is not that great!) I arrived a few minutes early and took some pictures of the entry before asking for Joan Escofet, Director of Library Services. I found him on second floor. He had prepared a full day schedule of meeting with his staff for service overviews and then I toured three libraries. I was very impressed with their formal plan for constant improvement of library services and their ISO certification. The libraries I visited were light, well organized, and very well used by the students. I enjoyed my visit and meeting the librarians. They were all very nice and welcoming. While we were talking at lunch, I told them my next journey is the cruise that leaves Barcelona on Wednesday. They had many suggestions for places to go and see and we even discussed Donna Leon's mystery books (set in Venice). I had a great day in Bellaterra.

I was almost back to Barcelona on the train around 5pm when I received a text message from my sisiter-in-law that they were in a taxi on the way to Eric Vokel. I arrived a few minutes after they did. We spent some time catching up and then went for a walk by the Sagrada Familia. We ended up on the Gaudi Avenue and sat on a patio having drinks and tapas. The Sagrada Familia loomed down from us--it was quite a sight!

We ambled back to the apartment, stopping for a few more provisions (wine, cheese, crackers, beer,,) and sat out on the patio for a couple of hours enjoying the evening. (sorry, Minnesota!)

I have a short visit to the Universidad Oberta tomorrow morning and then it is time to turn my attention to cruising!

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Mike was already awake when I got up this morning—I hope his jetlag does not last too long. We went down for breakfast and then went out to look for the Santa Maria del Mar church. We had walked by it yesterday, but it was not open so we were hoping that (on a Sunday) it would be. We walked to the end of the Rambla and then along the Passeig de Colon. I pointed up the main Post Office to Mike but he did not seem too interested! We angled back up towards the Placa de Catalunya and found the church and it was open. It dates back to the 1300’s and is done in the Gothic style. It is very beautiful and worth seeing!

We checked out of the Residencia and dragged our suitcases through the metro to our last residence in Barcelona, the Eric Vokel Suites near the Sagrada Familia in the Gracia area. We have a 2 bedroom apartment with kitchen/dining room/livingroom, 2 bathrooms and a terrace. My brother and his wife will arrive tomorrow. After checking in, we walked over to the Sagrada Familia and sat outside in the sun just enjoying the day. Later on we walked up the Gaudi Avenue and stopped at a small restaurant for churros and chocolate. It was a low-key day but the weather was beautiful and we enjoyed everything (especially once we reached our apartment!)

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Today is my sister's birthday (happy birthday, Pat!) and the day I went to meet Mike at the airport. As you know, he missed his connection in New York Thursday evening, but not because of weather. There was a problem with a seat in first class (not one that anyone was sitting in) and they had to file reports and get someone to work on it. Then they had to de-ice the plane again and wait in line for take off. So by the time they arrived in New York, the doors of the plane to Barcelona were closed. He spent the next 24 hours hanging around the airport until the next Delta flight to Barcelona. Fortunately, he called our daughter-in-law, Lisa, who emailed me that he was coming a day late. So on Saturday  I used public transportation to go meet him and made him use public transportation coming back. He is tired, of course, since in addition to normal jet lag, he spent an extra day traveling, but he is very happy to be somewhere there is no snow!

After we got him checked into the Residencia, I took him to the Boqueria (market) for a glass of fresh juice, (he had pina colada and I had black raspberry coconut). Then we hiked up the rest of the Rambla. I showed him the historical building of the University of Barcelona that I saw yesterday. Well, just the outside since it is closed on weekends. We stopped a the same sandwich shop that Lola and I stopped at for Iberian ham sandwiches and beer. Mike is interested in going to the Picasso Museum so we walked down that way so he could see where it is. We continued down to the old port and sat watching boats and sailboats and people. I believe the tourist season has started again or maybe just the nice weather brought everyone out. We walked back up the Rambla and saw probably 5 fake statue street performers. There were also guys who were trying to sell some obnoxious noise maker (one that they constantly demonstrate) and the usual shops and vendors along the way. There were lots of flower stands today too.

We walked back toward the hotel stopping at the church to check the time for tonight's service and going back to the room so Mike can rest a bit before we do anything else. After showering and changing clothes, he lies down for a while and is soon asleep. After he wakes up, we go out and try to decide what we will do for an evening meal after Mass. We check out a few places and then go to Mass. It is the same church I attended last week and this service is also in Spanish rather than Catalan. I like that because I at least have a chance of understanding in Spanish! Afterwards, we walk out and decide to stop at the grocery and just make sandwiches. We have fresh strawberries (which Mike says taste like summer strawberries), ham and cheese on a warm baguette of bread, olives, and chocolate for dessert. Mike is now lying on the bed thinking about brushing his teeth. I don't think he will be awake much longer. Tomorrow we leave the Residencia for a three day stay in an apartment where we will be joined on Monday evening by my brother Mike and his wife. My days in Barcelona are numbered!

Friday, April 12, 2013

I was up around 6 am this morning--making a plan for how to check out of my room, store my luggage, go the airport to meet my husband, and come back to check into a double room. I started to read my email and found out from my daughter-in-law that my husband missed his connection in New York and will not arrive until Saturday. I was disappointed but it does make moving from room to room in the Residencia easier. Check out time is noon and check in time is 11 am so I figured that would work out perfectly. I got everything into bags and settled down with the computer to work until time to check out/in. About 10:30, the nice young man at the front desk called to tell me that my double room was ready and I could come down and make the switch. So with a minimum of fuss I was soon installed in my new double room, just a few doors from where I started out earlier. The young man at the desk inquired about the second person and when he found out that Mike will not arrive until tomorrow, he adjusted the bill to one person for this evening. I would not have even thought to ask!

To begin with I wasn't sure I would like staying in the Residencia, but have found that I like it quite a bit. While it is not as posh as some hotels, it has everything I need. It is quiet and clean and very close to the action in Barcelona. I consider it a "green" sort of place, because they try to keep costs down by asking you to use towels more than one day and they have some of the hall lights on sensors. I actually feel quite special walking down the hall with the lights turning on as I approach. In addition, all of the staff here are very nice. I have to turn the key in at the desk whenever I leave, but when I return, whoever is at the desk remembers my room number and hands the key over without my having to ask. The security doors are usually open during the day and later on I push a button to have the door opened. I have felt secure and at home here.

Since I did not have to make a trip to the airport today, I stopped at the "Boqueria" market to get a glass of fresh juice (strawberry/coconut today) and then headed up the Rambla to the University of Barcelona. The part of the University of Barcelona that is located just up the Rambla from me is the historical  campus of the University and houses the Mathematics Faculty. It was built  in the neo-gothic style between the years 1863-1889 by the architect Elies Rogent who also designed the Placa de Universitat.

   
The campus is completely enclosed so when they close the doors, no one can get inside the grounds or the buildings. The grounds are quite nice and I spent about an hour wandering around inside and outside. I have a picture of the outside of the front of the building and the inside of the library. There were quite a few people using computers in the library, but I am not sure how many were using materials. They did have new materials too--although I guess you would not know it from looking at this picture. (sorry for all the glare)

Later on I was buying souvenirs and had already agreed on a price (like she gave me a great deal, right?) and the storekeeper asked me if I lived in Barcelona because my Spanish was very good! I decided it was a compliment because, as I said, we had already agreed on the price. I dropped things off at my new roomy room and remembered that I had not yet scoped out the location for my last library visit next Tuesday morning. I checked Google and my maps and hopped on the metro for a quick trip (or so I thought). I got off the metro and went the exact opposite direction that I should have gone. I knew where I was so I wasn't lost, but it took me quite a while to figure out where I wanted to be. When I did, I felt pretty dumb because it is an area I am familiar with, just had not noticed the street before. I had fun anyway, doing some people watching and taking another tram ride. I am counting on the fact that transferring from the tram to the metro only counts as one trip! With my luck, I will be a  trip or two short on my 10-trip metro card  at the end of my stay here.

I returned to the Residencia (the girl at the desk already knows my new room number) and spent some time looking through my packed bags for things I need the next two days. Grrr. I refuse to unpack again for just two days! Well, that is about it for today. My blog is updated and I discovered I get lots more channels on TV in this room. Do you suppose I just did not know how to access them in the other room?  I am watching the Disney channel--Sofia the First in Spanish.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

My appointment today was with the Politecnica Library in Barcelona. I was to meet my contact, Marta , at the Architecture Library and then we would go on to the larger main library at the Campus del Norte (across the big Diagonal Avenue to the north as you might suspect!). I walked right into a student demonstration of some sort. It was complete with headstones and memorial candles announcing the "death" of UPC. I believe they are protesting cuts to education in Spain and, indeed, both librarians I spoke with today mentioned the crisis in funding for education. I hope things get better for them soon.

I encountered Marta just outside the library.  I was a bit early and was about to sit down to wait a few minutes before presenting myself inside, but she met me right there. I briefly met the head of the library and then sat down with Marta Vivancos and Marta Serrat Brustenga. How is that for helping me out? They both have the same first name! Anyway both of them had prepared presentations of their library and the services provided. We discussed libraries in general and services specifically  and then we walked around the building. The libraries at most universities in Spain are set up differently than the library at my university. The concept of a main library is not generally used in Spain. As the Martas explained to me, they have twelve department libraries at UPC, each with a director and staff. They would like to combine libraries but there is a lot of resistance to the idea from the different departments who want the library very near the departments and the staff who work in the libraries.

As I mentioned I started out in the Architecture Library so all the resources there pertained to architecture. The building has many windows and a skylight so the natural lighting is fabulous. Of course, in Spain where it can get quite warm, this can be a problem and they are hoping to get some sort of shades. There is a circular opening in the floors to let the light from the skylight through and the opening is surrounded by computers. This library also has a Factoria to help faculty only (not students)with technology but Marta said that it is getting used less and less because the faculty is generally quite saavy on their own. On the other hand the Factoria at Pampeu Fabra was also for students.

After my tour of the Architecture Library, Marta and I crossed the Diagonal Avenue and hiked up a hill to the North Library. We passed many of the UPC campus buildings along the way and others from the University of Barcelona which has some buildings in the same location. Marta had a meeting so she turned me over to Miquel Codina, the head of the North Library (I hope I have that title right). He had a personalized presentation ready for me and when I asked a few technical questions, he called in Javier Clavero, a Tecnic Informatic (TIC).  Javier has used PHP to automate room reservations and computer availability. He is also doing mobile versions of the most needed web pages. They are also using QR codes for many things. We both agreed that QR codes are quite useful even though I just read that they are dead (MSU started using them this semester). I was given a tour of the library.

UPC has a somewhat unusual entrance--it was explained to me that it was changed by the architect. I don't have a good idea what it was like before. You walk into the entry area; off to the right is the first floor of the library and off to the left on the other side of the entry is the elevator and stairs. When you go to another floor, you use a walkway between the floor access and the library building.

The group study rooms are located in the walkway on two floors. Within the library they had traditional study spaces in tables and chairs and tables with dividers for small groups and individuals. They have the same sort of arrangement as we do at our library; the higher you go, the more quiet it is. First floor is totally noisy with cell phones and groups. However, no food or drink (except water) is allowed in the library. Strolling along taking pictures, I tripped over someone's laptop cord which was strung from a table over to the wall. I was going to plug it back in but Miquel said it wasn't allowed anyway and handed it to the student. Both institutions I visited this week assured me that there are usually more students using the library, but my visit was early in the semester before the students got busy with projects. To me it appeared that plenty of students were in each of the libraries I visited.

On my way back to the Residencia, I stopped in at the L'illa Mall and wandered around for a while. I took a tram ride back to the metro stop and rode back downtown to the Residencia. Tourist season is in full bloom now and I am loathe to walk the Rambla these days with all the people around. I just went right back to the Residencia.

By the time I got back to the Residencia, Miquel had sent me his presentation. In return, I thanked him and sent him a picture of the MSU Library with 3-6 inches of new snow! I spent the evening packing because on Friday I move to a double room--my husband is due to arrive. We were concerned about the snow but I had checked his flight throughout the day and it looked like it got off on time. Later on my sister-in-law called me on my Spanish phone service and by the time I dug my phone out, the call had ended. (in my defense this was the first call I received in Spain and it took me a minute to recognize the sound as a call)  I ended up calling her and we set our plans for the day she and my brother will arrive.  So this is my last night alone in Barcelona.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013 Pampeu Fabra

I woke up early this morning. My appointment was not until 10 am and not far away, but I was a bit nervous anyway. On a normal day, I could have walked it easily, but since I thought I would spend the whole day on my feet, I decided to take the metro. So, I walked about  10 minutes to the metro line I needed to take and took it ONE stop to the Ciutadella/Vila Olimpica stop. This is very near the Barceloneta beach and the Parc de la Ciutadella.

I arrived a few minutes early and found a history of the university with pictures of the three campus/buildings. Pampeu Fabra is quite a new university--established in 1990. To me the library seemed very forward looking and has well-developed services for the users. They have an excellent information literacy program and an extremely well-developed, broad-based service desk. At the same desk, they have Reference (with a librarian), circulation (another person), technology assistance (someone from their information technology dept), and what they called PIE (punto de informacion al estudiante). I found the PIE part extremely interesting. They have 15 people who cover this section of the desk (1 at a time, of course!) from 9am to 9pm and they are not library employees but university employees. So instead of a separate desk in some other location for all the other questions students have, Pompeu Fabra locates it in the library--the place the students know and use. I was very impressed with this.

Inside the library, they have what they call the Factoria--a place with technology; special computer software, scanners, and personal assistance for both faculty and students. The staff there helps faculty with the content management system, Moodle, making tutorials, and anything else they need. They also help students with video editing, scanning, and whatever. I saw the same setup in Tarragona in March.
During my visit  I met with the Directora, Montserrat Espinos and with four of her staff who all explained the part of library services for which they are responsible. About 2 pm, I accompanied several of them to lunch and I had a great time. They were all joking around and telling me places I needed to visit. I pulled out my laminated map (they laughed to see that Pampeu Fabra was circled on it) and they pointed everything out to me. The owner of the place where we had lunch is from Galicia, and they told me that the soup several of us had was Galician. I also had chicken and rice, fresh strawberries in orange juice and a shot of espresso.

After lunch I got the walking tour of the library. They have sort of quiet space in the main part of the library except that groups can work there and talk. They have a glassed in area for real quiet and when we went in, I could tell they had done it right. You could not hear what was going on outside the glass. This main part of the library was located below street level but was open to a courtyard, so it was very light inside. We walked through to the second part of the library which is located in an old water tower--don't picture anything like our water towers. There is no longer water on the top as this picture shows.

 A young Gaudi was involved in the construction, not as the main architect. I thought I could see his hand in all the arches inside. Pampeu Fabra water tower (inside view)
The water tower area is totally quiet. About two thirds of the total space has been retro-fitted for the library. Again care was taken to preserve the historical structure while at the same time making it usable. There are three levels. The 3rd level can only be used by post-grad students--access is restricted. Of course, I was allowed entry! And my guide, librarian Xavier Brunet, took me up the winding staircase to the very top where we walked all around checking out the view. Needless to say, I was very impressed with Pampeu Fabra. Xavier took me back to Montserrat's office where I retrieved some folders I had left. Montserrat gifted me with a Pampeu Fabra bag and fan. We joked that the bag was my new "office" because had I told her I needed to have my jacket with me because it was my "office." I had paper, pens, and my camera in the pockets--things I needed with me all day! I got "dos besos" (what a joyful tradition!) and was on my way. Now I need to get ready for the next visit.

Monday-Tuesda, April 8-9, 2013

There was nothing fixed on my schedule Monday; I was awake by 6:00 am anyway. I decided to scope out the one university location that I had not yet visited. It is located about 30 minutes from Barcelona and I needed to take the train. I am sure you all think I am silly for making these trips twice, but I just feel more secure if I know where I am going. I get lost even when I think I know where I am going!

At Placa Catalunya the train station is a different station from the metro station and a different ticket--I can't use my T-10 metro ticket for this trip. So I left about 10:00 am and  had a nice train trip outside of Barcelona arriving at the stop for the Universidad Autonoma in about 30 minutes. I got off,  located the library without any problem at all,  and then wandered around a bit. I really like  college campuses, so I enjoyed the weather and the campus. (thinking about Minnesota weather made it even nicer!) I returned to Barcelona later on and judging from the number of students waiting for the train, I must have timed it for when they were done with classes as it was quite crowded.

We also had some entertainment on the train. There are often musicians on the trains who will move from car to car in the metro or on the trains playing music and then "passing the hat" for a donation. This time a young man with an amplifier on wheels got on and proceeded to play a pan pipe (I think it is called) accompanied by music played through his amp...right beside me. I would have enjoyed it more from a distance!

The next day, I took the metro to the Zona Universitaria to visit Lluis Anglada, Joan's friend and colleague, who had earlier given me names and lists of places to visit. I wanted to touch base with him and thank him for his help. Lluis showed me around his office and I met Ramon, one of the guys that works in the tech side of things. He had met Steve Elfstrand at some European conference and is working on a version of Vu-Find for the Barcelona Consortium. Lluis and I chatted about the state of libraries in general and he asked me if I had visited the National Library and I said I thought I would do it in the afternoon. He offered to make a call to set up a tour for me and he did.

Later on in the afternoon, I met my Chinese friend, Eva, from the language school.  This was our last chance to visit before I leave Barcelona. Since I had a spur of the moment chance to visit the National Library, I thought I would take her along. I met her in the Placa Catalunya and in an effort to avoid walking down the Rambla with its hordes of tourists, I took us on a side street. (I had walked up that way and had no problem). Of course, because I had an appointment, I took a wrong turn and we ended up arriving at the National Library about 15 minutes late!

We located the librarian who was to give us a tour and she took us throughout the library showing and telling us the history and the collections. The building itself is very old and started out as a hospital with "the first stone laid in 1401." (http://www.bnc.cat/eng/About-us/Historical-Building ) Imagine how difficult it would be to retrofit a building like this with electricity, climate control and other modern conveniences. To avoid changing the historical building structurally,  they used raised platforms to enclose the wires/etc and then built long workstations with computers on them.  So some library users sit at a different level from others making good use of the space.

Our guide mentioned numerous collections that have been donated throughout the years. There is a Cervantes Library with more than 8,000 items. We saw a grand piano donated by the family of famous composer, Enric Granados. There is also a player piano with a number of "rolls" (I think that is the right term) of music and both still get played. We went into several places that the usual library user does not get to see and finished our tour by walking back outside along the 2nd floor patio to our starting place. No one is allowed on the patio either! Click here to read more about the "curiosities and anecdotes." This is the same hospital where famous architect,  Antoni Gaudi, died after being run over by a tram.

My friend Eva was very impressed that she ended up on the tour of the National Library. We visited the public library that is nearby too. We had some ice cream at Burger King and then she went off to an "Intercambio" meeting and I returned to La Residencia to get ready for my visit to the library at the University of Pampeu Fabra. So Monday and Tuesday are done.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

It was pretty quiet in my new neighborhood last night; I heard a motorcycle or two but that was it. I woke up early  and was ready for breakfast before it was ready. (had to wait until 8:30) I took my phone down to the big shared living room in the basement where I found a coffee vending machine.  I  checked out the reading material there; it looked like many publications of research projects. Since this is the residence for "investigators," maybe the articles were written here, but I don't know that. There was a small group at breakfast. It looked like most people were making grilled ham and cheese sandwiches--they are called bikinis here. I was not in the mood for that so I had cereal with milk, fruit, a hard boiled egg and coffee. Lola would have liked the coffee. It was served in a regular coffee carafe with hot milk on the side so the coffee was more like we are used to at home. I had to make my own cafe con leche and it was not quite the same, but I made do. Weekdays a hot breakfast is served, so I will be interested in seeing how that is.

After breakfast I went down to the computer room to see what was available. The computers are a bit dated--Windows XP and only 2 GB of memory, but they worked fine for what I was doing...a little email and a quick look at Facebook. Since it was about 2 am at home, no one was on Facebook. At about 11:15 I set off for Sunday mass. There is a church in a little plaza just a short ways off with an 11:30 mass. The small side street I am staying on was filled with people in colorful traditional dress--I think someone said they are Pakistanis. Anyway I arrived at the church shortly and people were streaming out. This puzzled me because I was sure when I read the schedule that 11:30 was the first mass. The whole courtyard was like a big fiesta; people were standing around, talking and eating. I waited until people stopped coming out and then I went in. There was music playing, but it wasn't until about 11:40 that mass finally began. I was beginning to think I had the wrong time. The mass was in Spanish rather than Catalan and for the first time I understood almost everything. They put the songs on a display so everyone could see and I knew just about every word. I think maybe the Spanish lessons did me some good.

After mass I immediately headed over to the cathedral, not because I had not had enough mass yet, but because I heard that people showed up around 1pm and danced the traditional Sardana at the cathedral. Sure enough when I arrived I could hear music and saw several circles of dancers. They join and raise their hands and do some intricate steps while in a circle.

There seemed to be one energetic group that jumped up and down more than the others but for the most part people seemed to take it seriously as you can see from my photo.  I saw people break into the groups by just grabbing the hands of people already in the circle. I have some video of two people doing the dance by themselves. There seemed to be a lot more women than men and while there were a few younger people, most were on the older end of the spectrum. I enjoyed it and wonder if I might be able to learn it--maybe from YouTube?

Then I was off to the Picasso Museum which is free to enter on the first Sunday of the month. I found out that it is free to enter but you still need a ticket. I stood in line for about 25 minutes which I did not think was too bad considering how long the line was when I started. When I got to the ticket counter, the attendant asked me in English where I am from--apparently I am not fooling anyone--and gave me my free ticket.

 I enjoyed the exhibit more than Alberto thinks anyone should. I  read up on it last night so I would know how the exhibits are laid out. I know that I like his earlier work more than his later work--I think my favorite was the painting he did of his mother when he was about 15 and I have always liked his Don Quixote drawing. In the 1950's he did a series of 58 paintings based on different aspects of Diego Velasquez' Las Meninas which is considered to be one of the most important paintings of Western Art. If you see the series that Picasso did, you can see that he had his own take on how he saw it! (a little to the left?)

The Barcelona museum was the idea of Picasso's lifelong friend, Jaume Sabartés, who had many paintings given to him by Picasso. He planned to locate it in Malaga, Picasso's birthplace, but Picasso suggested it be in Barcelona. It is the only Picasso museum opened in his lifetime. The works came from some Picasso had given to Barcelona, those from his friend Sabartes, over 700 that Picasso himself donated, some his wife donated after he died, other collections from other galleries, and other places, I am sure. The Picasso Museum occupies five large palaces on Calle Montcada in Barcelona so the building itself is quite interesting. You can find out more with this Wikipedia article.

I have about a 32" flat screen TV in my Residencia room and it is much nicer to watch than the TV at my former piso. I don't have as many channels, but they seem more interesting. Tonight I have been watching Steve McQueen and Richard Crenna speak excellent Spanish in some war movie and Sean Connery was also doing a fine job in some other movie earlier!

Well, enough with the procrastination--I still need to work on how my language study has benefited my professional development. More later.

Saturday, April 6, 2013

The guys were up late last night with the TV on loud and even with my headphones on I could still hear them. I did not get a lot of sleep and at 7 am I heard Rickard get up and leave. I got up a bit later, got some coffee, and cleaned out the refrigerator. I took some things down to the recycling bins.With the guys, everything ends up in the trash, so I try to rescue some of the bigger things for the bins. When I came back, Alvaro was up (out on the balcony having a smoke) and when he came in, he asked me if I knew where John was. A strange question I thought but apparently John stayed out all night. Alvaro went back in his room and I left things like laundry soap and giant bottles of shampoo for them--wrote a goodbye note and left.

As I got to the elevator at the metro stop, a woman was looking at a map and I was actually able to help her with directions (in Spanish). Then I went down to the metro and ran into a couple of young people from the states (one from New Orleans and one from Pittsburgh). They had just arrived from Madrid and were on their way to the same stop I was. We got on together and chatted about what they would want to see during their two days in Barcelona. By this time I felt like such an experienced city dweller! I soon arrived at my new home for the next six days, La Residencia de Investigadores. I was too early to check in as I had expected, but the receptionist held my luggage for me. Relieved of a lot of dead weight, I walked off to the Hotel Indigo to return the keys to the "piso." I stopped for coffee and a croissant and hung around the Placa de Catalunya until I could return to the Residencia and check in. The Placa was packed as usual but the area felt very familiar to me.

Back at the Residencia, I checked in and dragged all my stuff to my third floor room. My room is at the very end of the hall, so I think it will be fairly quiet unless I get a lot of noise from outside. I am in the livelier part of town now. My current room is much bigger than my room at the apartment so I have space to set up my computer and I can keep my stuff in the bathroom. It feels more like home! I must say, I am relieved to have my own bathroom again, but at the same time, I am glad I had the experience of meeting the three guys. I unpacked everything and then went out to explore the neighborhood. I found a church for tomorrow and found the route to the cathedral. I want to go to the cathedral tomorrow because that is where  people can be seen dancing the Sardana, the Catalan national dance. It is also the first Sunday of the month and some of the museums are free to enter. I want to go to the Picasso Museum ( my afternoon teacher, Alberto, said it has nothing). You have to go Figueres to see the best of Picasso. If Alberto is right, I don't want to spend a lot of money to see it and I don't have time to go to Figueres.

I got back to the Residencia and have spent the last of the day writing a report for the first part of my sabbatical. I have to turn it in within two weeks and I won't get the grant money for it until the report is turned in--I am motivated! I am also working up files of the libraries I will be visiting. I am just realizing that I am bushed--lack of sleep and 18,749 steps on the pedometer. (supposed to equal more than 9 miles) That's it for me today.

Thursday, Friday April 4-5,2013

Thursday in class I got my reminder that I will be done with classes on Friday and that I need to vacate my "piso" on Saturday and return the keys before noon. This was not a surprise because I have seen the reminders delivered to others every week.

As I was organizing my stuff for packing,  I finally got around to reading some of the information that I got in an Enforex packet the first day and found out that the school has a library. I thought about that for a while because I have been all around the school where the classrooms are and there sure isn't any library on that floor. Then I remembered seeing some bookcases along the wall across from the big classroom on the main floor. Sure enough that is the library. The main part looked like the library of someone who bought fancy-bound books that look good and the rest of it consisted of DVDs of popular movies in Spanish and popular reading in Spanish. It was all locked up and I wonder if anyone ever uses it. The other thing I noticed in the information is that it is forbidden to have alcohol in any school housing. Do you think that includes wine?

Thursday, when we had the first part of the morning class; the part where we each have to say something about what we did or contribute something to the conversation, Diego asked how we liked our new afternoon teacher. I asked him if it was Alberto's first time teaching. He said yes, and I said I could tell because he did not have the "skill and experience" that Diego has. He laughed and then, of course, he went around and asked all the other students how Alberto compared with their "estupendo" morning teacher. They all said Alberto talks too fast and is hard to understand.

After school I washed clothes because I am not sure I will have a washer available in the next place I stay. And, of course, since we have no dryer, I needed a day to get everything dry. I don't know if I mentioned that before, but every apartment has a clothes line and throughout Barcelona you can see laundry hanging out to dry. I don't think anyone has a dryer. The clothes line for our apartment is outside the two single bedroom windows-meaning I could hang clothes out in my room and the other fellow in the other single room could. I found it a bit scary to kneel on my bed and hang out the window hanging up clothes. The distance between my window and the windows across from me looked to be about 20 feet. Really no sun comes into that area and things do not dry very well. If I dropped anything there would be no way of retrieving it without going downstairs and knocking on someone's door.  Hmm. I am missing a sock.

Rickard came back while I was doing the laundry. He is the roommate that I have seen the least of and he stopped to talk for a bit. He is a Spanish teacher in Sweden and every year he spends a week (it must be their spring break)studying in Spain to improve his Spanish. This was the first time he had been to Barcelona to study Spanish. He said he went to Alicante last year and liked that better, even though it is the same language school. From what I have heard, Enforex is better than the Don Quixote school--as least the Don Quixote students seem to complain more. So Rickard will be leaving when I do. The other two, John and Alvaro, will stay on. They are both students and I suppose need a second language for whatever reason.

My last class on Friday was a bit anti-climatic. I think I am ready to move on. Diego shook my hand and wished me well. Taina from Brazil is leaving also and she, Caroline (from New York) and I exchanged contact information. Others that left last week I now see on Facebook. At the end of the second class Alberto handed Taina and me our certificates. I think everyone gets good reports if they come to class at least that is what Veronica said last week. They don't fail anyone, but if anyone needs to pass a certain test for any reason, that is where the competency shows.

I have been in contact with my husband who will arrive Friday April 12 and my brother and his wife who will travel first to Germany for a week and then arrive in Barcelona on April 15. On the 17th, our cruise leaves Barcelona. My library visits are in place and I am excited to see what is inside since I have already seen the outsides of most of them!

So, it is about 11 pm and I have all my clothes squashed into my suitcase, and my backpack and a shopping bag (that I didn't have when I arrived). I have liked having a kitchen, laundry and balcony here in the piso, so in that way, I am sorry to leave. On the other hand, it will be nice to have one all enclosed hotel room to stay in by myself again. So, on to Sabbatical 2013, Phase Two!

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

I got the first shower today since the guys were out late last night. I heard a phone alarm go off later; some kind of horrible squawking bird that went on until I got in the shower (and probably longer). I think whoever finally "snoozed" it because I heard it again later! Alvaro left for class while I was still in my room. I don't believe Rickard and John (who are supposed to start at 9am at Don Quixote) were up yet when I left for my 9:30 am. class. They were probably speaking lots of Spanish in the clubs the night before!

In class today we had a lot of discussion about different things in the first two hours of class, so even though we didn't finish the assignment, we did speak a lot of Spanish. The afternoon class was not as interesting. A question about the why of something in Spanish had our novice teacher stymied for a while. We are studying when to use the "preterito indefinido" and when to use the "imperfecto." Then they threw in the "preterito perfecto." To make things more complicated, the instructors gave answers that were different from the key in our book, saying it could be either way sometimes. I have always struggled with these concepts and still do.

After class, guess what? I took a walk! I found a park I had never noticed right next to the Sants. It had these huge metal sculpture and when I walked up to it, I saw it had steps.When I went up the steps, I found out it was a slide. (no, I did not go down the slide-had to go back down the steps) Beyond the slide was a pool and statues and walkways and benches. I went down and walked through thinking I might sit and read for a while, but an older building that you could walk through caught my eye.

When I went inside, there was a pod-looking thing made by Cisco. At first I thought it was someone's work station, but then I realized that it was a telepresence connection to a government entity to ask questions. I thought maybe it might be used by people who had questions about things like Spanish social security if there is such a thing. But then I realized that all the signs on it were in English. I took my phone out to take a picture and an employee appeared at my side and enthusiastically started explaining to me what it was used for. We chatted (in Spanish!) about what it was used for (asking questions), how long it had been there (1 month-it is a pilot project) and whether it got used very much (not really but since it was so new, I was not surprised) He asked if I wanted to use it and I demurred. He went back to his office but I was still wondering why all the information on the outside of the "pod" was in English, so I went back to ask him. I did not really get a satisfactory answer but he did talk me into trying it. I sat down and without prompting pushed a button on a touch screen, heard dialing and a nice young man in a remote location popped up. My  friend from my end had hung around to explain my curiosity and then the remote man and I chatted a bit (still in Spanish), I thanked him and he disconnected. I got up to leave, but the employee wanted to fill out the log for the call so we did. I thought it was a very interesting useful service, but I don't think it was in the right location.

Back at the piso, John and Alvaro were there. Alvaro was doing homework and John was reading a Swedish book (looked like Hunger Games). I poured myself some wine and then offered them the rest since this bottle was not my favorite and I definitely didn't want to move it on Saturday. They graciously accepted and we toasted each other (salud!).

After that I did some homework and now have almost finished updating my blog. I have noticed that since the fellows arrived, my previously speedy faultless internet connection has started dropping and fading at night. This has slowed me down a bit!

Monday, Tuesday April 1-2, 2013

Easter Monday and most everything was still closed. The day started out rainy, but I had decided that I would buy a one day ticket for the metro and use it to make sure I could find all the places I need to be in the next two weeks. I left my "piso" about 9 am and spent the whole day on the metro, walking around (empty) college campuses, visiting the beach, and planning my route to my next lodging, the Residencia d'Investigadores. Doesn't that sound impressive? Well, it is where I will stay when I do the rest of my sabbatical project, so I guess it is a fitting place!

Tuesday morning, two of my new roommates who are also new students at the Don Quixote and Enforex school, were up early to take their placement tests. Rickard could see Don Quixote across the street where he needed to go, but I gave directions to Enforex to Alvaro and later saw him in the classroom across from mine (he is in a higher level than I am) I don't believe John made it to class that morning. He told me that his phone had been stolen and I think he had no way of knowing the time or of waking himself up.

My class at school is down to six people. We have no one new and the girl from New York City, Caroline, returned from her week of travel. We do have a new teacher in the afternoon. He is originally from Brazil and just completed his doctorate (I think) in Spanish here. He is new to teaching and I can tell. I would have preferred to have Ana (who had vacation last week) back.

In the afternoon I took a walk and also went back to Las Arenas where I had bought a sim for my phone the week before. I bought Yoigo service (the name is a takeoff on Yo oigo-I hear in Spanish) and since this is my first smart phone, I had some questions that I didn't think of at the time. I also forgot to get a receipt. I suppose you think it is funny that I have my first smart phone in Spain and have to deal with all the questions I have in Spanish. Well, I agree!

After my walk, I was working on my homework and I asked John if he knew there was a big "futbol" game tonight, Barcelona vs. Paris (in Paris). So he turned on the TV and he, Alvaro, and I watched for a while. Honestly, I didn't understand what was going on at all and when the first time period was over, I retreated to my room. Rickard came home later and they  enthusiastically watched the rest of the game. I checked the score online and the game ended in a tie 2-2. So nobody even won? The boys went out clubbing and returned at 3:30 am. I heard them come in even though they weren't all that noisy. So that was the end of Tuesday for me.

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Today is Easter Sunday, my sister's birthday, and time change day in Spain. My two new roommates were out late last night, so I tried not to wake them up when I got up. I went to 10 am. Mass at my local church and then took a walk, had coffee and read some more of an electronic book I am reading on my phone (or my movil as we say here).

Before I came on this trip, I was not much for electronic books. I had read a few on my Kindle Fire, but I still like books. That had to change when I came to Spain because I did not devote any of my luggage space to books. I put some audio books on my iPod and thought I might use Adobe Digital Editions or OverDrive to get some books on my computer. However, I bought my first smart phone for this trip and found that I could easily download free ebooks from Amazon. I have read eight since I arrived. I carry the phone with me all the time because Wi-Fi is available free just about anywhere and I have found that I like to pull it out when I have a few minutes and read whatever book I have going at the time. This is some gratuitous information about technology and books to fill in an otherwise dull day!

By the time I got back from Mass and the walk, roommate number three had arrived; Alvaro from Italy. John and Rickard speak English to me and Swedish to each other, but Alvaro speaks Italian and Spanish, so we will get some Spanish practice in anyway. John was wondering if I had heard Rickard and him return during the night. They had gone to a club and John suggested that I might want to go with them some evening. I assured him that I would leave the clubbing to them! Later all three went to the beach so I got my laundry washed and hung up to dry. John loves the balcony  so we have the balcony door open more of the time now. We also have had four days of vacation so I imagine things will change a bit when we go back to class. I washed my two pairs of long pants, put on capris, and left my jacket at home when I went out for an afternoon walk. I felt all the people I met looking at me oddly because, of course, they were wearing their winter coats and scarves. Oh, well, it was starting to cool off a bit, but it still felt like spring to me! It will be near 70 tomorrow!

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Saturday I was up not so early and set off for the Hard Rock Cafe to meet the group for a trip to Tibidabo. We took a direct bus from the Placa de Catalunya, but it is also possible to take a train and a funicular. With a group of ten, it was easier for our guide to put us all on the bus. As our bus climbed the steep hill to the top, we passed many bicyclists, in full biking gear, straining up the incline.

Tibidabo is the tallest mountain (512 meters--or 1679 feet) in the  Collserola range. It  has an amusement park, a church, the Temple of the Sagrat Cor with a sculpture of the Sacred Heart on top, and a communications tower. The bus let us off just below the hill and we hiked up the rest of the way. A day that felt warm and inviting downtown turned blustery on the mountain top. We stood at the bottom of the church making our plans and our guide offered us two different return times. A shivering lady in our group (I say lady because she is older than the other students, but not quite as old as I am) had not dressed for the weather and she immediately piped up to say we should leave at the earlier time. After we went up to take the elevator, I never saw her again until we left, so I am sure she was hunkered down in a sheltered corner somewhere! We had about two hours to wander around. Our guide, Joan, walked us through the church to the elevator. I went up with the first group and I have to say that the wind was very strong up there. It really felt like you could get blown off if you weren't careful. I spotted the sign that said we could climb up to the statue and set off after a couple of other girls in our group. The stairs were somewhat enclosed, so the wind wasn't too bad and the last set of stairs was actually inside. We exited out at the foot of the statue and the view was amazing. Fortunately, the walkway around the bottom of the statue was somewhat sheltered from the wind so I was able to see the view from all sides.

View from the top of Tibidabo

Tibidabo Church view from below

After going to the top of the church we went down and walked through the amusement park. Our guide told us that Tibidabo is a tourist place and that people from Barcelona hardly ever go there. I am sure that is true but the same can probably be said about any attraction in one's home area. Once you have seen it, you aren't likely to keep going back.

At 1pm, Joan rounded us up and walked us part way down the hill. We met scads of people biking and walking up. I think many of the walkers had come from a bus or funicular stop or one of the parking lots along the way. We saw a lot of scenic views on our way down. We reached the funicular and Joan bought a group ticket for all of us and reminded us that we needed to travel together, because the ticket had to be scanned to get out. So one by one, he scanned the ticket and we each passed through the gate. We took a short funicular ride and then transferred to a train that took us right back to Placa de Catalunya.  I don't know what is in store for us next week, but I have really enjoyed taking advantage of the tours that the school has arranged for us. There are places I would like to re-visit armed with a bit more knowledge of the area and there are other places that I am glad I saw once and that is enough.

I trotted of to the apartment to do some laundry and found that I was wrong about not having another roommate. When I arrived home , I found a young man named John  from Sweden. He has two more weeks at the Don Quixote school and was living in the school residence near the Enforex location. He described the horrors of living with other male students and is super happy to be here. He moved into the double room that has its own bathroom, so we shouldn't be in each other's way too much. At least that is what I thought until the housekeeper showed up a bit later and told me that two more "chicos" are moving in tomorrow. Well, I am to have three male roommates.  I guess I have lived with three males before, so it won't be the first time. It has been so quiet living by myself that I wonder how it will be. John and I chatted and hung out on the balcony for a while. Then he went out to eat and I did my laundry. He was in his room and I was in mine when we heard someone in the hall and found that roommate number two had arrived. Rickard (spelling, I don't know..) also from Sweden had arrived. Rickard  picked the other single room so that means he and I will share a bathroom. By then it was getting on toward 10pm and I left the two Swedes talking and retired to my room to work on my blog and other computer work. I heard them go out later so I guess they will get along fine! It was the end of my day but not theirs.

Friday, March 29, 2013

No school today, so I slept in! My roommate was out late last night so she did not get up until about 10 am. She had to get her apartment keys back to the Hotel Indigo (quite a ways down the Gran Via) and get to Girona for a flight at 4pm. The Girona airport is about an hour away from Barcelona. We chatted a bit and then she was on her way. I doubt if I will have anyone else move in with me during this last week I have class. I guess I will know if the cleaning lady shows up tomorrow.

I had an early morning chat with Mark McCullough on Facebook until he had to go to work and I needed coffee. There was no coffee in the apartment so  I had to go out either to buy some more or to drink some! When I went out, all the stores were closed for Good Friday, so I had coffee out.

I took my usual walk today and ended up in the neighborhood where my travelling group will gather for the last days in Barcelona. I am in touch with my sister-in-law to plan the particulars of their arrival. She and my brother are flying in from Germany on April 15. The apartment we will stay at is a bit out of the way and we are weighing taxi costs with public transportation. For convenience a taxi usually wins, but when you weigh the costs, sometimes you don't mind pulling your suitcase for a couple of blocks. We will have to see how it works out.

My husband is due in Barcelona two weeks from today. He has been printing out the cruise documents and gathering together everything he needs to bring. I can't decide if I will ask him to bring me anything. I think that the items I missed earlier on will not matter to me by the time he gets here.  I imagine he will be fighting jet lag the first few days and that is why I had him arrive before my brother and sister-in-law. He has been reading up on Barcelona and the cruise and is worried about pickpockets. I have been out and about a lot and had no problem and no one else at school had any problem except for poor Yudi, our new Chinese student. He has been robbed twice on the metro. They took his shoulder bag each time, once with his Spanish textbooks in it. I read somewhere that the pickpockets target oriental students, so that sounds like it is true. I do wear my purse slung over my neck and either under my jacket or around my front just for this reason. (I know, I know, I am a fashion goddess!)

I have three of my libraries lined up for visits and will try to do two more. I am afraid I have left the arrangements later than I should have, so I hope I can get them scheduled. I hope the librarians I am talking with don't go through too much trouble.for me. One has a whole day planned, meeting with other librarians and touring around. I am a bit apprehensive. I am not that entertaining!

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Wednesday evening we (students from the schools) had the tour of Barcelona after dark. We met at a metro stop at 8:15--full dark for full effect! My friend from China, Eva, talked me into going since I usually do not take part in  activities that start after 8pm for fear they will interfere with my bedtime! Here is a picture of the group taken near the end of the tour. I am the old one!

Our guide, Joan, took us through narrow alleys in La Raval which is the poorest area of Barcelona and used to have a lot of crime, prostitution and drugs. There has been a major effort to clean up the area and last night I never felt unsafe as we walked along-safety in numbers and all that! Joan told us several stories about the area. There is a street that is supposedly haunted by a robber. Legend has it that a poor young man joined a war for the money a soldier got paid and stole things to sell for extra money to send home. At one point he stole a chalice from a church and hid it. After that he was killed in the war. He haunted his fiancee to get her to return it because he could not go to heaven until it was returned. She found the chalice but then he could not remember where he stole it from and it was never returned.  So he still haunts the street looking for someone to help him. Joan also showed us a wall that kept falling down until the builder used human blood in the cement and human bodies within the wall. Another legend concerned a huge building which remains empty because every time someone lived in it, they jumped out the windows and killed themselves. Yet another story was of a woman who kidnapped children from poor neighborhoods and killed them, using their body parts for all sorts of purposes. Shades of Ed Gein! This one Joan swore was true and sure enough, I was able to find the story online. We all thought it was a horrible story!

Today my class had three of the students from Brazil have their last class with us. They all got their certificates and when class was over, our substitute teacher Veronica, hugged them all and wished them well. I hugged them too, Hanna, Tarsilla, and Pedro, because I will really miss them in class. We always had a lot of fun trying to joke around in Spanish. Tarsilla even friended me on Facebook. The class will be totally different without so many Brazilians although we do still have two left. I was talking about this with Eva who is attending the Don Quixote school until November. She said people are always coming and going and sometimes it is very sad. She was friendly with a young man from France and he is leaving this week too. My roommate has finished her crash course in Spanish and I imagine she will leave tomorrow. Keys are due by noon at the checkout point downtown and I can't imagine she would hang around for Easter in Spain. 

As usual I took a walk this afternoon. I almost wished I did not wear my jacket! I really didn't need it, but at this point it is kind of a security blanket covering my purse. I was in the main plaza and it was really hopping with tourists everywhere, people getting on the express buses for the airport and people getting off to begin their stay in Barcelona. The crowds were more than I was willing to bear today and since I actually got tired of walking I caught the metro back to my neighborhood. I exited at Las Arenas to finally get phone service for Spain. The plan lasts a month which should cover the time I need it. The young man in the store sold me a sim and helped me get it set up. I now have a local phone number for emergency contact and for my library and travelling companion contacts plus a small data plan. I will make the number known so people can get me if they need to. 

It is hard to believe that I have been here for four full weeks, but I still have more than four weeks before I return home. In two weeks my husband will arrive and my solo time will be over. What an experience this has been. 

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

I visited the Gracia Barrio with the after school tour group. Garcia was its own city until about 1900 and our guide said that most people there still consider themselves residents of Gracia rather than Barcelona. We saw a lot of flags hanging from the balconies that are different from the flag of Catalunya. The Catalunya flag has only orange and yellow stripes; the Gracia flag has the stripes but with a navy triangle on one end with a star in it. It is an area with a lot of elderly people in it but at the same time, kind of a bohemian population. Our guide also whispered to us that there are  gypsies that live in the Gracia Barrio. He said they do not work at regular jobs but we don't have to worry about them snatching purses or the like. They are into bigger things and that we do not want to have any trouble with the gypsies. I think he was being melodramatic, because he gestured us all in close and whispered the whole time.

Gracia has a huge festival in August and here is a quote about one of the activities they do during the fiesta. "A very typical Catalan tradition is the colles castelleres or, in other words, human towers, which can reach seven or eight storeys high. These are a big feature of the festival and an incredible sight. But they don’t just stop at building a tower – during the week they also attempt to walk it for 200 metres between two of the neighbourhood’s main squares." So imagine that--a walking tower of people! It is also known for its many plazas where children play and parents sit in the patios of bars and restaurants to watch them. Our guide also tells us that it is absolutely forbidden to drink alcohol outside of a bar or restaurant area, but goes on to tell us how to do it. You set the glass down near you and drink from it whenever you want, but if a policeman asks you if it is yours, you just deny it. He also says that Catalunyans do not do any kind of organized dance steps except there is one move that everyone does. He held up his hand to show there would be a drink in it and grabbed the lower part of his shirt and moved it in a circular motion. Sometimes I wonder how much of what he tells us is true!

The Gracia Barrio also contains the first house that Gaudi built in the area (we can't say in Barcelona because in 1878 when he built it, Gracia was not part of Barcelona) Here is a link to some information about the house: Casa Vicens It is also quite near Parc Guell. The area only has one metro stop at the head of the area and only one bus goes through the area because most of the streets are too narrow. It is a very interesting and picturesque area.

After I got back to my apartment, I arranged a Skype date with my two granddaughters. We connected about 3:30 pm your time and 9:30 pm my time. I took my computer around the apartment so the girls could see where I live. When I showed the balcony Sophia noticed that it was dark outside in contrast to the full sun of afternoon that I was seeing them in. She also said I have a nice kitchen! We talked for a while and I found out that my post cards did not arrive. Lola sent some after I sent mine and hers arrived so I think mine are lost. They are excited about Easter and taking a trip to Fargo to see the other grandparents.

Wednesday at school we were down to only four students. Two more showed up after the break but the whole school seemed pretty quiet with students apparently skipping out early for long breaks during Semana Santa. I met my Chinese friend, Eva, after class today. We took a walk and had chocolate and churros and made plans to meet for the evening school activity, Barcelona after dark. More on that later!

Sunday, Monday...

I did not realize I was so far behind on my posts! I was thinking on Sunday and Monday that things were very normal. I just did not do very much and it didn't seem worth writing about but I should do it anyway to keep the tale going.

Sunday was a pretty lazy day. I had gone to Mass the night before so I did not have to go out. But I do take a walk every day so I walked toward Las Arenas and found a public library. It is right on the edge of Joan Miro Park which is right behind Las Arenas. Of course it was closed on Sunday, but I am hoping to go back sometime when it is open. I went up top of Las Arenas again. The view really is wonderful, but there were lots of people so I soon moved on and walked to Placa Catalunya and down Las Ramblas for a bit. Along the way I saw people with elaborately woven palms. What I saw in church on Saturday evening was probably laurel branches. It did not take long for me to get tired of the crowds so I headed back to the apartment.

My roommate has been to Barcelona before so she has friends to see. I thought she would be going to the same school as I am, Enforex, but she is going to Don Quixote. I think I mentioned that it is just across the street from the apartment so her commute is very short. Now that I know it is there, I have even seen Enforex vehicles making deliveries. The two schools are part of the same company.
Class has been a little different this week. I mentioned that two students left last week, but we got two new students, one from Russia and one from China. Both are young men so we went from having one man in class to having three. The young man from Russia studied law and is here for an extended period studying Spanish because he likes Spanish. I am unclear about his plans--We communicate only in Spanish and sometimes I don't get everything! (understatement) The student from China hopes to study Economics in Spain but has to learn enough Spanish so he can successfully do it. He is unsure if he will be able to do this. We also have a substitute teacher for the afternoon session. Ana is on vacation this week and Veronica is filling in for her. Veronica has a  bag of "tricks" and tries different activities to get us going. Some of the students don't seem to appreciate her efforts, but I find it engaging and she is very interesting in her own right. For example we were talking about how Spain was under control of the Moors,  and she said we should not call them "moros" because it is considered a negative thing to say. One of the students from Brazil argued that the word is used a lot in Brazil, but Veronica said it is better not to use it here! Anyway, we were used to Ana but it is interesting to have Veronica this week.

I found out that there is no class on Friday because of Holy Friday--I was expecting that and there is no class on Monday either. I was also expecting that. So I have six days of class left. I assume my roommate will leave either Thursday or Friday since she will be done on Thursday. She said everything is going well and she thinks she knows what she will need for the test she has to take. I thought it odd that she would fly to Barcelona to study for four days for a test, but she said tutoring and this worked out to about the same and that she had been here before so it gave her a chance to see friends and get the work done fast.

The weather is warming up slowly. It is still coolish (probably 50) when I get up but warms up nicely in the afternoon. I am getting pretty tired of the few clothes I brought--I have some warmer weather clothes but it is not quite right to wear them yet. I hiked off to the big shopping center and bought two scarves, a long sleeved shirt and a belt. The long sleeves will be very welcome for evening activities and I  hope to go to Tibidabo on Saturday. Tomorrow (Tuesday) I will visit the Gracia area of Barcelona.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Today I slept in and did not get up until about 9am--very late for me. I started out by cleaning up the apartment and doing a load of laundry. Then I went out for a walk and to have some cafe con leche (some good coffee not the vending machine stuff from the school!) I also wanted to see where the Don Quixote Language School which many of the students I have met on the after school tours attend. From my trusty map, it seemed to be very close to me. Imagine my surprise to discover that I can actually see it from my balcony. My street, Avinguida de Roma, is a split sort of street and the far lane is actually a different street and is where the Don Quixote School is located. Of course, I walked around several blocks before I discovered this. Dumb, I know, but you would have to see the layout to understand my confusion.

As I walked, I picked up a few groceries at interesting looking places. I dropped these things off at home and went to pick up the rest of the things that I needed. I decided to quit buying the tiny bottles of wine and just go with a big one. I also bought a big jar of olives and have told myself that this is the last time I buy olives. I have always loved them and they are so cheap here, plus so interesting. You can get them with pits, without pits, stuffed with pimiento, garlic or anchovies and in small cans or big jars. Ok, I got a big jar, but that's it. No more. (good thing I can't check my blood pressure here!). I also found that I can get a good sized wedge of brie for 1E. Camembert was 1.3E but I haven't tried that yet. So, wine, cheese and olives, what more could I need. (well, I did get milk and another tortilla de patata)

When I returned, I found the door not double locked like I always do when I leave and found the woman from housekeeping inside making up the 2nd bedroom. She told me that I am to get a roommate this afternoon. Well, that is a surprise. I was beginning to think I would be alone for the whole time. No sooner did she leave than the door opened and a young woman from Holland walked in. She will be here a week. She said, in very good English, that she has to cram for a week for exams and then she will be off. So, I will have company for a week. I must say I have mixed feelings!

I left her to her unpacking (she told me her name, but honestly she will have to spell it for me!) and headed off toward the National Museum of Catalunyan Art which I heard is free to enter from 3-6 pm on Saturdays. I spent more than an hour there. Not only was the art very interesting, but the building itself was quite beautiful. I am hoping to go back another time. After I left there, I killed an hour at Las Arenas and then walked to Mass at my local church. It was the Palm Sunday service, and many people carried leaves of some sort, but they were not the palms I am used to. The Mass was supposed to be a bilingual Mass and I was wondering if it would be said in both Catalan and Spanish (and it was but not all parts in both languages just parts of it were in one of the two languages but mostly Spanish).

I returned to my now shared apartment and found it all dark. So my new roommate is either out or gone to bed. I think I will quietly read a book.

Friday, March 22, 2013

We bid farewell to two students today, Marina, from Russia is returning to Russia, and Caroline, from New York, is off for a week or so of travel to Budapest, Prague, and another city I can't remember. She is going alone, so I really tip my hat to her. I think it is ok to be alone for the way I am staying in Barcelona, but if I were off sightseeing, I think I would want to have someone with me to share it with. Along the same line, I met a student from France who is off to the USA for a "road trip" when she gets done at Enforex. She is also going alone, but will be traveling in a small van with about  10 other people. She said a road trip across the United States is everyone's dream. I always thought it was for people in the US but never thought that it might be the same for people from other countries. I hope she has a great time.

The after school tour of Montjuic was great. We met at Nou de Rambla and took the funicula most of the way up the mountain. (it is really just a high hill, just a meter more than the height of the Sagrada Familia when it is done. It is said that Gaudi believed "his creation should not surpass God's.")  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagrada_Fam%C3%ADlia) From the funicula, we walked to the top of the hill where the fort is. There were splendid views of the port and of Barcelona. Farther on we saw the outside of the Joan Miro Art Museum and then we walked to the Olympic Stadium which hosted the opening and closing ceremony and some of the the track events in 1992. Our guide told us that the Olympic torch was lit with a flaming arrow shot by a Paralympic archer. I looked it up in Wikipedia and it said that the archer overshot the target (for safety reasons?)  and that it was lit by remote control. In recent years, the stadium was used for soccer (or futbol as they call it here), but now is used very little.  At one time the roads around Montjuic were used for the Spanish Grand Prix, but this was discontinued after a fatal crash in 1975. Near the arena are a number of sporting venues including the Palau Sant Jordi indoor arena, a sports science center, and the venues for the swimming and diving events. There is also a telecommunications  tower designed by the architect  Santiago Calatrava. It is no ordinary tower and is supposed to represent an Olympian holding the Olympic flame. This Wikipedia article says it also functions as a sundial http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montju%C3%AFc_Communications_Tower 

Further below is the Palau Nacional which houses National Museum of Catalunyan Art and the Magic Fountains. We finished our tour just before 7pm which was just in time to view the Magic Fountains. The streets were lined with people waiting to watch. It was a spectacular display of lights, color and music. Our guide left us there to watch, saying it was very tourist thing and we should watch our belongings because the pickpockets also attend. I watched for a while and then set off for home. This tour left us off in neighborhood of the school so I had not so far to go for home.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

I found out in class today that two of the students will be leaving after tomorrow; the girl from Russia and the girl from New York. After 9 days of class with them, I am used to them and will be sorry to see them go. Most of the rest of the students have been in class the whole time I have, but two or three others came later. One just dropped in on Tuesday. I think you have to be pretty flexible in this situation, both as a student and as an instructor because the class make up can change from day to day. You have to be able to jump in and catch up with whatever is going on.

While I was out walking today, I thought it might be interesting to tell you about my experiences walking along the streets in my neighborhood in Barcelona. A lot of people walk, a lot of people ride bicycles, a lot of people ride scooters, mopeds, and motorcycles, and a lot of people drive cars and trucks and buses. It is just very busy all the time. As you walk down the sidewalk, you always have to be careful because someone will also be riding a bike on the sidewalk, or someone might ride their moped/scooter/motorcycle onto the sidewalk to park. Another thing you have to watch out for is parking garages. You will be walking along and a car will appear right beside you! When I walk to school in the morning, it is not quite so busy, but the thing I really have to watch for then is dog "do-do." There are a lot of dogs in Barcelona and most owners pick up after them, but the fact that the "do-do" is worse in the morning makes me think dogs run wild after dark, or their owners are less diligent in the dark. Whatever, keep your eyes down in the morning!

Barcelona drivers are pretty good about stopping when walkers have a green walk light, but if you are walking across a two-way street with a green walk light, drivers turning on to your street have a blinking yellow light. If no one is in the crosswalk, they can turn. It seems to me that earlier in the day, they are very diligent about stopping for you if you are anywhere in the crosswalk. The later it gets in the day and the more traffic there is, the less patient they are. Then they are right at the line of the crosswalk edging forward as you pass by. At least that is how it seems to me! Walkers in Barcelona don't seem to pick any side of the sidewalk to walk on; they are just as likely to walk on the right side or the left side or in the middle, no matter what direction they are going. It is really fun to watch crowds of people lining up to cross the street along the very busy Passig de Gracia street. They line up all the way across on both sides of the street and when the light turns green, they all take off heading right for each other. It ends up just being a mob of people trying to walk right through each other.

Tomorrow's school tour is of Montjuic, more a hill than a mountain, overlooking the harbor. It was the site of fortresses, one of which still remains. It was once the site of a prison and many executions took place there  during different periods of history. The 1929 world's fair was held there. The Spanish Grand Prix was held on the roads facing the city four times but it was discontinued after a 1975 car crash. The 1992 Summer Olympics had several events and the opening and closing held in the 65,000 seat Olympic Stadium located on Montjuic. The tourist bus drove me through the area a couple of times and I wanted to get off and walk around but never did so this will give me a chance to see more of the area. More steps for the pedometer!

Tuesday, Wednesday, Spring!?

I did not find myself very rested when I got up Tuesday. I must be getting old! I was actually too tired to do my homework last night. It required original thinking in the form of a letter to someone about where I live and it had to have three incorrect statements in it. It was just beyond me Monday night, so I got out of bed as soon as I woke up Tuesday and wrote the letter. Two of my sisters starred in it and the Foshay Tower was mentioned. Let's leave it at that! We read our letters out loud and my classmates  were able to pick out the lies in my letter because they were so obvious. In the other students' letters, their lies were not so obvious. By the end of the readings, we just hollered "mentira!" after every sentence just in case it was wrong.

The school trip for the afternoon was to the Sagrada Familia Basilica. It was another walking tour and they did not plan on going inside. Since I had already visited the Basilica, I decided  to skip this trip. 60 Minutes just did a story on the Basilica, so I heard from several of you back home who wondered if I had seen it. Lola and I did go but I went online and watched the story and found it very interesting.  Here is a link if you did not see it. http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/11/60-minutes-gaudi-sagrada-familia-advanced-software/

Anyway, I thought it would be a good day to locate a couple of libraries that I will visit. In my opinion they are on my end of town somewhat to the north. Generally whenever I go someplace in Barcelona, I think, "wow, that was closer than I thought." Well, these libraries were not closer than I thought. I headed "northish" to one of the big main avenues of Barcelona, Avinguida Diagonal, so named because it cuts diagonally through the city. It was farther than I thought and uphill, but I consoled myself that it would be downhill on the way back. Then there was a big shopping mall along the avenue and since I was in no hurry, I wandered through it for a while. I might have bought something, but because of the "have to carry it" factor, I did not  consider anything! By the time I got back on track and hiked along Avinguida Diagonal (which is very wide and very busy), I did arrive at the point where I thought my turn was, but it was late enough and far enough that I turned back. After all this walking, I might have taken the metro and been back home in a flash, but it was downhill and a beautiful day, so I just walked. (steps on the pedometer 18,314) By the time I actually do visit these libraries, I will be staying in another part of the city and walking will not be an option (not that it turned out to be an option today!)  I was just trying to get a look at them ahead of time.

When I got up today (Wednesday), it was cloudy and had rained. The morning started out a bit cool, but by the time class was over, the sun was shining. A few people back home wished me happy spring. When I checked the weather app on my phone, it showed Barcelona 59 and Mankato 9. Guess which one wins?

We start each morning in class with conversation. Diego usually asks everyone what they did the previous afternoon and evening. Today he started out by describing what he does each morning when he gets up. He goes to bed and gets up at the same time each day (M-F), exercises for 10 minutes, has breakfast (cafe con leche and 4 galletas--not 5!), leaves home at exactly the same time, etc. He then asked which of us liked to have a routine. I said that I have a certain routine (not as strict as his however) but most of the other students would not admit to following any sort of routine and he wondered why. I said I thought it was because they don't have jobs. This was the first time a teacher ever 'high-fived" me! Anyway, he got them to admit that they do follow a routine of sorts--it is just that they don't follow a strict timetable. They tried to tell him that if something went wrong during his routine, he would never be able to cope. The conversations are always interesting in this class and I enjoy it very much.

By the time I hit the streets after class, the sun was out. I came home and found that the housekeeper had been here--on a Wednesday. I thought when I saw her for the first time last Friday, that her day would be Friday. Now I am not sure what to think. I would have picked up a little more before I left if I had known she was coming. Oh, well,  I sat down and worked on my research project for a couple of hours and then rewarded myself with a walk.

Usually my walks have some purpose and this one was to find the metro stop I will use when I move out of this apartment. I will be moving closer to downtown and I also have to have the keys of the apartment turned in by noon of the day I move. I won't have time to be going back and forth with luggage and once I turn in the keys, I will be locked out of the apartment. The good news is that within about 3 blocks of here is a metro station to the actual line I need (I won't have to change lines lugging a suitcase and a backpack!) and it even has an elevator. Que suerte! I know I am just in the second week of my classes, but I the time is going fast.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Whew, I am dragging today. I am definitely not used to late nights such as Saturday's trip to Valencia. In class today, we talked about the trip to Valencia and I mentioned that the paella I ate with my companions (the giant paella pan for five) contained at least one rabbit leg and that we did not care for it much. My teacher, Diego, then proceeded to tell us that he has a pet dwarf rabbit. He said that it chews everything in his house, books, paper, cords, and even nibbles on him. Then he asked us if we knew what a correa is. It turns out it is a leash and he has one for his rabbit. He described walking the rabbit on the beach and having to pick it up to protect it from dogs. It was hilarious. I really enjoy Diego's stories.

It was a bright sunny day today in Barcelona, even though my weather app predicted rain. However, the wind blew very strong all day, so it did not feel as nice as it might have. My original plan for the afternoon was to locate a couple of the libraries that I will be visiting. However, the school tour for the day was of La Raval, a part of Barcelona that I have not wandered through yet so I did that instead.

La Raval is a relatively newer part of Barcelona and historically famous for nightlife, prostitution, and crime. The area is home to a diverse immigrant population and has been one of the poorer areas of Barcelona but it has undergone urban renewal in recent years. There has been a big effort to clean up the area by locating many social services there, building parks, new buildings and open areas. The Contemporary Art Museum is located there and the Palau Guell, one of Gaudi's earliest works is also there. We saw the Gothic Antic Hospital which currently houses the Catalan National.

In this area is a giant cat sculpture by Columbian sculptor Fernando Botero. Our guide told us that the cat is a symbol or mascot for the Raval and later we passed by a fenced in area that was a home for cats--a yard full of cat houses, cat beds, cat tools, and of, course, cats. He said the cats there could be adopted. We saw many examples of renewal such as plazas and wide streets. We also visited the Boqueria, the big market which has its main entrance off the Rambla. We entered from the back from the Raval. The market is full of fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, chocolate, all sorts of fresh food. Most of us bought a glass of fresh squeezed juice for one euro (Mine was strawberry and orange juice--muy buena!).

By this time, it was after 6 pm and I planned to hike home, so I left the others to the metro and headed up toward my street. On the way I stopped at a Tabacs shop which in addition to all the other things it sells (yes, tobacco too), it also sells stamps. I had two postcards ready to send to my granddaughters; postcards of the Fallas of Valencia. For a mere 1.9 Euros, I can send 2 postcards to the United States. The mailbox was around the corner from the Tabacs, so I mailed them immediately. At least it is not like most vacations where I might be home before the postcards arrive. These will arrive long before I do!

I have fortified myself with a little wine and some salad and now I am ready to do my homework. Tough life, right?

Friday, Saturday, Sunday!

I am getting lazy about posting. Friday was a pretty normal day for me--class and exploring the neighborhood later. When I arrived home from class, I found the housekeeper cleaning  the apartment so I went for a walk back to La Placa Catalunya and made my first visit to El Cortes Ingles, a very large department store chain in Spain. I wandered through, but did not take much time to actually shop. 

Later on at home, I laid everything out for Saturday and the trip to Valencia since I needed to leave home before 6:30 am. I rolled out of bed by 5:30 am and could already see a few people outside walking around. (or maybe they were still walking around from the night before?) I left home about 6:15 to allow 15 minutes to walk to the metro, about 10 minutes to ride and the rest of the time to wait for the train and get myself to the right spot on the other end. The train arrived just as I entered the metro and the trip only took about 5 minutes. The metro seats were already mostly full at this time of day--6:30 am on a Saturday.  I arrived about 20 minutes early for the bus and ran into a Chinese student who was also going on the trip. We sort of latched onto each other for the day. We were joined later by another Chinese student and two young men, one from the Netherlands and the other from Germany. I was a little surprised during the day to be approached and drawn into conversations by a couple of the students in our group--ones from other schools. They were curious about me I guess since I am so obviously much older than any of them. Maybe they just miss their grandmothers!

I really enjoyed the festival. The fallas are truly amazing. Wikipedia does a good job of explaining the fallas and the festival: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falles. The design and construction of these scenes are extremely well done. I did not expect to see anything like them. At 2pm there was a firecracker show, but we arrived just minutes too late to see it.  However, judging from the crowds leaving the area, we would never have gotten close. We didn't miss much though because there were many firecrackers after the show. People lit them everywhere. One area behind a fence was set aside for kids to light them and some were in there doing it, but many just lit them along the streets. The kids were all ages down to some quite young ones. People were also throwing down what we would call poppers here, but bigger. So it was a very noisy day.

We had a great time wandering around seeing all the fallas, eating paella, trying the "Agua de Valenica, " (this was orange juice and cava--the equivalent of Mimosas), watching parades of "royalty" in costumes with marching bands, and eating churros. By the end of the day, I was more than ready to return to Barcelona. We left Valencia about 9:30 pm and I was home by 2:30 am. This was my latest night in a long time!

Sunday morning I actually slept in and did not wake up until 9 am. I spent the morning re-organizing my things, washing dishes and doing a load of laundry. During the week I had located a church for Mass at 1 pm (I picked this time  because the Mass is prayed in Castillian rather than Catalan) and arrived there about 12:45. At first I thought I was really late, but then it dawned on me that there was also a 12 pm Mass and I arrived at the tail end of that. So I stayed for the first part of the next Mass. This church is more along the lines of what I am used to with more people of all ages in attendance and music.  The location and times are great for me so I will probably attend Mass here for the rest of my stay. It is good practice for my Spanish too!

The rest of the day was nothing special. I took a walk downtown to treat myself to cafe con leche and a croissant because I have been so deprived of them since leaving the Placa Catalunya area. This is not to say that I cannot get the same thing in my current area; it is just that I rush off to school in the morning and by the time I am done, it is too late in the day (for me) to drink coffee. I do drink the vending machine coffee at school but the best thing I can say about it is that I can get rid of all the odd coins in my pocket by putting them into the machine. The coffee only costs 50 cents, but I have used as many as 14 coins to buy a cup.  

I wrote out postcards to my granddaughters and have had the television on with subtitles hoping it will provide another way to improve my Spanish. My final goal for the day is to organize my correspondence with the universities that I will be visiting. So far, I have been procrastinating on the project but I should reconnect with my contacts and set a time for visits.  I will let you know how I did with that tomorrow!