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!
Sunday, March 31, 2013
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.
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.
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.
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| View from the top of Tibidabo |
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| Tibidabo Church view from below |
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
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!
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
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!
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!
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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!
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!
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
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.
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
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?
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?
Sunday, March 17, 2013
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!
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Thursday, March 14, 2013
I have almost finished my first week of class. I have enjoyed it a lot, especially the students and the professors. There is one student from Russia, one from Switzerland, two from the United States and at least four others from Brazil. The students from Brazil seem to have no problem understanding Spanish, but they tend to mix it up with Portuguese when they speak. I would think that would be very hard to keep two similar languages separate. The Brazilians were very proud that the new Pope is from South America. At least three of the students work with travel arrangements and apparently see the need for communicating in Spanish in their jobs. I don't know if their jobs are paying for this or not. We only have one male in class (except for the instructor, Diego, in the morning class), the rest are all women. I mentioned earlier, Pedro is a pilot for TAM. I don't know if he has extended time off or how it is that he has time to take this class. He told me that he flies to many Spanish speaking countries and wanted to speak it better for that reason.
One of the students from Brazil told me that she is going to take weekend trips while she studies in Barcelona. She is off to Paris this weekend and next weekend will take a bus to Madrid. She told me that this is the first time she has been out of Brazil and wants to take advantage of the opportunity to travel. I think she is very brave!
Anna, the afternoon instructor, asked me today if I was finding the class too easy. She said she noticed that I finished the work easily. While I do remember most of the tense we are working on, it is the speaking and listening that I is helping me the most. Diego drills us at the beginning of each class forcing each of us to speak and talk about what we did after class. Knowing I have to do this, I try to first, do something interesting and second, look up a few words so I can tell him what I did. I feel like I am making good progress.
After class today, I knew I had to make sure I can find the meeting place for the trip to Valencia on Saturday. The meeting place is the Arc de Triumf; the same place we met for a tour on Monday. Monday I got lost because the metro gave me a choice of two streets to exit on and I picked the wrong one. Today when I got off the metro, I took the other exit and the Arc de Triumf was right in front of me. I was probably right around the corner from it on Monday, but just walked off the wrong way (no map with me that day). Now I just have to figure out if the metro runs less frequently on weekends so that I know what time to leave home.
Then since I was near the old part of the town, I set off exploring. I walked down old narrow streets, first heading toward the port (down hill as Elaine would say) and then off to the right. I soon ran into Via Llaitana which was on the main route for the tourist bus so I immediately recognized it. I walked down to the cathedral and then started back up to Placa Catalunya. I felt like I was right at home, on the same streets that Lola and I walked so many times last week. I walked up Carrer Pelai past our hotel. Soon I was on the Gran Via and on my way back to the apartment without any problem at all. I am sure I will still be able to get myself lost, but I felt good leaving the Placa Catalunya and not getting turned around. Maybe I will get lost in Valencia on Saturday!
The handyman from school knocked on the door twice tonight to do something in the entry way of the apartment. He showed me what I was doing wrong with the television while he was here, but it kind of surprised me to hear a knock and then have him walk in. I hope he is done for the night, because I am done for the night.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
It was cloudy when I got up today but I made it to school before the rain started. It is a 10 minute walk from my apartment to the school but that includes waiting for lights on some street corners, so it is quick. Class went pretty well. We are still talking about things in the past; in the first class we talked about vacations we took and in the second class we talked about when people take trips because they have to and we discussed milestones in our lives. We also had a listening exercise which consisted of 8 people from different Spanish speaking countries telling about moving to other countries to take other jobs. The first two times we listened we were supposed to determine where they came from and where they went. The next two times we were listening for how long they were in the new location and what they did for a job. I was really bad at it. They spoke so fast that I could hardly pick out anything. The other students seemed to have a much easier time. I wrote down all the information as it was revealed to me and then the last time I listened, I was able to hear all of the elements. So if I can just get Spanish speakers to repeat what they say five times, I will understand them! ;-)
By the time we had our mid-morning break, it was pouring rain. I think it let up a little before I headed for home, but it was still raining steadily. I carried my books in a bag and put it under my coat so they wouldn't get wet. I was less worried about me. I know I should have brought an umbrella to Spain, but I also know I would hate carrying it around!
I have finished my homework and had some lunch so I will have to figure out the rest of the day with inside activities. Should I waste it reading a book, work on my sabbatical project, or do some more organizing of my stuff. I will let you know what I decided later.
The rain let up later, so I went out to the store. Diego gave me a hard time in class for not drinking wine with my meals, so I bought a small bottle of red, Dehesas Viejas, (I figured the viejas--"old" part was just for me) The label says 2011 but also joven so maybe it isn't quite ready yet! It has an intense taste and I like it ok, but I really have no idea if it is a good wine or a bad wine. Let's just say it was not the cheapest nor the most expensive wine on the shelf and let it go at that. I had hoped to have the television on tonight so I could listen to Spanish, but I am getting a no signal message so have spent the evening reading and watching podcasts. It is surprising how much time you can fill doing not much of anything! Tune in tomorrow for more of my exciting life in Spain! ;-)
By the time we had our mid-morning break, it was pouring rain. I think it let up a little before I headed for home, but it was still raining steadily. I carried my books in a bag and put it under my coat so they wouldn't get wet. I was less worried about me. I know I should have brought an umbrella to Spain, but I also know I would hate carrying it around!
I have finished my homework and had some lunch so I will have to figure out the rest of the day with inside activities. Should I waste it reading a book, work on my sabbatical project, or do some more organizing of my stuff. I will let you know what I decided later.
The rain let up later, so I went out to the store. Diego gave me a hard time in class for not drinking wine with my meals, so I bought a small bottle of red, Dehesas Viejas, (I figured the viejas--"old" part was just for me) The label says 2011 but also joven so maybe it isn't quite ready yet! It has an intense taste and I like it ok, but I really have no idea if it is a good wine or a bad wine. Let's just say it was not the cheapest nor the most expensive wine on the shelf and let it go at that. I had hoped to have the television on tonight so I could listen to Spanish, but I am getting a no signal message so have spent the evening reading and watching podcasts. It is surprising how much time you can fill doing not much of anything! Tune in tomorrow for more of my exciting life in Spain! ;-)
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
I was told to expect colder weather today, but it was about the same. I arrived at school about ten minutes before class and when I got to the classroom, I was the only one there. The next person arrived just before 9:30 and the teacher and a couple of others arrived a few minutes later. At least three others arrived between 30-45 minutes late. I guess they must have attended some of the late night cultural activities! One student is new today because she overslept the day before. She is from Switzerland.
The first teacher, Diego, grills us unmercifully about what we did the day before because, after all, we are practicing the past tense. He breaks into little songs that he makes up about things people have done and it is just hilarious. He makes me laugh out loud. The afternoon teacher is very sharp; she is always tuned in to what is going on in the room (we can't get anything by her!) and uses various interesting activities to get us all involved.
After class, I headed back to my apartment to get rid of my books and have some lunch. My plan for the afternoon was to head back to Las Arenas (the bullfight ring which is now a shopping center) to see the stores when they are open and to see if they are my kind of stores. I started at the bottom and worked my way up. The stores are high end and mostly appeal (IMHO) to the younger crowd. It surprised me that there is a supermarket in the lower level and I bought some hand lotion and hair conditioner there, items that I did not bring along. That is one drawback to living in an apartment. Some of the things we take for granted when staying in hotels are, of course, not provided. I was warned to bring my own towel and I have bought other things like paper towels, toilet paper, and laundry soap.
I wish my apartment came with some instructions. For example, I had to google instructions on settings for the washing machine and I could not figure out how to turn on the television. Doesn't that seem like an easy thing? I was talking to the young man at the school about it and he told me I had to turn on the cable box too. I tried to explain to him that I was not able to power on the television. I decided that I would figure it out and discovered that I needed to press the power button AND a button labeled program on the TV and, of course, power on the cable box. It was lucky that I figured this out because there was a big futbol game on, playoffs of some sort, with Barcelona against Milan. The game started about 8:30pm and I confess that I did not really follow it. I could tell when something exciting happened because a man upstairs yelled loudly and I would hear fireworks from outside. I went to bed before it ended and found out this morning that Barcelona had an "epic" comeback and won the game. I am sure there will be a lot of excitement for the next game.
Well, I did not mark my homework very well for tomorrow, so I am not sure what it is. If I don't have it done, I will just have to wing it. I feel like a real student!
The first teacher, Diego, grills us unmercifully about what we did the day before because, after all, we are practicing the past tense. He breaks into little songs that he makes up about things people have done and it is just hilarious. He makes me laugh out loud. The afternoon teacher is very sharp; she is always tuned in to what is going on in the room (we can't get anything by her!) and uses various interesting activities to get us all involved.
After class, I headed back to my apartment to get rid of my books and have some lunch. My plan for the afternoon was to head back to Las Arenas (the bullfight ring which is now a shopping center) to see the stores when they are open and to see if they are my kind of stores. I started at the bottom and worked my way up. The stores are high end and mostly appeal (IMHO) to the younger crowd. It surprised me that there is a supermarket in the lower level and I bought some hand lotion and hair conditioner there, items that I did not bring along. That is one drawback to living in an apartment. Some of the things we take for granted when staying in hotels are, of course, not provided. I was warned to bring my own towel and I have bought other things like paper towels, toilet paper, and laundry soap.
I wish my apartment came with some instructions. For example, I had to google instructions on settings for the washing machine and I could not figure out how to turn on the television. Doesn't that seem like an easy thing? I was talking to the young man at the school about it and he told me I had to turn on the cable box too. I tried to explain to him that I was not able to power on the television. I decided that I would figure it out and discovered that I needed to press the power button AND a button labeled program on the TV and, of course, power on the cable box. It was lucky that I figured this out because there was a big futbol game on, playoffs of some sort, with Barcelona against Milan. The game started about 8:30pm and I confess that I did not really follow it. I could tell when something exciting happened because a man upstairs yelled loudly and I would hear fireworks from outside. I went to bed before it ended and found out this morning that Barcelona had an "epic" comeback and won the game. I am sure there will be a lot of excitement for the next game.
Well, I did not mark my homework very well for tomorrow, so I am not sure what it is. If I don't have it done, I will just have to wing it. I feel like a real student!
Monday, March 11, 2013
Monday, March 11, 2013
I had my first day of school today (no, no one took a picture of me!). Before leaving my apartment, I managed to blow a fuse or circuit breaker with my hair dryer. Fortunately it was the last thing I was doing before leaving because I had no lights or anything anywhere in the apartment. I reported it at the school and it was fixed by the time I got home. However, I am not so sure it won't happen again tomorrow! I guess I will try a different outlet.
As we new students arrived at the school this morning, we were handed a placement test and directed to a room in which to take it. Over the next half hour, I would say about 20 people arrived. After we were well into the test, one of the instructors came in, greeted us, told us that the other instructors would arrive soon and that we would each be interviewed in Spanish. She also told us not to guess on the tests; "better to leave it blank if we did not know." I wish I had know that sooner!
Pretty soon the instructors showed up and it got so loud in the room that I couldn't concentrate on the test, so I skipped a lot of questions. The interview wasn't much of anything. The instructor just asked my name, what I do, what I did last week, and how long I am staying. After she left, I looked at what she wrote on the back of my test and it said something like I couldn't use the past perfect tense and she recommended an intermediate level. And that is where I ended up. We were assigned to groups, picked up our books and joined classes already in progress. I am in the morning group that starts at 9:30 am and ends at 1:30 pm. We have two 2-hour classes with a 20 minute break at the halfway mark.
There are 9 or 10 students in my class, several from Brazil, and one other from the United States (New York). My first instructor is a young man (probably in his 20's) named Diego with a ring in his nose and (in my opinion) an excellent grasp of Spanish grammar and an engaging way of teaching. The afternoon class is taught by Anna, (a traditional looking woman probably in her 30's) who is also very engaging. During a speaking exercise with the student next to each student (mine was a young man named Pedro--I think he is also from Brazil) I discovered that he is a pilot for TAM airlines out of Brazil and that he frequently flies into Minneapolis. He discovered that I am a grandmother. As if he couldn't tell by looking at me!
I signed up for an after school walking tour with the subject of Modernism. We walked through some of the old parts of Barcelona (El Born) We saw the Palau de Musica Catalana, a concert hall designed in the modernist style by architect LLuis Domenech Montaner and built between 1905 and 1908. Our guide pointed out what the elements that we saw in each of buildings, namely, blood (a red or pink color on the building), roses, and San Jordi (St. George). Then we walked through the newer parts of Barcelona. I have forgotten some of the places he showed us, but he did get to El Batllo and La Pedrera by Gaudi.
The school encourages the after school activities. I will probably do more like the one I did today, but I don't think I will go on any of the bar tours. The person (Paulo) promoting the bar tours is a good looking, well built bouncer type (probably to make sure everyone gets back in one piece) who was naming the bars to visit--they were to meet in bars at midnight for about two hours. Ahh, to be young again!
They are offering a trip to Valencia on Saturday to see the "Fallas de Valencia." I am not exactly sure what fallas are, but I am going to see and find out. I will let you know on Sunday.
Well, I am exhausted from a day of speaking and listening to Spanish and from all the walking. I will do my homework in the morning and it's off to bed for me!
As we new students arrived at the school this morning, we were handed a placement test and directed to a room in which to take it. Over the next half hour, I would say about 20 people arrived. After we were well into the test, one of the instructors came in, greeted us, told us that the other instructors would arrive soon and that we would each be interviewed in Spanish. She also told us not to guess on the tests; "better to leave it blank if we did not know." I wish I had know that sooner!
Pretty soon the instructors showed up and it got so loud in the room that I couldn't concentrate on the test, so I skipped a lot of questions. The interview wasn't much of anything. The instructor just asked my name, what I do, what I did last week, and how long I am staying. After she left, I looked at what she wrote on the back of my test and it said something like I couldn't use the past perfect tense and she recommended an intermediate level. And that is where I ended up. We were assigned to groups, picked up our books and joined classes already in progress. I am in the morning group that starts at 9:30 am and ends at 1:30 pm. We have two 2-hour classes with a 20 minute break at the halfway mark.
There are 9 or 10 students in my class, several from Brazil, and one other from the United States (New York). My first instructor is a young man (probably in his 20's) named Diego with a ring in his nose and (in my opinion) an excellent grasp of Spanish grammar and an engaging way of teaching. The afternoon class is taught by Anna, (a traditional looking woman probably in her 30's) who is also very engaging. During a speaking exercise with the student next to each student (mine was a young man named Pedro--I think he is also from Brazil) I discovered that he is a pilot for TAM airlines out of Brazil and that he frequently flies into Minneapolis. He discovered that I am a grandmother. As if he couldn't tell by looking at me!
I signed up for an after school walking tour with the subject of Modernism. We walked through some of the old parts of Barcelona (El Born) We saw the Palau de Musica Catalana, a concert hall designed in the modernist style by architect LLuis Domenech Montaner and built between 1905 and 1908. Our guide pointed out what the elements that we saw in each of buildings, namely, blood (a red or pink color on the building), roses, and San Jordi (St. George). Then we walked through the newer parts of Barcelona. I have forgotten some of the places he showed us, but he did get to El Batllo and La Pedrera by Gaudi.
The school encourages the after school activities. I will probably do more like the one I did today, but I don't think I will go on any of the bar tours. The person (Paulo) promoting the bar tours is a good looking, well built bouncer type (probably to make sure everyone gets back in one piece) who was naming the bars to visit--they were to meet in bars at midnight for about two hours. Ahh, to be young again!
They are offering a trip to Valencia on Saturday to see the "Fallas de Valencia." I am not exactly sure what fallas are, but I am going to see and find out. I will let you know on Sunday.
Well, I am exhausted from a day of speaking and listening to Spanish and from all the walking. I will do my homework in the morning and it's off to bed for me!
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Hello to all of my Minnesota friends who just set their clocks ahead. I checked to see if Spain also observes daylight savings time and it looks like it does but not until March 31. I hope someone lets me know when it happens. As it turns out, I inadvertently observed it this morning. When I arrived in Spain, I set my phone (which I am using as an alarm clock) to Barcelona time, but neglected to change the time zone. So last night while I was sleeping, the phone set itself one hour ahead. I did not notice until I had showered and put my watch on. Doh!
I had planned my morning carefully. I wanted to attend Mass, pick up the key to my apartment, check out of the hostel and move to the apartment. I found a church about 3 blocks from the hostel and attended Mass at 8:30 am. (I was among 15 people there). The Hotel Indigo where I was to pick up the key, was a half a block off my route to return to the hostel, so I stopped there after Mass. I tried to ask all sorts of questions of the girl who gave me the key, but she did not know any answers. I asked her if anyone was already in the apartment or if there was a manager on site who could help if there were any problems and she did not know. As you will see later, there was one big question I should have asked her.
I decided to make two trips to the apartment just in case I did have some problem with the locks or whatever. (By the way, I have found Barcelona to be quite walk-able so I walk just about everywhere) I took my backpack and found the apartment with no problem. One of my two keys opened the front door to the building with just a little fumbling. The key ring I was given was only marked Roma 1 (the apartment is on Avinguida Roma) so that made sense. But did the 1 mean apartment 1? There was an apartment 1 right on first floor but the key did not fit. I decided to check names on the mailboxes and try the key in apartments that had no names on the mailbox. I won't tell you how many doors I tried, but on the 4th floor, my key fit in the door of apartment 3. And there is no one else here yet. Maybe no one is coming this week. I don't know.
The apartment has 2 single rooms (I picked the one I liked best) and 1 double room with 2 single beds and its own bathroom. There is a living room with two couches, a table and 4 chairs, some shelving and 2 TVs that I have not figured out how to turn on. There is also a kitchen with all appliances and another table with chairs and a laundry room. You will notice that I have figured out the wi-fi! So even if I get 3 roommates, the place is quite spacious. Oh, I have a balcony too that overlooks Avinguida Roma and faces other apartments with balconies.
After I managed to actually find the apartment and get into it, I wrote a note in case any roommates arrived while I was gone and then went back to the hostel to get my suitcase and check out. By noon, I was back (no sign of any roommates) and pulled most of my stuff out of my suitcase and backpack. I was hoping the medium sized grocery store I had seen yesterday would be open but no such luck. As Joan and Elaine warned me, a lot of stores are not open on Sundays. Little stores comparable to convenience stores are open, however, so I bought some juice, milk and sandwich fixings. Now I am more or less moved , resting after my two hikes and catching up on my email and blog.
After I rested a bit, I remembered that I am close to a bullfight ring that has been turned into a shopping center (Las Arenas) I decided there weren't enough steps on the pedometer yet, so I walked there--about 8 blocks, I think. The stores were closed, but the eating places were open and I was able to get up to the top and see a gorgeous view of the city. I have to go again because I did not take a camera.
When I got back to the apartment, I still had no roommates, but then it dawned on me that only one bed in the apartment had been made up by the cleaning people. I think it means I am the sole occupant this week. Since it was unlikely anyone would be arriving to interrupt me, I got busy dealing with my laundry (I had to google the washing machine model to get instructions on how to turn it on). There is no dryer, but there is a clothes line and clothes pins and I know how to use them!
It is nice to have things unpacked and organized so I can find them again. Well, I have to be at the language school at 8:30 for a placement test so I am going to wind down and finish this post.
(If you are wondering about my pedometer, I have one from the 10,000 steps program that I wear each day and write down the steps I take. Today was an all time high 23,002. )
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Saturday, March 9, 2013
The night went pretty well in the hostel. I heard doors and other noises a couple of times but nothing too bad. I woke up early because it seemed to be getting light out. Later it seemed to be getting darker so I was expecting more rain but when I finally got outside, it was again bright and sunny.
I checked my mail when I woke up and found a message from Lola (written about 2 hours earlier at 11pm Minnesota time) that said she was home again.She said the trip was mostly uneventful except that she got searched by security after she had gone through the checkpoint and had been waiting at the gate for a while. We are not sure what that was about. It felt funny to have seen her off at the airport in the morning, passed the whole day and slept the whole night and then have had a message from her sent two hours before I got up saying that she had just arrived home. Time travel!
I walked to my new neighborhood this morning and found a medium sized grocery store within a block of where I will be staying. That will be very handy. I spent most of the day outside walking around or sitting along the street people watching. It just feels so good not to be in the Midwest in March. One thing I would like to point out, however, is that I have not been lost since Lola left. When we were together, we got lost just about everyday. I think the reason is that I have been in a different part of the city and have stayed away from the main plaza with its radiating streets. I could not figure out which streets ran parallel or at right angles because, of course, they didn't.
So, to sum up, I did not accomplish much of anything today. I have been reading email, reading electronic books, listening to podcasts, listening to people speak Spanish/Catalan, and walking around. It will be nice to move into a more permanent place tomorrow and actually unpack my things and get into some sort of routine.
Friday, March 8, 2013
Friday, March 8, 2013
Today was another bright and sunny day in Barcelona. We got up early, checked the flight status to make sure that JFK was not snowed in and that Lola's flight would depart on time. We boarded the Aerobus to the airport and arrived before 9am. Delta was not busy and Lola was all checked in quickly and ready for security. I was sad to see her go since I will be on my own for the next five weeks, but at the same time it is an adventure for me.
To get back to Barcelona I took the shuttle to Terminal 2 and then the local train to Passeig de Gracia. I returned to the hotel and collapsed for an hour. (I guess the coffee wore off). I had five things on my agenda for the day: check out of the hotel, move into a hostel for two days, find the language school I will be attending next week, find the location where I will pick up the key for the apartment I will live in and find the apartment.
I checked out of my hotel and left my luggage with them until it would be time to check into the hostel. I had Google-mapped the location of the school. Walking directions were about 1.3 km and I believed I could do that fairly easily. I found the correct street and located the school without any problem at all. I was relieved because I had tried to see the school front on Google maps and it did NOT show up. I went inside to ask where I would go to pick up apartment keys on Sunday and I was allowed to go into the school to look around. There were several classrooms with classes in progress and a rooftop balcony for breaks--I didn't stay long. The location of the apartment was about 5 blocks away. I got a chance to see the neighborhood and see the front door of the building. It was a modern looking brick apartment house. Then I set off to find where I would be picking up the key. That location was about three blocks down from where I originally started out. Whew, that was a lot of walking--the pedometer read more than 19,000 steps for the day.
I feel confident now that I know where I need to go. I checked into my hostel which is about four blocks from where I pick up the key and (quite) a bit farther from the apartment I will be moving into on Sunday. This is my first experience with a hostel. I have a room with a double bed, a bed side table, a shelf, two hangers and a very large mirror. (and only an overhead light) The bathroom is outside the door. I think it will be noisy, but I have ear plugs and I will only be here two days. The fast food restaurant, Pans & Company, that Lola and I discovered in Tarragona is right across the street from us. It is a great place to get one coffee and a croissant (now that I will have to pay for it again).
I am all checked in and all goals accomplished for the day, so I have been lying on my bed working on my blog since 5pm. Things have quieted down on the street and in the hostel although I think it will get noisy when people start coming in later. At least I assume everyone is out because there sure isn't anything to do in this hostel!
To get back to Barcelona I took the shuttle to Terminal 2 and then the local train to Passeig de Gracia. I returned to the hotel and collapsed for an hour. (I guess the coffee wore off). I had five things on my agenda for the day: check out of the hotel, move into a hostel for two days, find the language school I will be attending next week, find the location where I will pick up the key for the apartment I will live in and find the apartment.
I checked out of my hotel and left my luggage with them until it would be time to check into the hostel. I had Google-mapped the location of the school. Walking directions were about 1.3 km and I believed I could do that fairly easily. I found the correct street and located the school without any problem at all. I was relieved because I had tried to see the school front on Google maps and it did NOT show up. I went inside to ask where I would go to pick up apartment keys on Sunday and I was allowed to go into the school to look around. There were several classrooms with classes in progress and a rooftop balcony for breaks--I didn't stay long. The location of the apartment was about 5 blocks away. I got a chance to see the neighborhood and see the front door of the building. It was a modern looking brick apartment house. Then I set off to find where I would be picking up the key. That location was about three blocks down from where I originally started out. Whew, that was a lot of walking--the pedometer read more than 19,000 steps for the day.
I feel confident now that I know where I need to go. I checked into my hostel which is about four blocks from where I pick up the key and (quite) a bit farther from the apartment I will be moving into on Sunday. This is my first experience with a hostel. I have a room with a double bed, a bed side table, a shelf, two hangers and a very large mirror. (and only an overhead light) The bathroom is outside the door. I think it will be noisy, but I have ear plugs and I will only be here two days. The fast food restaurant, Pans & Company, that Lola and I discovered in Tarragona is right across the street from us. It is a great place to get one coffee and a croissant (now that I will have to pay for it again).
I am all checked in and all goals accomplished for the day, so I have been lying on my bed working on my blog since 5pm. Things have quieted down on the street and in the hostel although I think it will get noisy when people start coming in later. At least I assume everyone is out because there sure isn't anything to do in this hostel!
Thursday, March 7, 2013
We awoke to sunshine this morning. What a beautiful day in Barcelona!
Yesterday we scheduled a tour with a tour bus to go to the Montserrat Monastery at 3pm today. Our morning plan was to visit Gaudi's La Pedrera sometime before the tour, so we got up a bit later and dawdled over breakfast. I think it will be good for me not to have a buffet breakfast every morning. I love the coffee and end up wired for an hour afterwards. Maybe if I stopped at one cup...?
We walked to La Pedrera. La Pedrera is a unique building to say the least. The tour buses pointed it out each time we went by and commented on the wavy front with wrought iron that looks like "seaweed." We were warned that there would be lines of people and that we would have to wait to get inside. Throughout our trip this has not been true. I think we arrived in Barcelona at just the right time; the end of the low season and the beginning of the high season.
At any rate, we stood behind five or six people, bought our tickets and went directly to the elevator that took us to the roof. The roof is really amazing. Gaudi has done some interesting things with chimneys, ventilation shafts and stairwells. Here is a link that shows some pictures and explains the structures on the roof: http://www.lapedrera.com/en/la-pedrera-day#_282 There is a wonderful view of Barcelona in all directions and since the day was sunny and warm, it was stunning!
We went down one level to the attic which now contains an interpretive center for Gaudi's works. There was a lot to take in and I am sure that I missed out on tons of information. Gaudi even designed some of the first ergonomic furniture and we saw beautiful wood examples on display there. The obvious structural element in the attic was how it was formed from arches and I found this quote about it. "The attic used to house the water tanks and washing lines were formed by two hundred and seventy catenary arches of different heights which hold up the roof. So we walked through lots of brick arches as we explored the interpretive center.
From there we went to the 4th floor where an apartment was set up with period furniture. Since the house was built around courtyards, the apartment went all the way around too. It was very light and airy inside and shows Gaudi's attention to every detail of everyday life. Some people still live in apartments in this building.
After La Pedrera we had time for a little lunch and for collecting the things we thought we would need to visit a mountain late in the afternoon. Montserrat was something both Lola and I wanted to see, but we weren't sure how we should get there. On the one hand, we had detailed instructions for taking public transportation to the monastery, but on the other hand, we like hearing what a guide has to say so the convenience of riding a tour bus won out.
One of the elements of the monastery is a boys' school for 50 boys who are in a choir. As we rode out of Barcelona, someone asked if we would get to hear the boys' choir sing. Our guide told us that their tour purposely left at 3pm in the afternoon to miss the huge crowds of people that go there especially to hear the boys sing. The monastery has about 80 monks and a school for the 50 member boys' choir. The boys' choir dates back to the 14th century and our guide gave us an overview of how the boys are selected. One of the monks recruits boys from Catalonia who can play the piano (since about age 4) and sing. If they are chosen, they visit the school for short times to see if they can adapt because it is a boarding school where the boys live during the week. They have very rigorous musical training for five years--from nine until fifteen when their voices change, they are out. I wonder if anyone has followed up on the boys later in their lives to see what they end up doing with their lives after all the intensive musical training. Since I did not see them in person, I watched them on YouTube!
We wound our way up the mountain and in many places you could see (we ended up about 4000 high) the small towns (far) below. Since we knew that we could have come by public transit, so we kept looking for the train, but it was not until we got to the top that we looked down that we could see where the cable car and the rack train came up the side. We had been advised to take the rack train instead of the cable car and if I ever do go up to the monastery again, I would definitely take the train rather than the cable car. I am still quivering from the sight of it coming up the side of the mountain! Transportation-wise, there are also two funiculars, one that goes a short ways and one that goes to the top of a mountain. Our guide said there wasn't anything up there; "just the other side of the mountain and then you have to walk down." You will see my pictures of this later! (not from the top either)
The history of the monastery was interesting and it is a very peaceful place. The monks were there in 1025 and legend has it that the Black Virgin statue was discovered by children in medieval times. Our guide described the statue for us beforehand as Mary with Jesus sitting on her lap, but it is not a maternal representation. Jesus wears a crown and Mary holds a sphere in her hand. (our guide also said that the sphere is a symbol of perfection--in Barcelona when something goes well, they say something to the effect that it went round--maybe some of our Barcelona experts can tell me if that is true!)
The monastery was been rebuilt after Napoleon destroyed it . The basilica has also been rebuilt. We spent the most time in the basilica and we were able to climb right up to where the Black Virgin sits above the main altar. (up and down 50 steps so Lola saved her knees and just looked inside). When we came down the other side, there were rows and rows of votive candles. Of course, I made a donation and lit one. We need all the light we can get in this world!
As you might expect, we heard some people speaking English and met a couple from Vermont and another from California.
I am sure a lot of people go up to Montserrat for the view, to see the choir, the basilica, and the monastery, but it really is a very peaceful (dare I say holy?) sort of place and I liked that. It would be great to do a retreat there in the off season. (bucket list?)
I would have liked to walk around the grounds more, but our tour was short, so we were soon back on the bus and headed to Barcelona. We arrived after 7pm and saw the heaviest traffic we had seen so far.
Back at the hotel, we sorted through our belongings and managed to get everything stuffed back into the same luggage we arrived with last week. We had our plan for how to get Lola back to the airport (exp:ress Aerobus) and set the alarm for 6:30 am. Lola soon fell asleep, but I was waiting until the time I could Skype with my granddaughters--the youngest had her 5th birthday today. It was after 10pm for me when they got home from school. We chatted face to face several minutes over a connection that was surprisingly better than I expected. It was great to see their faces and to chat with my daughter-in-law, Lisa, too.
And that was how we spent Lola's last day in Barcelona.
Yesterday we scheduled a tour with a tour bus to go to the Montserrat Monastery at 3pm today. Our morning plan was to visit Gaudi's La Pedrera sometime before the tour, so we got up a bit later and dawdled over breakfast. I think it will be good for me not to have a buffet breakfast every morning. I love the coffee and end up wired for an hour afterwards. Maybe if I stopped at one cup...?
We walked to La Pedrera. La Pedrera is a unique building to say the least. The tour buses pointed it out each time we went by and commented on the wavy front with wrought iron that looks like "seaweed." We were warned that there would be lines of people and that we would have to wait to get inside. Throughout our trip this has not been true. I think we arrived in Barcelona at just the right time; the end of the low season and the beginning of the high season.
At any rate, we stood behind five or six people, bought our tickets and went directly to the elevator that took us to the roof. The roof is really amazing. Gaudi has done some interesting things with chimneys, ventilation shafts and stairwells. Here is a link that shows some pictures and explains the structures on the roof: http://www.lapedrera.com/en/la-pedrera-day#_282 There is a wonderful view of Barcelona in all directions and since the day was sunny and warm, it was stunning!
We went down one level to the attic which now contains an interpretive center for Gaudi's works. There was a lot to take in and I am sure that I missed out on tons of information. Gaudi even designed some of the first ergonomic furniture and we saw beautiful wood examples on display there. The obvious structural element in the attic was how it was formed from arches and I found this quote about it. "The attic used to house the water tanks and washing lines were formed by two hundred and seventy catenary arches of different heights which hold up the roof. So we walked through lots of brick arches as we explored the interpretive center.
From there we went to the 4th floor where an apartment was set up with period furniture. Since the house was built around courtyards, the apartment went all the way around too. It was very light and airy inside and shows Gaudi's attention to every detail of everyday life. Some people still live in apartments in this building.
After La Pedrera we had time for a little lunch and for collecting the things we thought we would need to visit a mountain late in the afternoon. Montserrat was something both Lola and I wanted to see, but we weren't sure how we should get there. On the one hand, we had detailed instructions for taking public transportation to the monastery, but on the other hand, we like hearing what a guide has to say so the convenience of riding a tour bus won out.
One of the elements of the monastery is a boys' school for 50 boys who are in a choir. As we rode out of Barcelona, someone asked if we would get to hear the boys' choir sing. Our guide told us that their tour purposely left at 3pm in the afternoon to miss the huge crowds of people that go there especially to hear the boys sing. The monastery has about 80 monks and a school for the 50 member boys' choir. The boys' choir dates back to the 14th century and our guide gave us an overview of how the boys are selected. One of the monks recruits boys from Catalonia who can play the piano (since about age 4) and sing. If they are chosen, they visit the school for short times to see if they can adapt because it is a boarding school where the boys live during the week. They have very rigorous musical training for five years--from nine until fifteen when their voices change, they are out. I wonder if anyone has followed up on the boys later in their lives to see what they end up doing with their lives after all the intensive musical training. Since I did not see them in person, I watched them on YouTube!
We wound our way up the mountain and in many places you could see (we ended up about 4000 high) the small towns (far) below. Since we knew that we could have come by public transit, so we kept looking for the train, but it was not until we got to the top that we looked down that we could see where the cable car and the rack train came up the side. We had been advised to take the rack train instead of the cable car and if I ever do go up to the monastery again, I would definitely take the train rather than the cable car. I am still quivering from the sight of it coming up the side of the mountain! Transportation-wise, there are also two funiculars, one that goes a short ways and one that goes to the top of a mountain. Our guide said there wasn't anything up there; "just the other side of the mountain and then you have to walk down." You will see my pictures of this later! (not from the top either)
The history of the monastery was interesting and it is a very peaceful place. The monks were there in 1025 and legend has it that the Black Virgin statue was discovered by children in medieval times. Our guide described the statue for us beforehand as Mary with Jesus sitting on her lap, but it is not a maternal representation. Jesus wears a crown and Mary holds a sphere in her hand. (our guide also said that the sphere is a symbol of perfection--in Barcelona when something goes well, they say something to the effect that it went round--maybe some of our Barcelona experts can tell me if that is true!)
The monastery was been rebuilt after Napoleon destroyed it . The basilica has also been rebuilt. We spent the most time in the basilica and we were able to climb right up to where the Black Virgin sits above the main altar. (up and down 50 steps so Lola saved her knees and just looked inside). When we came down the other side, there were rows and rows of votive candles. Of course, I made a donation and lit one. We need all the light we can get in this world!
As you might expect, we heard some people speaking English and met a couple from Vermont and another from California.
I am sure a lot of people go up to Montserrat for the view, to see the choir, the basilica, and the monastery, but it really is a very peaceful (dare I say holy?) sort of place and I liked that. It would be great to do a retreat there in the off season. (bucket list?)
I would have liked to walk around the grounds more, but our tour was short, so we were soon back on the bus and headed to Barcelona. We arrived after 7pm and saw the heaviest traffic we had seen so far.
Back at the hotel, we sorted through our belongings and managed to get everything stuffed back into the same luggage we arrived with last week. We had our plan for how to get Lola back to the airport (exp:ress Aerobus) and set the alarm for 6:30 am. Lola soon fell asleep, but I was waiting until the time I could Skype with my granddaughters--the youngest had her 5th birthday today. It was after 10pm for me when they got home from school. We chatted face to face several minutes over a connection that was surprisingly better than I expected. It was great to see their faces and to chat with my daughter-in-law, Lisa, too.
And that was how we spent Lola's last day in Barcelona.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
We awoke to rain again today--no drought in Barcelona! We figured it would stop later on just like it did yesterday, so we waited a while until it eased up. We planned to visit two of Gaudi's houses-La Pedrera and Casa Batllo.
When we arrived, we found that they had closed the roof of La Pedrera because of the rain. Since we really wanted to go on the roof, we decided to do a walking tour instead. As soon as we got started, it began to rain again. We kept walking because we thought we would take cover in a church along the walk or in some other building along the way. Instead of letting up, it began to rain harder so we gave up and started back to the hotel. We passed a McDonald's and stopped in for a cup of hot tea. We warmed up but the rain kept on so we went back to the hotel and booked a trip to the monastery, Montserrat, for tomorrow. It is Lola's last chance to see the Monastery and it sounds like the weather there will be ok.
We dried out at the hotel and went to a very nearby restaurant that pretty much only sells Iberian ham sandwiches. Lola and I really like how sandwiches here are spread with olive oil and tomato. It sure beats mayo and I think I will bring that idea back home! So, there we were in the ham sandwich shop, surrounded by hams hanging on the walls, drinking beer, eating ham sandwiches and watching a video of how the hams are produced. I guess you shouldn't think too much while you do this.
After we ate, we returned to our room to do some odds and ends of email and a little reading and catching up on the news on TV. I think I might have heard a snore (could it have come from me?) while I was lying on the bed reading a novel from my ipod. Before we knew it, the sun the was out so we took a walk along La Rambla to see what was going on.
We were determined to have some tapas tonight and thought we would go to our own hotel bar for those. Wrong! The hotel bar did not open until 8pm, but the attendant recommended a tapas bar around the corner from the hotel so that is where we ended up. (we wanted to go to our hotel bar because my son, Mat, had looked at pictures of our hotel and commented that we would need to arrive early for "happy hour' because there were only 3 stools! http://www.hotel-inglaterra.com/images/fotos-galeria/bar.jpg) I really don't believe anyone goes to our hotel restaurant and bar in the evening. It is on the -1 floor and very out of the way.
We ended up at the recommended tapas bar where we had tomato bread, spicy potato tapas, potato and meatball tapas in a spicy tomato sauce and grilled vegetables (and beer). We liked it all. I know that people in Spain eat tapas earlier in the evening and then have a bigger meals much later in the evening but Lola and I never make it to that last meal. We just aren't that hungry and we can't stay up that late. ;-)
When we arrived, we found that they had closed the roof of La Pedrera because of the rain. Since we really wanted to go on the roof, we decided to do a walking tour instead. As soon as we got started, it began to rain again. We kept walking because we thought we would take cover in a church along the walk or in some other building along the way. Instead of letting up, it began to rain harder so we gave up and started back to the hotel. We passed a McDonald's and stopped in for a cup of hot tea. We warmed up but the rain kept on so we went back to the hotel and booked a trip to the monastery, Montserrat, for tomorrow. It is Lola's last chance to see the Monastery and it sounds like the weather there will be ok.
We dried out at the hotel and went to a very nearby restaurant that pretty much only sells Iberian ham sandwiches. Lola and I really like how sandwiches here are spread with olive oil and tomato. It sure beats mayo and I think I will bring that idea back home! So, there we were in the ham sandwich shop, surrounded by hams hanging on the walls, drinking beer, eating ham sandwiches and watching a video of how the hams are produced. I guess you shouldn't think too much while you do this.
After we ate, we returned to our room to do some odds and ends of email and a little reading and catching up on the news on TV. I think I might have heard a snore (could it have come from me?) while I was lying on the bed reading a novel from my ipod. Before we knew it, the sun the was out so we took a walk along La Rambla to see what was going on.
We were determined to have some tapas tonight and thought we would go to our own hotel bar for those. Wrong! The hotel bar did not open until 8pm, but the attendant recommended a tapas bar around the corner from the hotel so that is where we ended up. (we wanted to go to our hotel bar because my son, Mat, had looked at pictures of our hotel and commented that we would need to arrive early for "happy hour' because there were only 3 stools! http://www.hotel-inglaterra.com/images/fotos-galeria/bar.jpg) I really don't believe anyone goes to our hotel restaurant and bar in the evening. It is on the -1 floor and very out of the way.
We ended up at the recommended tapas bar where we had tomato bread, spicy potato tapas, potato and meatball tapas in a spicy tomato sauce and grilled vegetables (and beer). We liked it all. I know that people in Spain eat tapas earlier in the evening and then have a bigger meals much later in the evening but Lola and I never make it to that last meal. We just aren't that hungry and we can't stay up that late. ;-)
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
March 5, 2013
We had hoped to go to the monastery, Montserrat, up in the mountains today, but it was pouring down rain when we got up. Maybe tomorrow!
We took our time with breakfast and by then the rain had stopped so we went out to look for some of the places I need to find after Lola leaves on Friday. The layout of some of the streets is still confusing to me, but I am getting it figured out. Google Maps really helps too!
Lola needed a few souvenirs so we hiked all the way down the Rambla to the port. We went into the market on the way and spent too much on some very nice chocolate. A large statue of Christopher Columbus marks the end of the Rambla so we turned and walked along the waterfront to Barceloneta (little Barcelona on the old port) until we found a place for lunch. We had the menu del dia--I had a plate of fried little fish (pescaditos fritos?) with their little heads and tails still on and paella (at lunch, Elaine!). Lola had a mixed salad, chicken and french fries. For dessert, I had Crema Catalunya and Lola had flan. Delicious! It is now about seven hours later and I am still not hungry.
We walked down to the pier and sat watching the boats, gulls and tourists for a while. We saw a large yacht arrive and ferries coming in and out. A little farther down is where all the cruise ships arrive--we saw the Norwegian Spirit (which I will sail on late in April) there on Sunday.
Since we walked down the hill to get to the port, we decided that it was time to try the metro to get back to Placa Catalunya where our hotel is located. We entered the metro just across the street from the statue of Columbus and rode two short stops (without incident) to get back to the hotel. We were tuckered out after that. I finished a book and Lola has been watching the news (the only thing on TV in English). So that is it for today. Cross your fingers for Montserrat tomorrow-Lola is running out of days!
We took our time with breakfast and by then the rain had stopped so we went out to look for some of the places I need to find after Lola leaves on Friday. The layout of some of the streets is still confusing to me, but I am getting it figured out. Google Maps really helps too!
Lola needed a few souvenirs so we hiked all the way down the Rambla to the port. We went into the market on the way and spent too much on some very nice chocolate. A large statue of Christopher Columbus marks the end of the Rambla so we turned and walked along the waterfront to Barceloneta (little Barcelona on the old port) until we found a place for lunch. We had the menu del dia--I had a plate of fried little fish (pescaditos fritos?) with their little heads and tails still on and paella (at lunch, Elaine!). Lola had a mixed salad, chicken and french fries. For dessert, I had Crema Catalunya and Lola had flan. Delicious! It is now about seven hours later and I am still not hungry.
We walked down to the pier and sat watching the boats, gulls and tourists for a while. We saw a large yacht arrive and ferries coming in and out. A little farther down is where all the cruise ships arrive--we saw the Norwegian Spirit (which I will sail on late in April) there on Sunday.
Since we walked down the hill to get to the port, we decided that it was time to try the metro to get back to Placa Catalunya where our hotel is located. We entered the metro just across the street from the statue of Columbus and rode two short stops (without incident) to get back to the hotel. We were tuckered out after that. I finished a book and Lola has been watching the news (the only thing on TV in English). So that is it for today. Cross your fingers for Montserrat tomorrow-Lola is running out of days!
Day 6 March 4, 2013
Monday
Today, we got up before 8 am because we wanted to visit Gaudi's Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell and we were forewarned that both would be crowded. We decided to use our second day of the tourist bus for transportation. We arrived at Sagrada Familia, shortly before 10 am and the line was already around the corner but it moved fast and we were inside by 10:20. We wandered around inside (in awe--you really have to see this to appreciate the architecture of this huge church) before taking the elevator up 215 feet in the Passion Facade elevator. Then you could look out some small windows to overlook the city. Lola decided to take the elevator back down and i opted for the stairs since others were waiting for the elevator too. There were more than 400 steps back down with a hyper-ventilating English lady just ahead of me. I even stepped out on a balcony part way to take another look at the city and still caught up to her again. I kept telling her it was just like being upstairs and that we were almost down, but she was clinging to the railing and trying to keep her other hand on the inside of the stairs. It was anti-climatic when we finally got down. There was an iron gate in front of us and nowhere else to go, but the gate pushed up and we were back inside the church. Rick Steve's description of the Sagrada Familia is very good and paying what he calls a "steep admission price" makes us partners in the project and should make us feel good. I thought it was impressive and am glad I went, but I would guess that the crowd was relatively light today and that made it a much better visit!
We hopped back on the tourist bus and headed to Parc Guell. I wish I had read Rick Steve's description of it first as it would have been more meaningful to know when we were on the "rosary path" and that the round stones along it represented beads of the rosary. We commented on them, but did not know their significance. It is a beautiful park and what Gaudi intended for it is really impressive for his time. There is a school right in the middle of it and we saw the children outside playing as we left.
Late in the afternoon we took one more round trip on the bus and took in Barcelona at night. Riding the buses we have spent a lot of time in traffic and are amazed at the number of scooter riders amongst the cars. We went by the Sants station, the main transportation hub in Barcelona, and saw an entire parking lot full of them. Another observation is that there are far too many McDonald's in this city!
Today, we got up before 8 am because we wanted to visit Gaudi's Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell and we were forewarned that both would be crowded. We decided to use our second day of the tourist bus for transportation. We arrived at Sagrada Familia, shortly before 10 am and the line was already around the corner but it moved fast and we were inside by 10:20. We wandered around inside (in awe--you really have to see this to appreciate the architecture of this huge church) before taking the elevator up 215 feet in the Passion Facade elevator. Then you could look out some small windows to overlook the city. Lola decided to take the elevator back down and i opted for the stairs since others were waiting for the elevator too. There were more than 400 steps back down with a hyper-ventilating English lady just ahead of me. I even stepped out on a balcony part way to take another look at the city and still caught up to her again. I kept telling her it was just like being upstairs and that we were almost down, but she was clinging to the railing and trying to keep her other hand on the inside of the stairs. It was anti-climatic when we finally got down. There was an iron gate in front of us and nowhere else to go, but the gate pushed up and we were back inside the church. Rick Steve's description of the Sagrada Familia is very good and paying what he calls a "steep admission price" makes us partners in the project and should make us feel good. I thought it was impressive and am glad I went, but I would guess that the crowd was relatively light today and that made it a much better visit!
We hopped back on the tourist bus and headed to Parc Guell. I wish I had read Rick Steve's description of it first as it would have been more meaningful to know when we were on the "rosary path" and that the round stones along it represented beads of the rosary. We commented on them, but did not know their significance. It is a beautiful park and what Gaudi intended for it is really impressive for his time. There is a school right in the middle of it and we saw the children outside playing as we left.
Late in the afternoon we took one more round trip on the bus and took in Barcelona at night. Riding the buses we have spent a lot of time in traffic and are amazed at the number of scooter riders amongst the cars. We went by the Sants station, the main transportation hub in Barcelona, and saw an entire parking lot full of them. Another observation is that there are far too many McDonald's in this city!
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Day 5 March 3, 2013
We managed to get ourselves up and going by 9 am today while all of you were still asleep. Our hotel provides a free buffet breakfast so I get to try some things that I have been seeing in Spain but have not yet tried. I had some of the Spanish ham and it was good--sort of prosciutto like. There is also a fancy coffee machine where I can get espresso, cappuccino, and cafe con leche which I really like. Lola is mixing her coffee with hot water to get more of an American experience.
It was warmer and sunny in Barcelona today. We spent most of the day on the tourist bus getting an idea how the city is laid out. From the bus we saw the World Trade Center, the port where all the cruise lines dock, the Olympic Village, Montjuic with funiculars that come all the way from the port. We saw Las Arenas (a bullfight ring that is now a shopping center), the main sports center, and several of Gaudi's works--Park Guell, La Pedrera, the Sagrada Familia, and Casa Batllo. The guide pointed out the different areas of Barcelona and we saw many distinctive examples of beautiful architecture. These are just a few of the sights we saw today--Lola took many pictures from the bus, but I am waiting for a closer look. All of the tourist buses have wifi so I attempted to post some pictures from my phone. If you are friends with me on Facebook, you will see that I was NOT successful! (but I will keep trying!)
Tomorrow we will visit the Olympic Village, Gaudi's Park Guell and Sagrada Familia church from the bus. We are hoping to get to a monastery in the mountains later this week. The days are flying by quickly and we have a lot left to see!
It was warmer and sunny in Barcelona today. We spent most of the day on the tourist bus getting an idea how the city is laid out. From the bus we saw the World Trade Center, the port where all the cruise lines dock, the Olympic Village, Montjuic with funiculars that come all the way from the port. We saw Las Arenas (a bullfight ring that is now a shopping center), the main sports center, and several of Gaudi's works--Park Guell, La Pedrera, the Sagrada Familia, and Casa Batllo. The guide pointed out the different areas of Barcelona and we saw many distinctive examples of beautiful architecture. These are just a few of the sights we saw today--Lola took many pictures from the bus, but I am waiting for a closer look. All of the tourist buses have wifi so I attempted to post some pictures from my phone. If you are friends with me on Facebook, you will see that I was NOT successful! (but I will keep trying!)
Tomorrow we will visit the Olympic Village, Gaudi's Park Guell and Sagrada Familia church from the bus. We are hoping to get to a monastery in the mountains later this week. The days are flying by quickly and we have a lot left to see!
Day 4 March 2, 2013
The sun came out this morning and after our usual breakfast of "cafe con leche y croissants," we set out to find the train station located near the end of the Rambla. It was a lovely walk and when we returned to the hotel, we lunched on the rooftop, basking in the sunshine.
Our train ride back to Barcelona was very smooth and scenic; the train goes along the coast. And it took less time than we expected. The train took us to a stop very near the Placa Catalunya (more advice from the librarians) and a short walk to our hotel. Our directions to the hotel were good once we figured out that we were walking in the right direction! At one point, two girls walked up to us and asked where we got our laminated map. They weren't too interested when they found out that I got it before I came here.
Our hotel is located very near the Placa Catalunya which is a very central location (thanks for the tip, Elaine and Joan!) Many types of transportation are located there and lots of tours start there. It also has the beginning of the Rambla (a wide avenue that leads all the way down to the port).
We dropped our luggage off and went out to see Barcelona. We hiked down the Rambla along with a great number of Barcelonians (everyone is out on a Saturday afternoon.) We found the main food market and walked through there--the fruit and juice looked lovely and really tempting, but the crowds got the best of us. There was lots of fish and ham. Large hams hang in many of the eating places--I learned in a Spanish class that the making (and eating) of ham is very important in Barcelona. I am looking forward to trying it! However, we just had some ice cream and retreated to the hotel for some rest.
We went out again later and decided to walk through some side streets to avoid the crowds and find somewhere to eat. We ate at a German restaurant and it was very good. Then we walked some more and got lost. We were very close to our hotel, but its street is like a spoke off a wheel and we got confused. We have had to ask for directions more than once so we have started to look for landmarks as we walk.
Our train ride back to Barcelona was very smooth and scenic; the train goes along the coast. And it took less time than we expected. The train took us to a stop very near the Placa Catalunya (more advice from the librarians) and a short walk to our hotel. Our directions to the hotel were good once we figured out that we were walking in the right direction! At one point, two girls walked up to us and asked where we got our laminated map. They weren't too interested when they found out that I got it before I came here.
Our hotel is located very near the Placa Catalunya which is a very central location (thanks for the tip, Elaine and Joan!) Many types of transportation are located there and lots of tours start there. It also has the beginning of the Rambla (a wide avenue that leads all the way down to the port).
We dropped our luggage off and went out to see Barcelona. We hiked down the Rambla along with a great number of Barcelonians (everyone is out on a Saturday afternoon.) We found the main food market and walked through there--the fruit and juice looked lovely and really tempting, but the crowds got the best of us. There was lots of fish and ham. Large hams hang in many of the eating places--I learned in a Spanish class that the making (and eating) of ham is very important in Barcelona. I am looking forward to trying it! However, we just had some ice cream and retreated to the hotel for some rest.
We went out again later and decided to walk through some side streets to avoid the crowds and find somewhere to eat. We ate at a German restaurant and it was very good. Then we walked some more and got lost. We were very close to our hotel, but its street is like a spoke off a wheel and we got confused. We have had to ask for directions more than once so we have started to look for landmarks as we walk.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Day 3 Friday March 1, 2013
My first library visit was scheduled for 9 am Friday morning, so I had to make sure I got myself up in time to get a bus to the campus. I got on the bus behind a woman and sat across from her. She looked and me and said Hola and I discovered that she was a librarian and that she would be giving me a tour at the Library. ¡qué casualidad! (Coincidence, right?) She got me off the bus at the right stop and to the right place in the library to meet with the director, Roser Lozano. I did my interview with three librarians, one seemed to be there for her English speaking expertise. I really appreciated that because my Spanish is not good enough to carry off an interview totally in Spanish.
After the interview, the director rushed off to a meeting and the two librarians graciously showed me their library and explained their services and policies. The library has many windows and is well laid out, tidy, and modern. I believe it was built in the 1990's so it is not very old. I have many pictures to show when I return. I spent about four hours with the two librarians and then met with the director once more before I left. They also presented me with a bottle of champagne made in the Enology Department of the University. Yes, they have a four-year wine-making degree and the bottle had their own label on it! They were extremely gracious and welcoming to me and I really appreciated it.
It was quite a relief to have my first interview over and went back to the hotel to meet Lola for the afternoon. It was raining in the morning but by the time we were able to go out again, it was just cloudy. We took the advice of the librarians and walked down the Rambla (the main street) to the port. They said it was traditional to take a walk there and "toca la herra" which means touch the iron fence at the end of the Rambla. It is supposed to be good luck so we made sure to do it! Then we walked through the old town which had winding streets and many little shops. We stopped in one little bar and drank a beer and later stopped at a bakery for a little pan con chocolate. It doesn't sound like a very good combination but they were both very good!
I am still not used to the time change, but I am not sleeping during the day, so I am sure I will get straightened out soon. Lola seems to have adjusted well already.
After the interview, the director rushed off to a meeting and the two librarians graciously showed me their library and explained their services and policies. The library has many windows and is well laid out, tidy, and modern. I believe it was built in the 1990's so it is not very old. I have many pictures to show when I return. I spent about four hours with the two librarians and then met with the director once more before I left. They also presented me with a bottle of champagne made in the Enology Department of the University. Yes, they have a four-year wine-making degree and the bottle had their own label on it! They were extremely gracious and welcoming to me and I really appreciated it.
It was quite a relief to have my first interview over and went back to the hotel to meet Lola for the afternoon. It was raining in the morning but by the time we were able to go out again, it was just cloudy. We took the advice of the librarians and walked down the Rambla (the main street) to the port. They said it was traditional to take a walk there and "toca la herra" which means touch the iron fence at the end of the Rambla. It is supposed to be good luck so we made sure to do it! Then we walked through the old town which had winding streets and many little shops. We stopped in one little bar and drank a beer and later stopped at a bakery for a little pan con chocolate. It doesn't sound like a very good combination but they were both very good!
I am still not used to the time change, but I am not sleeping during the day, so I am sure I will get straightened out soon. Lola seems to have adjusted well already.
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