Let's Get Physical

So here is a continuation of the past days events, hopefully it will help to battle my depression of leaving Spain.

Wednesday: Up early again to pick up Tim for the airport. This time, however, all went according to plan. The train was on time, the process was painless and we were back in no time. It was great to have the last addition to my expedition team here in Spain! I went to class (late again) and then returned after to FINALLY take a tour of the Sagrada Familia. It only took 4 weeks to get there, despite the fact that it is a.) the biggest attraction in Barcelona and b.) I live 5 minutes from the damn thing. It was awesome, considering that so much has been done to the church since I last visited.

The walk was exhausting, but it was a great time nonetheless. Later, Tim, Kat and I went to have lunch and then we chilled out for the rest of the afternoon. It was Valentina's last night, so we all met up to celebrate. As always, laughs were shared, food was enjoyed and memories were replayed. We ate so much food, and had so much drink, it was just phenomenal. We ran in to a bunch of miscreant Spanish girls in the streets, and it was the funniest thing watching Kat deal with them. At one point, after this kid asked the girls to show him their butts, Kat was driven

to finally scream at the children, "WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH! DÓNDE ESTÁN LAS MADRES?!" It was hysterical. Kat was in pure middle school teacher form...until the girls made her and Tim "kiss" and when the girls started talking about f******. We had finally had our fill. The girls went back home and the boys and I went to a bar. Sadly, as big as this city is...Wednesday is not a busy night, so we went back home to sleep.

Thursday: Not only did I show up to class late, but I left early. Valentina was leaving so I had to say goodbye, which was incredibly hard since I legit love this girl. Afterwards, we all hit up the beach just to relax. We swam in the water and took in some sun. However, when the ominous clouds started to roll in, Tim and I decided to hit up the Joan Miró museum. We got there (after getting off a few stops prematurely) and walked through the museum. Now, let me say this: I love Joan Miró, but he is the closest to modern art that I care to see. Overall, it was a neat museum, and basically wrapped up everything I wanted to do in Barcelona. After Tim and I returned, I went back to my host family for dinner, and then went out with the boys to hit the town. It was a little more lively, but still kinda dead. At one point, after bar hopping a little, I decided that I had hit a wall, and Tim and I headed back. Getting old is tough...hahaha!

Friday: Last day of class. Bittersweet moments really. We talked about Che Guevara in class and it really brought things full circle. No matter how many times I complained about that school, or the hours I had to pass whilst the beautiful day continued on, I felt a pang of sadness when walking away from International House. After class, my teacher and I exchanged emails. She was really awesome and I do hope to keep in touch. The class really helped me a lot with improving my Spanish. After class, I went back to have lunch with the boys and later Kat ran into us (which wasn't too hard as we were at her apartment) and had a beer. We parted ways after lunch so that I could pack. We went to the Aquarium (Kat, Tim and I) and it was a lot of fun! Granted, it was 18 Euro...for which to see things not valued as such, but whatever. I showed Tim Las Ramblas, and then we headed back home. I just finished dinner with my host family, and it's a sad, reflective time for me now. I gave them my gift from America and told them that I was really going to miss them....they really were a phenomenal host family.

Now we are headed out to the W Hotel for drinks and view of the ocean to close our time here in Barcelona. Now, don't think I'm leaving this country that quietly. There WILL be kicking and screaming...but the bags are packed, the tickets are printed and the train will be waiting. We will be spending 3 days in Madrid, and then it's back to the States. I do miss my friends and it will be great to see them once again!

That's all for now!

Until Next Time

~Scott

I am going to kill you with THIS meat

Valentina is gone and our time here is coming to a close. However, Tim, Matt and Joel are here, and it's been a jam-packed week! I am going to split this one into a couple of different parts. I'll start with the weekend.

Sunday: Hungover and working on about 3 hours of sleep, I set out to go pick Matt B up from the airport. Not really sure of the process, as Kat and I had sped through it when we came in due to delirium and such, I left rather early....6:40am. It was pretty brutal. I remember going into the metro station when I peaked over at the clientele just coming back from their night out. A perfect example is the gentleman stumbling his way to and through the turn styles. Not only did he stumble, but his pants kept falling down, and he had no underwear. No worries though, he quickly went to sleep on a bench in the station. Spain. Anywho, got the metro to the train station, where I rushed to the airport train, which was leaving in 3 minutes. "Yes! I made the train with time to spare," I thought. However, I must have forgotten that I was in Spain, as the clock ticked by and soon it was 7:15 (10 minutes past the arrival time). The board then changed to 7:40, leaving a bunch of pissed off passengers and me, freaking out about not getting to pick Matt up on time. I did have the fortune of Matt's flight being late. So I got him in to his hotel, after getting lost in a city I've only lived in for a month, and then we had breakfast, chatted, and got ready to go to the Dalí museum in Figueras (Matt was a trooper to agree to this).

We made it to the train station and met Valentina and Jon. However, we had 0 clue as to where to get the tickets. So we rushed around and finally bought them at the booth with 3 minutes to spare. We ran to the platform and finally made our way into the train as the door were just about to close. This left us in poor shape and allowed us to nap. We made it to Figueras and toured through the town and the museum. The museum, as a fan of Dalí, was an amazing experience and really was spectacular. If we had more time, I would have stayed, but it was a quick shot. There was even a solid gold hear that beat! Anyways, we packed ourselves in and headed back on quite possibly the most UNCOMFORTABLE train there was. We got lost in town, again, and finally got Jon back to his bus, Matt back to his hotel and wrapped up our night, after Matt and I had dinner.

Monday: On Monday I went off to class where we were joined with Bernard (a guy from Austria), Christopher (from Germany) and I really can't remember the last girl's name...but she is from Switzerland...or Sweden...I think Sweden. Hannah, the other American, was also there. After class Matt and I caught up with Kat for lunch and then headed out to El Laberinto del Jardín Horta. It was awesome, but the best part may have come in the beginning. We were all aimlessly walking about, no clue where the bathrooms where, or what to see...when I remember...I HAD BEEN THERE BEFORE. "You asshole!" Kat replied in disbelief, while Matt just chuckled. It was a gorgeous garden, but Kat and I have this small issue. We tend to show up to these cultural things without a single clue as to what the importance is. Well, we tackled the maze that was famous and we knew was there, and enjoyed the sights. We had a wonderful afternoon. That night, well all went out near the Sagrada Familia (Kat, Matt, Valentina and I) and had Sangria, which we swear was unusually strong, so much so that we ended up stumbling to an OpenCor, where I bought (and later consumed) an entire can of pringles and Kat bought microwave popcorn, while telling the woman at the counter that she wanted to "shit" her phone, instead of "add more money". WOOPS. She later lit her host mom's microwave on fire.

Tuesday: Time to pick up Joel! I departed early and met Matt at the metro station to head over to the train station. When we got there, we actually encountered the European "Olympics" and their running competition, which prompted Matt to ask "Is this the special olympics?" with regard to how the gentlemen were running. Joel's train was running late so we ended up having some breakfast in a small café near the station. As someone who isn't a breakfast person, the light breakfasts do not bother me, but it has taken some getting used to for poor Matt who is. We ended up picking up Joel and I had a bit of a misstep in the train station (if you'd like to know what, you need to ask me later, haha!). I brought them back to metro where we parted ways so I could go to class. After, we met up and ran some errands, getting Matt back to the original hotel (which messed up his reservation) and then we went toward the beach for lunch. After lunch we walked along the shore, and I made the two Mediterranean virgins dip their feet in the waters. They liked it so much, we stayed and chatted for a while. After a bit, I advised them that we should be heading back due to our tapas date for the evening with Stefano, Valentina, and Kat.

The tapas were delicious, and we had some really great laughs. I even ate some octopus, and not even fried! It was an excellent night. We wandered for a bit and headed to a bar near Universitat where the waiter was Sicilian (or maybe Northern Italian) and joked around and enjoyed ourselves. Afterwards, we all headed back. Wednesday I had to get up early to pick up Tim from the airport!

I will talk about everything else later, but for now, it's time to hit the town!

Until Next Time

~Scott

Also...this is an old video, but I finally got my hands on it!

Chips with the flavor of ham and I can't function if I don't dance 3 times a week

I'm not going to even say it, because I hate the thought of returning to real life soon. It's been a real fun week. We went to the chocolate museum, Montserrat, Ocata, and tomorrow the Dali Museum...and this is the week of friends as well. Jon had arrived a day ago, Matt tomorrow, Joel on Tuesday and Tim on Wednesday!

On Wednesday night, as I had mentioned, we went to see Toy Story 3, in 3D iMax and it was totally cute and a great break from the go go go pace. After the movie we meandered on back to the subway and took our leave for the evening.

After class on Thursday Kat, Valentina and I went to this crepe place near the school and had the menu of the day. I was convinced I would be in potty trouble after housing nearly 3 crepes. However, I was actually all set. We wandered around a bit, and decided to go to the Chocolate Museum, since the day was a bit dreary out to suit a beach day. The museum was loads of fun. This was the second time I had been and it was a definite fun time. You got to see all the history of how chocolate came to be in its current form, the artistic chocolate sculptures adorning the walls, and the best part....YOU GOT TO EAT some chocolate. Of course, no trip to the museum of chocolate would be complete without a photo in their silly cutout.

After the museum we made the snap decision to go to Ocata, a virtually undiscovered gem (to us, at least) about 40 minutes away from Barcelona city-centre. We bought our tickets and hopped on the train. Once we arrived in Ocata, we set ourselves up at the Chiringuito (sea-side food/drink stand) and just had a wonderfully relaxing afternoon in the cool sea-breeze and quite ambience. It was paradise, and something that made me sad to leave Barcelona. After a bit of time in Ocata, we headed back. I headed home to study for my exam a bit, and say goodbye to one of the students in the apartment, Creona (from Ireland).

The next day Jon was set to arrive and I had my course exam. I passed! It was difficult, but I wrote a kick-ass essay about....The Simpsons. Now now, don't everyone fall off their toadstools over that. I know my obsession with the Simpsons is almost unknown. My teacher called me a tio creativo (creative dude). I love her, and look forward to meeting with her next week again to polish off my academic track here in Barca.

After class we all met up (the newly arrived Jon included) and headed to Montserrat, since today was a bit of a washout (beach-wise) in the city. The view was amazing, the church was beautiful and I got my grammy some rosary beads, which I'm sure will garner me disapproving (jealous) looks from my cousins as I did when I got my very religious grammy rosary beads from the Vatican last time I was here. The train ride there was a bit of a chore, what with screaming babies, creaking trains, and the silent

uneasiness that accompanied each and whether we'd be heading back with the price of homicide over Kat's head. Once we got there, we had a great time walking around and enjoying the warm, but fall-like air. We took some gorgeous pictures and really just unwound from all the adventures we had had up to that point.

On our way back, once again followed by crying babies, and squeaking train connectors, we planned our evening and went our separate ways. Jon and I met up later that evening to hit up a few bars and enjoy local color. It was great to catch up with him and all of his adventures in Madrid (where he is studying business). I then received a text from Kat telling of future plans for the evening. However, when we finally arrived to meet her, she was being told to go home, that she simply had too much to drink. The series of events previous and future were the subject of many wonderful stories the following day (today), that solicited MANY laughs.

We were back at Ocata today, enjoy the cool beach air, the sand between our toes, the waves crashing against the shore...the many people selling goods on the beac....wait what? We were shocked and dismayed when, just like Barcelona city beaches, there were people selling things along every corner. Beer, water, chips, sundresses, sunglasses, DVDs...it was unreal. I was told at dinner, however, that this is actually illegal in Spain, but that they don't have enough police to really enforce it. I wish they did...I really wish! I ended up body surfing a bit in the waves, and then enjoying some lunch, finally falling asleep on my beach towel (which, by the way, is a North Haven Indians towel), waking up some hours later to the sun perched behind some clouds, signaling our need for departure (in the train with the crying baby....once again).

Now we're setting up for the evening...hoping not to drive Kat's physical state into the ground. Tomorrow morning I pick up Matt from the airport at dawn (hahah) and we are heading up to the Dalí museum for a 1/2 day. Should be fun.

Until next time

~Scott

When in a city full of culture, what should you do? How about go to Toy Story 3...in Imax!

Exactly the plan for this evening. Kat and I will be going to see Toy Story 3. The past few days have been rather a bore. So, I haven't really updated. I started my new grammar class, which has 4 people (and again, I'm the only guy). I also enjoy the fact
that my teacher had to go on and on about how I was a teacher. Shouldn't have opened my mouth.

I went shopping for souvenirs for folks and got my entire list almost covered. Monday was a relaxing day. Get some shopping done, walk around a bit. I got some pretty awesome artwork, and surely will be hitting up the Ramblas again for more. If I had an unlimited budget, it would be all over.

Kat, Valentina and I had drinks Monday night, which was nice. It's weird without Laura still around, but we still had a great time!

Tuesday was another class day followed by the beach in Badalona, which is a suburb on the outskirts of Barcelona. We almost thought we were safe from the ritualistic calls of the coooocacolaaguacervezacoldbeer men...but then we saw two of them, wandering the beach. Perhaps there is a franchise to be had. We hung out at the beach for a while with Kat's friends Daniel and Hugo (from Canada and Sweden respectively). We headed back after a couple of hours and a few dips in the ocean. Last night I did my homework (1/10 assed) and headed for a drink near the Sagrada Familia with Kat for a bit. It was a neat little Italian bar. We walked home, took some awesome photos of the Sagrada Familia at night and called it a night.

Today was a day of a BIT more adventure. Had class in the morning, as per usual. It was fun. We discussed the media and how it affects different parts of life etc. Then I showed the class a part of Glee. My mission here is completed!

Then I came back and had my Jamón Serrano and took a quick nap (after deciding that the Miró museum was a bit too far-fetched of a goal for the day). I woke up, watched some Simpsons and met Kat at the subway to go to Camp Nou.

See, we had decided that once you've seen one Futbol stadium...well that 12 Euros was just not vale la pena to see another. We asked a local barista how to get to the stadium to which one of the regulars replied "por cantando el himno" (by singing the anthem). It was really cute, and again was another example of how people in Barcelona are just so darned friendly. We had to stop in a supermarket for some water...well I had to. The weird thing was, the cashier was totally talking to the guy in front of me in Castellano and then turns to me and starts talking Catalán. Either this was a sick joke to confuse the foreigner, or an actual perception that I spoke Catalán.

Anyways, we arrived at the stadium and..we

mostly walked on the outskirts, taking pictures

where we could and then went into the MEGA STORE to do some shopping. I finished most of my souvenir shopping inside and we finished our day trip.....errrr...hour trip by taking photos next to the stadium. We headed back to the metro and went to our respective apartments.

Tonight we are seeing Toy Story 3! Very cultural right? At least it's in Tres-Day. It should be a nice relaxant from the hectic day schedule.

Well my bucket list is shrinking as I knock off more and more activities! More to come.

Until next time

~Scott

A relaxing weekend

Hi all,

It has been a wonderful weekend of going to the

beach and walking through nature. I have thoroughly enjoyed the time to explore.

On Friday afternoon, before going out for the festivities, Kat and I explored the Parque Guell, which was both wonderful and imaginative. Gaudi is certainly an architect about which I'd like to learn more. We went up the mountain/park a bit and took in the skyline sights, went down a bit and took in the strange building architecture (that seemed quite like something out of Grimm's Fairytales, and finally headed on back to rest for the evening.

On Friday night, we had a wonderful night, all of us teachers, buying rounds of tinto de verano and laughing through language barriers and cultural differences. It was very sad to say goodbye to Laura as she took flight to yet another adventure in Europe, this time in Italy. However, we shared a few laughs and a few tears as well. We also met Valentina's boyfriend, Fabio. He was amazing and really put up with our lack of Italian well. He has a smurf shirt on that really was awesome and I learned the term Puffi, which is smurfs in Italian. It was and will be a word that I will utilize constantly, for it is much better than Pitufo, the word in Spanish.

Kat and I walked home and spent the rest of the night sleeping off our tinto.

First, on Saturday, after saying goodbye to Laura and in the process consuming, I am sure, 1 litre of tinto de verano (which is no problem by me), I woke up, exhasuted, but determined to make the most of the day (after 2 more hours of sleep, of course). Kat and I headed to the beach for another round of relaxation, constantly interrupted by the calls of various merchants selling massages, lottery tickets, fresh fruit, dresses, beer, cold water, fanta...etc. It always shocks me that these things happen on the beach here, but it's not like America where it's "I put my towel down, you leave me ALONE." It's almost laughable at times that once one person passes, instead of tranquilness for minutes, the silence is broken by yet another that is close in tow. I swear, if you didn't want to move all day, there'd be no need.

After leaving the beach, Kat and I souvenir shopped a bit, and finally had had enough, so we headed back and relaxed a bit. I took the opportunity to sleep and relax before we headed out to pass some time with Valentina, Stefano and Fabio. It was good to hang out with the group, mostly because it forced me to use Spanish, where there had be a lazy absence for me for most of the day. Sometimes, enough is enough I guess. Now I know how my students feel.

We had a drink with Stefano, Valentina, and Fabio and finally headed on home to sleep.

The next day was dedicated to the beach and exploring. I went to the beach in the morning after Kat had set up shop, and people watched a bit, took in some sun, and then Kat and I left. She had a birthday party to be at, and I wanted to take a stroll around Montjuic, crossing off yet another task on my Barcelona Bucket-List.

The sights were phenomenal and I walked what must have been 3 or 4 miles, although my perception of direction and distance are somewhat skewed. I sat and reflected, took in the amazing skyline and the view over the water and just proceeded to snap many photos of these and the old castle built atop. I will post the pictures below. Notice the cable cars that you can take to the top. Despite my irrational fear (as most of my fears are) of heights and cable cars, I think it's worth a try next time to save my aching legs and feet.

After wandering around a bit, I decided I should head back. I got a little lost, but embraced this as an adventure rather than being my usual, panicky self. I'm sure a few of my friends will recognize and chuckle at that phrase, as it describes me perfectly. Here are a few shots from my lost wanderings.

After my long adventure, wandering and thinking, it was time to head back home. That night I ate with my family and went to bed, although I tossed and turned a lot at the prospect of an overwhelming amount of things that I want to accomplish before I leave. There we go, back to typical Scott, and the world keeps on turning.

I started class today, my new grammar class...but more on that in the next post.

Until next time,

~Scott

It bothers my stomach!

Hey all,

I know I've been in absence the past week. I'm going to chalk it up to not feeling that well. It's the heat, the diet, the long nights and over doing it. I'm not a young pup anymore. Most of my week was spent resting and relaxing when I had the time. However, the last few days have been ramping up quite nicely as we head into the weekend (que coincidence).

The day after the world cup victory, it seemed as if the Spanish nation was over it. I walked around proudly with my Rojas jersey on and a metro guard stopped me. In Spanish he asked, "Where are you going with that jersey?" I promptly answered, "Um....home?" to which he replied "Oh, so you're not going somewhere, eh?". I thought it was so weird, but that whole day Kat had mentioned feeling a bit out of place in our blaring red jerseys.

So that was that. Most of the week I relaxed. On Wednesday, however, we took a trip over to the Picasso museum with the school. It was very neat and each Picasso museum I've been too (yes, there is more than one, and I've been to three now) has it's own different flare. This one was very reminiscent of the one I went to in Malaga. Sadly, and understandably, pictures were not allowed inside, so I have some from the exterior.

After the museum (oh, by the way, where we met up with Laura's friend Alejandro) we all went to have a copa and meet Valentina's friend Stefano. We had a great time, as always, passing the time and sharing each of our own little quirks that we brought with us to share with the world.

Of course, Laura and Valentina stopped for dance in one of the Plazas for a good time to some wonderful music played by local musicians.

Of course, the days continued. Class was still unbearably long and our afternoons were painfully short before dinner and sleep. Last night, however, we had one of the best nights (very fitting for close to the end) than we've had in a long time. We all first went to the fuente in Montjuic, and I liked it (not everyone did). I thought it was neat, and I love the feel of being around fountains.

We took some spectacular pictures. We goofed around and I even proposed to Valentina. She was very flattered, and accepted! Hahah, totally joking. After we thought for a while of where to go, we all decided to go to Las Ramblas for some copas. We told some of the best stories ever. We almost saw an Italian man get robbed! However, we laughed the night away in one of the best nights we've been here yet.

Kat and I then stumbled home through some really neat, Granada-esq, neighborhoods and stumbled upon the most peculiar of sights. It was a four-year old's scooter that had been carelessly left out in the street for any joe-schmoe (drunk American) to go and ride. And ride we did. Kat broke it, and I, being the experienced uncle I am, fixed it. All in a day's work, I suppose :). It was a phenomenal night, and I even taught people the pinball!

Tonight we celebrate the end of our class for the first two weeks and below are some videos from the past week, including the RIGHT way to celebrate the end of a course.

Until next time

~Scott