A Catalan Lunch

Our professor Josep brought Renée and I out for a fabulous lunch in a town close to Barcelona. We went to a restaruant where they used an open fire oven to cook everything. Durring this time of year there is a traditional dish called Calçots. They are a winter Onion that are long and usually served with a dipping sauce. Normally people get together in large groups and cook the onions over a fire and then everyone sits around eating and talking. You pull off the outter leaves of the onion and then dip the insides into the sauce and eat it. They are quite delicious! Our professor also showed us how to make the traditional bread here. Pan con tomate.

First you cut the tomato in half then you rub it on the bread then add a little bit of olive oil. For a little more flair one can also rub a little bit of garlic. We had a wonderful time at lunch learning about catalan culture!

Thanksgiving

As one might think they do not celebrate Thanksgiving in Barcelona. Renée and I were not expecting to do much for dinner but we were surprised by Dr. José Manautou. He had come to Barcelona for a couple days to visit and got in contact with us. We went out to dinner at an amazing restaruant called Casa Alfonso. http://www.casaalfonso.com/ It has many classic Spanish dishes.

They have boards covered in different cheeses and cuts of the best meats, including the famous ham called jamón iberíco. That particular ham comes from pigs that are fed only acorns so the meat takes on a specific taste.

We had croquettes, tortillas with potato and the catalan bread with tomato. Dr. Manautou had liked the shirts that the servers were wearing and asked if they were for sale. The told him no but then brought us all aprons to have instead. It was a wonderful night and a great Thanksgiving.

Dinner

We went out to eat with one of the people from the lab and his friends. It was quite funny because it was an impromptu ´´bring your foreign exchange student night.´´ His friends brought two guys from Italy, one girl was from France, and another girl from Mexico. We ate inside a theater building and the atmosphere was great! However, the waiter forgot about us and our food did not come until 12am! But the wait was worth it because it was our first authentic meal in Barcelona because we had mostly been to tourist reastaurants prior to this. His friends were very friendly and we went to a bar afterward for a drink. The language barrier can be tough because they speak so fast and even if we somewhat understand the conversation, it is that much harder to understand jokes in a different language! I can barely understand jokes in English! So everyone was nice enough to translate the jokes for us so that we could join in on the laughter. Teegan and I had a great time with them and we hope to go to a concert with them later in the month. The place is called Razzmatazz and it is a concert venue that everyone raves about.

Sagrada Familia

The most sought after building that people go see in Barcelona is Gaudi´s Sagrada Familia. Gaudi is a famous artist that is from Spain and did much of his work in Barcelona and Paris. Sagrada Familia means, church of the holy family. The church monsters over all other buildings in the city and can be easily spotted in the city skyline because of it´s unique towers. There are twelve towers to represent the twelve apostles (all twelve towers are not fully completed). The church is one of the biggest modern-day construction projects, which began in 1882 with a completion date in 2026.

Inside the ground-level of the church was not as amazing as I was expecting because of all the construction. However, if you wait in line to take the elevator up... the sights are unbelievable!

It gives you the chance to be up-close with amazing architechure and the height lets you see the entire city! The walk down the Sagrada Familia was tight (literally). The narrow spiral staircase weaving in and out was very unique. I would highly recommend going up into the church and also sit in the park across the street to admire the building´s beauty.

Montserrat

Teegan and I went to Montserrat on Sunday. It is a monastery high up in the mountains and there are many religious and historical events that have been said to have happened there. One being the location of the Holy Grail! We took a train ride up the mountain to the monastery and went to the basilica (church).

We attended the Catholic mass which was all in Catalan and only understood when the people began shaking hands as we do ´´peace be with you.´´

There was some sort of parade while we were there with people dressed up as a donkey. We did not really understand it. There were children hearding the donkey around the area and a band of people behind making noise. It was very cute!

Then we went for a long hike up the mountain and the sites were amazing! The whole mountain was nothing but winding stairs. As we were walking up we saw a few people rock climbing up the highest parts of the mountain.

This is the view from a point almost at the top. We did not make it all the way because we ran out of time. We had to get back to the base before the last train left the mountain, otherwise we would have had to walk all the way down!

As you walk up the mountain there are shrines that you can stop and pray or look at. The one we found was not open when we got there but I did manage to take a picture. It is the shrine of Saint Jeroni.

To end the wonderful day, we left the top of the mountain via a gondola ride. I highly recommend that next year´s students go to Montserrat at least once! Teegan and I will likely return in the next couple of weeks. (Even though our legs are definately paying for our adventures today!)

Plaça España

On our first Friday in Barcelona our friend Elisabet brought us to the fontains in Plaça España. Every Friday they light the fountain up with lights that change color to the music that is played. The hight and patterns of the water also change. The water looks like it is dancing to the music. They have shows from about 7 to 9 every 15 minutes or so. Every show is a little different with different music playing. There were a lot of people there to watch at first but many of them left after the first show so it was easy to find a seat.

Behind the fountain is the National Museum of Catalan Art. It looks so beautiful at night. They have spotlights behind it that make it look like it belongs somewhere like disney world.

McDonald´s and the Spanish way of life!

As Americans we had to try McDonald´s and there is one right near our apartment. The best thing about the McDonald´s here is that there is not a drive-thru window for cars, but one for people on foot! The culture here is not about taking things ´´to go´´ but if you need to do so to say it in Spanish is ´´para llevar´´ (translation is to bring or carry). As for getting your morning coffee ´´to go´´ is non-existent unless you go to a Starbucks because the Spanish lifestyle is not rushed like ours in the states. So if you want a morning coffee you will have to sit down and RELAX! I am adjusting to the laid back lifestyle here. Usually I am a very time-oriented person, but this past weekend was the time change (one week ealier than in the states) and I forgot all about it until I noticed a clock in the metro showing an hour earlier! It feels good to not be checking a cellphone for the time or calls and for always checking e-mail.