Fiesta del Trabajo!

The 1st of May is celebration of workers day here. The past week has been the Feria de Abril which is the festival of April. This is a traditionally Sevillan festival but there is also one held in the Forum in Barcelona. It is essentially like going to a giant carnival. There are rides and games and then there are individual little 'houses' where there is flamenco dancing and drinks and food. We went on Friday, and at the time we were there, there was not a lot of dancing going but there were many people walking around dressed in full dancer attire.

Nuria and I went on one ride, just for a laugh. We all shared fries in a paper cone and a very large rebujito.

We rounded off the evening with a visit to The Magic Fountains of Montjuic. The fountains are lit up and the water 'dances' to music...



After the fountains we drove up to a high point in Barcelona so that we could see the city by night.

Parque Güell

The Parque Güell was designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi. It was built in the early 1900's and is composed of various landscaping in among all sorts interesting structures, covered in mosaic. Gaudi actually lived in the house, now a museum, that is on the premises for about 20 years. It's beautiful and I imagine it could be very peaceful were it not for the hundreds of tourists.
The entrance...
A pond...There's a large area at the top of the steps that is a bunch of pillars and in the ceiling are many different mosaic designs.

You can go up on roof of the pillar area where there is a large open space. There are people selling jewelry or playing music. There was an old lady that was dancing back and forth with her cane while "playing" a harmonica. She started singing later (Mom, you would have appreciated it!).


From up on top we could also get a good view of the park below and the water off in the distance.

Some more of the park and the tile work around the top of the pillars
























Finally, there was a dragon fountain about half way up the steps








and one last random shot...

A Sunday Morning Stroll

I woke up on Saturday morning to find it was a beautiful day outside. I decided to get up, get dressed, and go for a little stroll around town. I wandered up and down La Rambla in Sabadell and stopped in a few shops along the way. I ended up in a little courtyard area where I sat and people watched for about an hour.


There were people having drinks, there was a bride and groom getting photos taken, and there was a little boy on a bike trying desperately to keep up with the big boys and finally became exasperated and just sat down in the middle of the sidewalk.I walked back through the centre of town where there was a wedding party gathered as well as all the old men, sitting and chatting.


There is a fountain of sorts where people were walking there dogs...


And this is just a shot of the area outside the market where I buy groceries.
Finally, here are a couple shots of the flat. The first is the living room and the second is my little bedroom.

So that was just one to show you where I've been living for the last month or so. Love to everyone!

Montserrat

Well folks, there isn't a whole lot to say for this one. Just some pretty pictures. I went up to Montserrat with Nuria and Lessly on Sunday. It is a mountain with an old monastery on top of it. It is beautiful! It is a long windy drive up to the top or there is the Camallera ( the zipper train) that takes you to the very tippy top of the mountain.

We were going up to the top of that mountain off in the distance. We got a little lost on the way as the signs are not the best but made it there eventually.
A couple shots of the view...

I think the pictures pretty much speak for themselves, hence the reason there is not a lot to say. There is a really nice hike up from the abbey out to this spot where there's a metal cross. It's all up hill, however!

There is a statue in the church of the Virgin of Montserrat and her child. She holds a globe in her hand. It is traditional to touch her hand as you walk past her.
















The work inside the church is beautiful as well as in the walkway to the statue. It is hard to believe that it was all done by hand hundreds of years ago. There are carvings in wood and stone as well as moldings in metal. It's really remarkable. There are even tile mosaics on the ceilings of the hallway leading up to the Virgin.
This angel is carved in marble.
The view of the abbey from the lookout where the cross was.

Well, that's all for now. If you want more info on Montserrat, click on the link at the beginning of the post. See you all in the next post. Love!

A Spanish Barbacoa

Well, it seems that I have brought the rain to Spain and sent the sunshine to Scotland. I meant for the sunshine to go to Scotland but it was supposed to wait until I was there too. Oh well, the rain here is good because it means that in the summer there will be enough water. Anyway, my friend had told me that on the Friday before Easter there would be a BBQ. She phoned me on Thursday night to say that she would be picking me up at 9:30 in the morning. 9:30 in the morning! for a BBQ! She told me it was because if we didn't go early there wouldn't be space left.
So, I got out of bed on Friday morning, after having gone to bed only 5 hours before, to find that it was a cloudy and drizzly day outside. Nonetheless, my friend picked me up and we met up with about 10 other people and headed to Sant Sadurni d'Anoia, which is about a 45 minute drive west of Barcelona. This, I was informed, is the region where Cava is made (For those who don't know, Cava is Spanish "Champagne", as it can only be real "Champagne" when it is from Champagne in France).

The whole region looks much like wine country California or Italy, with hillsides covered in vineyards and various little towns sprinkled in between. There are many different 'winery' type places where you can go in and taste the Cava. Canals & Munne is where we ended up in what turned out to be the most unusual of BBQ locations. The front of the building is a bar where people can sit and sip Cava and be told all about the bubbles and the flavours. In the next room over from the bar, was a restaurant. Then, in the back of the building, was a large open room with big windows along the wall. The room was filled with long rows of tables and chairs. This would be where we would eat our BBQ...


Just in front of the room, to the right, was a very large fire pit/grill where two men where cooking sizable quantities of green onions in the fire. Apparently these grilled green onions are a specialty of Spain. This fire pit would be where our food would get cooked. And those two men where the ones to cook it! A strange situation for a BBQ. We bought the food and then brought it to this...place, where we pay them and then they cook the food and we eat it indoors.


Fair enough, it was raining outside and it would have been difficult to do a proper BBQ outdoors but I guess this is quite typical here. When we arrived, the place was pretty quiet but as the afternoon went on more and more families arrived. It was a really great time and the food was good but I struggled with the idea that it was really a BBQ. We got to sit there and eat food that was cooked by other people and sip Cava at the same time.


The day finished out with everyone playing games. Some people played Dominoes, some Uno Spin (a new twist on the old classic) and some cards. I got in on the Uno Spin action, because really, what's better than Uno?


All in all, an amusing and enjoyable day and a chance to meet a very friendly and fun bunch of people. So if you ever are really feeling like a BBQ but don't wanna cook it, just hop on over to Barcelona...

La Playa and Beyond

As I am sitting here writing this, it is another beautiful day outside. I am sitting in my living room which has a large picture window that looks out over the streets of Sabadell. It's after siesta now so there are people out again, buying their groceries and walking their tiny dogs. The kids are in school until 5:30 here, so normally they would be beginning to fill the streets soon but I think they are all on holiday, as it the Semana Santa~ Holy Week. This is the view from the living room window. Imagine that the images were merged...















The past few weeks have gone by quickly and before I know it I will be heading back to Scotland so I am trying to savour every moment here. My work in the university for my thesis is going well. I am through the first stage of the project now I am onto the next, where I am having to sort out a few details before going forward with it. It is nothing to worry about though.
This weekend was good, I did a little bit of everything. On Friday night I went out with my flatmates and another friend to an 'Irish Pub', which basically just means that there are some posters on the wall about Ireland and they serve Guiness. It was a good time, even though all of us were dead tired.
There are more goofy pics that I'll put on Snapfish and send out for everyone to see. On Saturday I just hung out. Sat on a bench across the street from the apartment and read for awhile. Watched 12 monkeys (12 monos) on Saturday night with the flatmates.
Sunday there was supposed to be a BBQ but that sort of fell through so my flatmate, Dan, and I decided to go to the beach and enjoy the lovely weather. Sadly, when we got to the beach the sun was hiding behind some clouds and it was really windy. We waited it out, though, and the sun eventually came out from behind the cloud and then it was beautiful. I dipped my feet in the water but that was as far I went. There was a dog who seemed to be loving the water and swam for ages...I was not that brave!

After the beach, I met up with my friend Nuria and one of her friends and we headed to Sitges, a gorgeous old town on the coast. When we arrived to Sitges there was a troop of American baton twirlers in the centre, practicing a routine. We walked all around the town, peeked in a few shops and stopped for drink in a cafe. It really is a beautiful little place and if anyone is ever in Spain I would definitely check it out. Apparently in the summer it is absolutely packed, so maybe avoid it at that time of year.



















So that's all I think I have to report for now. I'll send out the link to snapfish so that if anyone wants to see more pics they can. Love to everyone and Happy Easter!

Bus drivers, sunshine and siesta

I've arrived in Barcelona. I got in on Monday. Leaving Scotland for 2 months was bitter-sweet but I am so excited to be here. The sun has been shining since I arrived and it's been in the 70's. On Monday when I arrived I was picked up by a friend of a friend who lives here and she took me around the city a little bit. This was my first challange of speaking Spanish and trying to understand Catalunyan. So far I've managed pretty well but the the speaking is still the hardest. I need time to process and think about what I am wanting to say before I can say it and that can make for a lengthy and painful conversation. I think with a little time I'll be fine.
This is coming in over the city when the plane was landing

In Barcelona we went to the stadium where the '92 olympics were held, there's a picture of me in front of it. We walked down by the beach and just had a general look around town. We saw a gorgeous church although I can't think of it's name just now.

I went to the university today to meet with my supervisor while I'm here and a chance to try my hand at taking the public transportation here. I ended up walking from the train station back to my flat on the way home because I wanted to walk down La Rambla de Sabadell (the main street) with shops and restaurants. On my walk I discovered 2 things: 1) ALL the bus drivers look very chic and euro rockstar (for lack of a better term) and 2) that siesta really does exist. It was about 3:30 in the afternoon and there were very few people out and all the shops were shut. A few of the larger shops were open or the deli places but mostly what was open was these bar/gaming places. For the most part, the shops shut about 1:30 or 2 and open again 4:30 or 5. It is very beautiful here though and everyone I have met so far has been extremely friendly and willing to put up with my awkward and longwinded speaking. I've just stuck up a bunch of random pictures with this post. Hope you all enjoy.