I REALIZE THIS WAS NEVER POSTED??
Buenas tardes (good afternoon-- I'm sure you're catching on by now)...
I think it's safe to say we are fully recuperadas y recargadas (recovered and recharged) from an intense weekend in Barcelona and the traveling aftermath. It was definitely a weekend que nunca nos va a olvidar (we will never forget).
On Thursday morning, Ana took us to have el desayuno (breakfast) like REAL Sevillanas: churros con chocolate. Now, we tried them for the first time in Madrid, but these were SO much better! Equally greasy, equally fatty, but the chocolate was sweeter and it was nice having Ana. She ate like 6 sin darse cuenta (without realizing it). She is always so humorous. After that, we finished up last minute things and headed off to el aeropuerto (the airport). It definitely felt weird to be back, since I haven't been since we got here-- which I also want to discuss: IT'S BEEN 2 MONTHS?? WHERE IS TIME GOING??
Anyway, so we got to the airport and were able to go right through security because we printed our tarjetas de embarque (boarding passes) at school [after stealthily jumping over the librarian desk... I was definitely caught on tape, and Laura watched and laughed]. It worries me a little how "relaxed" the security check was. Not only didn't they ask for documentación (ID), they didn't scan or mark up our boarding passes in any way? But they DID have me take my boots off to go through the metal detector... Anyway, the airport was small enough that we found our gate in no time and sat down. Didn't realize that we'd be waiting for more than an hour past boarding time, because it's not like there was any sort of anuncio (announcement). Oh well, Sevilla... you're motto is "no pasa nada" for a reason.
El vuelo (the flight) was pretty fast, and we were in the BIG Barcelona airport in no time. I thought it was interesting that all the signs were written in Catalan, followed by English, and then Castellano (the Spanish we are used to in Seville). Catalan is kind of feo (ugly)-- but we knew we were in tourist land because English was inevitable (unavoidable). We were planning to meet JulieAnn, who was flying in from Florence, so we took a shuttle from our terminal to hers and waited for a bit. And then it was off to our "lovely" hostel... which was quite far from being lovely. We had heard that staying in the dorm-type rooms is part of the hostel experience, and so we thought it would be fun to sign up for a 6 person one... we also thought we had signed up for an exclusively girls room, but more about that después (after). Laura and I had some pretty interesting bunk-beds, and all the beds came with lockers to store your suitcases and valuables. You had to buy sábanas y toallas (sheets and towels) though, which was kind of sketchy, but what are you gonna do...
The next thing we did was EAT because estábamos muertas de hambre (we were famished) at this point. And, por supuesto, we went for Kebabs-- our new favorite thing! And not to mention cheap. Our hostel actually happened to be located in Kebap district, vendors popping out of each one "Hola guapas! A comer?" (Hi beautiful girls, come eat?) And of course there were the vendors that tried speaking English: "Good morning!" --its 5:30PM? Can only laugh about it.
After we ate, we spent of the rest of the day walking around the old city area. Our hostel was located in the heart of Las Ramblas, a very touristy pedestrian strip of restaurants, cafes, and boutiques. We passed by a LOT of crazy people dressed in costumes trying to earn a euro; particularly noteworthy was Windman. We passed by the Mercat de la Boqueria, the city's most iconic street market. It was like being in Candyland-- name a candy, it was there. There was also fresh fruit, vegetables, and meat... We couldn't leave sin comprar (without buying) 1 euro fresh fruit smoothies! We ultimately followed Las Ramblas all the way down to the port, where there were endless rows of boats of every kind and a big pedestrian puente (bridge). We crossed over and ended up next to a big indoor/outdoor mall, where we obviously killed a few hours. After that, the 3 of us met up with one of JulieAnn's friends to buy tickets to this outrageous discoteca -- not that it was more intense size-wise compared to the one in Madrid, but rather PACKED with alllll familiar American faces. That would be our plan for the next night, but at that point, we were ready to wash up for dinner. We ended up eating in this bar/restaurant for make-shift tapas-- we have yet to find ones that top those from Granada! Back at the hostel, we inevitably met our other roommates-- a pack of Russian women who looked like they were in their late 20s, unhappy to see us. We were all cordial, so it was fine for the night.
The next morning, we got an earlier start to do some site seeing. First on our list was Gaudí's Templo de la Sagrada Família, a COLOSSAL Roman Catholic church which has been under continuous construction since the late 1800s. With respect to the never ending construction, Gaudí notoriously remarked "My client (Dios--God) is not in a hurry!" We were still able to appreciate the interesting design and detail, a pesar de (despite) the massive cranes and loud noise. His style is reallly idiosyncratic-- interesting geometric shapes and colors. You can see from the pictures (which I'll post eventually) that it also consists of a series of spindle-shaped towers, adorned with different religious symbols that I didn't quite catch. There are also 3 main facades that look different from each side you look at. Apparently, the interior is also awesome, but it was just too expensive to go in... so we kept moving along... By chance, we also wandered up to another of Gaudí's architectural masterpieces: La Pedrera. It was bronze in color and had a lot of wavy balconies. The structure, itself, is a work of art-- it was declared a World Heritage Site in the 1980s... it frequently houses different art exhibits, which is pretty cool. The next Gaudi must-see was the Casa Batlló, another pretty house looking straight out of a Dr. Seuess book, with wavy walls, large windows (almost looks skeletal, hence the local name "House of Bones"), big stone columns, and a mix of mosaics in pastel colors. It really makes you stop and stare. And then after we ate lunch, we did some more walking within the newer part of the city and came to the University... It's big... and it's great... but it ISN'T USeville! I'm biased, yo lo sé (I know), but I'm sure you'd agree. We also came across this really cool candy shop--you could smell the chocolate from the street so we were naturally drawn to it. Inside were chocolate MASTERPIECES!! From far away, they don't look edible but if you get up close, you see the little M&Ms and sprinkles! Lauren would've liked all the different Disney ones.
Our next stop on this long day was Gaudi's Park Güell, a really big municipal garden complex decorated with his unusual architecture-- another World Heritage Site. Getting there was kind of tricky. We had to take the metro, which wasn't as sketchy as we've heard and it let us off definitely on the BACK side of the park. We walked for at least 15 minutes up the world's STEEPEST and longest set of steps-- they broke them up with escaleras mecánicas (escalators) for obvious reasons. The entire feel of the park is intended to bring on the ideal peace and calmness you would want from a park. We started at the highest point and began spiraling down the path... I loved that you got a different view of Barcelona as you started descending and twisting and turning. Most of the architecture blends right in with naturaleza (nature)-- the rock pillars just out from the ground, kinda like tree trunks. We had fun climbing some of the walls and taking pictures. My favorite part was the main terrace-- it was just vast open space with a mosaic bench that wrapped around, supposed to be resembling a serpent. It was a really social space-- lots of tourists! Also in the park is one of the houses in which Gaudi actually lived for some time-- again, we didn't go in but the outside was breathtaking.
After all the walking, we were most definitely ready to crash-- and that's exactly what we did when we got back to the hostel. A few hours later, we were refrescadas (refreshed), washed up, got dressed, and hit the city for dinner. All of JulieAnn's friends from Florence had arrived, so we met up with them for a big Sushi dinner- -the FIRST we've had in the 3 months we've been here. I was a little nervous about it, but it was BUENISIMO, as Ana would say. It was good to be with a big group like that, and we were looking forward to seeing some more Cornell people! We knew that not only were Cornell people from all over Europe coming to Barcelona this weekend, sino también (but also) Cornell people who were still at school, celebrating spring break in Europe! Talk about spotting familiar faces... Anyway, after dinner, we went back to JulieAnn's friend's apartment (one girl was studying in Barcelona and her roommates were traveling so there was a ton of space for all of us). After getting fully ready, we headed out to OSHUM discoteca, featuring some international DJ that played techno music. Like in Seville, it is typical to show up to these places at around 1:30-- it's when the crowd has usually been there for a little and is warmed up-- you don't want to get there earlier or else it's awkward (we've done that before and have learned from previous equivocaciones (mistakes)). The place was pretty big, and it was set up well so that it accommodated the mass amounts of people and gave us room to breathe-- which is important. And por casualidad (by chance), the first recognizable person I ran into, within 10 minutes of being there, was Alex! The music was reallly loud and the world was going kind of loco (crazy), but we still managed to catch up and it was so good to see him. At around 5:30-6 Laura and I called it a night and headed back to our hostel... We caused a bit of a scene-- there was a sign on the door saying that the elevator is closed from 12-6... there was NO way we were walking up 5 flights of stairs, so we made the receptionist unlock it for us. A el no le importa (I don't think he really cared). And that's when we saw our surprise: there was a shirtless boy/man in the bed next to us... Um... NOT OK. So, we didn't really get an all girl's room, after all...
Because Friday had been such an intense day, we saved our walk to la playa (the beach) for Saturday... It wasn't beach weather or anything, but it's a site you need to see in Barcelona. On our way there, we stopped for lunch at some burger place and sat outside... it's funny that los camareros (the waiters) don't even think twice about offering us our menus in English. Anyway, it took us around media hora (half an hour) to reach it, and from there, we walked along the sand. The water was blue and beautiful, and there were lots of people making professional-looking sand castles... talk about architecture! We continued along until well after the sand ended, onto the boardwalk along a row of shops and restaurants. While we were there, we saw some kind of test-track thing for Audi. Drivers were taking people on these crazy courses-- fast and slow, stop and go, sideways, etc. It was kind of fun to watch but I definitely would not consider getting in a car like that. Laura got some cool video footage.
We went reaaaaaally lejos (far)... probably farther than we expected, because our legs were throbbing hours later when we decided it was time to leave. On the way back to Las Ramblas, we stopped off for some yummy Gelato-- another thing I haven't tried. Glad I brought the Lactaid pills with me on this trip! Because we were feeling so exhausted from the events of the day, Laura and I decided to relax and pass on the big group dinner for the evening, and took the night slowly until it was time for discoteca numero dos (our second disco adventure): Tiffany's. It was SWARMING with Cornell, it was unbelievable!! I managed to find Alex again and we crossed into the VIP section with all his friends and my friends, but the crowd ultimately separated, the night wore on, and it was suddenly 5AM. Again. Laura and I took a taxi home and decided we were hungry, only to be met with the disappointment that Spain just does NOT do late night food! Anyway, we felt extremely uncomfortable with los ladrones (the thieves) who notoriously roam the streets of this city and not only pick-pocket, but also beat people up. So, en lugar de (instead of) walking around alone, we conned the receptionist-- AGAIN-- into opening up the kitchen and letting us make Nutella sandwiches yummm. We bonded with a group of boys from Scotland, here for a bachelor party, who had their lives stolen by the infamous ladrones. Tough life here, eh?
Sunday, the day of our departure, started off with our check-out at 11. Since we had time to kill before our flight at 4, we opted for a nice long brunch in Las Ramblas-- only to find out that we would pay the price-- literally. I guess we just need to accept the fact that todo es muy caro en esta ciudad (everything is very expensive in this city). We were realllly missing Vicki's home cooked meals! So after finishing up coffee, we headed over to the huge airport-- which we discovered is also kind of a shopping mall?-- and took off for Sevilla alas!
Unfortunately, we didn't come home to the greatest noticias (news). Poor Manolo had a respiratory emergency and was taken by ambulance to the hospital-- I guess this goes to show that the effects of smoking are simply irreversible, no matter how many years it's been since you've quit. Ana was trying to keep up high spirits, even though it was obvious how nervous she was feeling for him. He's been home since Monday evening, but we haven't seen him because it's too hard to go up and down the stairs in that condition. Meal time-- and the whole house dynamics for that matter-- just hasn't been the same. Everyone is noticeable more stressed, and Ana and Vicki are even peleando (fighting) a little bit. I hope things improve.
By Monday night, Alex had made it to Sevilla so we decided to meet up. His blackberry was stolen in Barcelona, and I don't have one of my own, so we communicated through Laura and one of his friends. Pretty complejo (complicated), but we made it work. Laura was starting to get sick (typical from her travels, as if her body had a constant alarm-- pobrecita (poor thing)), so we turned in pretty early.
Now, I had mentioned to Ana that "mi amigo viene esta semana" (my friend was coming this week), and she neverrrrr forgets these things. Monday at dinner, she asked me to invite Alex over for la comida. She got ALL excited and started planning out what we would be eating, and if it was nice weather we'd go out in the garden, and was making sure Vicki was taking notes all the while. And, like a typical nosy grandma, she obviously made me talk about our history and wanted to know about his family and life story. So after class on Tuesday (I actually walked all the way there to find out it was canceled), I met up with Alex in the center and we took a bus home sweet home.
Al llegar (when we arrived), she was sitting--hands folded-- at the table with a sonrisa (smile) like I've never seen! "Niños, os sentáis! La comida se va a enfriar!" (Kids, sit down! The food's getting cold!) And so the three of us sat for one of the longest comidas I think I've had at home in a while. Alex, though studying in Florence, knew enough Spanish to converse a little and caught most of the exchange between Ana and me. Traduje (I translated) when I could tell he was lost, but Ana was really enjoying making direct eye contact with him and inquiring about his life and studies. He mentioned he was taking una clase de vino (a wine tasting class), which was a perfect segue for her to talk about their history with wine! Unbelievable: Laura and I spent a good month or so trying to get the details on their family wine business, and all Alex has to do is mention ONE thing and she goes into more of a discussion than ever!
So after the soup, chicken and potatoes, and postre (dessert-- fruit, of course), Ana gets up and declares, "Ahora, voy a enseñarte la familia!" (Now, I'm going to show you//tell you about my family). So she goes off and digs through her piles of photographs and goes through the same little routine that she did with Laura and me that first day. She pointed out all of her children, their respective spouses, and their children. I could tell Alex was getting a little overwhelmed by all the names she was throwing out there, but you just have to embrace Ana's love! About 15 minutes later, she told us we should get out and take a walk, so we took her advice and went out. I showed Alex the famous Betis soccer stadium and we took the scenic route (down La Avenida de la Palmera) to my favorite park: el Parque de Maria Luisa. I showed him the different museums from the outside (Archeology and Popular Arts and Customs), we walked through the maze of gardens, and stopped to take in the site of the fountains. Everything is just mucho mejor (MUCH better) when it's 70 degrees, sunny, and pleasant. Overall, it was a really great visit-- Ana was still talking about him, today-- "qué mono es" (How lovely is he).
On Wednesday, I had 2 more midterms at la Universidad. For the film class, she wrote a theme on the board: La Guerra Civil: La lengua de las mariposas (How the Civil War manifested itself in that particular movie). She gave us 2 hours to do it AND let us use dictionaries-- Mr. Hodum had weaned us off of those back in high school, so it really wasn't an urge for me. I finished early and came home to work on my midterm for the Propaganda class... yes, I may have turned the exam into a take-home test! The thing was, he was letting this huge group of girls take the exam home and e-mail it to him because they were going on vacation, so I was like okkk why not? So I wrote it and sent it in... In case anyone understands Spanish and wants to humor themselves, I can send you my essay about how the movie "Feliz Navidad" critiques World War One.
ANDDDD in other news, Ana informed us that "Ay! Wendy está esperando! Está embarazada!" Not sure if you reallly want to know what that translates to, but it means that Wendy is pregnant!!! And would you just GUESS who the father is?!? HER FATHER.. the one and only THEO! Dear god, I don't even know... I guess it was just a matter of time. The whole family thinks it's a sick joke, too, so don't worry-- they aren't normalizing this. I brought up a sensitive topic when I asked Ana if she would want to keep one of the puppies... It turned into a whole conversation about the death of her 3 perros (dogs) in the span of 1 year. They all had issues of their own and had to be put to sleep... Except I think she mentioned that her one perros, coincidentally named DOGGY (sounds like my cat named GATO at home!!) ran away and came back with some sort of ailment. I don't know... sometimes you just shrug and mirror her facial expressions and she thinks you understand.
This weekend, we have no plans to travel away from Sevilla-- it will be a weekend in our OWN city por fin (finally)!! I think Vicki is actually secretly thrilled about this... I can tell she feels really lonely a lot in this house. Many times, especially lately, she has been dropping weird comments about how we can't forget her when we go back to the states, and "No os olvidéis a escribirme" (Don't forget to write me!)... I want to remind her that it isn't necessary to start having this separation anxiety just yet, but it really makes me feel like part of the family. We have to do something really nice for her before we leave.
OK... I think I've said enough for now. I'm really going to try to be better about this because it's just tooo much to cram everything all into one post, and it can't be enjoyable for the reader.
'Luego!!
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