Something Sexy about the Metro

While I assumed Europe would have more PDA ( public displays of affection) than the U.S., I was not prepared for the amount of smooching and touching I would see on the metro. In the gross public transportation system ( where i saw a mouse yesterday) people are making out left and right. All of us have noticed it, yet I had not read it this in any of the guide books. Besides watching all the lovebirds on the metro, I've been busy  going to different sights in the city and going to my spanish class. Last week after of course getting lost, Maryann and I went on a tour of the La Padrera. An awesome place that Gaudi designed. Then we saw the outside of his house and then treated ourselves to chocolate croussants. It's a rough life, I know. On Thursday night we went to a discoteca where a known dj (Diplo) was performing. He of course didn't come on until 3:00, not that I knew who he was, but it was a fun late night. We had way too many people over that night, and I knew we pissed of our neighbors. The next morning when I went to open the door to who I thought was the hot water repair man, it was in fact the man who lived below us. In his angry spanish I tried to listen for  words like water heater, but soon realized he was saying he could hear all of these girls in heels at midnight. WUPS. I really wish it had just been the repair man.  We will not be holding any big parties again.  This weekend we took a billion trains and went to Monsterat. It was a giant mountain with a monastery. The view was beautiful.  Maryann and I pretended that we like hiking and started going down the mountain. We soon realized we'd eventually have to go back up so we huffed and puffed our way up the mountain. Since it is Sunday we had a leisurely day and went to a great brunch place called MILK. I had salmon eggs benedict, and the atmosphere of the restaurant was very cool. Now we are studying for our little spanish prueba (quiz) and getting ready for our other classes to start. Will post more next week! Besos
Mica

Nutella Gelato

I have survived my first week in Barcelona ( just barely). I now know my way around a little better, know how to converse with the locals a little better, and know what to do when you are attacked on the street. On Thursday night i went with 4 other girls to a bar called Dow Jones. It's very cool and the prices of the drink fluctuate when more people order a drink. The "stock market" crashes and the prices of the drinks fall. It was packed so we left to go to a different bar, but walked dow a street that may have been sketchy ( but what the hell did we know). I was a few steps behind my friend and a young guy ran up to trying to yank my purse off. I thought back to every Oprah episode on what to do when you are attacked and i  started to scream and kick the guy. He grabbed the bag and ran. We headed straight to the police station ( this is now my 2nd time there).  In the station there was a woman wearing a jacket and flip flops. We then realized she wasn't wearing anything under the jacket, so i thought hey at least I'm not naked. Amazingly the police found my bag with EVERYTHING in it. The guy must have gotten scared and dropped the whole thing and didn't even take my Euros. That was a huge relief. So after being totally traumatized i figured i would drown my fears in nutella gelato and great tapas. I went to La Boqueria, which was a food heaven. I had a fruit smoothie, mussels, squid, and cool paella. Last night we went to a bar to watch the Saints game. I was outnumbered by the 49ers fans, but all of the Europeans were rooting for the Saints. I tried to ask why they were rooting for the Saints, but that was a fail. Then we went to a cool bar that only has shots Chupitos. We had a Boy Scout shot they they lit on fire and we roasted a marshmellow before take the sweet shot. I will now only take shots with roasted marshmellows. So after a pretty rough start, things seem to be getting better. I am going to head to Sagrada Familia since it is Sunday and everything else is pretty closed. BESOS
Mica

ADIOS CEREAL

Maryann and I finally cooked our first meal. We learned how to use the gas stove, and I don't even hate washing dishes by hand. I'll post a picture later, but we were very impressed with ourselves. We even bought a bottle of wine, but we of course broke the corkscrew and it was impossible to open. What can I say I am no Ina Garten, but I'm getting there. We started classes at the university, and after I ran around for 20 minutes looking for a class room that did not exist, i found my intermediate level spanish class. ( I wrote down the wrong numbers)   It's actually really fun, and I like the people in my class. We have gone to our first discotecas, and I have learned many things about what to do when going to a discoteca. You never buy drinks bc they are a billion euros. You also stay away from the creepy spaniards lingering around the American girls and grab girls away from them when they are super duper creepy. I also learned to hide your money. A girl i was with had her wallet stolen last night. As she frantically ran around the discoteca we had to leave and report it to the police. I must say the Barcelona police station is much nicer than the Athens jail. We have been on tours of the Gothic Neighborhood, which seemed a lot like the old city in Jersualem. It was very cool. We also went  Parc Guell, which is Gaudis park and is awesome. We have hot water and a little heat so I am living the good life. Still meeting lots of people and trying to learn my way around. It is going to take a while. Missing everyone!! BESOS

Mica

Sexo En La Ciudad

Hola Familia y Amigos,
I have made it to Barcelona aka the NYC of Spain. We first went to Madrid and Toledo, where I soon realized that my spanish is very bad, and I stink at using Euros. I asked a man where the metro was and he didn't understand because I can't roll my Rs.  Both will improve I assume. We went to see some of Picassos' paintings in the Sophia Reina museum and other pieces in the Prado museum. I am feeling more cultured already.   I have eaten mostly sandwiches with cheese and some really bad paella. Man do I miss Ms. Ada because I could really go for some chips and dip right about now. My apartamento is nice, but my room is tiny. Maryann and I could fall asleep holding hands if we wanted to. Another fun fact about my apartment is that we do not have hot water right now or heat. This morning I had Maryann help me wash my hair in the sink in ice cold water. We are learning how to rough it. Today we basically walked and took the metro trying to learn the area. The reality is we got lost everywhere and just made big circles, but hey I clearly made it home. I am about to meet up with people from my group for my first Barca futbowl game!  That's all for now. BESOS!