Barcelona

Let's just say it was an interesting weekend. Barcelona is lovely -- I hope I'll have the chance to go back someday -- and I can't even describe how wonderful it was to meet up with three of my closest friends from Georgetown. But as I sat down to write this post a few minutes ago, I realized 2 things: 1) Spain is most definitely not France. 2) I spent a total of 30 hours on a bus this weekend.

The first of those observations probably elicited a well-deserved "duh" from some of you, so let me elaborate. I noticed this first in Italy a few weeks ago. Even though France is geographically considered part of "southern" Europe (as opposed to Germany/the Netherlands/the Scandinavian countries), it can't really be classified that way culturally. I kept noticing little ways -- restaurant/cafe etiquette, body language and volume in public places, the organization of museums, etc. -- in which Spain and Italy seem to have much more in common with each other than either country does with France. I probably wouldn't have picked up on any of this a few months ago...although I believe OIP's online orientation did try to warn me. Or maybe it's just that I'm more familiar with France and the French, so I'm more likely to lump everyone else together. Who knows? In any case, it was an interesting realization.

And as for the 30 hours worth of bus travel...yeah. That's what happens when you drive with 120 French college students who need to stop every 2 hours for a cigarette break. C'est la vie.

But as for Barcelona itself, I had an amazing time. I met up with the Georgetown girls as soon as I arrived early Friday afternoon, and we had a wonderful time wandering through the old city center, gelato in hand, giggling and catching up on everyone's lives. The other three girls are all studying in Spain this semester (L in Madrid, M and K in Salamanca) so they introduced me to all sorts of typical Spanish treats for dinner -- tapas (including "tortilla", which is actually a potato omelette), seafood paella, and sangria. Side-note: I had a bit of a quiet chuckle to myself imagining the expression on a snobby Parisian waiter's face if a customer tried to order sangria, which is essentially a red wine-based fruit punch.

On Saturday, we all got up bright and early and headed to Sagrada Familia, the famous still-under-construction cathedral designed by the architect Antonio Gaudí. The outside (below) is pretty amazing -- and definitely very different compared to, say, Notre Dame -- but it was hard to see much inside due to all the scaffolding. The four of us decided that we'll just have to meet back in Barcelona when we're 50, after it's finished.

Continuing on with our Gaudí theme, we cut across town (and up a very large hill) to Parc Guell, which for some reason reminded me of the Candyland board game. Anyone else see the resemblance?

After soaking in the sunshine and getting a little twisted around in the maze of paths, we headed back to the central part of town where we stopped by La Boqueria, an amazing outdoor market, before going to the Picasso museum. To my slight surprise, not being a huge modern art fan, I actually enjoyed the museum. It focused on Picasso's early work -- i.e. no cubism -- and it was pretty cool to see the evolution and diversity of his style.

After getting our fill of Picasso, we decided to go up to Montjuic to watch the "Magic Fountains" show (in keeping with the Candyland theme, perhaps?) However, when we were in the metro, L discovered that her wallet was missing. We're still not sure if she was pick-pocketed or if it somehow fell out of her purse. We went straight to the police station to report it, and thankfully her passport and credit cards were safely stored somewhere else. Still, the experience was a little disarming, and needless to say, we didn't make it to Montjuic.

However, once we had done all we could about L's missing wallet, we had a nice dinner to celebrate our last night together (until the Spain crew comes to Paris next month, that is), complete with churros y chocolate. This was perhaps the most decisively "Spain is not France" experience of the weekend. I have never met a French pastry I didn't like. Churros, however, present an interesting dilemma. On the one hand, they're basically fried dough dipped in chocolate sauce -- what's not to like? But on the other hand, they're so greasy that it's actually a little disgusting. Still, M assured me that churros y chocolate are very authentically Spanish, so I'm glad I tried it!

The other girls left for the airport early Sunday morning, but I still had most of the day for more sight-seeing. I started at the Cathedral of Barcelona (this one was built in the 14th century, as compared to Gaudi's modern creation), where I serendipitously arrived just in time for Mass. After the service, I walked out to the square to watch the Sardana dancers -- every Sunday at noon, locals meet in the plaza to perform a traditional Catalan circle dance.

On something of a whim (read: the sun was really hot and my feet were tired) I decided to take a boat tour of the harbor, which turned out to be a nice way to see the city. Afterward, I met up with some of the Sciences Po group at the beach before we had to board the buses for our (very long) ride home.

We got in at about 8am yesterday, giving me just enough to time do a load of laundry and shower before heading to class. Whew! It was quite a whirlwind.

The next 3 weeks or so should be fairly low-key. I have a bit of school work (i.e. a paper, an Arabic test, and an expose with a partner) that I need to get working on, but other than that I think I should be able to enjoy a little lull before June hits. I'm thinking about going to Chartres this weekend to visit the cathedral, and I have a list of museums and other things that I still want to see. It's so strange to think that I only have 8 weeks left...