"Where there is love there is life"

        "Where there is love there is life." I ran across this quote by Mohandas Gandhi the other day and it got me thinking about love. We always tend to think about love in terms of relationships with a loved one but not always with the things and experiences that are surrounding us everyday. I have learned to LOVE so many things while I have been here. I have learned to love dragging myself out of bed for school, the brisk walk getting there, the cat calls from the spanish men (you just get used to it), the old men reading the newspaper on the park bench, the taste of a freshly made chocolate croissant, the numerous trips to the GSE office to bug Jordan and Julia, getting lost in the city to find a cute cafe to read at, the tradition of drinking tequila every time we go out, the skype messages i wake up to from my mom, everyone speaking spanish, the friends who have become like family and the life lessons I have learned...I could go on and on.... I am IN LOVE with this opportunity that I was given and am so GRATEFUL for each and every moment and can NOT believe that it will soon END. So I am learning to LOVE everything about life, even the small and annoying things, I LOVE IT ALL. Jess and I were all alone this week with Dionne and Ash away in Paris and we were determine to be productive and do as much as we could do. Jess and I tend to be the punctual ones of the group so as much as we missed the girls it was nice to feel at ease and never be rushed or late anywhere. We both definitely enjoyed this time alone and the sense of quiet in our apartment. 

        Tuesday we went to my favorite class, Spanish Civilization and Culture, and continued to learn about this amazing country we live in. Our teacher is so great. He is not only smart but funny, and somehow gets us to want to learn about Spain. I have never been one to like history, well actually I used to hate it, but here I have become so interested in it and just want to read about everything and anything. With it just being Jess and I, Jess of course planned our day and we of course followed it exactly After class we went to La Boqueria, a huge open air market with every type of fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, chocolate, nuts, anything you could imagine! I was in love!! Everything was so colorful, so perfectly placed, it was just amazing! "Food worship in Spain starts at the markets, and its cathedral might be La Boqueria in Barcelona. Rows of fruits, vegetables, fish and slaughtered cows and sheep stretch for several city blocks....For tourists accustomed to produce and meat being packaged in plastic, Spanish markets seem almost alarmingly direct. There is a cow's head, chickens hanging by their feet, the hooves of a sheep..." The description written by the author of the new book I am reading perfectly described the feeling I got when entering this magical place. I was going crazy with my camera and Jess and I decided this is what we would do our presentation on. (In Spanish we had to find a place we love in Barcelona and do a presentation about it, this was it!) We decided to bring buy some chocolate for Julia and Paola and of course for ourselves and also some dried fruit ( so yummy!) We stopped by the GSE office and hung out there for awhile, basically our second home, and chatted it up. We walked to Plaza Catalunya and went to FNAC, a huge bookstore in search of some Spanish books. Both Jess and I got semi-easy books in Spanish for us to read and translate. I got James and the Giant Peach (because Roald Dahl is my fav!) and Jess got Peter Pan. I haven't started it yet but I will soon! We went to Sephora, which we were both so excited about and did a teeny bit of shopping. After we got back on Las Ramblas and walked back to the Boqueria to visit it again and this time buy some fresh fruit to bring back home. I'm telling you this place is amazing! We bought some grapes and headed back home. The rest of the day we spent doing our Spanish presentation. It was a power point which would usually be quite easy except we have very slow internet and uploading my pictures always takes awhile. But in the end it looked great! 

     Wednesday we got up earlier than usual to put the finishing touches on our presentation and practice a little. We were the first to present because we were so excited about it and it ended up going very well. We talked about the long history of La Boqueria and used all my pictures to explain all the different foods offered. Our teacher really enjoyed it, so it was a definite success. Both Jess and I brought our books to class so we could go straight to a cafe and read after school. We found a cute cafe next to our school and bought some pastries and of course cafe con leche. I brought the new book I just bought at FNAC. It is called "Spain in Mind" and is a collection of a bunch of different American authors and poets works and there experiences in Spain. Like I said before, i usually hate history, but being surrounded by so much I just can't get enough. We went home after an hour or so and relaxed for awhile. Lisa came over and we had another "Tequila Night" which has become a tradition with the three of us. We hung out for awhile and then headed out to go to the club. Well we never really ended up getting to the club and just walked around for awhile, and came home around 130 or so.

    Jess and I woke up Thursday morning and actually didn't rush and had time to somewhat get ready. After class we went back to the Boqueria and walked around again. Lisa met us there and we all got fruit smoothies which are fresh and to die for. We got lunch from this place that had all types of organic food and I got an organic burrito. I thought it was really good and liked it, but Jess didn't think the same. We all walked to the GSE office and talked with Julia for awhile to get our weekly dose of GSE love. I still don't understand why we are so lucky to have such a great person be a part of our experience, Julia is just great! We left the office and walked down La Rambla for awhile but I was tired and my foot was hurting so I left Jess and went home. It was gorgeous out and the walk down La Rambla to the metro was so lively. There is people everywhere, live chickens and rabbits being sold, flower vendors and street performers in the most incredible costumes, I love it. this city is just so lively and so full of personality and you are always discovering new things about it. I came back home and layed around reading my book until Jess came back home and we started planning what we were going to do that night. We wanted to go out but nothing too big because we were going wine tasting in the morning. Well we ended up going to "champgneria" which has become somewhat of a weekly tradition. But this time Julia was coming with us so we were so excited! Julia met us at our apartment and we took the metro to Barceloneta where we met up with Lisa and prepared ourselves for the crowds in the bar. We walked down the street and already saw how crowded it was going to be, people were spilling out of the doors, literally! I don't think is has ever been this crowded! It literally took us 30 minutes just to get in and to order our bottle of champagne and tapas. It was insane, people were everywhere! We found our little nook in the bar and began chatting with some guys that were next to us. They ended up from being all over the world. One was from Barcelona, Dominican Republic, Argentina and Germany, so diverse. We probably hung out for a good two hours talking to them in english and attempting to speak Spanish with them. Thank goodness Julia was there to help translate a little! When it closed at 1030 we headed out and went with one of the guys to a bar in the Gothic Quarter. The night wasn't too crazy but just a fun night with the girls!

   We had to get up quite early on Friday which usually wouldn't be so pleasant except for the fact that we were getting up to go wine tasting! We met in front of the Hard Rock cafe and headed onto the bus for the hour and half ride to the Torres Winery in Vilafranca del Pendes. It went by really quick because I sat next to Jordan and Julia and we just talked the whole time. The winery is family owned and has been voted the best winery in Europe the past couple of years. The winery that we went to is one of the oldest that Torres family owns and the most famous. We walked in and went directly into a theater to watch a short video on the history, which was actually interesting. I think it would be so amazing to have a winery, maybe in my backyard, maybe one day After the movie, the lady that worked there said we were going to go on a tour of the winery and then proceeded to ask in all seriousness, "Is anyone claustrophobic or afraid of the dark?" We all kind of looked ourselves and started laughing and we continued to joke about it all day. We took a tour in this tram like thing that made me feel like I was on the Indiana Jones ride in Disneyland..and actually it was really claustrophobic, haha! The tour wasn't that interesting to be honest because it was just a recording telling us everything we just heard in the video and since it is winter, everything is bare and not really green. We ended our tour and entered a room with a table filled with glasses and glasses of wine. Let the wine tasting begin! We tried a white, blush and red wine all which were amazing. I especially liked the red wine because it went down so smooth and wasn't too bitter. It was so good even, that I proceeded to buy three bottles of it! Obviously not all for me, they are presents! 

   We headed back on the bus and drove to where we had lunch. We went to a restaurant called "La Casa del Conill" which means "The House of the Rabbit." It is originally a family home and bakery and was a bakery for 184 years before becoming a restaurant. We walked upstairs and entered a room with a huge table for ALL of us to eat at. I sat near the head of the table with Julia and Jordan. The restaurant is known for serving a type of onion called a "calcot." They are really long and greasy but grilled to perfection. We all got bibs to wear because it can get really messy when eating it. You peel the first layer of the skin off, dip them in "romescu" a garlic sauce and then almost suck/eat the meat part of the onion out. We ate and ate them until Jordan reminded us that there was a second course coming and that we shouldn't stuff ourselves. The bottles of wine kept flowing throughout our lunch and we had the return of the "porron" the pitcher type thing that you drink wine out of. I have got to be quite good at pouring the wine in mouth without spilling all over myself, but not as good as Jordan or even Julia. Jess of course made like 3 toasts during lunch because thats what she does and that is why we love her! Our second course came and it was plates and plates of different types of meat and grilled vegetables. It was all SO good! I ate rabbit which tastes like chicken, and had a bite of blood sausage. Jordan dared me to take a bit so of course I did it and actually it wasn't that bad. Well I guess I would never actually eat a whole sausage but it was a fun and daring experience! I have come to LOVE meal time while I have been here. The Spanish don't take advantage of the time they spend with their family and friends during meal time and I have learned to do the same. I am relaxed during meals and just enjoy the good company and good food I have. 

   After lunch we walked outside to discover a HUGE, I mean HUGE, "porron"!! We all decided to give it a try and see how pro we were at pouring wine down our throats. I of course had to do it, so I put on a bib and took a chance at it while two people held it up to pour the wine. I got it everywhere so thankfully I had a bib on to protect my clothes, but it was soo much fun!! After a great lunch we headed back home to Barcelona. Jess got on the microphone and invited everyone to our house before we all went out. But before we went out we were in desperate need of a siesta. We definitely got quite tired after all that yummy wine! Around 11 or so, people started coming over. We had about 15 people over and we all hung out until 130 or so. I was beginning to feel a cold coming on so I decided to stay home while the crew went out for the rest of the night. 

   Jess and I had planned on getting up around 11 or so to start our day on Saturday, but when Jess walked in around 530am I knew that wasn't going to happen. We probably woke up on Saturday at like 230 and decided it was time to get our day going. I woke up not feeling well, and had developed a nasty cold over night. Although I wasn't feeling well I got ready for our day around town. Jess and I took the metro to Barceloneta and walked to Port Vell and the harbor area. We got lunch at this cute restaurant and ate outside while people watching a long the street and eating our pizza and salad. We walked a long the harbor and took in the culture surrounding us, people from all different countries, and all street performers. It was a really nice day out until all of a sudden the fog rolled in and covered the ocean, but still with the sun shining. We went to a cafe in the harbor, Buen Migas, to read our books and drink some coffee. We also decided it was a good idea to eat ourselves sick with pastries and chocolate cake. Well worth it, I think, even though we had to go home because we felt so sick! We went back home relaxed and watched "Across the Universe," my favorite movie! Alex knocked on our door not too long after and we come to discover he had made dinner for us. We both weren't feeling that well so some hearty pasta was what we both needed! I still wasn't feeling well and my head and body were so achy so I went back in bed and to sleep. Jess and Alex ended up going out but I knew that if I went out I would get even more sick. 

   Well I guess that wasn't the answer because on Sunday I woke up still feeling really sick. Jess went out with a bunch of the girls and did a bunch of touristy things (I was really bummed I wasn't feeling well enough to go) and I stayed home. I am feeling a little better now but with me it takes time and it takes lots and lots of rest. So I am doing exactly that! It was quite a productive week if you can't tell and although we had a nice week without Ash and D, we were really excited when they came home on Sunday. 

   Now it is back to the four of us, well until thursday until they leave again for Madrid. But no worries because Jess and I have planned a fabulous weekend to Costa Brava to eat, drink, relax, read and enjoy this life we are living! I keep pinching myself to see if this is all a dream, but it isn't, and I COULDN'T BE HAPPIER!!!