Our European leg of the trip has been fantastic! We got to catch up with a few friends in London for a couple days, and we spent the last 5 days partying it up in Monaco at Fleur and Terry Shire's fanastic wedding. Beautiful place, great people, great food! The Irish contingency drank us under the table. We are glad we got married before them cause the wedding was hard to beat! Off to Aix-en-Provence today for a few days before heading back to London and then home. A Bientot!
Had a great week with mom and dad and my brother in the Bordeaux wine country in France. We had the most amazing meals and wine and we did squeeze in some excercising, if you consider golf much of a workout. I can go on and on about the food there but that would make this a really long post. We had a three course dinner every night and visited some of the best wineries in the region and tasted their best wines free of charge. Most of the wineries are family owned unlike those in California.
Well, I am back in the US now, flew into NYC last night and heading up to Albany for Laura and Justin's wedding tonight, will get to see my college friends and Charlie!! It feels kind of wierd to be back in the US, I miss Spain already.
Oh, and it's Pablo's (my wonderful host in Barcelona) birthday today, happy birthday Pablito!
Took a side trip up north to Figueres, a otherwise unremarkable town if not for the Teatro-Museo Dali. Itīs one of the most interesting museums i have been to. The exterior of the building is covered in what looks like little dots from far away but they are supposedly poo. Along the roof are gigantic eggs, one of Daliīs other obssessions. Yea, he is one wacky dude, but you gotta love his creativity. The museum is filled with scuptures, mixed media art and paintings with eggs, deformed human bodies (most of them with drawers coming out of their torso) and lots on his wife, Gala, and lots of other fun art.
Needless to say, it was well worth the 2-hour train ride.
My time is Barcelona is coming to an end although i will be back for a day or so next week. I am leaving for Bordeaux, France tomorrow to meet up with the parental units. More good wine and good food. Canīt complain!
Well, as Karen learns Spanish in Barcelona, my hotel-living phase seems to have drawn to a close. I moved in with a co-worker John, who had an extra room and offered it up. Although I can't expense my living expenses like I can in hotels, hopefully the new situation will be slightly more stable. And it comes with a washer and dryer.
I donīt think i have ever seen it rain as hard as it did the other night. It wasnīt a hurricane, just a gigantic rain storm. It rained cats and dogs all night, like someone was pouring loads of buckets of water from the sky. It stopped early morning but homes were flooded, as were some of the metro stations (and of course one of them was the metro station i get off for school). It poured again this morning for a few hours, and stupidly, I got off the wrong bus stop and had to walk a few blocks in heavy downpour, the umbrella didnīt seem to have done much since my pants and shoes are soaking wet, they still are, after 5 hours. You can imagine how uncomfortable it was sitting in class this morning with wet socks.
The sun is out now and hope it will stay that way. Commuting in the rain here is no fun. Anyhow, i must have gotten really used to the predictable and mild weather in San Francisco.
Well, Barcelona has been great. I havenīt done all that much other than going to class and roaming around and I am starting to get the schedule down! I get up at 8:30am, get on the metro with the rest of the Barcelonians, a late lunch after class at 2 or 3pm and dinner at 9 or 10pm which are the normal meal times here. Some nights we go have few drinks and then in bed around 1am or later. I cruise around with Pablo on his moped, get fresh produce at the local mercado and I am going to go join a gym today. Yea, living like the locals!! Now i just have to master, eh...learn, the language which is going to take a while. Going shopping is a great way to learn and practice Spanish though. Good excuse, eh?
Pablo and his roomate Maria are having a little dinner party tonight, should be great fun and great food!
Vale, Hasta luego.
I made it to Barcelona and got some much needed rest thanks to my gracious host Pablito who offered me his bed!
After roaming around all morning i found a spanish school and had a couple hours of class today. Feels good to be doing something productive.
Well, not much to report quite yet but its time for some lunch.
hasta luego!