Catching Up

Ok, so lately I haven't been the best about keeping up with my blog. This week I was lazy more than anything else. And sick. The combination of the two is what did me in. Anywhooo...

Friday was the first day where I woke up and felt well enough to stay out of bed for more than 3 consecutive hours. Hooray! So that afternoon I met up with some girls in my program and we went down to Barceloneta to find a place to eat, then to test out a new bar/ bistro. The meal was nothing to blog about because 1) I had already eaten and 2) it was nothing special. 

With hardly any difficulty, we found Milk Bar.  Milk is definitely a place to talk about because of it's cozy, yet chic atmosphere and fun-named cocktails. We shuffled into a table with a booth -now that I think about it, all the tables had booth seating - and reached for the cocktail menu. You can try anything from a simple Cosmopolitan to something called a Boozy Rouge Beri. Or, perhaps you are craving a Cucaracha or, Bling Bling.  Choices, choices. Well, I started off with a Boozy Rouge Beri, which lived up to it's name. 

After our cocktails were all sipped down, we started off to see the Magic Fountain. I had just heard of this so called Magic Fountain earlier that day so my expectations weren't too high, yet I was curious so see why this fountain was so magical. Around 8:30, we got to the boulevard leading up to the fountain. That's when I started getting really excited. I could see this magnificent gush of water in the distance lit up by different colors. This light show happens once it starts to get warmer in Barcelona and goes for about 15 minutes every 30 minutes. It was like something out of Disney's Fantasia. Who knew water and lights could be so entertaining? Oh yeah, and how could I forget about the music playing!  It sounded like it was from an Italian opera, or maybe it was just a recording of a really fat Italian man singing, but I loved it. The music was the perfect touch for an amazing light show. 

    

      

Saturday was another day in Barcelona spent walking around a lot. I met up with Colleen and two friends of hers from CIEE. We went to lunch at Cervesaria Catalana, which is one of my favorite tapas places in Barcelona. Anjali and I went there about two weeks ago and loved our meal. Going back there yesterday was such a treat for me and I enjoyed my meal just as much! Colleen and her friends became Cervesaria Catalana fans as well, all coming to the consensus that this was a place to bring the parents when they visited. After our late lunch, we headed to Casa Amatller, which is one of three famous houses referred to as the "Mazana de la Discordia"(Block of Discord). Antoni Amatller was a chocolatier who had this house built for his family. Its modernist facade is captivating and draws a large tourist crowd, while standing next to Gaudi's Casa Batlló. I have yet to inside Casa Batlló because of the ridiculously high price of entry (16.50 €). My urban studies teacher gave us a great hint though, if you visit the home store behind Casa Batlló, you can get a great view of the back of the house without paying a dime. Thanks, Isabel! 

So, now you know most of what I've been up to. Today is going to be filled with lots of homework unfortunately. For some reason IES thinks that we're students and should be doing projects, studying for tests, and completely homework assignments. Weird. I guess I'll make do...as long as I find a place nearby that's open and selling croissants!

¡Hasta luego!