5/4/23
iFeliz cuatro de mayo! I am not that big of a Star Wars fan, but I do love a good pun.
Waking up in Barcelona felt like an absolute dream come true, until I opened our fridge. It was no longer working. I tried plugging it in a few different outlets (the kitchen is the only room with more than two outlets), but it would not turn on. I started to panic a little, but remembered Nona, the CEA worker that showed us around our apartment, showed us the breaker box. Now I am no handyman, but I can turn on and off switches until something works, which is what I did. I also ended up fixing the outlets in Tia and Baylee’s rooms, so I guess it was a good thing in the end.
After that fiasco, I enjoyed some cereal with blueberries on our balcony and waited for the others to get ready, so we could head to our CEA orientation. The presentation overall was very helpful, giving us some basic knowledge on the culture and safety tips. The two ladies giving the presentation made two people go up to demonstrate the kiss greeting people in Spain do. Gavin and Jonah gave us a good laugh.
After that, we ate lunch at a local restaurant. The tapas were AMAZING. I was more than satisfied with just the appetizers, but we had an entree and dessert as well. I absolutely LOVED the potatoes. The creamy with a little bit of spice sauce was to die for. I was also really impressed with the fried squid. The ciabatta bread was delicious, and I love that this is the staple bread here; it is such an underrated bread in the states.
Lunch was followed by a guided walking tour of the city. Our tour guide was the sweetest, and I felt like a secret agent with the earpiece that amplified her voice. There were so many cool stops like the old Roman areas, the cathedral and the royal palace. I also really like walking through the old Jewish area. It was really cool to see how they are preserving old architecture and simply building around it. The city gives a nice balance of old and new.
With the rest of the evening free, a few of us hit the town. Baylee, Tatum, Arianna, Katie and I went to get some coffee, but the place we wanted to go to was closed. That is another thing I was both surprised and impressed by. A lot of places close for a few hours around 1-3 p.m. and again around 5-7 p.m. I like that this gives time for naps and promotes a slower lifestyle. We did find another place that was kind of a tourist trap, but I did not really care because the donut and strawberry milkshake I had were so tasty and not badly priced. I also ordered my items in Spanish and was able to translate a good portion of the menu. I was pretty proud of myself. Thank you to my 70 day Duolingo streak that I broke while traveling for this trip. Jessie also fed some pigeons in this one square that was FULL of them. It was so random, but good to know that Pittsburgh is not the only place with crazy pigeons.
After a quick snack, Arianna, Baylee, Tatum and I went to get a few tapas. This place actually had complimentary popcorn, which I found to be interesting; places should do this at home. The cheeseboard we got was also pretty good, but I wish it had more crackers as it literally was six slices of cheese and a few small cylinder crackers with almonds in the middle. The waiter was also very patient with us and made fun of the situation. He also recognized us later in the evening, so we’ll definitely have to go back. We then found a place for dinner and enjoyed getting to know one another more. We wrapped up the night with a game of Cards Against Humanity. Overall, eight out of 10 day. I am super excited for sailing tomorrow!
Siempre,
Erin 🙂