This last weekend was my last weekend here in Barcelona so we tried to make it as perfect as possible. Let me do a recap of the past week/my last week:
Tuesday
First day back from spring break and last day before finals start, so that was awesome. Nothing interesting happened on this day.
Wednesday
Wednesday was a big holiday in Catalunya. It's called Sant Jordi (George) Day. Sant Jordi is the patron saint of Catalunya and apparently there is some legend about him slaying a dragon to save a princess or something of that sort so this is the day that the Catalans celebrate him. Think about Valentine's Day but way less commercialized. It is tradition for men to buy women a rose and women to buy men a book. The city was gorgeous and full of people selling books and roses. I was really happy that I got to experience a holiday that was so special to the Catalans. Also, Bo bought Angie and I roses and we bought him a book so we could all take part in the holiday:
It was a great day to be in Barcelona!
Thursday
I had my first final on Thursday so I woke up early to study for that. The final went ok, but no one reads this blog to hear about school is going. After the final, my program took us to a nice restaurant for a farewell dinner. There was unlimited wine so everyone had a GREAT time except for me of course because I had a final at 9am Friday and I had a paper that was worth 30% of my grade due at 12pm Friday. So I drank a little wine and then headed back to do some homework. I'm just so responsible.
Friday
I had my final early in the morning on Friday and it went well. Then I stayed at school after and worked on a final project that was due Tuesday (time management, y'all). Then a group of us went to Bo de B, aka the best sandwiches in Barcelona. We walked around for a bit after and then we returned to school to do more homework. After we finished homework, Natalie and I walked back to our home stay. It was a long walk but I couldn't complain about walking around Barcelona for one of the last times. That night a large group of us went out together and it was really fun! I don't like writing about going out though, not the right crowd here. However, something hilarious ensued. I actually got into a fight with a British girl over the use of toilet paper vs. drip drying (don't pretend you haven't done it, ladies) and it was heinous. Here goes the story:
Once upon a time I was in line for the bathrooms at a nightclub. I may have had a few drinks and I may have had to pee really badly. Once a stall opened up, the Brit in front of me walked to the stall and then commented that there was no toilet paper (as if this isn't normal for a club). Once the next stall opened up, I walked towards it and she cut in front of me to get toilet paper...there obviously was none. So I kinda push her out of the stall since I really have to pee. Once I leave the stall, she is still outside the stall. She is not moving while her friend leaves and goes to find her toilet paper. This wouldn't have been a problem if she let other girls who didn't mind drip drying go to the bathroom. She was standing in the door way of the stall openly saying how disgusting drip drying is. When I was washing my hands, the fight began.
Me: (under my breath) Get over yourself.
Brit: What did you say?
Me: I said get over yourself either get in or get out and let someone else go.
Brit: Drip drying is disgusting I will not do that you guys only do it because you're Americans.
Me: (very loudly) Oh princess over here is too good to drip dry! She is just so much better than all of us.
Brit: Do not call me a princess you do not know what I have been through.
Me: I don't care what you've been through either pee or get the f*** out of the stall. (the ladies in line are agreement)
Then someone gave the Brit some damn toilet paper. Needless to say, this made my night more interesting and also goes down in the books as my second bathroom fight in a nightclub so there's that. The night was good.
Saturday
BEACH DAY! I met up with my friends Kat and Kyra and we headed to Bo de B to get some sandwiches before the beach. I think anyone who studied abroad in Barcelona knows that Bo de B on the beach is the perfect lunch. When we left the weather was not prime so I only wore a bathing suit top and not bottoms. The weather got nicer and I was wishing I had my bottoms on when I was ambushed and thrown into the Mediterranean with my jorts on. Also I somehow forgot that it was salt water. Being a swimmer, I allowed water into my eyes, nose, and mouth because that's what I'm used to. Not what I was expecting. It was also really cold. Regardless, it was cool to go into the Mediterranean! I did have to walk home in wet jean shorts so that was unfortunate. Oh well. At night a big group of students went to a bar together and then out to the biggest nightclub in Barcelona. Let's just say I ended the nightlife aspect of Barcelona on a very, very good note.
Sunday
On Sunday Bo, Angie, Brian, and I went to a really popular brunch place called Brunch and Cake. They serve brunch and they serve cake. I ordered eggs benedict on a waffle which may sound weird but it was seriously so delicious:
Seriously so delicious. After brunch, we got cake. It was amazing. I was really happy to be spending my last Sunday with friends just hanging out and spending time together in the city. That night, a lot of my friends went out but I stayed in to finish up my project that was due Tuesday. During dinner, Natalie and I got to hear a lot of stories about Mercedes's life. She had an incredible life and she honestly needs to write a book. I was a little sad that I was hearing these awesome stories a few days before I was leaving but I guess better late than never right? Also here's a treat for my consistent readers...a picture of Mercedes!
Oh and Natalie. And the view from our apartment. I'm gonna miss my host mom!
Monday
I didn't have any finals on Monday but I needed to finish up that project and then go shopping for gifts for some friends and family. Talk about last minute shopping. Angie and I shopped around for awhile looking for gifts and eventually got everything that we needed. It was a stressful experience. At night, we went out to a bar for Brian's birthday. Angie and I didn't go to the clubs with everyone because we had a final at 10:45 on Tuesday and I wanted to make sure my final project was perfect. I was able to walk home alone from the bar (don't tell my dad I walked home alone) and I made it just fine without getting lost. As dumb as this sounds, I'm pretty proud of myself.
Tuesday/Today
The last final. Angie and I then went shopping a little bit more for somethings I forgot to pick up. We were a little hungry so we stopped for a snack. Shocker that I wanted gelato but we decided to go with what we call a "ham cone". It's literally a cone full of pieces of ham. These Spaniards are weird sometimes. Then we went to one of the main sites of Barcelona that I hadn't seen all semester. It was a busy semester, ok? Park Ciutadella is a cool area kind of like Central Park in NYC. There is a beautiful fountain there which I took a ton of pictures of:
Kind of wish I had seen it earlier but what can I do. Afterwards we headed back to school to meet up with some friends to go to lunch for Brian's birthday. I said goodbye to one of my favorite teachers which was sad. Let the tearful goodbyes commence. At lunch, I said goodbye to Kyra and it was pretty said because she was one of my first friends here. Tonight a bunch of us are going to the beach and I will be saying goodbye to quite a few people, and I probably won't see a lot of them ever again which is so sad. Now I am at home packing my things. I cannot believe how quickly this semester has gone and while I am excited to be home with my friends and family, I cannot imagine leaving this city. It's been good, Barcelona.
Now just because I'm leaving tomorrow doesn't mean you're rid of me yet. I'm going to blog for the last time tomorrow after I arrive home safely and talk about my flight and some reflections and such. I can't believe this is happening.
Gotta go pack more. It's a joke how much stuff I have accumulated over the course of this semester.
Angela
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