Yesterday I went with Betsy, Ellis, and Melissa (BEM) to Parc Guell (Gaudi) and Sagrada Familia (also Gaudí).  We started the morning right with coffee and milk at the cafeteria next door, then AMAZING baked goods for super cheap from the bakery we discovered nearby.  Parc Guell is at the top of a huge hill/mountain which made it quite the hike.  The weather was beautiful and we got some good views for our efforts, which made me happy, because hiking to a destination point is my favorite.

After that we made our way down to Sagrada Familia, which is 

a) Enormous, and

b) Crazy looking.

That’s pretty much the extent of my analysis, there.  We were all really tired by that point so we just kind of sat on a bench and stared at it.

Later that night we went shopping near our residence for funsies and Gabriel, our next-dorm neighbor, tagged along.  When we got back everyone crowded in mine and Ellis’ tiny apartment-dorm for a sort of bring-your-own potluck dinner mess and Sergi (Gabriel’s roommate) joined us.  We sat and talked about everything: food, language, politics, marriage, the whole kit and caboodle — which was interesting with our various backgrounds and varied ability to articulate ourselves clearly in English.  Then we played cards (!!!OMIGOSH PEOPLE HERE LIKE TO PLAY CARDS!!!) till midnight which was just perfect for me.

I was an insomniac until 4 a.m. this morning.  No more wine after dinner for me.  Thus my first memory from this morning was Betsy and Melissa standing in my room talking about plans for the day, which had already begun since it was 1 p.m.  We went to the Parc de la Ciutadella which I HIGHLY recommend for a gorgeous Saturday afternoon!  It was this gorgeous little park with tons of families and people with their pets and picnics, fountains, parakeets fraternizing with pigeons… it was perfect.  Also, NEVER in my life have I wanted a dog SO BAD as I do now.  Everyone has a dog and they are adorable and happy and I want to steal all of them.  It’s seriously so distracting.  I have probably caused traffic accidents because I was freaking out about a cute puppy or something.

The girls I’ve talked to here have all agreed that we think about babies an inordinate amount as well.  Everyone has one of THOSE too.  The culture here stands in contrast to New York, where no one in their right mind is under the age of 13. Just kidding, but seriously — people often live in Manhattan for a certain phase of their life, whereas Barcelonians are here to stay.  And, on Saturday afternoon, take their really freaking adorable families to the park to play with the Jack Russell terrier puppy and have adorable little birthday parties that make you want to cry because they are just too darn cute.

We cut across Barceloneta, a small sub-village projecting off Barcelona’s coast, to the beach, and walked back along the coast to find a neat Chinese place for dinner.  Ellis and I had a moment.  We used to eat Chinese ALL THE TIME in NYC (where we lived around the corner from Chinatown) so finding Wok to Walk was like a little piece of home.  Awwwww…

My body has pretty much adjusted to the Mattress of Ultimate Failure, day-long walks, and the proteinless diet of a girl who hates seafood and lives in a port city with a vegetarian roommate in a culture where I’m pretty sure they invented sausage to help the poor tourists not die of starvation.  I believe this because what they came up with is not too convincing, either, as far as sausage goes.  Whatever.  Last night I invented Pepperoni-substitute Pizza Quesadillas so we’re good.