After the bus we went over to El Corte Ingles to go to the supermarket. Usually everything is closed on Sundays, but since today is the first day of Rebaixes, it was open. We've just been going to the little market around the corner---I'm so glad we found this one! Corte came through for me today. There was a lot more to choose from, and there were some American options that will definitely be good at some point. I tried to stick with Spanish food as best I could. But if anyone in Europe is looking for peanut butter, it is here! Girls abroad, if you want some PB, let me know before I come visit you and I'll hook you up. :-)
I feel like I haven't been eating any real food since I've been here. Cereal for dinner, peanut butter here and there, toast, pasta. I got some chicken and some tuna today, and I got some condiments to spice them all up. And lettuce! Finally, I've been craving a salad. We're going to have a gooood dinner tonight, as we all managed to pick up some real food.
I came back afterwards and organized some photos, as well as made a list of the places I want to see in Barcelona. Going on the bus showed me where everything was, and if I really wanted to go there. Also, we got a coupon book with the purchase of our tickets, so I went through and checked if there were any discounts. My goal is to get the ticket to pay for itself through the discounts in the booklet. It doesn't seem like that is going to be too hard.
It is expensive to live here, by the way. I knew that coming in, but it's hard. I didn't buy that much groceries today, and it cost about $34. I guess that's not too bad, but just in general everything costs more than it would at home. It's going to be a long semester (but a good one!).
We had a meeting tonight with our whole Spanish House about our activities for the next few weeks. On Wednesday we are going to have una cena, or dinner, and we are going to cook a Spanish meal in our house. It's partially to learn about the culture/recipes, and partially to learn the vocab (to add, to mix, to boil, to bake). It's going to be super. Next week we are going to the theatre. We are going to see a Spanish comedian. Apparently it is like stand-up, but different. He tells short stories and kind of acts them out. We were a little afraid that the humor wouldn't translate, but it will be a good exercise in comprehension. Then the week after we are going to go see a movie. We are going to see a movie about a relationship in which one of them cheats---don't ask me, I didn't choose it. I'm excited for all our activities though, because IES foots the bill!
We decided to have a nice dinner tonight at the restaurant downstairs called Mamasita. We started off with some patatas bravas and croquetas de pollo. SO good. I could have eaten five plates of the patatas. Then I had a grilled chicken breast with really thinly sliced zucchini and homemade potato chips. Yummers. I had profiteroles for dessert. It was a good meal. As a group, we decided to have a kick-off dinner, followed by a big celebratory dinner on our last night. We all really clicked so it's working out well already!
I came home, showered, and got ready for bed. I had my first Skype date tonight (:-) and it was fun, so if you have skype I want to talk to you! I'm off to bed now because we actually have Orientation stuff to do tomorrow!
Here are the pictures of the day. Hopefully these will tide you over for a few days!
This is a happy lobster statue. It was designed by the same guy who designed the mascot for the 1992 Olympics.
This is the Museum of History for Catalunya. It is right on the waterfront in Port Vell.
These structures give shade along a walkway that stretches through the middle of a main road in Port Vell. The train used to run there. These structures are made of the old train tracks.
Yep, that's the Post Office. Normal, right?
La Catedral. It looks like it is still under renovation, like it was when I came here in 2006.
This is the Joan Miro Museum. It is up on Montjuic, which got its name from the large Jewish cemetery located on the hill. The cemetery still exists on the other side of the hill.
Driving down the Miramar, towards the beach. Those palm trees reminded me of home. :-)
Again down the Miramar, towards the port of Barcelona. It is the biggest port in Europe.
This is the famous statue of Cristobal Colon at the beach end of Las Ramblas. There is an elevator inside, and you can ride up it to go to the observation deck under his feet.
This is a huge market in the Sants district, a suburb of Barcelona that was annexed in 1897.
This is a statue by Joan Miro. I believe it is a woman with a bird.
I just thought this was a pretty apartment building in the Sants district.
This is the huge statue in the middle of the Placa d'Espanya. It is the gateway to Montjuic.
This is the Caixa Forum. It is the "social and cultural center" of "la Caixa" Foundation.
This is another part of the Caixa Forum. I really want to go back there.Besitos
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