I cannot believe we are almost in March of 2014 already! Life in Barcelona is going well, better than well; I cannot complain.
Last Thursday I celebrated several belated and upcoming birthdays with Cass, Marta, Stephanie, Ellen, Janelle, and Jacques. Janelle expertly picked a cheap and tasty tapas bar and restaurant in near Parallel. There the tapas selection was wide and colorful, displayed pintxo-style: each item proudly staked with a toothpick making for easy self-service access. The deal is that each tapas is 1 euro and business is ran on the honor policy, that is to say that you’re just expected to keep all of your toothpicks till the end and that’s what you pay. They had everything from mini burritos and cheeseburgers to tuna croquettes and mini crema catlanas (more or less like the Spanish version of crème brulee). Delicious variety + affordable drinks + quality company = great evening.
Last Friday we went to Opium to ring in Josh’s 23rd birthday – it was nice to finally get to see the Sant Cugat crew again since coming back to BCN. Opium was the usual – dark, same music, and lame rich people, but we managed to make it a good time nonetheless. Our beloved Olympic is (temporarily, I hope) closed. The rest of the weekend was spent watching Dylan and continuing birthday festivities with a celebratory picnic hosted by Janelle in Ciutadella on Saturday afternoon. Luckily, it was the perfect day for a picnic – late February and it was sunny, no wind, 60s! Janelle’s invitees really comprehended the potluck picnic idea – it was a fabulous spread; Cass and I brought a fresh fruit salad. We also wished Janelle well on her way as she has since flown to Brazil for Carnival there.
Other highlights since we last spoke include: in the last week I read Gone Girl. What a page-turner! I thought the book was haunting, creepy, and really enjoyed the writing style of the dual narrators. It’s always inspiring to me when authors can ever-so-slyly make readers fans of a character and empathize with them, and then all of the sudden you realize it was all a façade and that they’re actually psycho. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing the film-version of Gone Girl this year on the big screen with none other than Ben Affleck – sign me up! I’m still going strong with my weekly intercambio and keep myself busy with nannying and English lessons. Last night Adi and I went to our favorite pretzel shop in the Borne area and then walked down to Barceloneta where we spent a few ours sipping cava at La Champagneria. I would not particularly recommend the fuet there and the bocadillo con butifarra y cebolla was so-so. The rosé cava on the other hand was wonderful. It is fantastic to have Adi here and get to hang out with her and show her some of the best parts of the city. Hopefully we can get some weekend trips on the books and I’m already amped to meet Matan in person when he visits in March. Also SUPER exciting – my mom finally bought her ticket to come visit BCN! This happens to be the first time she’ll ever travel outside of the United States and we are already planning, scheming, and counting down the days!
SAMHOPEHANSEN 