Sick in bed but well enough to blog - Ibiza & Barca

So I'm sitting here in bed, sick as a dog after a week and a half of partying, hosting, tour guiding, etc. Semana Santa definitely a huge success minus a couple of setbacks. But on to the blog:

Day 1:

I woke up bright and early to pick up Steph from the airport. I feel like I know the Barcelona airport so well now, it's like a second home, and it might be my favorite after JFK. After reuniting, we lug back to my house, freshen ourselves up, and head to the beach front for some paella and frolicking. It was a gorgeous day to sit outside and enjoy good Spanish cooking, and we found the perfect restaurant with the best paella I've ever had. I had a hard time convincing Steph to like olives, but we shall see how that turns out later. In a food coma, we make our way to the shore where I find it too cold to move and Steph is already half naked. Speaking of naked, two completely nude men then walk by to our surprise. Also, to our surprise one of them...well, we know why he has the confidence to walk around like that. After heading back to my apartment, Steph & I take naps like the piggies we are, then wake up and prepare for Ibiza.

Day 2:

The flight to Ibiza was pretty short, but Steph & I still managed to pass out for almost all of it. After checking in, we head down to the beach and end up taking a nap there too. If we could make money napping, we'd be millionaires cuz we're so damn good at it. Lunch was amazing, with the delicious tapas on the beach and under the sun. It's Sunday in Ibiza, so we figure there's not much open. I think that night we stayed in, but now I'm not so sure.

Day 3: Steph & I wake up bright and early to eat breakfast downstairs. Croissants and eggs are our downfall.  We then head to the center of town to find that literally everything is closed, save a few cafes here and there. Annoyed, we walk around and stumble upon a castle, thank God. We run around the castle as if we discovered the place and succeeded in taking awesome pictures. Back to the hotel for a nap and preparation for dinner & clubbing! Dinner was good, clubbing was ultimate fail. Literally everything was closed, all the big clubs, and we found ourselves cursing the same Pacha we looked forward to so badly. We get into a taxi and tell the driver to take us to SOMETHING that's open, for goodness sake. He tells us he's bringing us to a club that's open. Is it good?, we ask. Yeah, it's a very good discoteca. Okay, fine we'll go. We walk in, and in bold letters on a wall it says, Let it rock. Basically, utter fail but our love for each other held us through. So did the long island ice teas, which didn't stay inside me for too long.

Day 4: We wake up bright and early again to eat breakfast, but end up passing out after for another few hours. Our plans for Formentera washed away, we decide to just go to San Antonio to watch the sunset at Cafe del Mar. Unsurprisingly, Cafe del Mar was closed since it's winter. Apparently, the whole island of Ibiza dies during the winter, making it a ghost town. It was freezing, so we go inside for some dinner and head back to our hotel room to rest up for tomorrow.

Day 5: Since we had bought our tickets for the ferry to Formentera the previous day, it gave us incentive to get up and not nap so much. Formentera definitely brought up my spirits, thank God something in Ibiza was worth seeing during the winter. It was cold and windy for the majority of the day, but at some points it was perfect. I can see myself loving the island if only it was 10 degrees hotter. =\ The flight back to Barcelona was so short, to our annoyance as we didn't get to nap, but we ended up clubbing that night at Opium. Thank you, Barcelona for always being reliable.

Day 6:
The next morning, I take Steph to La Tramioa for lunch and head to Parc Guell. Lots of frolicking ensued. We then went to Wagaboo for dinner, ordering fettucine w/ foie and risotto w/ foie. You can tell we hate foie gras. Otto zutz was almost a let down, but we broke it down like we always do.

Day 7: I woke up super early to pick up Ian at the airport, where he snuck up behind me and surprised me. His flight was about an hour early, so even though I got there early he was still there before me! My plans of jumping on him when I first saw him shattered, but I didn't care cuz I was holding Ian again after three months without. We head back and wake Steph up, who unfortunately wasn't snoring or sleeping in a weird position, but cuddled up into a cute ball of blanket. While she was getting ready, Ian takes out a shoe box FULL of goodies for me. Reece's cups, Reece's pieces, Tagalong Girl Scout Cookies, the works! I sat there wide eyed and ecstatic at the pot of gold (peanut butter) before me. After that, the three of us head to Txapela for some tapas, then off to sightsee! Sagrada Familia, Casa Batllo, La Pedrera, all in one day. Eff my life, but I was surprised we fit it all in. Ian & I then checked into our hotel while Steph napped at my place. That night was had dinner at La Vaca Paca, a buffet of meats and other good stuff, before heading to Groucho's and Sutton. Sutton is never a let down, and we had a blast partying it up the entire night. Back to my place, I immediately pass out until Steph's departure in the morning. We wake up, gather up her things, and I see my loved one off into a taxi. I walk back upstairs half asleep and where pass out for another four hours.

All in all, Ibiza clubbing will be saved for the summer, but Barcelona never fails to deliver. Love this city!

Struggles all day, every day to understand the deeper meaning of things other than just being satisfied with a translation.

High of 57 degrees today.

My favorite spot to study at Brandeis is upstairs in the SCC. I go for the tables in the middle, two tables, and prop up my book holder and whichever science textbook I happen to be reading that day. I can sit there for hours, scribbling intensely in my notebooks, occasionally looking up at anyone making an obnoxious noise. That room is always packed, and it's prime studying grounds at 'deis, which is why I make sure to get there early and stake my territory. If you see a black book holder, a grey & purple bookbag, & a blue asian looking pencil case - yeah that's my table, no touching.


Now that I'm in Barcelona, what new studying grounds are available for me here? It was a high of 57 degrees today, still is, so I frantically looked for a park, a garden, a bench at least to sit and read! Frustrated, I decided to settle for one of the Farggis on Passeig de Gràcia. After ordering my usual cafe con leche and croissant, I look outside and there are no free tables on the sidewalk. Ugh. But once I finished my meal, I stalked outside to investigate the scene once again, and success!, a free table. 

So, at Brandeis my coveted spot is a table/lounging chair in the SCC. At Barcelona, it's a table on Passeig de Gràcia, under the sun, in the middle of the city. Life is pretty damn good. 

I can also just pull up a chair next to my balcony & read if I choose to. Also, I am master of self-timer. 

MI SCUSI!

Rome was, to say the least, everything I hoped it would be and more. I can die happy knowing that I've seen Michelangelo's Pietá and Sistine Chapel in person. After taking an Italian Renaissance Art class at Brandeis, I began to compile a list of works that I wanted to see, and those were at the top. Unfortunately, the David and Bernini's Perseus with the Head of Medusa are in Florence and a bunch of other works are in the Lourve, but that's for the next trip! I get all giddy just thinking about Paris, but when will I see Florence? =(


Well, I'm going to try to sum up Roma as best as I can - AND WHAT THE HELL FACEBOOK WON'T UPLOAD MY PICTURES. Okay, calm down, I'm sure there's some explanation for this...Anyways, on to Roma.

Day 1:

• After waking up at 4:20 in the morning, Kathryn and I trudged down to El Prat Aeropuerto to catch a 7:10AM flight to Roma. One thing about that airport, it's HUGE but it is beautiful. And the "moving sidewalks", as Kathryn likes to call them, make life so much easier. So do the large chicken statues at the entrance. =l
• We got hustled our first meal in Rome. Figures, but my sandwich was soo delish & so was the capuccino. 
• The Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica was so opulent and impressive. Wasn't Jesus poor though? Whatever, I won't get into that. But I'm glad someone had enough money to fund Raphael & Michelangelo. 
• Our tour guide spoke about the importance of appearance in the Roman society. You had to look well kept, meaning you had to bathe, get your hair done, work out, and look good. So I'm thinking, we can't blame the guidos for being the way they are. It's just in their freaking genes; they're wired to GTF (gym, tan, laundry - for those of you who need to watch the Jersey Shore). 

• That night we explored as many piazzas and fountains as we could. The Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, and Piazza del Popolo - amazing! Rome is beautiful at night, sans the creepy alleyways, and our dinner was superb.

Day 2:

• The three other kids (two girls + one guy) in our hostel room were jackoffs. Kathryn and I had forgotten our flip flops so she asks this girl if we could borrow her flops, and we get such a stank attitude from her.
• 2.50 euros for breakfast?! Success!

• One word: Colosseum. I get it now. It's everything it's hyped up to be. No disappointment there whatsoever. And you don't need a tour guide, so don't ask for one. I think you can appreciate it without being on a tour for an hour.
• The various remains of Roman buildings, like in the Fori Imperiali or the Roman Forums were gorgeous. It might've just been the beautiful weather, but who cares!

Day 3:

• We finally, finally had a taste of italian gelato. I'm not gonna say it was life changing, but it was definitely the best ice cream I've had so far. I had two scoops: coffee & hazelnut chocolate with chocolate chips. Ugh, take me back I want some right now.
• Piazza Navona really is a charming sight. I wish I had enough money to sit in one of the outdoor patios and eat expensive italian food. Haha. It's incredible to me how talented the street artists were in Italy. Really, really impressive, but I guess when you live in the shadow of the big three it's kind of hard to sell.

All in all, Rome was a great success. I'm in love with the city and I can't wait to return. x)

Grab the two middle ones and pull!

Last Saturday was our hike into Mount Collserola to see the views and try calçots, a typical catalán dish. Other than my fear of heights, the hike was beautiful and, looking back, not as scary as I thought. We stopped a couple of times to take in the sights and take some pictures, all the while I'm thinking about how happy I am to be studying in a city like this. Barcelona is very much like New York in a few ways, but it doesn't take more than a train ride to be in a mountain or on the beach. 

We hiked for about two hours and finally reached the light at the end of the tunnel - Can Martí, a quaint catalán restaurant with a killer view of Barcelona. Upon reaching the site, I immediately noticed how much it reminded me of the Philippines: the smell of the open fire/grill roasting meat & vegetables, the plastic chairs and tables outside, and the indoor seating area covered in huge windows to enjoy the view. It was marvelous, and once again I found myself in a state of nirvana.

The entire group and I hastily sat down, put on our nifty bibs, and watched as our tour guide instructed us on how to eat the calçots. Since they grill them whole, the outside is burnt to a crisp. But once you  strip away the black outside leaves, inside is the soft, warm flesh of the calçot. Dipped into a sweet almond sauce (reminded me a lot of satee), the calçot was truly a treat. But that was just the appetizer. There was pan con tomate, tortilla española, beans, olives, and MEATS - butifarra (thick sausage) & steaks galore! The meal was huge, and neither of any of us could finish it all, but it was well worth the two hour hike. After the cafe con leche, I was sleepy but content. 

I.LOVE.MEAT.

Chicago & Sitges

So I figured I should blog about my weekend in Madrid before the wonderful thoughts I had leave me...oh wait...

Pros: Meeting up with friends for dinner & drinks, paella, Las Meninas by Velasquez, La Guernica by Picasso, Oskar's cafe con leche, the fact that we stayed at a cheap hostel for only one night, the huge "Chicago" sign that reminded me of Broadway, NYC.
Cons: The people, the weather, the hostel...

Before I start bashing Madrid, I figure we didn't have the best time because we were probably tired, cranky, cold, etc. But it was a decent first trip outside of Barcelona. The next one (ROME!) should turn out much better.

About the second week of February the festival of Carnaval begins. Traditions vary from country to country, but in Sitges (and I believe most of Spain), it's their equivalent of Halloween. Sitges is apparently the number one place to go to for Carnaval, and I believe it. A few friends & I watched the parade, which was probably about three hours long, or more, from a balcony in a hotel. It was amazing, but even better was what happened after. It was like a club on the beach: huge speakers, a DJ blasting house, electro, trance, and a mob of people going insane. WEEEE! I was in heaven, even though a few people kept touching my bunny ears. Hmph!

Cucurrucucú, paloma.

So intensive courses are over and I'm a little sad because our professor was the cutest/dorkiest Spanish guy ever. We all had to do a presentation on Spanish cinema and I chose "Hable con ella" by Pedro Almodóvar. Unlike many of his films, "Hable con ella" was very muted, sweet, and soft. It was a nice change of pace from his other raunchy movies. I got a 9.5 out of 10 on my presentation. =)


Not until recently was I nervous about my classes at the Univeristat de Barcelona. "La poesía en el siglo XX" (Poetry in the 20th century) was my first course. When I got there, it was pretty exciting and intimidating being in a class full of Barcelona natives and listening to a professor lecture in Spanish at 97 mph. She hands us a syllabus and, not even kidding, there are about 40 books in the bibliography and a ridiculously long final paper (14-15 pages). I've written a paper that long before, but never in Spanish. Ay caramba. What's worse is she starts throwing terms around like metaphysical, and I'm thinking, like, whoa slow down there, it's the first day of class. Aren't you just supposed to hand us a syllabus and tell us to read something? And I'm looking at the jackoff next to me who has this gigantic book open and is writing down all these notes as if he understands what the hell she's really saying (which he obv does). So I took out my notebook and starting jotting down random words that I caught. My other two courses Literatura y Cine en España (Literature and Cinema in Spain) and Obras Maestras del Arte Catalán (Masterworks in Catalonian Art) have great potential. 


I was sitting in all these lit and art classes, but I couldn't help but wish I was in Biochem or Physio or, g-d help me, Orgo. What has the world come to?! All I'm saying is, I cannot wait to take another bio class when I get back to Brandeis. I kind of feel like a fish out of water in this world of art. It's fun, but I'm starting to feel like I need something more concrete to think about. 

On a brighter note, the last few days, excluding today, have been gorgeous! A few friends and I walked around the Sagrada Familia area, which is always a nice time. The beach was beautiful at Barceloneta. I can't wait for it to get warmer so that I can be a beach bum. I love the ocean and the water.