There´s so much to write about, I´m not even sure where to begin.
Jen and I are staying at Giorgos´and Amaliás place near the Gracia district, a little north of all the commotion of the downtown area. Neither of them were in the flat last week, so Jen and I pranced around the empty hallways (they just moved in so there is little in the way of furniture) like genuine squatters.
We have visited many of the typical tourist attractions, from the Museu de Picasso, to the crazy colorful bubbly buildings of Gaudi, the most famous modernist architect here in Barcelona. I posted some pics in my picassa web albums:
Before I arrived here, I thought I should learn some Catalan, the native language of the people of Catalonia. I had read that the locals might be offended if you try to speak in Spanish to them, as they have been trying to become their own independent country for some time. I printed out a few basic catalan phrases but quickly gave up on any inkling of fluency in the language. It´s a blend of Spanish and French; the pronunciation is much more complicated than Spanish. Most of the locals do speak Spanish, and so for the first few days I thought that speaking my broken Spanish was at least better than speaking in English. After talking to a few guys that we met one night, however, I remembered the importance of making an effort to speak the language of the country that you are in. When Eric and I were in Chile, our tour guide reminded me of this important fact. So I have revisited my Catalan phrases, am slowly learning the numbers and a few simple phrases, in the hopes that I can take away more than just pictures and memories of buildings and restaurants.
But I guess that means I should try to learn French and Italian, too, on this vast european adventure. And frankly, my brain does not have the capacity to absorb so many similar-but-different languages in a 2 month span.
Anyway, aside from spending my mornings reading David Eggers´What is the What and trying to learn Catalan, Jen and I have had so much fun. Giorgos arrived home on Sunday night, and last night Jen and I cooked a hodgepodge dinner for him and his friend Julian. We enjoyed some strawberry-flavored gelatin and apple-flavored hookah for desert. Molte be!
It has been raining about every other day. We tend to stay indoors on these days, eating, sleeping, reading, working on a Simpsons puzzle, and at times I feel guilty for not wanting to go out and explore the streets of the city. I am here for 3 more weeks, though, and I am sure that I will have plenty of time, so I am not in a huge rush to see every museum all at once. I do want to go to Figueres, a town about an hour north of here - a place where Dali spent some time and built himself a museum to house his own work.
There is plenty more to write about....and I feel a little overwhelmed with the task of defining my travels thus far. So here´s a picture of an apartment built by Gaudi, Casa Battlo. Hasta luego, muchachos.
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