Real Life Dreams: Two weeks down... Two to go!

This week was much different from the first week we were in Barcelona! We seemed to have taken a step back from doing "touristy" things every day and just went with the flow of the day... which led us to the beach many times. Here are a few of the highlights:

On Tuesday night, we went to the "welcome dinner" and free tapas as Hotel Indigo. This is a weekly event hosted by our language program and another similar language program in Barcelona. It is a great way to meet new people, eat free (and delicious!) tapas, and grab a few drinks. I decided to not be boring this night and went out to a nightclub (or "discoteca" in Spanish). We went to a place near the beach called Shoko. It was quite an experience! Let's just say I was a little tired on Wednesday morning!
On Thursday night, I met up with some friends to watch the Spain vs. Italy soccer math for the FIFA semi final. We went to and Irish Pub off of La Rambla with a big group and cheered on Spain. They ended up winning in penalty kicks! It was so much fun to watch the game with people who love soccer and Spain so much!
On Friday, my brother and I decided to hike around Montjuic, an area of Barcelona with the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Olympic history, and gardens. We started at the bottom, at the magic fountain and the museum, which is a huge mistake because everything is uphill from there. The best way to see Montjuic is to take the cable car from the beach to the top and walk down. I plan to return with my mom when she comes to see all of Montjuic. Honestly, a 15-year old boy does not find it that interesting and doesn't want to just wander through a garden... but my mom will!

On Friday night, it was my friend's last night in Barcelona so we decided to go out as a group and have some fun! We went down the the W hotel on the beach, went up to the 26th floor to a really nice bar and had a few drinks. Then, we wandered down to the beach below the hotel to grab some dinner. We didn't end up eating until after midnight so I was really tired (and hungry) at that point! After dinner, I called it a night and went back to the residence hall.

(view from the top)

I had to be well rested for... Cavas Freixenet tour and tasting on Saturday!!!!! This is one of my favorite things I've done so far. I've always wanted to go to a winery tour and tasting so getting to go in Spain, to taste cava, was one of the best experiences. Cava is sparkling wine (basically champagne... just from Spain). We got to learn the history of the winery and the family that started it, see the caves and cellars 30 meters below ground, and taste cava. The only thing is that the whole tour was in Spanish and the woman talked very fast. I was able to pick up some words/phrases but luckily there was a girl there with me who helped translate the main points after the lady was done talking. After the tasting, we were able to go to the gift shop to buy bottles or souvenirs. I ended up buy 3 bottles for only 16 euros! What a deal! I can't wait for my mom to get here to share it with me :)