One of the most unexpected moments that I have ever experienced occurred this past weekend. I was walking down Las Ramblas in Barcelona. Las Ramblas is the main street in Barcelona where there are crazy human statues, little shops set up that sell chickens and pigeons and rabbits, and it is packed with people speaking all sorts of languages. So I'm walking by one of these tents that sells everything from postcards to soccer jerseys to toy cars. There were newspapers lined up in front, a few of which had Pau Gasol on the front page. I got used to seeing him because he is the best of only a few players in the NBA from Spain, so they love the guy here. Then I read the caption in Spanish, which I thought said that Pau lost to the Lakers. Wrong! I soon realized that it said that Pau was traded to the Lakers. Big difference there. Fabrice and I started jumping up and down in the middle of Las Ramblas like little children. It was so unexpected that I could hardly believe it. Luckily it turned out to be true as I watched the highlights of Pau dropping in 24 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in his Lakers debut. Como se dice championship en espanol?
So Barcelona was great. I think I walked more this weekend than I have in my entire life combined. The guys and I went to the Picasso Museum, saw the Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, went down to the beach/harbor, watched the Super Bowl from midnight to four in the morning, ate at a couple buffets, and enjoyed some cafes around the city. Our hostel was really nice, it was more like a hotel. Us three had our own room and my bed was bigger and much more comfortable than the one in my apartment. I got sick a couple days before we left and I was feeling pretty crappy the first day there, but after that I got better and better and I'm close to recovered by now. It was fun traveling and seeing a new city, and getting away from the things that have become familiar. No ipod, no computer, no books. I pretty much packed up a couple changes of clothes, a toothbrush, and my camera and took off.
One of my favorite parts of the trip was the Picasso Museum. It had all of the paintings that he collected over the years as well as over a hundred of his own works. I was amazed to see the range of his art. He started out do a lot of very realistic paintings. When you think Picasso, you think of his abstract pieces, but this was only one of many stages in his artistic evolution. Picasso was also a sculptor, a ceramist, and a playwright. Yeah, he was a pretty lazy and untalented guy.
I was also amazed at how many people spoke english there. First of all, there were a ton of tourists. I could tell that it was a very international city, there were people there from all over the world. And even the Spanish workers in restaurants and bars mainly spoke english. I would order something in spanish and they reply to me in english. Its kind of nice being back in Bilbao now where I am forced to speak spanish to survive. That's what I came here for.
So those are the highlights, we saw so much and did so many things that its hard to fit them all in one blog entry. Now I'm off to class. I only have a two day school-week this week and then a three day weekend. Its a rough life, I know. Hasta luego amigos!
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