The past month or so...(sorry)

First of all, let's start this blog out right and get one thing out in the open. Long live Lionel Messi. Also, Ronaldo. Spend more time on the field and less time in the tanning salons and maybe you too would hit 50 goals this season. Va Barca, va.

So I know I've been terrible about updating. A combination of nice weather, a little traveling, and studying (unexpected plot twist!) got in the way of sitting down a plugging through an increasingly long blog post. So here's what I've been up to:
1. Day trip to Valencia to see Las Fallas, the strangest holiday I've ever seen where the city builds enormous statues then burns them down in the streets of downtown.
2. A visit to a cava winery and Sitges, a charming little beach town outside of Barca
3. Finals
4. Traveling with my godparents in País Vasco
5. DP's (my dad) visit to Barcelona and our trips to Sevilla and the Costa Brava
6. Reflections and looking forward

Valencia
In mid-March (yes a month and a half ago, I know...), a group of my friends and I took a day trip to Valencia to participate in the city's annual celebration called Las Fallas. From my understanding, Las Fallas started out as a carpenters' holiday where at the end of the year, they would use their scrap materials and create satirical/comical statues poking fun at an event that had occurred that year. Once they had their laughs, the carpenters would burn their statues, which came to have the name of "fallas", to create room in their workshops. This tradition evolved over time to what it is today. Each neighborhood in Valencia creates a Falla, poking fun at a political or social event that had occurred that year. The Fallas are ENORMOUS (30-50ft tall) and are beautifully constructed and painted. A committee votes on the best Falla, which is preserved in a museum along with the other winners. The rest are burned to the ground under fireworks and amidst buildings in downtown Valencia.
Our experience in Valencia was incredible. I'm still not entirely sure what to think of Las Fallas. It was certainly fun, but the crowds along with people throwing firecrackers into them was a little more than I was ready for. It was unlike anything I had ever seen (it would NEVER fly in a US city), so I'm glad I experienced it.

Cava and Sitges
CIEE, our study abroad program, arranged a tour of a cava (Spanish champagne) vineyard outside of Barcelona for us. I don't remember all the details now, but it is one of the oldest (maybe the oldest?) cava wineries in Catalunia. The tour was interesting and informative, and the two glasses of cava at the end were a nice treat! After the tour, we all went to Sitges, a beach town where we spent the day enjoying the sand and sun.

Finals
Who am I kidding? No one wants to read about this. My finals were fine. Study abroad is incredible.

País Vasco with ChaCha and Josh
I met my godparents (who from hereon out will be referred to as "the ChaCha's) in Bilbao the day after I finished finals for a little traveling around the north of Spain for a few days. Each time I get together with the ChaCha's, they never fail to spoil me much more than I deserve. I arrived in Bilbao and we immediately set out to go to the Guggenheim museum. I'm not normally a fan of modern art, but there were a handful of exhibits that really intrigued me. If you're ever traveling in Spain, I'd definitely recommend a stop in Bilbao to hit the Guggenheim. The rest of our time in Bilbao was characterized by shopping and eating, which are arguably two of my favorite things, so needless to say it was an enjoyable day and a half.
Next we moved on to Hondarribia, a small town near San Sebastian, where we stayed in a Parador, which from what I understand are historic buildings that have been transformed into incredible hotels throughout Spain and Portugal. Our Parador was a former monastery that is now a beautiful stone hotel overlooking the water. Again, more shopping and phenomenal food. One afternoon while in Hondarribia, Auntie ChaCha suggested that we get massages (I know, friends. Try not to hate me.). When the masseuse showed up, I was surprised to find out that I was not going to be getting a massage from the 20, 30, or 40-something woman I had been expecting, but rather a 20-something male Basque. Score. Don't worry concerned parents and friends of parents, but friends, you should hate me. The ChaChas and I laughed about the awkward encounter for the rest of the trip.
Finally, we ended in San Sebastian, which is probably one of the most beautiful Spanish cities I've spent time in. The city itself is adorable, full of beautiful plazas, old buildings, gorgeous beaches. Again, more shopping and eating INCREDIBLE food (including hands down the best dinner of my life at Akelarre), but a highlight of the time in San Sebastian was just wandering around the city and relaxing with a book.
My trip to País Vasco couldn't have been a better start to summer. The ChaCha's are the best. Be jealous they're not your godparents.

Don Pedro takes Espana by storm
For those of you who don't know, my dad adopted the name "Don Pedro" during a trip to Mexico a few years ago, and he continues to use it among our family. He'll sign emails "DP" and sometimes introduce himself that way. For the non-Spanish speakers, "Don" translates to something like "Lord". So...yeah.
DP arrived in Barca, but like a true champ, hit the ground running and kicked the jet lag immediately. We started out our trip exploring Barca: wandering through Barrio Gottico, enjoying Plaza Real, Bo d B (obviously), and trudging through the rain. The following days we hit a few museums, hung out with my BFF Antoni Gaudi at the Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell, explored Montjuic, and had dinner at Quitz Nits with Katie, Grace, and Maya.
Next up was our trip to Sevilla. I love Barcelona, but Sevilla rivals it for my favorite Spanish city. It's much smaller than Barca (we walked EVERYWHERE), but it's beautiful and feels much more "Spanish" to me (the lack of Catalan helps). We spent our first day visiting the Cathedral, siesta-ing, and exploring. The next few days were filled with trips to the Alcazar, the old Palace of Spanish rulers that is full of extensive gardens and architecture straight out of Morocco, shopping for FABULOUS new shoes for the Don, visiting Sevilla's Plaza Espana, the sight of the World Fair in 1929 (mas o menos?), and exploring Sevilla's old town. It was a GREAT trip.
The morning after we returned to Barca, DP and I rented a car and headed up to the Costa Brava. We stopped in Girona for a rainy walk through the city and glance at the cathedral and city walls before continuing on to L'Escala and Roses, two darling beach towns where we wandered, chatted, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. We moved on to Figueres where we were spending the night, had dinner near their "Rambla" (not even remotely the same), then went to bed. We got up the following morning and went to the Dalí museum. As I mentioned earlier, modern art isn't usually my cup of tea, but Dalí's art is FASCINATING. It may have been one of my favorite museums I've been to since I've been in Spain.
We moved on to Cadaques, another little beach town, where we sat, enjoyed a picnic lunch, took pictures, wandered through the cobble stoned streets, and admired the beautiful town and landscape. In my dream life, I would live in Cadaques, own a scooter, and relax on my boat all day. Anyone looking for fund that lifestyle for me?
Our last day in Barcelona was spent wandering around going place to place finding them all to be closed (May 1 is a Spanish holiday...who knew?). We walked along the beach, did a little shopping for YOU Crosby, Brooke, and Soozles, went back to Montijuic to one of my favorite parks, then got dinner in El Born.
It was a treat to see my dad, and I can't quite tell if I'm more or less homesick than I was before (he just left this morning). It was great to get to introduce him to some of my friends and the family I live with, do some traveling, and show him what my life is like here. He kept saying how much he loved Barca and that he understands why I love it here so much. So. Come visit me, friends, family, etc. It's awesome here.

Reflections and looking forward.
Study abroad is incredible. I've made friends I know I will have forever and have had experiences that have and will shape who I am as a woman. To my younger friends- go abroad. You'll LOVE it and it's so important to your growth as a person. To my friends here- you're fantastic. Os quiero mucho. Reunion next summer? No brainer.
Today is the beginning of the second part of my experience here. All my friends have left and I have no more anticipated visitors, but I'm truly excited about this opportunity. I have a job doing interesting work, I'm living with a family that takes phenomenal care of me, and I'm in one of the most incredible cities in the world. Summer 2011...best summer ever.

I'm sure no one has read all of this (I'm not even going to proof read it; it's too long), except you Rachel Hervatin because I know how much you love my blog and how much you missed it.

That's all for now. Hasta!

Current obsessions: Lionel Messi, making Spanish friends, my shorts from Mango (THANK YOU AUNTIE CHACHA!!), trying to think about what I want to be when I grow up, missing my friiiiends, my new running route, and the Cuban bar.