When in Rome

We started out the week with a few more guests staying in our apartment. Some friends of one of the Madrid interns that we met while in Madrid had told us that Barcelona was their next stop, so we offered them a few days of free accommodation. We took them out to see a few of the sights, and made sure to show them our favorite bars at nighttime. They ended up staying until Friday (because we were such marvelous hosts), but unfortunately they were forced to leave then because I had plans to spend the weekend in Rome, whereas Katie had left for Morocco on Thursday night.

My journey to Rome was a little bit of a hassle. Jessica, another intern in Barcelona, was smart and had made plans to fly out of the main airport in Barcelona. But I, lured by the low prices, opted to fly Ryanair, therefore dooming myself to leaving out of Girona airport. Now, on Ryanair´s website, Girona airport is listed as a Barcelona airport, but it is actually about an hour and a half bus ride to get out there. I had to wake up at 6:30 a.m. on Friday morning to get a bus out to Girona and catch my flight.

When I got to Rome, I met up with Elkin, an Intrax intern working in Madrid, at our hostel. Pablo, another Intrax intern from Madrid, was also there in Rome. We spent Friday and Saturday exploring the necessary sites– the Vatican, Colosseum, Trevi Fountain–you get the picture. It was pretty exhausting, so we didn´t overindulge in the nighttime aspect of Rome. And anyways, we were still in a Spanish mindset, so we headed out to a bar at 130 am only to find out that pretty much all bars close at 2 a.m. Sunday, Upon returning to my apartment, I was greeted by Jim from Intrax corporate, who convinced me to come out with him even though I was exhausted from my travels.

It´s good to be home.

MAD Weekend

For the first half of last week my family was still in town, so I had the treat of a few more nice meals befor they took off on Thursday. There was also a really good crew of people staying at the hostel during that time, so a few nights after dinner I met up with some of the guests down at La Rambla to go out. I’ve met so many great new friends just working at the front desk, and you’d be surprised how eager some people are to go out with the receptionist at their hostel. I think that a lot of them assume I know the hot spots really well (maybe I play it off that way just a bit). Sometimes I’m sad to see people go after having so much fun with them, and I usually try to encourage them to extend their stay.

On Friday evening, the night before our departure to Madrid, we went out as a group for Indian food, where I treated myself to some exceptional samosas. We sat at dinner pretty late, which was not in our best interest considering the early train ride the next day.

We boarded our train to Madrid just about last minute at 8:30, and caught up on some sleep until we arrived at around 11:15. The intrax guys in Madrid were still asleep when we arrived at our hostel, so we had to get Jaclyn (the one girl in Madrid) to wake everyone up as we made our way to their apartment. When we got there the guys showed us the royal palace, plaza mayor, and a few other cool things in the city. It truly has such a different feel than Barcelona. I could spend a few paragraphs trying to articulate the differences, but I will spare you the wordy, vague description. What I will say is that it is definitely not the stuffy, all work no play city that people from Barcelona make it out to be. I actually noted that there seemed to be more locals out and about in the central area, whereas here in Barcelona when the streets are flooded with people it tends to be mostly tourists.

Still, I like Barcelona more.

We went out to a really cool discoteca on Saturday night, called Buddha, where we stayed longer than we had originally planned, considering the 10:00 day trip to Toledo the following day. Toledo is a really cool historical city that is reminiscent of Moorish rule in Spain, and is also home to one of the country’s few synagogues. It is also quite beautiful, and perfect for a one day trip (Also, a lot of cool weapon stores, for some reason).

Fashion and Family…Hitting the Runway

I began last week doing something that I had never done before, nor had ever expected to do. I’ll admit it: I attended a catwalk. I went at the invitation of my roommate, who interns at desigual, along with the 4 other girls here with intrax. The show was surprisingly tolerable, even enjoyable, and definitely a unique experience. I met a lot of interesting people (and a lot of really good-looking people), and enjoyed a glass or two of free champagne.

On Wednesday I received some surprise guests (3 friends of my roommate). She didn’t even realize that they were coming on that day until they called from the train station. I was at first uncertain about sharing my apartment with 3 more people, until about an hour after their arrival I noticed the beautiful smell of home-cooking coming from my kitchen, which I use mainly for making toast and drinking out of the sink. The meal they made for us was delicious, so I didn’t have any complaints about their presence. Also, having guests in town was encouragement enough to get us out and about during the week; we showed them a few of our favorite bars over the few nights they stayed with us.

On Friday morning I had more visitors. My family arrived in town so I showed them around all weekend, and in return I ate very well. I’ve been living on toast and cream cheese since that U2 concert (okay, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration), so I was glad to get the chance to check out some more well-known and expensive restaurants in Barcelona. Now, it’s back to the work week, but coming up this weekend we all have plans to visit Madrid, and I just booked a flight for Rome next weekend. I’ll keep you posted!

Expect pictures soon- I am, for the second time, experiencing laptop issues, so I am getting this all done when I get the chance at work.

Beautiful Day(s)

          One thing that I have noticed here is that the weather doesn’t really change all that much. Sometimes, that can be a bad thing (as I hear that back in the northeast in the U.S. they haven’t seen the sun in about a month). But what that means here is that every day is beautiful and sunny, albeit quite humid, but I think I can manage.

           On Tuesday at the hostel I noticed that a lot of people were checking in for the first of two U2 concerts here in Barcelona. For financial reasons, I initially told myself that there was no way I was going to get tickets. Unfortunately,on Wednesday following the first concert, I had the pleasure of listening to each and every guest rave about how incredible the show was. Some were even nice (or cruel) enough to show me some videos they had taken, which was what ultimately pushed me over the edge- I had to go. Luckily, two of the other American interns here were willing to pay the cost of seeing one of the greatest acts of all time, so I didn’t have to go alone, although I would have if necessary. The concert was held in Barcelona’s soccer stadium, and there was not an empty seat to be found. There were more than 90,000 people present, which made it by far the biggest concert I had ever been to. I am glad to say that it was well worth the expense of the ticket and the 2-hour process of finding a taxi home. It was completely over-the-top, as is to be expected of U2.

              On Saturday the Intrax Intern Abroad crew from Madrid came to stay with us for a night. I was personally very happy because the group in Madrid consists of 5 guys and 1 girl, whereas I am 1 guy living with 5 girls. Yeah, I know that sounds really cool and all, but believe me, it is definitely better in the end to have some dudes around. When they arrived, we all took the train to Sitges (a touristy beach town a half-hour away) and spent the day swimming and hanging out on the beach. Later on, we all went out to a discoteque called ‘Sutton,’ where I had the pleasure of having “wingmen” for once. On Sunday it was a bit of a slow start, so we pretty much had time to eat and then show the Madrid kids a few things around Barcelona before their 8:00 train. I can’t wait to go stay with them in Madrid in two weeks!

Beaches and Fireworks…oh yeah, and work of course…

the scene on la rambla during the day

Terry at the beach in Sitges

Gaudi architecture at the entrance to to Parc Guell

Some Gaudi archictectre in the park…it looks edible

Barcelona from the very top of Parc Güell

The group at IESE

It doesn’t take a lot of time here to realize that attitudes towards many things in Spain are quite different from those in the U.S. I was reading an article the other day explaining how Spanish festivals may be doomed by a new law preventing children under 12 from purchasing fireworks. I am 18 and I can’t even buy fireworks in Illinois.

Well, this past week we celebrated the summer solstice with the Festival de Sant Joan. In Barcelona, everyone heads down to the beach to spend the night drinking, and of course, wildly setting off fireworks. The scene was overwhelming, and yet amazing. I was quite happy to make it back to my apartment at 5 a.m. with my body intact. I can honestly say though that it was one of the most incredible things I have experienced–and I cannot wait for that new fireworks law to come into affect.

Well apparently I was the only person in all of Barcelona who had to go into work the next day (the actual day of the holiday), so there wasn’t even a place open for me to grab a quick bocadillo de tortilla ( a sandwich on a baguette with  basically a potato omelet in between- very typical in Spain) before my shift started. I don’t mind being at work at the hostel though; I love talking to the guests who hang out in the lobby. I have already made so many new friends there. I am also looking forward to getting started on a few marketing/PR projects that my boss gave me at the beginning of the week. I also don’t mind having tasks to complete outside of work hours, because they normally consist of my running around Barcelona from place to place, which has really helped me to get to know the city better. It really is not too difficult to learn your way around here.

On Saturday I went with Katie and some others to Sitges, a tourist town about 45 minutes away by train that is known for having much better beaches than the ones in Barcelona. The weather was beautiful, and the water was much nicer than the ice-bath we have here in Barcelona. It was a great place to spend the day; I would definitely recommend it to those visiting Barcelona.  Make sure to check out the pictures–videos are coming when I smooth out the embedding issues I am having.

There’s no place like home…well maybe except Barcelona

The Barcelona Crew

Desigual-mobile

Day 1

IESE

La Rambla

Placa Catalunya

entrance to la boqueria, a famous market on la rambla

The group during our tour at IESE, a prestigious business school

The crew I hung out with at the concert with last weekend

Having been in Barcelona for only eight days, what amazes me is how much it feels like home. A large factor contributing to this is that I have done miles upon miles of walking, such that I truly feel like I have a halfway decent sense of direction around here. And with just these eight days of experience to write about, I still don’t even know where to begin (so I guess we’ll just go chronologically for now).

After failing to achieve even a minute of sleep on the flight over, my eyes were only to be kept open by the incredible city sights, including some Gaudi architecture, that I saw in the cab coming from the airport to the apartment up in Barcelona’s Gracia neighborhood. I am living with Katie, the on-site coordinator for the interns here, while the 4 other interns, all girls, are living together in an apartment across the hall. Everyone has gotten along very well so far. We spent the first day wandering the city, getting local cell phones, stocking the fridge, and anything else to keep ourselves from napping before nighttime, so that we could get to sleep at a normal hour and avoid lingering jetlag.

After a good night’s sleep, we all headed to check out the beach on Sunday. The main beach is pretty touristy and the water was freezing, but the weather was absolutely beautiful, so who’s to complain? While all the other interns had their vacations cut short by work beginning Monday, the owners of my hostel were in the states until Wednesday. In their absence, they simply left me an itinerary for the first few days, which consisted of sending me running all over town. It really helped me to get to know my way around.

One part of this itinerary was a reservation with GoCar. GoCar is a company that rents out mini cars that operate like motorcycles to tourists. You actually drive these GoCars along the streets of Barcelona. It was nothing short of death-defying, but also a lot of fun, and something I would definitely recommend. For the sake of the safety of pedestrians and other drivers however, I don’t know if I’ll do it again myself. Work began Thursday for me at the hostel, and it’s a really a great atmosphere. Somnio is really nice and clean, and I enjoy getting to interact with guests who hang out in the lobby. My coworkers have been very welcoming so far. On Saturday I went to the sonar music festival night-show with a girl from work and a few of her friends, which began at 11 pm, and ended around 6:30 am. It’s great to already have some friends at Somnio, and I can’t wait to share the adventures with you that next week will certainly bring.

I’m Interning in Spain This Summer

As I sit in my bedroom now in Deerfield, Illinois, unable to sleep on the eve of my departure, I ponder the great adventure that awaits me in Barcelona. The time has finally come, as it’s just a nearly empty suitcase, a few hours of futile attempts at sleep, and a tedious couple of flights that stand between me and what I hope to be the greatest summer of my life so far. I’m heading to Barcelona in order to take part in an internship with Somnio Hostels, an upscale hostel run by two women who happen to be from the ‘burbs of Chicago as well.

As a student of business, it will be great to gain experience working with the “business” aspects of a company, which I was never really able to do delivering pizzas around here.  But if it were just about “business” I wouldn’t be going to Barcelona. I just spent 9 months buried in textbooks (okay, maybe I’m giving myself a little too much credit) at Tulane, and I am not interested in all the formulas that I will learn in the classroom later on. This is not about accounting, statistics, and economics. This is about exploring a new world, and meanwhile beginning the process of building a global network, consisting of both friendships and professional relationships. I want to see where my intuition takes me, rather than feel pressured by the extremely competitive and at times rigid world that is business in the U.S., even for college students. I’m looking for a chance to tap into my own creative talents in an unfamiliar setting. And hey—I’m certainly looking to have some fun while I’m at it. I’ve received a bunch of recommendations from people at home (a bar where you pour your own drinks?), but ultimately I’ll just have to feel things out on my own.

I can’t wait to share my experiences via videos, photos, and written word, and I can say honestly that I do not know what to expect over the next two months. That’s the way I like to do things though. I will keep you updated!