Beaches and Fireworks…oh yeah, and work of course…
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- the scene on la rambla during the day
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- Terry at the beach in Sitges
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- Gaudi architecture at the entrance to to Parc Guell
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- Some Gaudi archictectre in the park…it looks edible
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- Barcelona from the very top of Parc Güell
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- 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.
