Fray Concert, Milks Visit to Barca, and Ireland

I'm sorry that it has been so long since my last update, but I'll try to fill you in on everything that I have done since then. Let's see....

On Wednesday October 7, we went to the Fray concert. It was at a club here called Razzmatazz. The tickets were only 22 euro and was first come first serve on seating. We started out the evening by going out for tapas and wine with a group of girls. We arrived at the concert around 9pm, which was later than we wanted, but we still arrived before they started playing. After getting a drink, we proceeded to the front of the stage. We stopped about 10 rows back from the stage! Not bad for 22 euro!! The concert was awesome. The lead singer even tried to speak some Spanish which was very entertaining.

Thursday was a normal day at class...nothing much to say about that!

On Friday, my cousin Jen and my Aunt Debbie arrived in Barcelona. I met them for lunch at a very tasty Italian restaurant. After lunch we walked through the Boqueria, which might not have been the best idea since the market consists of raw meat and dead fish, so we walked mainly through the fruit and veggie sections. The best part of the Boqueria was when we were leaving and my aunt wasn't paying attention to where she was walking and walked right into a pig thigh that was hanging from one of the stands. It was priceless. We continued our journey walking down Las Ramblas and browsing through the local artists' paintings. After that, we stumbeld upon a mall. Funny how us girls always happen to find them. We spent a while in there. Let's just say our wallets were not very happy with us. Once we were done, we walked down the boardwalk, and after being harassed by all the restaurant workers, we picked a restaurant to have some tapas and cava. The cava was soooooooooo good. And if that wasn't enough alcohol, they gave us free sangria at the end. Needless to say, we were all done for the night.

The next day, we toured the Barrio Gotica. I love this area of the city, so I did not mind touring it again :) After that we went to Plaza Reial to get some paella and sangria. I have decided that I could eat paella every day. It is sooooooooo good. Our lunch was accompanied by local musicians and Jen's future husband. However, we were unsuccessful at getting his picture. We then journied to the beach. Luckily for Jen and Aunt Debbie, they did not get the whole European experience. Most of the ladies had their tops on that day. Must have been too cold or something. From there we went to Montjuic and walked around the Olyimpic stadium up there. We also saw went to the magic fountain show. We arrived a bit early to the show, so to pass the time, Jen and I decided to read our free "Blanc y Negro" books that we found on the streets. The first two pages were quite interesting and made the time (30 mins ??) pass very quickly. Some one was dying?? No, wait...he just gets made easily. Gotta love translating! We finished the day with a flamanco show and more tapas.

Sunday, we went and saw the Sardana dance in front of the Cathedral. It was so great to experience part of the Catalan culture. Who knows...maybe one morning I'll join in the dance...

After that, we went to the Gaudi houses, Park Gruell, and la Sagrada Familia. At Park Gruell we found another potential husband for Jen. He has a moto, plays the guitar, and may have a boat...we still have to investigate that one. We finished off the night with some chocolate waffels down by the water...can't complain! Sadly, Sunday was their last night in Barcelona...so we got more sangria to celebrate.

Monday, we had the day off for Columbus day...so what did we do you ask?? We went to

Ikea! Let's just say that Ikea is just as much fun in Spain as it is in the US. We also booked a trip to Mallorca, which is an island off the coast of Spain. Our plane tickets...15 euro! It was a steal. Hopefully we have seats......

This past weekend, we went to Dublin. It was so much fun, but really expensive. We went to the Guiness Storehouse, the Dublin Castle, and the bar used in the movie PS I Love You! Of course, us girls were going crazy! We also went on a tour to the countryside. It was so beautiful. I felt like I was in a fairytale land. We went through Sally Gap, which is where movies like Braveheart and PS I Love You were filmed. I tried to get lost on the road, however the only man to find me was our bus drive/tour guide. To make up for him not being Gerard Butler, he offered my a taste of Jameson Whiskey...I compromised...

We also drove to Glendalough, which is this really old town and monestry. It was incredible! One of the most beautiful places I have ever been. We walked through an old graveyard, a church that was built in the 800's and saw the oldest celtic cross left standing in Europe! We also hiked to these two lakes in the valley. And believe it our not...we also saw SHEEP! haha.

Sunday Brittany and I went to Christ Church Cathedral. We didn't just go there to visit, we went to an actual service. The choir was amazing. I got chills almost everytime they sang. At the end of the service we joined the congregation in the crypt for tea and cookies :)

Afte church, we went to the Jameson Distiliry. I am proud to say that I am not an official whiskey taster. Ask me, I have a certificate.

On the agenda for this week:

-Midterm on Wednesday

- Mallorca on Friday :)

Adios!