finally

ok. finally...i have a full tummy, some time to spare and a decent keyboard (with a not so decent internet connection) to write.

since i last posted, i spent some more days in barcelona. luckily, i opted to spend a bit more money and stay at a better hostel with my own individual room and sink! luxury, i´m tellin´ ya...i was able to catch the end of La Merce 08 (Barcelona´s big annual festival) and there was a big ¨show¨ at the end of the night...INCREDIBLE! by far one of the coolest things i have witnessed. it´s too difficult to explain really, but it was a 45+ mins show of fireworks, water and music. i found an old youtube of the same show...if you really care to take a peak...though i´m afraid it doesn´t do it justice. the rest of the days were spent strollin´the metro, window shopping (actually, i spent a couple whole days just looking at clothes and trying on things) and lurking through turisty & local neighborhoods. plus, i got to catch julieta venegas live at this hip little amphitheatre. she´s not too popular out here. so, the crowd was small, but everyone was so into it and she did a great great job. it really was an awesome time..even if it meant runnign full speed to try to catch the last metro after the show ended :)

lots of other silly details that i could write about, but maybé i´ll save them for later. i´m in a town called Sitges right now. it´s çpretty cool. larger than cadaques, but of course, much much smaller than barcelona. the beach here is beautiful and the ocean not as cold :) so, i imagine i´ll do the same thing today that i did yesterday...lay out on the beach and take a chilly dip in the SALTY mediterranean. ok, the people that own this internet cafe are starting to freak me out. i´better jet...attachd is a video of the La Merce show. be patient with it...i think the fun stuff starts about a minute in...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGhwzXQKnw

crepes in cadaques

i love this place...it will be hard to tear myself away. where else can i sit on the beach and stuff my face with nutella crepes? However, i´m excited to do some more exploring on the coast before heading back to barcelona for the end of the week.

i love that the vibve here is so laid back. it seems to be a place where spanish locals come to vacation, too. many women do lay topless on the beach and you quickly get used to the new ¨sights¨. however, i haven´t braved it yet...i wish i could say i´ve done more than lay out on the beach and walked throughout the town discovering little nooks and cranies, but i haven´t....ah, the lazy life is a good one!

cadaques

i am currently writing from a little internet cafe in a small beach town called cadaques...google it if you havén´t heard of it. it´s amazing. you can walk everywhere...the beaches are small and feel almost private. the water clear, the buildings all white...gorgeous! crap gotta go my time is up..write more later!

quickly

don´t have much time to write and yet there is so much to say! i´ll try to keep it quick...plus, i´ll be heading up the coast tomorrow to see some coastal towns and i´m not sure that i´ll have much access to the internet. regardless, i have been totally and completely blessed thus far! to be perfectly honest, i´ve had my moments of loneliness or nervousness and just yesterday i was thinking, "man, i´d love to meet someone to just have a meal with...someone to talk to!"... and then, literally, a couple hours later i was walking through the aquarium (having finally found it after 30 mins of walking in circles AROUND it unkowningly)and i met a girl named Luiza from Romania. her english was great and so we got talking and we ended up spending the rest of the evening together walking around barcelona´s artsy Rambla, checking out the main Catedral(tho i´m sure it has a better name), catching a bit of mass, and then stopping into a restaurant for some tapas and paella. all in all, really great! she´s moving here to start the university on monday and so i said i´d meet up with her again when i come back to barcelona next week.

it´s interesting to walk around with someone else...it definitely feels like you can relax a bit more in some places. plus, she was so pretty and people were much more enthusiastic to help us find certain streets or metro stops. that´s one thing i noticed...people are not always so nice with me and i´ve already been stopped numerous times on the metro or street by people who are looking for streets, bus stops, other locations...i doubt i look local?? maybe i look like i know where i´m going?? which i don´t...not half the time anyway, but barcelona is perfect for that sort of aimless walking. and if you do think you´re a bit lost, you just look for the metro and hop on. anwyay, i´ll write a bit more later....

hasta luego

i´m off to see the park guell. i think that is what it´s called and perhaps some time on the beach.

day one down

i´ve survived my first day and night in barcelona. hehe. there is so much to say...i don´t even know where to begin really. it´s gorgeous here. the weather is amazing. i´m staying literally on the ocean. i walk right outside and BAM there is the mediterranean. i wandered the streets of barcelona yesterday, discovered shops, churches, food, drinks...saw the pablo picasso museum nestled in some back alley streets and listened to the spanish guitar filter through the streets. it was so nice. if you know the song "quisa, quisa, quisa" then you can get a clearer picture of how perfect it felt for a moment. i then walked on and found a great band playing at the boat port. they were some sort of Cuban, Spanish, Mexican and African blend of music. Amazing...blew Austin´s "live music capital" spiel out of the water. i have to write in a hurry to catch some breakfast and get started today..im off to see gaudi´s architecture.

on a completely different note, i´m sharing a hostel room with 7 german men. none of which i´ve actually met, except to see one climb on his bunk above me at 4am with nothing but tight boxers in my face. then, i awoke this morning to listen to the 7 german men and their new, german lady friends all around me. i don´t understand or speak a word of german. well, except for "oma" and "beer". somehow, i dont´think i can form a cool opening sentence with grandma and beer...

time to jet.

love you all!!

6 days

or should i say seis dias?! i leave so soon and i feel like before i know it, tuesday morning will arrive and i'll be on my way to the airport, through the international gates and stocking up on bottled water and trashy magazines. 'cause yes, when i travel i get to finally read up on what really matters...jessica simpson's new dye job and brangelina's 1,000,000 dollar crib...

i'm on ultra caffeine buzz right now. so, i'm gonna take full advantage of it and head off to Target and REI with the moms to get any last minute items on my packing list! i know i'm probably stressing a bit too much when it comes to things to bring, but i can't help it. i'm a toiletry whore and mini size toothpastes, lotions and moose (!) are just too cute to leave behind!

life is good

insanely good -- too good! i am so blessed and dare not take any of this time left in austin and the adventure ahead of me for granted.

only 3 more days of work left. i leave for spain in two weeks...i'm a little bit nervous, a little bit scared and a whole lot excited. cole will be turning two soon and i'm so glad i'll get to be here for that and all the preparations before hand.

why isn't it friday already!?