Thursday

On Thursday I went to class from 9 am to 2:45 pm and headed home to gather the crew and head to the beach! Mariella and I ate at Shoko, a popular beachfront restaraunt and club. We got a beachside table with an incredible view of the water and drink specials. A lady came around and asked if I wanted a complimentary massage, which of course I accepted, so I got massaged over dinner and just had to tip! We met friends on the beach and laid out and tested out the water a bit. We also met two french guys who were visiting from Paris! After leaving the beach we stopped and got crepes and a few pitchers of Sangria. That night, we went to my New York friend Lexi's apartment in the recidential area and hungout with the french guys and listened to Spanish and French music!

Friday

Unfortunately we still had school on independence day... but after class we hit the beach American style! Fourth of July was a fun experience here in Spain, we repped the red white and blue and had a great time!

Saturday

We got up early in the morning to get on a bus and head to a vinyard/winery called Codorniu. We toured the grounds and underground caves on a small train type thing and saw over 200,000 wine bottles (that's my guess). We tasted some cava and I got a souvenoir bottle and cork keychain! Then we got back on the bus to head to the beach city Sitges. After some lunch, we did some shopping finally! I got a croched white beach cover up and a large spanish tapestry that has many different uses. We went down to the water and laid out and enjoyed all of the vendors who come by and offer massages and a range of drinks and goods. We boarded the bus after about 4-5 hours in Sitges to head home to Barcelona. My friends went to a beach club, which is super $$$ and a big site for pickpocketers so me and my friend Lindsey aka GoPro went to Chupitos (which means shots in Spanish). We had shots on fire, shots with pop rocks, and all sorts of other concotions considering they have over 200 different shots all for 2 euros each! Definitely a favorite spot for locals as well as tourists. Then we just explored the streets of Barcelona and found MindtheGap, a bar with a play on words relevant to the public transport in London and other cities. We had some spanish version of a strawberry mojito and headed home to call it a night!

Sunday

Sunday was our first day off from school and excursions, we visited some friends in an apartment and Spain and saw how the locals live! My dad also arrived in Barca yesterday, so I took the metro to his hotel and we ate dinner together. I FINALLY GOT A STEAK! Red meat is not common here in Barcelona and if you find it it can be very expensive. He took me to a ritzy mall in his area and we found their Michael Kors store! Then I did laundry for the first time here which was quite an experience... the machines are token operated and therefor you must purchase the coins BEFORE you put in your load (lesson learned) and without a laundry basket or container of any sort really it was an interesting transaction to say the least! Besides homework and trying to get myself UNlost I have been hanging out with my new friends, seeing the ins and outs of the city (not tourist hotspots) and ATTEMPTING to shop during rexibas which means big sales here in Barca.

Monday

Tonight my group is going to tour Sagrada Familia which is an unifished architetural sight in Barcelona, it is said to be the one thing you CANNOT miss so I'm excited to see the place everyone has been talking about!

Adios!