Today I woke up and all my seven roommates were still asleep. They had gone out to the club the night before and I had stayed in. This was nice because I got to shower and get ready in slow motion this morning. I ate breakfast alone and suddenly became nervous. What if the beginning of my trip was filled with fun new friendships and the last leg I was a loner? I headed down for the free walking tour provided by our hostel. If anything, I still needed to get a feel for the Barcelona. I had only walked around the touristy locations with Mitch on Las Ramblas and by the harbor. It was beautiful but I was missing Italy and my friends.
Our tour guide Massar was a bubbly, loud outgoing girl from Sweden. She led us to a bar to start off with ice coffees before leading us around the city for hours. Her one requirement before starting the tour was to turn to the person next to you and get to know them before we began walking. The girl next to me turned and asked where I was from. She was from Holland. We talked about her travels and my trip to Italy and soon enough it was time to start the tour. I felt better already.
Massar led us through the back alley's of Barcelona. Now I was beginning to see why everyone calls this their favorite city. It reminded me a lot of Florence but with more shops and more historical landmarks. When you're off the main road of Las Ramblas, you are mesmerized by narrow brick alley's. Every building has four to five levels with balconies on every floor. Each balcony had their shutters opening to the street, allowing the warm breeze of the city to pour through their window. I wished that San Diego had these shutters instead of boring sliding glass doors on my balcony.
Massar pointed to the gargoyles on top of The Cathedral of Barcelona and how they were constructed to ward off evil. She told us if we wanted to tour the cathedral we could come back after 5pm. She guided us down an alley and pointed to a stone wall with a man slaying a dragon in stone. She told us the story of Saint Jordi and how he slayed a dragon to protect a virgin that was to be sacrificed. This story is why they now celebrate Saint Jordi Day on April 23rd where the men give the women a rose and the women give their man a book. It was a great story that Massar shared and I had no idea I would learn new holidays and get involved in the cities history.
Massar quizzed us on what the most popular drink of Spain was, this one I knew well and answered for the group. She told us the meaning behind the famous drink Sangria. The Spanish name is Sangre, which is actually blood. She taught us where the popular Spanish dish Paella gets it's name from. There was a man who forgot to buy groceries to cook his girlfriend dinner so made up a dish made of random things in his kitchen and called it a "dish for her" Pae-ella. We learned all the simple things from Massar and the history behind Barcelona that I would have never learned had I not been on the tour.
Half way through the tour we were guided under a bridge where you make a wish while walking backward so I was focusing on what I wanted mine to be. Concentrating on my wish, I missed the next part of what Massar was covering. I asked the girl ahead of me and we began talking. She was an Aussie, I seemed to continue to meet lots of Australians. Her name was Rebecca and she quit her job as a teacher to explore for a year. She got hired to be a nanny in Germany for a family who had twins. I was fascinated by her story and the fact that she just put her job on hold while she worked only during the week as a nanny and traveled everywhere in Europe over the weekends and extended holidays. We talked the remainder of the tour and then Massar led us to the end of our tour, a bar for Sangria. We all sat down at one table and Massar gave us other ideas to do on our trip in Barcelona. There were so many things to do, I signed up for every option. There was a bike tour that Rebecca and I decided on together for Friday. This tour guides you all over the city and you see every monument on the map. The next brochure Massar went over was a cooking class, teaching you how to cook Paella while being served unlimited Sangria. The two Canadians sitting across from me at my table were sold. One of my favorite things to do is cook, so to learn in Spain how to make an authentic dish while sipping on an endless supply of Sangria sounded like a good idea to me. The Canadians now introduced themselves. Their names were Darko and Bahareh. Darko was originally from Croatia but had moved to Canada to study Acupuncture, where he met his girlfriend Barhareh. She was from Iran and has been living in Canada since she was a teenager. The four of us drank our Sangria and signed up for all of our activities for the rest of the week. I felt like I was in college, selecting all the activities I wanted to do during my remaining days in Spain. We all had grown very hungry so decided to head out for lunch together. Bahareh said that her friend gave her the name of a local spot where only locals go. We followed Darko and Bahareh through the labyrinth maze and I was really beginning to love Barcelona. This whole time in Spain, I had not discovered the beautiful side streets and shopping of Barcelona. The four of us headed to lunch together and arrived to what appeared to be a fine dining restaurant. It reminded me of Blue Point Grill in Cleveland. I thought maybe this may be a little bit out of our budget. Bahareh asked the host for a menu and to our surprise, they offered a three course meal and wine for only nine Euros. We all were thinking this must be a mistake. The restaurant was very modern and fancy with white linen and art hanging on every wall. How could a place like this be so inexpensive. We were guided to our table near the window and the server brought us wine to start. We all toasted to our new friendship and this gem of a restaurant we discovered.
We all got to know each other very well at lunch and I was beginning to think the wish I had made earlier while walking under the bridge was coming true. Here I was, in good company once again. Darko, Bahareh and Rebecca were all very intelligent, kind, genuine people that I was so thrilled to meet. I asked Darko and Barareh how they met and they told Rebecca and I how were both at the same school for Acupuncture. I didn't know very much about this subject and was very interested to learn more about how it heals people.
The server brought our first dish, as we got lost in our conversations on work, travel and our experiences. The second dish came and we were getting very full. We couldn't believe we were eating like such kings. Every touristy restaurant we ate at near Las Ramblas served only one dish for 12 Euros and here we were getting three dishes and two glasses of wine. We laughed and toasted again to our luck. We were truly enjoying each others company and to think we would not have met if we didn't go on the tour.
The server cleared away our second dish and all of a sudden chaos broke through the restaurant. There was a woman screaming and waving down for help in Spanish. Everyone in the restaurant began panicking and it was all in a language that we could not understand. We scanned the room and saw an older man grabbing his chest and the people around him signaling for help. It was the most bizarre feeling being in an emergency situation and not speaking the language. The four of us didn't know what to think and became scared. The man dropped out of his chair to the floor. Now the woman was screaming louder and everyone was running out of their seats to help. We froze and felt terribly helpless. We had no clue what was going on, either he was choking or having a heart attack. A few minutes later an ambulance came and he was pulled away in a stretcher. I asked our server and she said the man experience a heart attack but would survive. The tone of the entire restaurant had shifted from panic mode, and slowly began to go back to normal.
We were served our dessert and tried to get back into our normal state. It was quite a scary scene to see. We all ordered cappuccinos and asked for the bill. We thought it was a joke to receive a bill for under 10 Euros. It would be like going to Morton's steak house and ordering the best thing on the menu and pay ten dollars. We couldn't get over it.
Now we walked around the streets and shopped for dresses to wear to the club tonight. All the shops in Barcelona were very trendy and were fun to browse through. Rebecca and I had got to know each other much better and made the plans for the remainder of the week. I was so glad I met her and was excited to have everything mapped out. Until today, Mitch was the only person I really met in Barcelona that were like the friends I made in Italy. I felt like I found a great new crew.
It was approaching 5pm, so I suggested we head back to the Cathedral to tour before it closes. It was right near our hostel and I wanted to see the inside. We walked through and were amazed at the interior. It was stunning and there was a garden off on the right side with palm trees and a huge fountain with white geese wandering around the inside. This was becoming one of my favorite things to do, touring breathtaking cathedrals is like a mind eraser. The minute you enter the building, any thought that was racing through your mind- disappeared. You were immediately taken by the magnificent archways, and details of the side chapels. You truly get lost in the moment. I thought about for one second how I would be spending a typical Wednesday back at home. I would be driving home from L.A for work, rushing to respond to emails and then fit in a work out at the gym. Here, I'm taking tours of the beautiful gothic cathedrals of Barcelona, learning about St. Jordi, watching white geese float around a fountain, eating lunch with an Australian, Croatian and Canadian...what I would give to stay here forever.
I peer pressured my new friends to join me in the Pub Crawl tonight that our hostel was hosting. We all took each others Facebook names down. That was the only way to communicate while traveling in Europe. No on had cell phones so you would just message each other a time and a place.
They all went back to their hostels and I stopped at an ATM, went shopping and walked around the streets more. Each city I visited in Europe, I would pretend that I lived there. I would try to just operate as if I was at home. Make plans, hang out with friends, shop, sign up for cooking classes, go biking. I was in love with Barcelona. All the brick alley ways were very narrow. There were no cars, just alley after alley filled with shops, flowers, and beautiful stone buildings. I got lost and didn't mind. I wasn't really looking for anything, I just wanted to see as much as possible.
I arrived back to my hostel and had only fifteen minutes before meeting my friends for the pub crawl. I threw on a dress, touched up my make up and dashed out the door. I loved that I didn't have to drive everywhere, like I did at home. I loved that you just walk out your door and you're at the bar, restaurant or shopping. It was completely unlike anywhere I had ever lived.
My roommate from Canada asked if she could join me and my friends tonight so we waited out front for my friends to meet us. The five of us headed to the pub crawl but learned that they had them every night except for Wednesday. The group grew deflated, but I assured them we would make our own pub crawl tonight. I led the group down the street and we looked for the perfect venue to start. We stumbled across a unique pub that served tapas and sangria. We ordered several tapas and began drinking, talking and having a far more intimate time than if we were crowded in a group of drunken fools.
Darko and Bahareh were very in tune with the dreams and talked a lot about fate, following your gut and creating your life the way you believe will make you happy. Bahareh shared with us how she used to be an engineer and was married once before. She knew that she had a passion for alternative therapy. Her family was upset with her in fear she was making a big mistake leaving her career as an engineer to pursue a whole new direction where she would have to start over and go back to school. She told us that she believed in this so strongly that she knew it would work out. All the pieces slowly fell into place for Bahareh She told us that when things easily fall into place, they are meant to be. There was no explanation on how she was able to leave her high paying job and make it in her new career, but it all worked out beautifully and she met Darko. I loved this story and was inspired. I too was a big believer in this and it confirmed my move to California. I was not promised much of an increase in my salary but trusted my gut and knew the pieces would fall into place. There were no indications that I would be making money in California to survive but I took a huge risk and moved anyway. If I went broke, I would bartend again, I would figure out how to make it work. Every month, I get bonus checks that I am still shocked to receive. Money is now not a concern for me, everything fell into place with work, friends and my new life. Bahareh was right and I loved that this was a belief we both shared.
The four of us drank pitchers of Sangria and talked about love, divorce, relationships and what drives people to fight for true love or settle. Here we were strangers earlier this morning on a walking tour and now we were having a deep conversation about passion. I loved that we were all from different countries but all were on the same page when it came to our values. These people were special and I was truly enjoying their company and my time in Barcelona.
I returned to my hostel and Shawn had sent me a message on Facebook. I had sent him a message earlier telling him I had an unbelievable time and even if we never meet again, that it was something I will never forget. He wrote me back ¨It was an amazing night, I'll never forget it as well :) I do hope we meet again Julie....I mean that!"
I went to bed smiling, you never know what this crazy world will entail. One minute I'm living in Cleveland driving through the snow on 480, the next I'm in San Diego hiking through Torrey Pines, now I'm in Barcelona smiling at an email from a Canadian who I met in Rome. Life is fantastic when you allow it to be.