Days 2 - 6

Well, I'm winding down to day 6...just had my first dinner in the flat. My own version of a caprese salad (pretty sure that's italian but,whatever) - tomatoes, red pepper & cucumber that I bought at a local produce stand, mozerella & blue cheese and olive oil and balsamic. Accompanied by a baguette from a bakery a few blocks from the flat and a glass of white wine, of course. I feel like a real European! I ate it at twilight, looking over the Mediterranean from my flat...pretty amazing! It was a wonderful ending to a somewhat challenging day - first day alone here and feeling a tad homesick. Thank god for modern technology - emails and my new best friend - the web cam!

Ramey left yesterday morning and we had an amazing time together - mainly spent at...the beach! On our 2nd day here (July 2nd) we rented bikes and biked about an hour & a half north to a beach town, Bandolina. We had some minor detours figuring out the way there which involved some not-so-scenic areas (like the power plant!) but had fun figuring out our way. Spent most of the next day at the beach here at the flat - definitely an interesting place! PACKED with people from 9am to 9pm (though there are still plenty of people out there now at 10) and every two minutes you have an asian woman asking if you want a massage for 5 euro (I took one of them up on the offer the first day - not bad) and somewhat creepy dudes asking if you want a cerveza or coca cola. They are a little annoying but I've already gotten really good at the art of ignoring them.

Highlight of all the beaches was definitely the 3rd day (July 4th!) when we figured out the metro and train system and took a train about 30 minutes south of Barcelona to a beach town called Sitges. We had been told it was beautiful and it definitely did not disappoint! Gorgeous little town with narrow streets and the beach was lined with beautiful little buildings. Also very crowded as apparently it is the hot spot destination for Barcelona people to get out of town on the weekend. I will definitely go back as often as possible though...3 days on the beach - rough life, I know!

We had some great meals around town including my first seafood paella experience. I was proud that I ventured out to taste the local dish - complete with prawns, mussels, calamari & some mystery white fish. (I asked for all the fish de-shelled, still a little squemish) We also had our fair share of cava - considering it is cheaper than a diet coke and so very tasty AND, since champagne happens to be my favorite adult beverage, it's hard to resist! We also stumbled upon a fantastic Italian restaurant in the middle of nowhere by chance after we tried going to some fancy place that had been recommended to us and ended up being closed (even though we had called to make sure they were open). We had a really fun night (filled with one too many limoncellos) and I was reminded that often times the most fun experiences really happen by chance.

Now I'm just adjusting to exploring the city on my own. Walked ALOT today just wandering around and finding out where my feet take me. Still haven't had to use a map so I am happy that my navigation skills are still in tact. Going to watch a movie on my lap top now and look forward to another day of exploring tomorrow! Likely heading to a little area north of the city where there is apparently a really cool Gaudi park and some quiet streets. Downtown Barcelona seems to always be packed and is a little claustrophobic for me so something tells me most of my time will be spent at random parks or, of course - the beach! Weather here has been sunny and hot every day so, I really can't complain. And, I promise to share some pictures once I figure out how to a1)download pics from my new camera and b2)post pics on my blog!!