tres semanas en barcelona, feliz aniversario!

i cannot believe we have only been here three weeks, what with the volume of stuff that i have done so far. Here are my highlights so far:

1) Everything Gaudi (as for now, la Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell- as well as el Museu Diocesa which has an extensive collection of his sketches, furniture, etc.)

2) Gothic architecture, especially the cathedrals. My favorite so far is La Cathedral, with Eglesia de Santa Maria del Pi and Eglesia de Santa Maria del Mar as close seconds.

3) The markets. Both La Boqueria and Mercat Santa Caterina are amazing, with staggering amounts of fresh produce, dried fruit, meat, cheese, bread, etc. I could digress into my usual praise of food here, but I'll spare everyone.

4) The museums. I have so so many more to see (including two art museums on my list for tomorrow- since it is La Merce, lots of museums are free!), but so far I have explored el Museu Picasso (a great collection of Picasso's early impressionist work as well as his very late work, including Las Meninas), el Museu D'Art Pre-Colombi (an eclectic collection of ancient art and pottery), and el Museu d'historia de Catalunya (a great museum I stumbled upon today which gives the entire history of the Catalonian region and people, from the prehistoric to the present, including some sweet artifacts, artwork, and reproductions).

5) Montjuic. This is a secluded part of Barcelona that contains a lot of the museums and natural beauty of the place. We have seen the magic fountains at night, visited the Olympic stadium, and walked around the botanical gardens.

6) Relaxation. Going to the beach, shopping, just wandering around the old city and spending hours in cafes. This doesn't really happen at home.

7) La Merce. This has been the primary occupier of my time this weekend. La Merce is Barcelona's biggest annual holiday- the actual day is tomorrow, but festivities began this weekend. On Saturday, some friends from the program and I went to Plaza Catalunya to see some music and dancing- a huge variety: traditional Catalonian, but also Uruguayan, Argentinian, and African. That night, we saw/unknowingly took part in the correfoc (literally- fire run). The picture can't really do it justice- the main street in the old city crammed with spectators, while people ran with poles that shot flames and sparks everywhere. The next day, we went early to see one of the main events, castellers (human castles- these people have skill) in Plaza Sant Jaume. After, we saw some more festival activities at Parc de la Ciutadella- which is also one of my favorite places here, a beautiful spot to relax. That night we went to the beach for an amazing fireworks display. All in all, it was a great weekend...and tomorrow, the madness continues! So I will be writing about that soon.

Once again, way too long. But just a brief preview of what is to come: tomorrow, the continuation of La Merce. As I said before, some museums are free, so I'm looking to check out both Fundacio Joan Miro (a RIDICULOUS amount of his stuff is there) and Museu Nacional D'Art de Catalunya, featuring Catalan art from the middle ages to present. This will be ambitious (we have off of school for the holiday, which means that we're going to check out a few nearby clubs) but I'll make it work. And, tomorrow night...I am going to an FC Barcelona game at Camp Nou. I have been anticipating this for quite some time, and am super excited. It's supposed to be a really crazy time, and it's pretty much a rite of passage if you're spending any amount of time in Barcelona. We have two more days of the intensive class this week, before we start real class on Monday. This weekend, our program is taking us on another day trip, to Figueres, where Dali's house is located, now containing a museum of his work. For a Dali fanatic such as myself, this is a dream come true.

Hope the recap wasn't too dull. Also, if you notice, the links within my post are not to my pictures (too complicated, because they are up on facebook and not on a public page). But, if you don't have facebook and want to see my pictures of all of these places, just e-mail me. Feliz merce! and, again, go phillies.

-andrea