6+ Months     Hasta Luego     Days 122-157     Western sunrise     Days 85-122     Gaudi was right     Days 72-85     Barcelona rises     Days 59-71     Anchovies and Kitty Cats     Days 47-58     Patrino means paradise     Days 39-46     Alp d'Hamish     Days 24-38     French Laundry     Days 18-23     Conquering Britain!     Days 10-17     Made it to Mosjoen!     Days 6-9     Arrival in Frankfurt     Days 1-5     SF - Vancouver     - Email Leslie     - Email Sasha

October 29, 2004, Sasha Days... Oops I lost count... Hi everyone! A long overdue update as we've now been in Barcelona over 2 months! It's amazing how quickly the time is going by. It seems only last week we rode off the boat from Genova into our new Catalan home. Here's what we've been up to: We got an amazing apartment through our friend Jan who has been living out here for the past 6 years. It's a fantastic place, but has it's up's and down's just like anywhere. The building is from the 1800s although it was recently gutted and new 'loft style' apartments were built. The floors and ceiling are restored and traditional Spanish tile. The doors and windows are also antique Spanish, but everything else is brand new and we're the first residents since the restoration. The neighborhood is called 'El Raval' and it's just off of La Ramblas, which is the main pedestrian street and center of the gothic quarter. It's an up-and-coming neighborhood with some nice parts and some sketchy parts not very far away. There are tons of little hipster bars and cafe's that are bringing a new life to the formerly run down quarter. The people are a mix of Catalan seniors, Pakistani immigrants and urban hipsters. Our street is hardly wide enough for one car and is constantly filled with people 24 hours a day. We've learned quite a bit about Barcelona since we arrived. First off most Barcelonans don't even consider it part of Spain. It's a state called Catalunya and is mostly independently operated. Catalunya was it's own country since the beginning of time, although in the last 700 years it was conquered by the Romans, Moors, British, French and just about everyone else. Finally after a short run at independence around the turn of the century it lost to the nationalists and finally Franco. So you can see why there's so much local pride. It has its own parliament and more or less takes care of all its own business. The Catalans are a very proud bunch and generally turn their noses up at the 'south' and the rest of Spain. Of course they have their own language, a bizarre mixture of French and Spanish with a little Italian thrown in for fun. Everything is mostly bilingual and most Catalans speak Spanish, although sometimes it takes a little convincing. But man what an amazing city the Catalans have created. Barcelona is considered the cultural and artistic gem of Spain, it's an amazingly beautiful and striking city. It's like taking San Francisco and New York, smashing them together and cutting out the best 10%. Thousands of expatriates flock here for just that reason, and it seems like every other one is a Brit. Leslie and I are taking a pretty good course load of Spanish classes at the University of Barcelona. The oldest big university in the city, it looks like a medieval castle on the outside, and a museum on the inside. The classrooms aren't that nice, but that's the norm for Spain. Let's just say that Spain not historically and academic powerhouse of a country. It's a culture created by years of suppression under Franco, the last fascist dictator who was in power up until the 70s. We have two teachers, one is fantastic and the other is okay. Our classmates are from everywhere: Iceland, Canada, Japan, Taiwan and a few Americans. The diversity is good because Spanish is often the only language we can talk to each other with. And of course all the classes are taught only in Spanish. When we arrived there was a huge city wide festival called 'La Merce' which included a full week of solid partying. The whole town came alive and there was partying, dancing and debauchery in every street! Combined with a bizarre assortment of traditions it was really something to be seen. Most of our days have been filled with school, spending time with friends, exploring the city and yes, quite a bit of late nights are bars, clubs and restaurants. This city loves to be out, every day and every night. The homes are tiny, modest and not very attractive because life takes place outside, not in. It's certainly an adjustment and we've been getting used to the lifestyle. Dinner at 10 and drinks rarely end before 2. If a club is involved, we don't even expect to be home before 5. Most recently we hoped on the motorcycle for another journey, this time to Granada and Sevilla. Two cities that Leslie and I learned about when we were in SF. Granada is home to the fantastic Alhambra, an incredible monument built by the moors during their 400 year occupancy in Spain. Sevilla is a storybook Spanish town that prides itself on the largest gothic quarter of any city in Europe, and of course Flemenco. A maze of streets 4 feet wide filled the city, along with fountain filled plazas that feel as old as time. It's honestly the most romantic city in the world. Okay, I could go on forever. More soon as our adventures continue! Love, Sasha and Leslie