I walked to the bus station 20 minutes away from the restaurant and put my belongings in a locker (5€ for 24 hours). I soon headed to the Arc de Triomf just a two-minute walk from the station, and who do I see taking pictures of the 1888 arch? Graca and Katia! I joined them on their city exploration in which we went to the Barcelona World Race sailboat exposition on Port Vell and had free yogurt treats by their sponsors. Our afternoon was very relaxing, and I enjoyed their compagnie very much...
I then met mon amie Charlotte who did a business internship in Barcelona for one semester. We went out that night to meet other friends from Lille who came for vacation. My first day in Spain was great thanks to mes amis (and I thought my French-speaking day
s would be over once here)! Merci Charlotte for your hospitality!
The next day, I went to the Barcelona Airport to meet one of my best friends, Ikram who will be doing a study abroad program in Barcelona to earn Spanish credit. I was so happy to see her after six months! We ate a kebab for lunch, found a hotel for the night and brought my luggages from Charlotte's place in the metro. It didn't happen so smoothly like that because started raining while we were rolling the suitcases...
But the next day, we managed to secure a chic apartment for her five-month stay while I acted as a Spanish interpreter between her and the real estate agent. Then, we met our friend Kafiyah who flew in from Arizona, so we could spend one week together in Ikram's future city!
For New Years Eve, we ate a Spanish dinner of paella and tapas de patatas walking-distance to Port Vell and the beach. We then walked to the infamous boulevard in central Barcelona, Las Ramblas, where we walked around and waited for the New Year. In the next days of the new year 2011, we went sightseeing of the city!
The days flew by as it was soon time to go to Madrid, so Kafiyah and I could take the flight back home to Arizona. We all bought ALSA bus tickets to make our eight-hour ride to the capital of Spain, Madrid. The ride did not seem that long to me because I slept for most of the ride and then read the newspaper.
When we arrived, we took an airport shuttle to a bus to the metro to our stop in Madrid's central square. The city in front of my eyes reminded me a bit of New York with its tall buildings, crowded streets and busy traffic. It is definitely a captivating scene especially at night!
We celebrated my birthday the next day on January 6th and went out to sightsee the city. Of course, I had to continue the the tradition of eating rosca de reyes on my birthday to celebrate the Three Wise Men, so I ordered a piece at a restaurant in the central square.
By nighttime, I went out with my Spanish friend, David, who I met at ASU when he did his study abroad one year ago. I tried the traditional dish of tortilla de patata mmm :) and then, we went out with some of his friends to a club called Cats. We socialized and danced a little until 2am because I had a flight to take the next day (which is technically today as I am typing this).
Gracias David for a great last night in Spain before boarding the plane back to the US!
So Ikram stays in Madrid for her study abroad program orientation, while Kafiyah and I go back to Arizona. I wish Ikram the best during her new chapter in her life, while my study abroad journey is ending. Hers is barely the start and mine the end, but what we shared this one week was another beautiful experience we can add to our memories bank...
