We may wear Pukesuits during our carnival but if we were smart, we would have chosen Pac Man costumes.

So no amount of time or effort will permit me to top Novack's post about my weekend of Spanish sprinting in Barcelona. His account is hilarious and all true except for one erroneous claim: he did not lose his camera. He left it to chill in the sand of Sitges beach for a couple of hours so sand got between the lens. He then attempted to turn on the camera which resulted in the lens getting jammed and despite my and the New Zealanders' objections and warnings, continued to press the power button repeatedly for 10 minutes so the sand kept getting more and more jammed. What a noob.

Spanish Itinerary

Wednesday night:

I arrived around midnight in Barcelona to one million texts from Orange on my phone about their great international deals (6 euros for 3 international texts - bonus!) and no cell phone service. I knew Novack's address but didn't know if I had to call to be let in but regardless I hopped on a Aerobus to Plaza Espanya then got in a cab to his street. The street numbers are very poorly labelled and my spanish was not as good as I thought it was so I couldn't really say much to the cab driver except for "Busco las once" (I'm looking for 11) which resulted in me and the cabby running up and down the street until finally success! Beautiful reunion times with Alyssa and Novack followed, and then it was blackout train time and club time and it was great until it was sleep time for we had to get up at 9 the next day.

Thursday:

Esade students organized a trip to Montserrat, a small town with a monastery on a mountain that is about 45 mins from Barcelona, so I tagged along with Novack and Alyssa. I think some of the Esade students thought I was doing an exchange there too; I'm really excited to see the group photos of us in Montserrat with the caption: "Esade students day trip". It was a beautiful sunny day and the views from the mountain of the Spanish countryside were incredible. First we went to the cathedral to see the boys choir performance which was really amazing. Then we had snack time and Novack and I polished off a bottle of wine so the hike that followed lunch was slightly tipsy. We found even better views as we hiked up the mountain and I realized how out of shape I am! Also Novack saved my life because he yelled at me not to pet a mountain kitty.

Upon returning to Montserrat, we went to Las Ramblas - a huge touristy street with attractions such as a pigeons in a cage - and to the market place - with attractions such as sheep heads and trotters. We bought deliciously expensive chocolate and trekked it to Barcelona beach just in time for sunset. That night, we dined on paella and tapas before drinking lots more wine and lots of shots at the infamous 500 shot menu bar called Chupitos. My favourite shot was called the boy scout in which they gave you marshmallows and then lit your shot on fire so you roasted your marshmallows on the flames then took a drink. After that we went to a club called Sutton and it was kind of like Queue Leu Leu Carnival 2009 for me, if you know what I mean.

Friday:

Tourists supreme! It was another gorgeous day in Barcelona so we hit up Parc Montjuic which includes the Olympic stadium and a fortress overlooking the Mediterranean...very nice! I was really craving limonata so I bought a Fanta limon. Huge mistake. NEVER EVER BUY A FANTA LIMON. I thought it would taste better with every sip but I was wrong. After Parc Montjuic, we took the metro to the other side of the city to Parc Guell and watched Jack Sparrow entertain a penguin with bubbles. We also went to la Sagrada Familia and were so inspired and moved by its impressive structure. However I then saw a more impressive structure in the distance and was drawn to its distinct golden arches. It was way cheaper to enter than la Sagrada Familia and it left me much more satisfied.

View of Barcelona and the ocean from Parc Montjuic

Above and below be Parc Guell

McLigion - our communion consists of fries dipped in McBrew

Saturday:

Carnival day at Sitges! Another gorgeous day! We arrived at Sitges around 12:30 pm and treated ourselves to a delicious breakfast of churros and hot chocolate aka melted pudding. We then met up with Novack and Alyssa's friends from New Zealand and chilled on the Sitges beach for 5 hours, drinking bacardi breezers, strongbow, and estrella beer while playing cards. The sun then set so it got pretty chilly. We decided to get sustenance at Burger King (what are vegetables?) and were sitting inside when all of sudden we look outside and there is a giant parade going past. We joined in the parade and partied through the streets of Sitges, dancing the entire way to the beat of the drummers in the parade. It was incredible as everyone was dressed up in costume: there were groups of smurfs, old ladies, Dharma initiative members, roosters, fire men, clowns, sheep, soccer players, Sims, horses, McDonalds fries, drag queens, cheer leaders...and so much more! After the parade, we continued to party in the streets and eventually made our way down to the beach where there was a giant beach disco with conga lines a plenty. It was honestly one of the most fun days of my life/night.

Drummers in the streets

Above and below be new friends

So all in all it was great weekend and I am most definitely returning to Barcelona when the weather is warmer to enjoy the beauty beaches. Novack arrives here tomorrow - and Bailey on Friday - so I expect equally ragetastic times here in Paris, with less drag queens perhaps.

Adios amigos.