"spur of the moment"

Day 28:

Arc de Triomf

After work, met up with Natalie to wander around El Parc de la Ciutadella.  It was a nice area, but way hot.  We wanted to visit the zoo but it didn't seem worth fifteen euro, especially since Snowflake (albino gorilla) is now gone :(  We headed into El Born area to walk around shops, where I found cheaper postcards for sale at an Asian market.  I also found a load of overpriced Asian foods.

Too bad a cup noodle costed €1,70.

Day 29:
My boss and fellow co-worker let me shadow them for a visit to an apartment that they will remodel within the next week or so.  I didn't really do much but watch them talk with the contractor and talk about the plans, but it was still interesting to observe.  The apartment was also very unique and had a lot of potential.  I hope to see the results someday.
After work, I decided to begin my check-off-buildings-in-book adventure by walking uphill to El Institut Microcirurgia Ocular.  It took half an hour and some sweat to get up there, but the visit was worth it.  I had the opportunity to take some photos as well as sit and sketch in peace, with no one to bother or stare at me.

It was only 5:30 by the time I was done, so I decided to head to Parc de la Creueta del Coll, which was down the highway a little bit.  I had my handy dandy map on me, but I still got lost.  Took me an hour to find the park and it was not worth it!  I did not realize the park was on another hill and that the streets would be so confusing.  I also did not do enough research about the Horta neighborhood.. and got a little worried when the sun started to set and I was in this run-down area.  Nevertheless I found the park.  I was too tired to stay any longer (plus it wasn't too sketchbook-worthy) so I just took a bus back home.

 

At least I got some good views from the top!

Later, went out with some friends in El Born.  Was peer pressured into going to Tarragona with the program, but decided to make up mind in the morning.

Day 30:  (my one month mark!)

At 7:30am I decided to go.  I hopped on the train with the program and was in Tarragona within an hour and a half.  We took a two hour tour of the Roman ruins around town, had a super yum lunch, and hung out at the beach for a couple of hours.  It was a spontaneous trip and I was exhausted, but I'm glad I ended up going in the end.

Bits and pieces of Tarragona

That night several of us decided to try out Espit Chupitos!  It was smaller than I had imagined, but it still met my expectations!  I was unable to order the Monica Lewinsky for someone, but I did witness someone else receive it down the bar.  Thanks Nicole :).  Overall, it was great entertainment for a good price.  One of my favorites was the Green Goblin.  I wonder why we don't have bars like Espit in the states..

Burn!

Day 31:

My first attempt at Photoshop cs5's content-aware fill :)

(find nude people in my other pictures on flickr!)

Headed to Parlavà in Costa Brava with Cherilyn and Toni.  The train ride was also only 1.5 hours.  Can I just say that I have never seen water so blue before?!  It was amazing.  We were able to take a dip in the water, walk around a few cities, and stroll along streets with shops.  Toni also suggested a free concert with Beatles music near the beach, so we checked that out as well (not so hot).  I was so exhausted all day and I was falling asleep everywhere.  Cher and I knocked out at 1am (earliest I've slept since I've been here) and woke at 11am (latest I've slept in since I've been here).  Felt so good - we needed it.

Day 32:

Snapshot of just one room in the huge summer house :)
 
Our room for the night, and self-portraits by Julia

Went to another (more secluded) beach with Cher and Veronica.  Got slapped by the Mediterranean waves, but it was quite liberating and fun.  I can't believe I'm still not really tan :/.  Drove back to Barcelona.  Rested for the rest of the afternoon.  Skyped with parents, got taunted by potstickers on the screen (sucked), was notified of brother's new macbook pro (jealous!), was also notified of my new itouch awaiting at home (excited!).  Now it's bed time.  Second to last week of work starts tomorrow!