We went to Barcelona... and now its Feria!

hey hey,

I have been slacking with the blogs!

OK to sum up Barcelona:
I had been there before but neither of my roommates had so we did the must see touristy places, most having something to do with Gaudi. We went to the Scrada Familia which wascool because when I went 2 years ago I only saw the outside.The we went to see some of Gaudi's buildings and went inside La Casa Mila which was also very cool. Gaudi has a kind of Dr. Seuss style which I dig. WE stayed in a rather crappy hostel but it had a really cool location, right in El Barrio Gotico. Lots of cool shops and tapas places. Like Granada, Barcelona has a cool, hippy vibe but it is also very modern. It also feels like you have gone to a totally different country since the regional language is Catalan, not Spanish. We also stopped by the Picasso museum and of course we went to the Parque Guell.
Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/mclauerman/Barcelona

Now were are in the week of Feria here in Sevilla. Feria, which literally means "fair", is NOT a couple of cow stables, a hot dog eating contest and a Ferris wheel Although there is a wheel there somewhere, Feria is mosly made up of tents where people have parties all week along. A lot of them are private parties but others are basically bars that people can go in, dance, drink manzanilla (a strong wine tpical of the region), eat tapas and repeat.

Last night I went over to out friend Mati's house to celebrate the "alumbrado" or turning on of the lights which signifies the official start of Feria. We ate the traditional fried fish and drank manzanilla of course and then marched over to the Feria to watch them switch on all the lights at midnight. Once the lights were turned on everyone cheered and kissed each other, just like new years. We went in for a little and managed to get away by 2am, pretty good for a school night. Getting up at seven was rough this morning though, I must admit. I have to work one more day this week, even though my lucky roommates who teach in Sevilla proper do not! I was supposed to go to the Feria today but since it was POURING RAIN plans got canceled for today. It is supposed to keep raining all week long. The sevillanos say it never fails, it always rains during Feria. You couldn't really tell last night, the rain did not stop anyone from coming out, it was FULL of people, all dresses to the nines of course. I am definitely going either tomorrow or Thursday though, rain or shine!

Hasta Luego,
MC