Bye bye Barca...

Well, here I am at work on my last day..! Don't really know what to say, but felt I should mark the occasion with something. In hindsight I can't believe how quickly the past months have gone, time really is flying these days. I've lived in and explored a beautiful city and still only got to know half of it, Barcelona is such a fascinating place and I think it really would take years to get to know it intimately, but I do feel like I have a really good feel for the place now. :)

Things I Will Miss About Barcelona:

- the amazing tapas and how cheap they are!

- the way the grannies and grandads dance along to the buskers in the Plaza Catalunya Metro station

- the very cheap wine :p

- the way everyone greets you with 'Hola' when you walk past them in your flat/see them in a lift, even if they've never seen you before

- the amazing laid back, bohemian culture, especially around the Raval and in all the little hidden streets with beautiful unique bars and cafés

- the tortilla available everywhere, the patatas bravas, the fuet, the croquetas... (I know, a lot of this seems to be about food..!)

- the GORGEOUS hot chocolate and pan con tomate at Café Zurich

- just...Café Zurich!

- walking down the Ramblas and feeling like you're in this cultural centre of the world, a meeting place where everyone from anywhere comes together

- Bracafé and DiBarCafé

- the Metro (I'm sorry but it's so handy!)

- The Gaudiiiii especially Parc Guell and being able to go there whenever I want..ahhh

- el botellón and partying til the next day

- how anything goes, you can dress how you like, be how you like and everyone just accepts that that's who you are

- my roof terrace!

- the amazing little bakeries (I'm sorry but the food is gorgeous here!!)

- The Balañes cinema and being able to watch the latest releases in Spanish (very good practice!)

- the communal flat dinners where everyone comes together and relaxes and has a great laugh

- the paella!!

So there's a little reminisce for you.. well, and for me.. I've had a fantastic time here, it's been hard at times, but the times I've had going out with friends and things have been awesome. I've met some wicked people and got some stunning memories (and photos which will go up soon, honest!) Can't say I'll really miss the job, though it's not that bad...for an office job...which I won't be getting myself into again any time soon hopefully! I feel like I've grown so much as a person from being here. I can't wait to get back to my home comforts but it's been great to get out there and experience life from another perspective.

See you all tomorrow night!!! :D I can't wait!!

Love you all so much, besoooos xxxxxxxxxxxx

Decemberrr...

Today I'm at work, don't have much to do but yay it's the 1st December :)! So can start looking at events for January to write about, so at least that's something to do. Tis still very cold in here; I still need to buy some gloves, my hands get freezing from typing all day! Steph left on Saturday so have been trying to avoid realisation that she's not here any more, which was very effective thanks to Ru coming to visit!! :D Had an AMAZING weekend, was soo busy and did soo much sightseeing and things, was Ace :D but barely had any sleep lol, we kept having naps at random times of the day just to generate more energy to go out and do more stuff later! We went to all the Gaudi places - Sagrada Familia, then had a Menu del Dia for 10 euros which consisted of fideua (paella but with noodly pasta stuff instead of rice - am absolutely loving paella now!! Can't believe how much I like seafood now considering a couple of years ago I would not have TOUCHED it..is mad! :)) and then squid rings which were sooo good at this place..then had a fruit salad for pudding, plus bread and a drink. What a bargain! Then went on to Casa Batllo (I refused to do the audio tour again lol - Ruth did some but found it too funny/ridiculous so gave up) then wandered down Passeig de Gracia and looked around at pretty lights and stuff, then went home for a nap I think lol..got up quite late, went for pizza eventually at Calero's in Sants (soo good! Got sangria too :D), then went back to flat, got ready to go out and drank whiskey neat (was about 6 euros, was like lighter fluid lol, but oh well, was only alcohol we had!!) then went to Jamboree :D I used my card and got in free!! But split entry with Ru as was 10 euros. Got drinks and sat drinking and listening to music/people watching then went and danced. Met random friendly Spanish people and danced with them, then randomly these Irish blokes came and danced with us (must've noticed we were English cause we were singing all the words!) for the rest of the night! Was an AWESOME night, the music was fantastic! Drinks 9 euros though, eeek! Had said we'd leave early because we wanted to get up on Sunday but that didn't really happen lol, was too fun!! Staggered home to bed at 6am and still managed to get up at 9/9.30 (have NO idea how!), made it out of the house by about 11.30 (took a while to get ready, were basically zombified at that point..) and headed for Pl. Espanya on metro to change for Paral.lel to go to Montjuic and cable cars :D stopped off at Espanya cause Ruth wanted to see the Art Gallery thing by the fountains; there was some kind of kids' marathon event going on..! Loads of advertising and people everywhere, think a radio station too. Took photos then went to get metro. Took funicular (funny train thing that goes up hill) to Montjuic, got cable cars which I'd never done before - sooo cool!! Views over whoole city, could see the sea and everything, amazing :) was gutted I hadn't got to take Quinny there tbh, he would've loved it. Got to top and went round Montjuic castle - again, spectacular panoramic views, soo cool. Took lots of photos and went to café in castle to get sandwich for lunch. Headed back on cable cars and made way to Parc Guell :D again, amazing views, as always! Quite busy yesterday; was about 3ish when went, so probs quite popular jaunt on Sunday afternoon. Looked round a few of the tacky tourist shops on way back hehe; really considering getting an I <3 BCN t shirt! Don't know if I'd actually wear it though lol; these things always seem like a good idea at the time..hmm maybe. After that went to La Pedrera (Casa Milà); haven't been since I've lived here, was really cool :) Love the roof. Again couldn't be arsed with audio tour lol, was so shattered, not in mood for learning! Had very cool but very expensive gift shop; bought a few cool postcards with things written on that remind me of Barcelona :) wandered back down Pg. de Gracia into the centre; have found way to Gothic Quarter that I can actually remember, yay! Saw some cool buskers and dance troupes in Portal de l'Angel on way to Cathedral. Walked around it; is sooo ornate in there. Amazing. Was a Christmas market in square outside; oh yeah, we went round the Christmas markets outside the Sagrada Familia too! Sooo many 'cagatios' everywhere hahaha - basically 'pooing logs' - will explain if you ask..! Had explained story behind them to Ru and she kept laughing when we saw them lol. Oh yeah we got churros when we went to Sagrada Familia too - soooo good! So fatty though lol. Had very unhealthy weekend! Anyway... speaking of which haha, got waffles after looking around cathedral, from the place on Portal de l'Angel where it always smells so good! Had toffee and cream again - good, but has to be said, not nearly as good as the one I got from Patagonia when Quinny came to visit (but that was INCREDIBLE, so yeah.). Will remember that..! Then were so tired that we headed home for another nap. Can't believe we'd managed to keep going til that point on 3 hours sleep! Slept til about 9.30pm, then went to town to walk round Port and down the Rambla. Didn't have long as metro shut at 12, but Ru wanted to see port while she was there. She loved the buildings down there, and tried to take picture of Columbus' column but was very dark - he should be better lit at night, I thought he was! Not good enough lol. Headed back to Sants to get tapas at El Bocata, which I'd been eagerly anticipating all day :D Was mercifully open; was scared I was going to be disappointed! But oh no hehe :D had pan con tomate, prawns, bombas, bravas, fuet (Catalan chorizo thing, they sell it everywhere here, is soooo good!), chicken croquetas and queso manchego, which I was a bit apprehensive about as am pretty hit and miss with cheeses, but was perfect! Still 1,99 a plate :D love them!! And 1,50 wine :D and 1,90 beer! My kinda place :D so bill was about 17 euro...amazing. And it's right next door to mine! A real find, that one :D After tapas went home and went pretty much straight to bed lol, was not as exhausted after nap in evening but still slept like a log. :) AWESOME weekend!!
So...this week! Mulling through work today; then may or may not go to gym; have stuff with me but inexplicably came down with streaming cold over weekend, am slightly better now but still not feeling fab so we shall see. However if I go straight home I will probs just be bored; don't really feel like reading all night, may do later but not for whole evening. Have got loads of stuff to get on with though; MUST do some washing, room is a bin! Also still need to pick up this thing from the post office, but it's so out of the way and it's such a pain if it's not open when I get there (as it wasn't last time)...may do that on Wednesday, not sure. So yeah, oo think tonight I was gonna treat myself to settling down with one of Quinny's DVDs, so may do that. :) Early nights this week, methinks - am shattered and really want to be in tip top condition for Friday - am going to Manchester!!! :D:D:D Am sooo excited, miss Quinny sooo much and absolutely can't WAIT to see him :D So at least I have that to look forward to. Spoke to Maria on Friday; basically looks like we won't have internet before I leave :( they've been constantly ringing Telefonica to try and get a phone line installed but simply can't get through, and without that, we can't get internet :( GAAAYYY ARSES. Spanish Admin is SHOD; I shall never complain about English organisation again! Have dentist tomorrow after work; am even seeing that as a way to fill the time, if that gives you some idea of my boredom/loneliness lol. NO, positive thinking!! Will be nice to have healthy clean teeth for Christmas holidays :) haha. Then probably gym again; think I'm gonna be eating soup for pretty much the rest of the time I'm here - have 7 tins now after Mum and Quinny bringing me supplies when they came to visit! Am very grateful but have been rationing them and now have loads and only 2 1/2 weeks left lol! Lots of soup for Nikki...oh well, need to be healthier anyway! Then Wednesday was planning on treating myself to going to Starbucks in the evening to use Skype and WiFi in general as have none at home and nowhere to speak to people any more. (the Gayness of it all.) So may do that; really want to go to gym as much as possible before I leave though - will not have gym membership at home and is great to have it! Have Facebooked a couple of my mates here asking if they want to meet up for coffee/cinema/generally do stuff lol, hoping I can fill my time reasonably well. Read email from Uni today though saying about how proactive we should be being in our language learning, but it's so bloody hard to meet Spanish people!! Seriously, they're a lot more elusive than you'd think; going home to their parents every weekend, I dunno. GAH. So that's put me on a bit of a downer today; I'm trying to put in all this effort, I really am, but it's exhausting enough living out here in a foreign country and culture on your own with pretty much no friends, without adding to your plate all these extra activities which involve speaking in Spanish all the time, which is brain-frying enough. *sigh*..I swear hardly anyone else is really getting much Spanish either, though; from what I see on facebook, everyone is pretty much hanging out with the other English uni people in their city and just doing stuff with them all the time. So I don't feel quite so bad; but then from a personal point of view, I really want MY Spanish to improve, it doesn't matter what everyone else is doing...! SIIIGH. I think it's got better but I'm really disappointed in my job, tbh; I really thought I'd be a lot more submerged than I have been, and while it does mean it's nice and easy going, it's not exactly helping me improve as I'd hoped it would. Grrrr. Oh well, maybe I'll just go to the Spanish cinema like every night until I leave lol.
Also, CATHERINE'S COMING TO VISIT!!! On the 17th!! AND she's flying back with meee!!! So I will a) have someone to keep me company all the way home! and b) she's bringing a suitcase so I can put a load of my stuff in it and hopefully won't be over the weight limit!!! Which was looking like a major dilemma, so am Sooo pleased about that! And yaaay I'll have someone to go round all the Christmassy markets and things with :) I can't wait to see her!!
Having very mixed feelings about leaving now; I can't WAIT to be home, but I'm pretty aware it's probably gonna be an anticlimax, especially considering how much I've built it up lol. It'll still be nice though, and AWESOME to see everyone. Also, I really want to appreciate it here while I'm here, not least cause if I do that then the contrasts of home will be even more apparent (in a good way :)). Am reeally gonna miss the amazing food here though, and the atmosphere; the Gaudi things and being able to go to Parc Guell whenever I want; the way there's always a buzz in the city and something going on; the countless new places to explore...I love it here. The real shame is that I don't really have anyone to see it with. I really wish you guys were out here.
See you on the 19th!!!! I can't wait!!
Love you all loads xxxxxxxxx

Pareeee!

Thoughts are beginning to stir in my little ginger brain that perhaps I should start thinking about when I go to Paris (probably around late January/early February)... I've been told by a mate from uni that it's proved haaard to find somewhere to live in France, so to start looking early..I had a really easy time of it here and was very lucky in that, but sounds like that's not the case in l'Hexagone...so am thinking most of my time in beautiful Blighty in January is gonna be consecrated to trawling through housing options in the capital. Am bored and pretty much task-less at work so idly typed "Paris 4 Sorbonne" into Google images....look at it!!! http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.crc.losrios.edu/images/studyabroad/paris4.jpeg&imgrefurl=http://www.crc.losrios.edu/Academic_Depts/Communication_Visual_and_Performing_Arts/Study_Abroad/Spring_2008.htm&usg=__GDV18WyihxL3xpeuCJCutku9Dew=&h=480&w=638&sz=56&hl=en&start=21&um=1&tbnid=HvB_EX-okBSPXM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dparis%2B4%2Bsorbonne%26start%3D20%26ndsp%3D20%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4GGIC_en-GBES279ES286%26sa%3DN

I'm SOOO excited!!! Provided I get the accommodation thing covered, it sounds amaaazing...
absolutely perfect... it just seems like exactly the place I need to inspire me. Am feeling a distinct desire to be studious at the moment, and this looks like it'll really bring that out in me... I can't believe how eager I am to study at the moment, it's bizarre..! So over January I'll basically have to relearn French, which - this is really odd - am really relishing the idea of doing...plan on going to Manchester in Jan, and the kids will of course have their scary exams on, so I plan to be holed up in the Language Centre/Library/whatever bar/pub/coffee house I choose, nose buried in a French novel....I really haven't done as much reading here as I should've, just because I find it quite an isolating pastime a lot of the time, but in Manchester, where I feel at home, I can't wait to get stuck into it. I hope it all goes smoothly - chances are it won't, but I can hope lol - once all the admin is sorted, the work may be tough, but I'm confident I'll go at it guns blazing, having been so starved (can you really say that about work?!) for the past few months. How am I so excited about studying?! I guess you're meant to be passionate about it...

Other news: still no net in my flat. Gah. Driving me mad. Have been hanging out with Steph basically all the time lately; she's heading home to England on Saturday, which will be weird, as obviously she's been here the whole time I have, so will be strange without her. I do have other friends here though, so I should be ok. Plus am gradually feeling more comfortable with my own company, which I'll pretty much have to be lol, so I'm sure I'll get used to it. Have plenty of books I've been meaning to read, so plan to find a load of as yet unexplored places to go and read them. As well as doing a final round of all my favourite places before I leave - have booked my bargainous flight home on the evening of the 19th Dec! - yeah, there were the usual charges for anything and everything, but first off it was 'free'..! Quite exciting - Ryanair may be tin cans but you get what you (don't) pay for...including a miserable dearth in bag weight allowance...15kg!! It's gonna be interesting getting all my things home...

Ruth's coming to visit this weekend!! She arrives on Friday afternoon; I actually can't wait. Haven't seen her since mid-July or something; feels like an age. She's never been here before so we're gonna see the usual sights, plus try and get on the Tibidabo cable car which I haven't done either, possibly. :D Will be awesome! Then the next weekend I'm going to Manchester for mine and Quinny's mini gig fest :D which I can't wait for...not that I can ever wait to get back to glorious Manc. Not to mention to spend time with kiddo... :)

When Steph leaves I will be sans my usual spot for using internet, so may not be online as much...still have the library but obviously can't talk on Skype in there...and there's Starbucks, but that's a bit of a trek..well, tis right outside work, so may bring my laptop to the office and go after. Is probably only open to about 8 or so though I would imagine, will investigate. So yeah. Will still use net at work but can only really email/blog/facebook here, keep the messages coming kids :) miss you all tons naturally. Can't wait to see everyone at Christmas, is gonna be amazing :D!!

Love you all endlessly xxxxxxxxxx

Visitors!!

Thankfully from my perspective, this month has been speckled with eagerly anticipated visits from various friends and family :D! Has to be said, was particularly looking forward to Quinny coming to stay. And rightly so; we had an awesome time seeing all the sights which I had reserved to see with guests so I had an excuse to get all excitable about Gaudí (:D!) I'll try and recall the many antics we got up to...

Friday night consisted in me legging it round the Estació del Nord bus station trying to find the elusive platform 7...(it was a bit of a Harry Potter fiasco) from there being a distinct lack of signs I suddenly got led on a farcical run around the station, being told they were 'upstairs' and thinking surely this wasn't possible, then being pointed down the length of the upstairs corridor and out of the doors I came in by...I then turned a corner and saw the platforms below me :|!? So quickly found the nearest stairwell and dived down it, just in time to arrive at the empty bay...before noticing on the screen that his bus was now due to pull in to bay 6...and there was a bus standing there...I'm sure most Spaniards were suddenly bemused by the sight of a short ginger mass hurtling towards a man in a Manchester University hoodie...

So from there we braved the Metro back to my square, where we arrived at my flat and plonked various belongings in my room before getting Steph round for numerous beers, shandies (I may have raided the awesomely cheap beer shelf in Condis earlier that day..!) and a bottle of wine which the Sheriff (as she is now known) tore through pretty impressively... pretty much spent the evening loitering in the kitchen catching up on Manchester news and Steph and I avidly leafing through the pages of a copy of the Manchester Evening News Quinny had brought with him.... the best things in life are free :D

Saturday was set to be the major let's-be-tourists day, so we went to the Sagrada Familia first as Quinny had seen it from the front but never been inside it. This is worth doing. I hadn't been in it since I last came out here in sixth form about 2 1/2 years ago, and you can already see considerable progress (thankfully... I wish they'd hurry up :p). We went and mused over the drawings (Quinny was placated by the extensive mathsy speak they'd included in the explanation of the designs - I stood there and grinned happily at the 'pretty shapes'...) before wandering around gawping, face to the sky, at the incredible interior. It's just massive. We ambled around for a bit trying to find our way to the stairwell, but decided in the end that apparently now you have no option but to get the lift up, and can only walk down the stairs on the way back. We still got some amazing views from various vantage points along the way, though; there are plenty of photos to back this up but my Facebook is being temperamental and not letting my camera photos upload - I'll try this again soon! 

So after being suitably blown away by Gaudí's epic cathedral, we wandered about in search of food, but after finding some nice squares and things but being pretty unsuccessful, we wandered down Passeig de Gracia (i.e. the expensive area) and looked around before finding a really nice tapas bar for some munch. Quality stuff and I even got to gabble away to the waitress in Spanish for a bit. Ace :)

We were going to hit more Gaudí houses but by this point it was nearing 5.00, so we set off back to mine to get some beers in and prepare for the evening, namely going to see FC BARCA play Valladolid at the Nou Camp! We rustled up some quesadillas and headed over to meet Steph in the square and trudged our way to the stadium. The atmosphere was awesome; the place is so huge, I'd seen it from the outside earlier that week when we'd trekked up there twice to get the tickets, but from the inside it's unreal...we found our seats (pretty damn awesome ones, we'd made sure of that!) and with a while to go until kick off (we'd been pretty eager..) we went to pick up a hotdog to complete our live footy experience :p mmm dried onions...I'm developing a bit of a thing for mustard, too.. The match was AWESOME...we expected a bit of a battering delivered by Barca, but 6-0 with 2 disallowed goals was pretty spectacular! I had to rethink the whole keeping my bag on my knee strategy to be able to jump up in celebration for every time they scored! A fantastic game and I'm now officially a convert to live football, though that particular match may take some living up to...

We made our way back to our flats (we're a mere 20 minute walk down the road from Camp Nou :p) to hastily get ready for our night out that was about to ensue...yes, we were embarking upon our night of partying at around 1am... We gave a nod to the old Spanish trick of 'el botellón' - getting a large bottle of fizzy drink and topping it up with spirits, to take for the journey to the club, as a result of the ridiculously expensive drinks prices - which kept us company on our way and in the queue. We went to Magic - I remember drink, dancing, singing and general good music-and-alcohol fuelled fun times! We finally turned in at about 6am after an epically long day.

On Sundays not much is open in Barca, so we allowed ourselves a more relaxed day on the sightseeing front (and a lie in until about 1.30 - a very respectable time for me to surface post-Saturday night, incidentally!). We ventured out to explore the central areas - I wanted to show Quinny the Gothic Quarter - and we stumbled upon a stage set up in the main square of the area, with a band playing music in celebration of cultural integration - we stood around soaking up the atmosphere before grabbing a few free sweets to tide us over... 

My memory clouds around this point, though I do know that the evening was reserved for going to visit my favourite - Parc Guell. One of the many (and lesser) beauties of this place is that not only is it open on Sundays, but it is free :) So off we trekked to the mystical land where elevators are mounted in hills and where people must have calves of steel to live there... I planned for us to get there by evening, firstly in the hope that there would be fewer people there, but also because there is a spectacular vantage point from which to see the city, and potentially the sunset, which I'd never done before... We made it just in time to see the sky lit up with a myriad of beautiful colours; the hilltop I was shown a few weeks ago is the most incredible place for a panoramic view of Barcelona. In a park where the whole city seems to take a deep calming breath and suspend all noise for as long as you choose to stay, the view from the small hill with the cross on top seems to have the same effect on the tourists who visit. As soon as everyone is up there, there is an inexplicable hush as they look across the landscape. It is by far my favourite point in the city. The bench itself (one of my great loves :) ) comes a close second, but nothing compares to that view and that atmosphere, that feeling. 

We next walked down through the park to the bench itself, which was comparatively quiet, and got a few photos :) before meandering downwards through the gardens and to the pillared underside of the courtyard. There was a violinist playing underneath this time, demonstrating the spellbinding acoustics of the hall. We walked down the main steps and I took the quintessential picture of Quinny with the lizard :D Has to be done! Then a few more photos and wandered back to the Metro.

Think when we got back we explored the area around the centre and hit a few bars; namely Rock N Roll, which had the first pool table I've seen in Barca!.. and had a very strong Pina Colada before requesting some songs and chatting to some English blokes over on a stag do; we moved on to Travel bar to get a free shot with a drink, where I met a barman who used to live in Bristol!, and then we moved next door to Cheers at Quinny's suggestion...and who do I see sat at the bar in front of me?! Georgia Mills from CHS, that's only ruddy who!! I honestly couldn't believe my eyes and had to get Quinny to take a picture of us together to prove to myself that it had actually happened! She was over for a random weekend for a uni friend's birthday or something...man, the craziness; of all the bars in Barcelona..!! (and all the usual clichés :p) I think we then went to get a falafel wrap (mm, so good!!) and met some travelling Americans in the kebab bar, before turning in? Or maybe the food came before the bars...I forget...either way, a great night, with plenty of socialising, hooray!

Can't actually remember the order of events over the next few days right now, will update more when I'm near my calendar...

Love you all and hope things are well in Blighty.. have just been back there for a brief jaunt myself..! More on that when I'm not so tired, and, er, playing Scrabble online...oh, the thrilling life I lead! xxxxxxxxx

Abusing precious, beloved internet...!

Ok so am at work and shouldn't be on here but sod it! I have internet here!! And hoo-flippin'-ray...seriously, I feel like a sad loser being this dependent on the interweb but trust me, in another country where it is pretty much your only form of contact with family and friends, going without it can drive you pretty spare...which it is me....so needless to say we still don't have it at home, spoke to Maria about it yesterday and told her you seem to need a password to access the network we were using now, and she said they must have realised we were being naughty....so presumably we'll have a discussion about what to do about it soon (eg. today/tomorrow). Who knows how long it'll take to set up though. Not fun times, I can tell you!

As well as this, am in pretty dire financial straits, so can't even relieve boredom by doing fun things...didn't think I was affected by credit crunch but beginning to look like one of my own at the moment! Oh well, I do have a nice interest-free overdraft which it looks like I'm going to become friendly with...not what I wanted to do but I'll literally have 90 pounds to my name when you subtract the 2 months rent I have left to pay, with my current situation...so I figure while I'm out here I might as well make the most of it, regardless of a bit of financial damage...once in a lifetime opportunity and all...!

Everyone has left the office bar me and Steph now, so we've pretty much taken to dossing about hehe. Our coursemate Christina (girl who was doing my job before I arrived) has come to visit us today; was a nice surprise to see her waiting outside our office this morning!! She only did an 8 week shift over the summer and is now back in Manchester, but has a reading week so has come to visit :) so hopefully that'll involve some much-craved social activity for the next few days :) Also am hopefully going to meet Louise (girl from Bath at Barcelona Uni who I've been in contact with) this week! Should be really cool :) She's in even worse financial trouble than me, by the sounds of it, so should be interesting seeing what we can come up with to do that's fun and economical..!

This weekend was pretty uneventful, aside from:

1) Getting flashed by some pervert on the way back from Camp Nou (football stadium) - lovely..
2) Getting tickets to see FC Barca/Valladolid this coming Sunday!!
3) A very fun Saturday night in an Irish bar and then dancing the night (and morning) away at Jamboree, and meeting a Danish guy and a Portuguese guy who live in our square :) Quote of the night (though there were many): "I wish I had a British accent, then I could call myself...Chuck.."; Danish guy to thank for that one! hahaha.

Hooray for Monday almost being over! Without internet it's safe to say that Steph and I are steaming through our limited DVD collection...at least we have someone to pester in the form of Christina for the next few days...before Quinny's arrival on Friday!! :D

Hope all is good in UK, keep me posted with emails people, and you can comment on this blog, by the way! Be nice to know if someone is reading it! :p

Love you all tons, reeeally can't wait for a good ol' English Christmas with everyone!! xxxxxxxxxx

Aaaargh!!

Well ladies and gents, it would seem that the rather risky system we had going of 'borrowing' the internet has now backfired on us (as I feared it might at some point); yesterday morning I was getting ready for work and happily streaming Radio 1 over their website, however when I returned from making breakfast I was met with a silent room...it often pauses to reload so I thought maybe that was it, however the whole server appeared to have gone down. I had to go to work so left the flat and planned to have a look at it later. So when I returned I tried to figure out what the problem was. It was now asking me to provide a password for the previously open network that we'd joined...not good news at all....So after trying in vain to access any network I could get my hands on, I gave up and decided that we officially didn't have internet. I said it wasn't working to my housemate when she returned - she said hers hadn't been either and that it had done it before and maybe it would work again in a day or two. This didn't look likely to me but I thought it was worth a try. However today it appears to be saying the same thing, therefore leading me to believe that we actually have to stop being naughty and buy our own... I'll discuss it with her if it's not working at latest by the end of this weekend - I will actually go INSANE without internet - it's my pretty much sole form of contact with you lot in Blighty (Skype, MSN, this thing and Facebook have been absolute life savers in terms of keeping me in touch with you kids (and therefore sane)) so being stuck on my own for several hours a day in the flat with nothing but a few books, my music (which I've pretty much exhausted now) and rubbish Spanish telly for company would drive me absolutely up the wall :( That said, there are a few internet cafés around, as well as WiFi in the library down the road, and in Starbucks etc, so hope is not completely lost, however I don't really fancy trekking it about with my laptop on my back at all hours of the evening. So we shall see. Just thought I'd post this so if you don't hear from me for a while, you know why..! Feel free to keep texting and even write to my address (see below) to keep me mentally above water..! Miss you lot loads and the prospect of a house without internet is really not doing my mood any good right now :( - am at work at the moment, hence how I'm able to post this entry lol.

In other news, actually met Cristina (elusive Spanish girl who I was meant to meet for coffee..let's see, sometime last week I think it is now lol) last night for coffee! She's from Tenerife, it turns out (lucky mare lol) and is wicked - chatted for over 2 hours! About anything that came to our heads really - difference in English and Spanish youth cultures, weather, Halloween celebrations, nightlife, where we live, where we've been in Spain/the UK/USA...all sorts! Was ace :) and she even bought me my hot chocolate! (Yes, the AWESOME one...:p) May be meeting up to do something tomorrow night in the way of going out - though this was when I thought there was still some hope that my internet would work.. :s (Oh yeah, feel free to text, it costs me 25p to reply and am running out of credit but will try to - PLEASE don't ring as it costs me even to receive the call and thus will run out my credit this way as well..! Will try and get on Skype asap. Will probably be able to get on Steph's internet very soon - tried last night but didn't work but sure one of the boys will help me to, it's worked fine before.)

Love you and miss you all tons, not too long til I'm back now though! Can't believe it's November tomorrow already..! Madness..

Keep sending me all your news, emails/facebook messages etc will still be there for me when I can get online :) thankies :)

xxxxxxxxx

Address!!

At long last, here tis! Sorry kids...

Nikki Tomlinson,

C/ Galileu, 40 3° 2ª

08028 BARCELONA

(Spain!)

There you are my lovers, lots of lovely letters now eh?! ;p

Dentist time today.....wish me luck! :s

os quiero todos xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Monday Monday..

A Brief Chronicle of Today's Events:

Started work at 10am as per; well, ish - had been over to Mum's hotel to drop off a copy of the Barcelona magazine so she could find out what stuff was going on that they might have a look at (see, we offer practical services! :D) but alas, she wasn't up, so I abandoned that mission and strolled (at a leisurely pace, naturally..) across the square to the office. Had a brief chat with Juan the doorman (legend) who was coming down in the lift when I was waiting to go up lol; spent the moments normally taken up trying to disengage brain from Sleep Mode hurriedly racking cortexes for Spanish knowledge in order to decipher his Hispanic mumblings; think he said something about having seen Steph and her seeming a lot happier now her parents were here lol. I agreed and said mine were also here; he nodded and said something about family being 'lo mas importante' (the most important thing). Wise words, Juan. lol. So on I went to the office..another day, another morning spent catching up with Steph for as long as possible on the previous night's happenings, in order to avoid checking an inbox you know won't contain anything useful and opening a few Internet browser windows in a vain attempt to start some 'research' (which actually culminates in scouring the MSN and BBC homepages for any vaguely entertaining articles lol. My search results today? Men's Health articles are actually pretty interesting!...Yes, procrastination levels have reached that point..). Maybe even cracking open the occasional Word document if you were feeling ambitious in that you might actually write some words of your own..! Lol. Sooo yup, one Monday morning successfully whiled away..!

Eventually 1.00 rolls around and Steph and I head over to Starbucks, having decided we'd treat ourselves (and that we couldn't be arsed making lunch :p) so we pick up a (really good!) toasted sandwich and munch on that while having a natter about...nothing in particular as I remember lol, tends to be the way when eating! We then decided, despite only having 5 minutes left of our break, that we would treat ourselves even more to a muffin for Steph and this piece of raspberry and white chocolate cheesecake I'd been eyeing up, which we escorted back into the office to pick at while embarking upon the afternoon's 'work'...

I must have managed to crowbar a bit of productivity in somewhere, as somehow my article on Christmas Traditions in Valencia is now pretty much written (well, insofar as it's over the word limit...lol) so apparently my fingers met keyboard at some point, even if my brain wasn't factored into the equation..! Spent the final hour of the day blasting tunes on my iPod and getting even more distracted, as I recall....then the blessed 4.00 rolls around and we slide out the door to freedom :D

After that I wandered across the street to meet Mum outside the hotel; KT was still in the shower, despite me having said I'd meet them at 4...typical, lol. So I went and monged about in their room for a bit, before we headed off to the Metro on our way to Parc Guell (a.k.a. just about my favourite place in the world...EVER... :D). Numerous escalators mounted in hilly roads ensued....all completely and utterly worth it, as always. I only went yesterday and I was still so glad to be back :) I LOVE it.. honestly, there's something about Gaudi's stuff in general, but this park is just a phenomenon...I was wandering around it yesterday and thinking, man, I wish he could see what he's done for Barcelona, as there were so many kids running around, parents and grandparents sitting on the benches, leaning over like children themselves, admiring in wide-eyed awe the view of the myriad of rooftops stretching out to the sea.... ahhh it's just breathtaking. :) The hill with the cross is now one of my favourite places also. And the acoustics under the courtyard with all the pillars supporting it were absolutely incredible, as they always have been. Nothing like hearing a classical Spanish guitar piece ringing out into the evening air in a place like that. Absolutely stunning :D 

Anyway, I could rave about that place forever, will stop..! Oh actually, we went inside Gaudi's house as well..first time I'd been in it...sooo cool. I love that man! What a legend.

So then we traipsed back down the hill to the Metro, and headed back, planning to get said INCREDIBLE hot chocolate, but by which point everyone (especially KT) was hungry, so we decided hot chocolate will wait til tomorrow and that we'd head straight for tapas. Went to El Bosc (Wood bar - amazing) briefly, but then discovered they only really do sandwiches, by which point KT was practically eating the fake leaves hanging from the ceiling, so we threw one last cursory glance around the place and spooled on. Found a reasonable tapas place (Café Joan - pronounced as in the old lady's name by KT - actually more like Juan lol) and hastily scoffed a few plates of patatas bravas, croquetas and pan con tomate. Yum :) Mum and I had a glass of Sangria each - was particularly good there, actually - which made us rather drowsy, lol - but KT had now decided that she was properly tired, and pretty much just wanted to go back to the hotel and sleep. At 8pm. Lol, now maybe it's just me, but that's a poor effort from a 16 year old, Kate! :p We nevertheless had a meander around Plaza Reial and I showed them the restaurant we hope to go to tomorrow night, Les Quinze Nits (yes, the amazing one I've been on about since I first went there at the end of my first week :D) - and we also spotted the jazz club/bar we'd noticed had some jazz on tonight. So I went and asked about when it was on, whether there were seats, how much tickets were etc, and we marked that down as an option, but first had to drop KT back at the hotel because by this point she was practically bedding down on the flagstones...*sigh* kids! :p

Sooo Madre and I headed back down to the Jazz bar...4€ for a wicked set by a 7 piece band - 2 vocalists, Spanish guitarist, bassist, drummer, trumpet player and cellist. Awesome :D No seats so everyone was just sat on the flagstones like kids in a school assembly..! Was so cute :) loved it. Perfect wind down to a Monday evening :) Headed off at 11ish because of Metro shutting at 12 on weeknights; grabbed a falafel durum on the way back from a passing shop front (my new night-time snacking vice lol), yum :D Wandered back to Metro and had a surprisingly quick trip back home. Got in, nestled in PJs, lit some incense and here I am! Pretty wicked Monday if you ask me :D

Steph has the day off tomorrow, so I'm anticipating a particularly boring day in the office lol...though if I do get really stuck, I suppose I could actually edit this article and write the other one lol...that would mean actual work though.... :p Meeting the mischiefs for said amazing hot chocolate at lunch though, which shall be my sustenance throughout the morning! :D yaayyy!

Had better head to bed now, has been a long day and will no doubt be another one tomorrow...! Bring it owwnnn..

Love you all so much kids, wish you were here with me. This place is amazing... xxxxxxxxxxx

Lo que me mola de BARCELONA!

What Rocks about BARCELONA: 

- My gorgeous flat with bills included for €330 (about £260) a month, with bills included and roof terrace!

- The awesome tapas served on every corner

- The way everyone says 'Hola' to you even having just stepped in a lift with you/walked past you in a changing room/seen your face for the first time..!

- The way there's always something random happening - a protest in the street, a festival in the square with fireworks - the Catalans are always up for some random fun and are so expressive

- The young people's awesome style and love for piercings! 

- The cheap and efficient transport, especially the Metro - I know people complain but yeah, it may be sweaty and often busy, but it's soo handy and quick, and so cheap compared to Blighty!

- The cute little shops and bars

- The Ramblas and shops, especially the markets!!

- The gorgeous architecture, no building is the same

- The crazy nightlife - there's always something happening, everyone's up for a great night and places don't shut til around 6.30am! :D

That'll do for now, some friends are down for the weekend so we're gonna cook and get our rave on then head on over to their hostel to get the night started! Mum and KT are coming over tomorrow night so can't wait for that :) Will update properly soon, can't believe how fast time is going..! Love you all tons xxxxxx

Enferma! :( bum

Woahh ok so I officially haven't written in a fortnight! I'm normally quite good at these things..oh dear..

So anyway, not sure I can update a whole 2 weeks with much detail, but I'll try and recall bits..! 

Weeks probably consisted mostly of work, interspersed with Starbucks lunchtime coffee breaks and bashing the gym afterwards....loving my gym! Weekends mainly include a massive lie-in on Saturday, then going out on Saturday night and having crazy nights til 7.30am...then sleeping away the majority of Sunday as well, and perhaps going to the cinema on Sunday night (weekend before last we went to see Tropic Thunder in Spanish! - pretty predictable stuff, but was good for a laugh and also interesting to see how they translated it in Spanish!) Then this weekend just gone I did my first solo international trip (!) to Manchester :D! Had to find the bus station which I'd never been to, but was indeed only about a 10-15 minute walk from work, in a straight line..! Then caught a bus to Girona airport which took just over an hour, again very easy :) arrived at airport around 3.30 for my flight which was at 6, so read and chatted to some Scottish people for a bit, went through security (only took a minute as I'd already checked in online) and found a nice terrace café where I got a snack and sunbathed for an hour!! Perfect :) 

Manchester, as predicted, was awesome :) was so great to see everyone again! Had a night out and a couple of trips to the cinema, as well as an amazing 3 course meal Quinny cooked me :) was such a great visit! People must think I'm crazy being in Spain and pining for Manchester! You just can't beat a bit of Blighty..

So I arrived back yesterday morning after a very early start; had been granted the morning off work because of flight times, which was good. Went back and basically spent the afternoon with Steph, chatting and catching up. As the day wore on, I noticed I was constantly having to blow my nose..not a good sign..and by the time we'd gone home from work I had pretty much decided I'd hit full blown cold :( Went out for tapas for tea as I had no food in from the weekend - went to Bracafé, definitely one of our new favourites! Very smiley chatty waiter and great tapas - I had a salad for 2,50€ which was very generous and amazing! Tuna, egg, olives, the lot! So that was really nice. By the time I'd got home though, I felt very rough, and decided that today wasn't looking likely in terms of work. So I allowed myself a nice long sleep today to try and recharge (12 hours, nice!) and have vegged out watching Spanish tv/reading on the roof to relax myself. Being ill is pretty rubbish, but it has given me the opportunity to recuperate, so it's ok in some ways.. 

Have just found out our friend Karen from our course at Manchester is coming to visit on Friday!! She was out here for a couple of months over summer, before I arrived, and is now in Perpignan in the south of France to work on her French time abroad, so can easily catch the train over :) will be great to see her! Really starting to feel the strain of not knowing many people out here - obviously the place is fantastic but when you have no one to see the sights with, it gets a bit wearing. I joined a group on facebook last night run by a guy from Barcelona, who's been put in charge of raising awareness about events in Barca among all the American students who are here this half of the year, so may sneak along to one of them and meet some people! Also let me know if you start booking flights kids! You can get some really cheap deals if you snap them up early :)!

Hope to speak to you all soon, am often on Skype in the evenings if you fancy a chat, would be lovely to hear from you :) 

Love you all loads! xxxxxxxx

chilled out :)

Weyyy! Wow, time is going really fast, I can't believe I posted that last entry last Thursday and now it's Monday! Crazy!

Today was soo boring at work, but huzzah, another Monday over with! I'm officially moved into my flat now :D and I love it! Was sunbathing on the terrace yesterday :) 25 degrees and sunny, perfect!! Over the weekend we had a pretty chilled Friday night because we were so knackered..watched a film with Alex and Montse (Steph's flatmates) and just vegged out in front of the tv. Had a fantastic lie in which I was much in need of! Saturday night we went out and had a very random night, getting offered discounted entry and drinks in bars and taking whichever offers we could find, drinking sangria and ridiculously generous helpings of spirits while talking in English/Spanish/French to anyone who said hi...another night of stumbling in at 6.30am...fun times! So that wrote off Sunday for another week hehe. Got up at about 2.45 (after my first night in a bed for 2 weeks!) and promptly moved myself up to the terrace to catch some rays :D then went for tapas with Steph to satiate our hangover-hunger pangs (this thing called a bomba is our favourite at the moment - it's basically a big round meat croquette with brava sauce on it - amazing!!) and chilled out some more/did some exercise to try and use some of the energy I'd saved up in my awesome sleep..then went to Steph's and made her special chicken/soy sauce/paella rice/veg combination (awesome) and watched Black Books :) 

As I say, today was pretty damn boring, however when work was over we finally escaped into the glorious sunshine and went on a TopShop hunt! We found it :D! though the clothes here are ridiculously expensive compared with England, so I think I'll be saving that particular spree for when I'm back on English soil hehe. I went round the shops nevertheless for a few 'essentials'...hehe...got some candles for the roof and my room :) and some shower gel (extortionate here..!), a lunchbox hehe, and probably my prize purchase, my new slippers! they are soo cute and I was muchly in need of them; my feet have been getting very cold on the laminate flooring! I then got back and ran up to the terrace, hoping to catch the sun before it went down, but alas, it had already hidden behind another block of flats :( so I sat and read for about half an hour before deciding that I was actually too cold to be sat outside in a vest top and shorts 4 floors up...went to the shop and stocked up on our spectacularly cheap vino - €1.99, did I mention?! and awesome! - as well as some things to experiment for tea...chicken pasta salad which didn't turn out half bad! Also, I stuck the telly on as I was eating, and they had Dr Who on - yes, with Billie Piper - in Catalan!! I was greatly amused :p since then i've just been vegging out in my room really; I lit some incense that I bought from a nice man at the bottom of the Rambla last week and now my room smells all warm and welcoming and cosy :) been reading my Spanish book from the library, which is actually by Will Self, and is a bit bizarre from what I can make out..! Oh well hehe. So tomorrow is another day, but hopefully I'll catch the sun tomorrow! Gym membership starts on Wednesday :) looking forward to it, it's very swanky! 

Love you all loads, get those flights booked yeah?! Come and catch the warm weather!! 

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Here comes that Friday feeling...!

Ello there!

Has been a really good day! Very sleepy start as went to bed late last night, but spent whole day at work proof-reading magazine (looks like it's going to print tomorrow!!), which was good, nice to kill some time doing something not very taxing! Also took my iPod in which was a very good move, definitely passes the time more comfortably than not-so-impressive Spanish radio! And had pizza for lunch from the Italian fast food place (I know..!) round the corner :) Then Steph and I decided we needed (yes, needed) to go shopping - Steph is in dire need of some new shoes because she currently only has flip flops and keeps stubbing her toe! - so we let ourselves go a little bit hehe :) all the autumn things in the shops are soooo tempting! I went to H&M and picked up, err, several things for doing exercise in...decided it was for a good cause so it was ok!...as well as a jacket (which I did need, honest :) ), a hat in my favourite colour (there's so much of it around this season!! I'm absolutely loving it!! Though it does mean saving is going out the window a bit..) and various other bits and bobs, hehe. There's also this gorgeous winter woolly cardigan in Bershka that I've got in my sights, so maybe I shall get that tomorrow.... :p tee hee. The shopping is too good here! We walked down the Passeig de Gracia last night -  I never knew what they have down there!! We got off the metro and I saw Prada, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci...!!?! May have to have a gander but there's no way I can let myself loose with the debit card in there..! Also walked past Casa Battlo (one of my favourite Gaudi buildings :D) so I got a photo of that hehe. Went to see fireworks in Placa Espanya last night, they went on for about an hour!! Was one of the best firework displays I've ever seen, if for nothing else but length! And the Montjuic fountains at night....it was awesome :) but anyway, back to today...

...oh yeah! We wandered round the markets at the bottom of La Rambla for a bit (the things there are sooo nice...another place I could spend unearthly amounts of money!) before Steph had to head off to her course, so we went to the Metro and parted ways. I went back to her flat and was faced with her flatmate Alex, who I've heard many tales about but haven't met yet...so we did our introductions and had a chat about Barcelona, Facebook, music etc hehe, and had a cheeky beer. I then had a reeeally good catch up with Ru on Skype - think we nattered for about 2 hours! - which was really cool :) she seems to be doing really well which is awesome! Were trying to find out how we could visit each other but planes from Barcelona to Sweden seem few and far between :s Also had an email from uni saying our grants are due to come in within a week!! So hooray, I won't be so skint!!! :D That definitely cheered me up :) also spoke to short stuff which obviously also put a smile on my face :) We're going to see Pendulum in December!! Yaaaay :D then Steph got home and we made tea which was yummy, and had a nice natter which was all goooood :) now I think it's pyjama time and I reckon we're gonna stick Black Books on, the day just gets better! Not to mention we had our sunshine back today! I was gonna go and bask on my terrace but have stayed at Steph's again so think I may be moving in tomorrow, lol. Reet'o kids, I shall be off to mong out for a wHile :) hope you're all doing good, take care my luvvers, buckets of ginger love to you all :) xxxxxxxxxxxx

IT'S THE WEEKEND!!

Hey kids! Wow, I didn't realise how long ago it was since I last wrote! This week has really flown by in hindsight!

So...what news?! Umm...I'll try and remember in chronological order, though you know what my memory's like..! 

Wednesday I'm pretty sure was the day when me and Pepo (Steph's flatmate whose room I 'borrowed' :p) went to buy me a webcam! We took the bus (new thing for me!) and explored El Corte Ingles (awesome department store of which there are loads here!) for a bit, but the cameras there were all pretty expensive, so we then went to L'Illa (awesome shiny shopping centre down the road) to an electrical shop called Fnac...found one there which was pretty reasonable and which we thought would work with my Mac, then browsed the pretty technology for a bit...there was a HUGE iPod speaker in the shape of a cube with each side about 80cm, for €2000!! It was amazingly cool though. We then bought my webcam and walked back to Steph's flat, where we met her in the park and went to buy some water from the supermarket. Long story short: I now have a webcam!! It kept freeze-framing at first but I downloaded a driver yesterday and it now works fine :D so get on Skype, everyone!!

We went out last night (Friday night) which was soooo good - it felt amazing that it was the weekend!! We decided we'd go out for dinner as we couldn't be arsed to cook, so we monged out a bit at the flat (felt sooo good to know we had two free days ahead of us!) and then got ready to go out at about 8.30. Steph took us to Plaza Real - somewhere I recognised as we went there when I came here with 6th form - and because of the Mercè festival (Patron saint of Barcelona, celebrated all this weekend) there was a stage set up in the middle of the square, with live bands!! You can imagine how happy I was at this point :D we queued for about half an hour for this restaurant, Les Quinze Nits, but Steph assured me it was good, and we really felt like a sit-down meal instead of a few tapas, so we hung on. The queue only proved it was good, after all....We got a table outside where we could hear the music, and had tomato soup (really satisfied the serious tomato craving I've got going on!) then I had this meat pie and mashed potato (not pie as you would imagine it..! it was like a ball of meat...lol...but sooooo good! and the mash was amazing :D)..the portions were just right, though served on a massive place so they looked quite small! Despite the restaurant looking really shiny and posh, it was so reasonable! We had a litre jug of Sangria for €6.90 (and it did the job :p!)! It was such a perfect, chilled out atmosphere for a Friday night after a busy week at work. Definitely a place I'll be taking people who come to visit! So, a little 'squiffy' as Steph put it (:p), we wandered outside the square to see what we could see. Our plan was to go to the beach for the fireworks, though at this point it was about 11.15 so we thought we'd probably missed them. We eventually made it to the beach (in the spitting rain - :o not impressed!) after a long walk through Port Vell (and past another live music stage where loads of people had congregated to chat, drink and dance), to discover nothing was happening there :( so we walked to the Metro and went back to Plaza Catalunya, where there was another stage with a band on! So we stayed there and watched their set, along with several hundred jovial Spaniards. By this point it was about 1.30 (pretty shameful to be honest) but we were shattered after getting up at 8 that morning, so we decided we'd call it a (successful) night and turn in, to save our energy for tonight! I've got a couple of photos which will probably be on Facebook at some point :) 

Today we've basically been vegging out after an awesome lie-in, it's pretty cloudy out so we can't really decide what to do...we were considering heading to one of the Gaudi sights to feel like we'd explored a bit, but it's just so nice to have time to chill out and do whatever, I've been struck with a bit of laziness...! 

New Spanish vocab: (Pepo left us a note saying have a good weekend, with drawings and a glossary and all lol!) 

"chungo/a" = weird/dodgy

"mola" = to be cool/awesome

see, I am learning!! hehe :D 

haha there was just an advert on TV for toothbrushes with Kiss - I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night on in the background! Spanish TV is an endless source of amusement!

Hope everything's good wherever you are in the world my luvvers, keep in touch!

Loooooove youuu xxxxxxxxx

Sodding unpaid labour...

Hey hey kids!

Just got my Mac out (am still at Steph's so have just been stealing her PC for internet until now - her net gave way last night so thought I'd try mine and, lo and behold, it works! Huzzah!) so thought I'd update seeing as I'm sat in the flat while Steph does a 3 hour Spanish class - really don't envy her after spending the day at work! The days here seem pretty stupidly long - we get up at 8.30 to go to work - something I am managing astoundingly well for me at the moment! - and then work from 10 til 4 (which wouldn't be bad at all if it weren't so arse-chewingly boring...sorry that just came into my head!), and usually nip round the shops for various things afterwards, before catching the metro back to ours and chilling out for a bit before giving in to hunger and rustling something up. The Spanish guys here probably think we're so weak for how early we start cooking; we resisted til about 9.30 on Saturday and Sunday but last night we were cooking by about 8; work really builds up an appetite! Then we mostly veg out and watch Spanish tv or chat with Pepo (Steph's flatmate, pretty much the only one who's in in the evenings at the moment) and go to bed about 1am. Phew! 

Work is fine, I know I complain but it is good really, everyone's really nice, though there are about 7 of us plus 2 bosses in the whole company..! The lift is really amusing, I feel like I'm in Harry Potter whenever we get in it...it's a bit like a Victorian carriage from a horse and cart, but in a lift shaft..with a wrought metal case around it acting as the outer door...it's comedy! Work isn't too bad but I think I've just been set some pretty basic stuff to do to start me off; I've just been working on smaller event articles (they're on the website! www.valenciaconnect.com , they're pretty much the ones without photos lol, there are 6 of them) which is annoying cause the word count is so small so you don't really get to write interesting stuff, it's more about fitting the words to it; but my boss said tomorrow she'll probably set me a bigger article to do which is great :) time seems to pass sooo slowly though, even though it's only about 5 1/2 hours a day I end up doing! However, the way I'm looking at it is it at least gives me something to do, which will hopefully improve my Spanish (there are several English people there but the guy next to me only speaks Spanish and the girl on my right consequently speaks to him in Spanish all the time, not to mention the Spanish radio and Spanish websites I have to trawl through) and which keeps me out of the centre frittering away my money on clothes (which would be soooo easy, I'm dying to go shopping!!) 

Steph and I went and bought some trainers yesterday so we can start running - this office lifestyle really isn't great for the health! I've decided that I'll probably end up with RSI in my hands from typing so much, and I'll probably come back blind as a bat from staring at a screen all day... so in an effort to combat that, we'd better do some exercise so at least all the gorgeous Spanish food we can't get enough of doesn't stick to us :p Speaking of which, when Steph gets in tonight we're going for tapas :D yay!...I think the thing I spend most on at the moment is food....and also apparently the tap water's disgusting so we've been buying bottles...only 37 cents for 1.5L but still, I'd rather not pay for water (you know what I'm like with water!) so I may risk trying that out at some point, who knows. And there's the deposit I have to pay on my flat....Still haven't moved in yet because Steph's out tonight and I don't think I could manage my suitcase on my own up 3 flights of stairs!, and also because Maria wasn't sure if she'd be in, and the other girl doesn't move in til next week, so I'd rather hang out at Steph's where people will be. Quite excited though, I really want to get out on the rooftop terrace while the sun's still around! They keep saying on the weather that it's going to get colder, but at the moment it's a really comfortable warm temperature so a little bit colder would be no real loss to be honest. Hoping I get to build up a tan! :) 

So yeah, everything's good here, hope work gets a bit more exciting but then, it is work after all..! And I do occasionally sneak a look on Facebook at work if anyone's usually online between the hours of 9 and 3 :p! Keep in touch kids, miss you all loads (goes without saying!) come and visit me! Am in the process of finding out when Christmas hol is so I can book flights :) 

loads of ginger love xxxxxxxx

Day 1!

Evening all!

Here I am in sunny Barcelona :) Plane journey was short and sweet, dozed off for a minute and before I knew it, we were landing..! Steph met me at the airport and we caught the train (along with my massive suitcase, which was, er, a mere 6kg over the weight limit....nice lady let me off without an excess charge...phew!) back to hers, in Sants (where the main train station is). Really nice area, wide open streets, loads of shops and bars and squares, as well as good metro links. I'm looking for a flat round here, and went to view one at 4, with a really nice girl, Maria, who's studying medicine here. Another girl will be moving in there next week as well. It was a really nice flat but the bedroom itself is a little small, so I'm keeping my options open for the time being, and have replied to a load more ads so hopefully I'll view some more over the next few days. Am staying here with Steph in the meantime - her flat is really nice, big lounge area, 3 other flatmates but they're all away at the moment and one hasn't been seen by her yet - so I'm having his room for a bit, hehe. Her internet's secure so I'm borrowing her laptop at the moment and will probably be able to update more fully when I have my own place. Going to check out a local bar in a bit to unwind. Steph showed me some copies of the magazine we'll be working on; I'm really excited now! It has everything, from articles about local events and festivals to reviews of new music albums (I'm definitely putting my name down for that feature!!). My number out here is 07518 871332; it works fine but it costs me 25p a text and it costs me to both make and receive calls, so please save ringing for when I can chat to you on Skype! I haven't got a webcam yet but plan to look for one soon.

In the meantime, hope everything's ok in England :) love you all loads, keep me posted via here/email/text with what you're up to!

Abrazos xxxxxxxxx

Ello there!

Alrite there my lovers?!

As I warned several of you, I've set up one of these newfangled blog things so I can regale you all with the stories of my adventures into Europe! First stop, Barcelona! So over the course of the next however many months, I'll keep all my news updated on here, rather than assail your inboxes with reams of stories that will probably be more annoying than anything else...though obviously I will still be glued to Facebook and my email is always grateful for a message! ;)

Ok, I guess this entry is sort of cheating, as I'm still technically in England...but the packing process is under way, which is all part of the 'fun'... Tomorrow's the big day! I fly at 10.25 tomorrow morning and will arrive in Barcelona at 13.35 local time, and I've booked some flat viewings for the afternoon to find somewhere to live :) 

Anyways I won't waffle any more for now, love you all loads and all I can say is you'd better be planning out when you're coming to visit! :p 

Wish me luck!

Take care kids xxxxxxxx