Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced; even a proverb is no proverb to you 'til your life has illustrated it. –John Keats

¡Hola strangers!

I like to only update my blog once or twice a week just to keep each post interesting. So I'll post about some of the highlights of my week. I stress the word "some" because honestly being in Barcelona is the highlight of my life.

On Wednesday Olga took Emily and I to her gym to check out the belly dancing class! We also took pilates before belly dancing and I've decided that I'm not a pilates girl, I'm more of a kickboxing girl. Plus its kind of difficult to relax when you have to constantly watch the instructor because you don't understand the "pilates lingo" that is in spanish.

 Belly dancing was much more my scene. It was so so fun, the instructor put on Shakira for "us Americans". Olga let us borrow her special Belly dancing belts and told us we can get our own authentic belts when we go to Morocco. We plan to go every wednesday from now on!

This is Olga. We have the best house-mother out of everyone. She's SO awesome.

Another highlight of my week was getting to put my toes in The Mediterranean for the first time ever!! This was also the first day that I got to see the beaches of Barcelona. They are so so beautiful, and the water is so blue! The water was freezing but it was definitely worth it. I can't wait for it to get warmer!

I had to walk around with soaked jeans all day because the waves took my flip flop and I had to go retrieve it.

Barcelona meets The Hunger Games?

That night I got to catch the beautiful fountain lit up at Plaza Catalunya which is one of the main parts of Barcelona. I love this fountain.

On saturday we decided to go the aquarium because it was a rainy day. Although it was a fun activity, I was not impressed. I've heard such great things about it that I expected it to be more along the lines of Sea World. Overall I had a great time, but I wouldn't recommend it because of the price.

The sharks where pretty cool!

This had a moving sidewalk in it and the sharks swam over you! 

This guy was actually yawning, but I got a pretty badass picture out of it!

After the aquarium we checked out the mall which is actually the old Barcelona Bull Fighting arena. This particular arena was abandoned for a number of years before it became a mall.

The view from the top 

Another fountain that I love

At the top!

Fact: Bull fighting is now banned in Barcelona as of 2011. The Barcelonians do not like bull fighting. It is not true that in Madrid the bulls where killed in battle and in Barcelona they were not killed at the end. The bulls are killed during each fight. Many people walk away crying. Bull fighting can now only be seen in Madrid. The Running of the Bulls takes place in Madrid and is where the bulls run down the streets to the arena at the start of the season. Each year a handful of drunk people die because they get in the way of the running of the bulls.

Today I spent time down by the beach area and the Gothic quarter and I realized how small Barcelona actually is. When looking on a map it looks HUGE, but in some cases its faster to walk from metro stations than to actually take the metro!!

The beautiful Barcelonetta area today

Yet another fountain, this one changes colors

I watched it for a good 15 minutes, and have a picture of every color.

The other night I was out for tapas with a friend and the waiter gave us a translated menu. I decided try the "bag of potatoes" thinking it would be exotic and delicious just like the Bombas I've tried. I was slightly taken aback when the waiter delivered me this:

Better get some sleep, I wish I was at the American bar tonight though. This time difference is such a bummer when it comes to fútbol americana. I think I'll root for the Pats since The Giants are out. 

¡Feliz Sueños!