Perfect Little Packages

This week, I got two parcels from home. The first – my very own CADBURYS, which no they do not sell in Spain, Advent Calender, that I have been made to promise my sister that I will not eat all in one go!  And the second – the best present of all time, from Hannah and Emma, a Starbucks package, full of everything christmasy and Starbucks so that I don’t miss out on the London Red Cup hype, and my all time favourite gingerbread latte. I could not wish for better friends, just wish that they were here to share it with me. 

From Food hell to food heaven

One thing I have been struggling with whilst being here has been the lack of similar food. We go to cook a chilli, and they don’t have chilli powder, just paella spice! We go to cook shepherds pie, and they don’t even know what gravy is, which wipes out about 50% of the meals that I could cook! However the food market turned that around. Full of about 100 stores absolutely full of food, whatever you could wish for, for next to nothing in price made up for the fact that the only thing you can buy in Carrefour (the local supermarket) is cured meat and Frankfurt sausages. Definitely going to have to try and buy some of our food from here.

Castle Views and Photography Galleries

Adopted Mum and Dad

The remaining part of the weekend was spent with Emily’s mum and dad,  with Venicular (sideways metro) trips, Cable Car trips up to the Castle, where we got to experience some amazing views along with some interesting art galleries and photos, and some of the best food that I have ever experienced!! The weather at the latter part of the weekend was not too brilliant, with a lot of rain and no sun, very different from the Thursday, Friday and Saturday, where we were back to shorts, flip flops and sunbathing. However despite rubbish weather, we still made the most of the city with my newly adopted mum and dad! The cable car trip got me very excited for skiing, as the only time I have been in a cable car has been on the slopes, so that was a different experience. Even though it was a cloudy day, the views out of the bubble and at the top of the castle were still incredible. You can see the whole city, including the diagonal, big main road that runs throughout the middle. It is not until you look at the city from above that you realise how it created with a grid formation, other than that gothic part of the city which is made up of tiny little roads. The evening of our Castle trip we went to a restaurant called The Terrace that had a view over the whole of Ramblas, however the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that , we had dinner in a restaurant called “china” and it was possibly the best food that I have ever had! Chinese Barcelona style definitely has to be recommended. Emilys mum and dad was a very nice and homely visit, and I was sorry to see them leave after spending so much time with them, but again glad that they could bring me a little piece of home to keep me going. I am really really enjoying my time here, and I don’t think I have been missing home too much, but I think that might be because I have been lucky enough to have a constant visit of people from home and they bring a part of that with them and leave it with you to keep you going for a few more weeks. 

Little pieces of Home

Every minute of everyday seems to be filled with something to do, whether its work, cooking dinner, entertaining visitors or simply just enjoying the city ourselves. When I first arrived, I felt as though I was going to be spending a long time in this city, and took a while to get to know it. And now I can count down the weekends I have left on two hands before I have to come home. The time just seems to be running away. We have counted that until we leave, we only have one weekend free until we leave for Christmas, and then only three weekends after that. So we are trying to make the most of our time here, with or without visitors. Not last weekend, but the weekend before that, mum and dads best friends came out to visit me. Which meant that I had someone familiar from home here with me half way through the time being here by myself. Regularly seeing familiarities from home makes you not miss it, and allows you to enjoy everything without feeling lost or as if you don’t belong here. The time spent with them, gave me a quick reality check. It reminds you of the fact that you are no longer living at ‘home’, and that you have created a new home. It reminds you of how lucky you are to be here.

The first day my family friends arrived, we went to have a drink on Ramblas. La rambla is somewhere I would never go unless I was here with a visitor. It is literally tourist central. They say Barcelona is bad for pick pocketing, but wait until you go to ramblas, and you have to chain your bag to your body. Nevertheless, we had a drink on Ramblas…..a litre of Sangria – each! The size of the drinks here are unbelievable! I’m not sure you would be able to buy a drink that large at home. You get ID’d in Sainsburys to buy a red bull, somehow I don’t think a restaurant would sell you a litre of Sangria in one glass! It was an experience and a half, and you definitely have to like Sangria to finish it off. Ramblas being Ramblas charged us 51€ for our three litres, but the experience helped get over the cost! 

Having visitors takes you back to places that you almost forget about when you are wandering around on a daily basis. I went back to the Sagrada Familia, otherwise known as the Jelly Tot Church. I forgot actually how impressive it was!  It’s a little bit like being in London, when you walk past the HOP and Big Ben about 20 times, you forget how impressive they actually are. Jelly Tot has become the same for me here. You can see it from the rooftop of our building. Every time we walk to the metro, it is there on the right. At first, you think WOW, this building is amazing, and then after a while, you just forget it is there! However, when I came up the metro by the famous Gaudi Cathedral, the word wow came straight back to mind. Its not until you get up close to it that you really realise how impressive it is.  Sadly, on this day, I didn’t get a chance to go around the inside, and therefore I have set an aim, for before I leave Barca, I must go to see the inside of the Jelly Tot, and I am not going to leave the city until I do!

Another one of our Gaudi trips took us to the Casa Batllo in Passeig de Gracia, also known as “The Dragon House”. This was probably one of the most impressive Gaudi buildings I have ever seen, or just buildings in general. The overly ornate front doesn’t really do that much for me, even though still impressive, but when listening to the audio guide, actually why everything is curved in the way it is, and the architectural form of why it has been designed that way is far more impressive to me. One of the most impressive pieces was that he used the light to form part of his architecture, and depending on which direction you stood in which particular room changed the whole layout and feel of the space that you were in, all by using light and glass. The tour told us that the house was built purely from drawing and a plaster model. The drawings were actually on display and not as impressive as I thought they must have to be. To see that someone had built the house from the drawings displayed was very remarkable!! 

The time I got to spend with Penny and Bob will be memorable and I am so glad that they were able to come out, visit me, and share some of my experience here.

Two things that I will never forget - Bobs hatred for the shop Desigual, on every corner, and Penny trying to order her food from the Window Box!! 

Long Days, Longer Nights

The days are long here....and the nights are even longer. It has been very very hard to adjust to the Spanish way of living, and even now, I still don't think I really adjusted. I don't think there has been a morning I have woken up here and not felt tired!! After a long week, we decided that we could experience sides of Barcelona that we wouldn't be able to experience unless we knew where to find them - An arabic SPA!! 

Soo on the Sunday, when everything else was closed, we spent two hours sipping herbal tea and relaxing in seven different pools and a sauna. The atmosphere in the pools underneath the ground was absolutely incredible and something about it allowed you to leave the stressful and tiring world that you are in and completely relax. The experience was incredible, the only similar would be the Bath baths, and even then, they still wouldn't compare. This is definitely something I want to do again before leaving this city.

ICEBARcelona

Barcelona has many things to offer, one of the most "unique" things, as they say, the ICEBARcelona (clever) on the beach. First and only ice bar on a beach. Even though I have been to the ice bar in London, I thought it would still be a good experience to visit the one here, and also be able to compare them. A new bar with a new group of friends. This one, even though still as cold, infact probably colder, was only a quarter of the size, however featured a massive sculpture of the sagrada famila!! Despite the bar actually being colder than the one in London, the coats are also half the size and no where near as warm! Something I have noticed about spain, is the fact that health and safety regulations clearly do not exist. The 45 minute time slot you are supposed to allowed in for, is not a time slot, and you can stay in for as long as you like..until you freeze!! 

A weekend spent with visitors and flat outings supplied us with a massive amount of 'Barcelona' entertainment. Back to the old school days, at an American/ Barcelona take on a diner playing a 'finger game'. One problem - we left it up to the french to do the inside, which meant we got to hear, 'you come in France' read out to us - not quite the same as an English version used to be. What you learn about coming to a different country and spending time with people also from other countries, is no matter how your cultures differ, there are always parts of your childhood that are the same. 














That evening we spent the second time at a local jazz bar. I found that watching the people that were so totally engrossed in the music, they were in a different world, much more fascinating than actually listening to the players - despite the fact that they were incredible. I never would have chosen to go to a jazz bar, yet now I have been I would personally request to go back again. The experience you get is one that you cannot describe..and one I wish I could share with other people. Walking out of those doors and back home in the pouring rain didn't feel like an effort, as the experience you had uplifted you to the point where you just didn't care. 

Something I did care about - washing!!!!!! Four hours later and we still had wet clothes. That four days later are still wet and smell of damp. Most boring thing I have ever had to do- and it most definitely makes you miss your mummy ( even though I do miss her for other reasons too)!! As I know she is following this blog! 


The ways of Barcelona are very different from home, and seeing as we were in a foreign city on the side of Mediterranean, we decided, for some silly reason that we might actually enjoy swimming in the sea ON THE 31ST OCTOBER! Despite the purple ankles we had an amazing time braving it, and now I will able to say that I have been in the sea on the last day of October. Even though I will never be doing this again, I shall always be able to say that I have. 

I have been so lucky to experience this amazing opportunity and therefore I have said to myself that I shall try to experience every opportunity that barcelona offers.

 

Family time

The 20th October brought a weeks visit from my family, where they literally brought a piece of home with them, crumpets, tea cakes and bagels ( oh and a whole 160box of pg tips!!) It was very nice to see them, and being such a home girl meant that when they arrived I really started to feel settled and comfortable. Having people to visit allows you to become a tourist again and experience the city through another pair of eyes. You find that when you live here, it become difficult to see the tourist attractions of the city without being annoyed that there are too many tourists in your way. When your family, or friends come to visit..it doesn't matter  so much anymore, because they are tourists themselves. On the first afternoon, we walked them down to the gothic quater to see all the little shops and ended with a dinner at 'cheese me', a very well known restaurant in Barcelona, that many guide books will recommend you to eat at, a favourite of ours..already! 

Over the weekend, I decided to take my family to a Spanish style bakery/tea room for breakfast and see what their opinion was of the different cultures. Caelum, is a very popular bakery in the gothic quater, that is very well known for it's amazing table of cakes in the window that draws you inside. The six of us sat down to a tapas of breads, cakes and melted chocolate bars for hot chocolates!! Not quite my sisters idea of a proper breakfast, but everyone enjoyed the atmosphere and it was somewhere really quite beautiful to visit..even if it wasn't quite perhaps visited at the right time of day! 








The afternoon led to the design hub museum in the north of Barcelona that holds the design, fashion and textiles exhibitions and museums, with my sister studying textiles and myself and Emily design, it really worked as a day out, even if the rest of the girls and daddy got a little bit bored by the end! 

The rest of the weekend allowed us all to explore Plaza Espanya an Montjuic, that is situated at the top of the hill from Placa Espanya, through the ('Venice' towers from St Marks Square) That daddy asked everyone about, and I was the only one that knew what they were a copy of - proud! At the top of the hill, the art museum is situated, where we go so distracted watching pick pockets get chased and caught by the police, we didn't make it into the museum!! 

Montjuic is the place that holds the olympic stadium and torch, and the largest architecture museum - Poble Espanya. The village was built as an outdoor architectural museum and was the most regularly visite museum throughout the Olympic games, which is therefore why it was kept open after the Olympics left the city. Full of art and craft shops, we watched glass being blown and visited several jewellery shows - experiencing first hand making. 

Despite being such a quiet village, we still managed to have a lot of fun - making a tower out of people and going swimming!! 

That evening we walked back down the hill toward the mies van de Rohe pavilion and then onto the magic fountain show for 7, where we ended up watching all three shows due to bumping into family friends and not being able to get away. I have now established that the first show is classical music, the second, Disney ( sadly in Spanish yet still amazing) and the third, current 'pop' music! Up to the top of the bull ring for dinner finished of a beautiful day perfectly. BUT..I cannot forget the cat and mouse - illegal bag sellers running around the streets in circles playing hide and seek with the police. It sent us all to bed smiling :)

The last day before my family had to go home..we took a trip up to parc guell, otherwise known as the gaudi park! When we finally arrived after a massive trek from the metro up the hill to the top, we realised that the views really did make up for how long we had to walk. Despite the rain, the only comparison for what we could see would be a trip on the London eye on the clearest day possible.

Looking out into the sea, past all of the city made you realise exactly where you were and just how beautiful the city was, but the reality of my family leaving really hit me hard. Having to say goodbye to four amazing people that you have spent everyday with for the last four months was probably one of the hardest things I have had to do for a long time..and the only thing keeping me in Barcelona at that point was the technology of today-Skype! And one of the best friends I could possibly ask for - Emily! 

We are in and out of uni on a daily basis, with days ranging from 3 hours to 8 hours long. Our Tuesday brought us a new project, 'project communication', where we are learning how to use illustrator, photoshop and progress our communication skills. The first week, we had to complete a 'level' text, where the task was to design a front cover for FRAME magazine featuring Zaha Hadid - a task that proved to really test your skills and already begin a new journey in illustrator.

Wednesday brought our fourth project, where we are currently designing a new interior for a video game, that was previously featured as a film. At the end of the project, we have to produce an image of a model we have created that looks real. Choosing the 'tinkerbell' game, we looked at the perspectives of photographing mushrooms, that we made out of meringue. 

Being in uni so much in the day and having awkward breaks at very strange times, has allowed us to come across lukumas - the doughnut shop! I can safely say that this is now a favourite of mine, and I would perhaps chose this over a Starbucks, but it really allows you to experience a 'Spanish coffee break' in a proper Spanish way. So you may now often hear me saying that I would like a chocolat caliente y un clasic!! And I could also order Emily's for her too!

Realising that every form of shop, food or clothes, is closed on a sunday brought us down the ten minute walk to arc de triomp- something we did not realise was so close to where we live. There are different forms of architecture all over the city, in every direction, and I cannot believe that we had missed this up until now. A sunny day for a beautiful road and beautiful architecture. 

Down the end of this road is the parc de la cuitadella, a beautiful place to sit in the sun and have a ten minutes think. Barcelona is such a small, compact version of London, and yet it still manages to hold some of the parks,  even if they are still slightly smaller. Having such a nice green park area so close to where you live is really nice..and really reminds me of home. However this park is still closer than holland park in London- even better!  

New friends and new beginnings..

With a couple of weeks to explore the city..we ended up spending time bonding with some of the people that live in our flat. We have found out that names in a different language, when you don't speak the language can often be quite difficult to pronounce and therefore we have ended up referring to the people in our flat by their country. Horrible I know..but they like it! It will always remind them of us! So we have America, Fenchie, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Majorca (known as David because it's easier) and then the three England girls...Sophie, Emily and myself.

Flat 'English Roast Dinner'

 Already we have bonded so much, not just as a flat but as a group of friends, and have already planned trips to visit each other later on in the year. It's so good that I have not only found a city that I love, but also people that I love to share it with. Very lucky to share such a fabulous experience with such amazing people. 

The first couple of weeks took us to various places that you would not perhaps find in a Barcelona guide book, but that you come across by chance when exploring the city. 

Walking around Juame 1 one evening, brought us across a very strange art exhibition, that you would only find in the backstreets of a upside down city or in an open room in the middle of fine art at chelsea!!!! Obviously foil covered walls and a darth vader dressed man welcoming you in meant you could not pass without noticing. However when stepping inside and wandering around the tiny brick covered room, made you feel a little bit of home..even if it was in a weird, wacky, wonderful way! After writing a few comments in the book and adding my email to the mailing list, we will be able to return to the inspiring crazy room at some point before we leave. 

The weekend brought us to the chocolate museum ( as they don't do very nice chocolate in Spain, we thought it might be the one place we might be able to get some), where the museum entrance ticket was infact a chocolate bar! 

Even if we don't get to see the whole of the city, atleast we will have seen the whole city out of chocolate!!! 

The Start of Something New

Well..it is now November and a whole month has passed without me even realising it. So much has happened within this time and already so many people have been to visit. This city, that once was just a coordinate within a country in the world has now well and truly become my home. The question that many people ask when they arrive as a tourist is 'what is Barcelona?'. The answer to this only arrives when you live here. Barcelona is made up of the people that live here and how they live. As I have moved here I have realised that I have now become a part of Barcelona and the way it works. I have formed part of the city without even realising it, as I have built up my relationship with the city, walls and buildings around me. 

I started the university here on the 10th October and first started classes on the 13th. Three weeks in and I have really started to appreciate Chelsea as a university far more than I ever used to. I feel almost as if I have taken a step back in life and gone back to school. The first day began with five hours of classes where we sat in a row of chairs behind desks looking at a white board as the 'teacher' told us about our projects for the period of time up until Christmas. 
Our Thursday classes involve two projects. The first of these being a hybrid furniture project, where our tutor, English, studied at the Bartlett and without expressing favouritism, is my favourite tutor within the university and she understands our way of thinking and our way of working and let's us bring what we have learnt at chelsea into our work here. So far for this particular project we have been looking at two actions, mine being reading and working, and one adjective, mine precious, where we have to group all three of these together to make a freestanding furniture object.

 Thus far, we have just had to research into the words in depth and find out what they mean, making word concept models along the way, but not actually starting on ideas for the design..which I personally find very slow in comparison to chelsea. The second project that we have started on is 'project house', where the first task is to research into a particular modern house within the 20s and 30s by a famous architect and find out why the particular design is so unique and how it relates to the context around it. This is a group project, where we are looking at Alvar Aalto- Villa Mairea. The second part is to redesign and reconstruct an apartment in Barcelona, that we went to site survey a couple of weeks ago.
http://www.villamairea.fi/


The transition from chelsea to IED has been very difficult, especially within the first couple of weeks. We have lessons every single day, where we have to sit in a class and look at a whiteboard. It seems much less practical than at home, and at times can become quite frustrating. Almost like you are being patronised. 
Until you leave Chelsea, I don't think you realise how much freedom and experimentation you are allowed with your projects. As much as you appreciate being book taught how to use photoshop, illustrator, autocad and how to draw, I think you forget how much freedom allows your designs to develop and really become your own. With less restriction you can progress more and really strive and succeed within a project design and idea. One thing I am very much looking forward to returning to. 
The classes here are very small, with only 18 in our second year. Despite the course being in English and taking place in Spain, Emily and I are the only English people studying here and there are no Spanish students. On the first day we actually felt like we were a part of the Eurovision song contest, as we had to say whether we were present and then where we were from. 'Hi from Estonia, Iceland and Bulgaria' were only a few of the countries our classmates come from. Hopefully this time England doesn't end up with nil points!!!!