Eclipse

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Ever since we got here I’ve seen this ship, as it is directly across the harbor when we walk to the city center in the morning.  It is being worked on, however it looks very familiar.  When I walked around the harbor I purposefully tried to see the back of the ship to see the name.  It should be expected, the dock is isolated and private.  Surprisingly, from the W Hotel I could see the name on the side of the top floor, ECLIPSE.  As it turns out this is the largest yacht in the world.  It’s owned by a Russian billionaire (worth 12 billion), and cost between 300 and 800 million dollars.  It has pools, helicopter pads, movie theaters, disco halls, 3 smaller boats, a submarine, ect.  So cool to be able to look out & see it.  

Barcelona Market

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Yesterday was pretty calm.  I tried Sangria (red wine and fruit juice) for the first time.  It was ok, not much different from red wine.  Maybe juice was short.  It was only one euro, thats what I like about the market, it’s inexpensive to try things so there is little risk trying new foods!  I walked all the way around the harbor, 35 minute walk, ending at the W Hotel.  The views of the sea and Barcelona are amazing.  It is still difficult to grasp the fact that the surrounding coast is Spain. (complementary photos. and now all the photos can be seen on flickr).

Barcelona Protests

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"social sector struggle with social rights eis not negocta” Graffiti on a building near where we are staying, from the protests.  We, Loren & I, walked the gothic quarter today because it is outside & we dont have to rely on striking workers to see it.  We stumbled upon a local coffee shop & got a cafe con liche, coffe with milk, which was great.  I’m not even much of a coffee drinker.  We did see the protest from a distance.  Before we saw the protest we saw about 12 SWAT trucks go by.  After some time the people started to get wild & we heard loud bangs form cherry bombs and saw black smoke and flames.  Fire is too much, so we walked back to the oblivious tourist section of the city, the docks.  To avoid the protesters, we avoided wherever the police helicopter was hovering over.

Barcelona

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Today was our first day in Barcelona Spain!  We flew Ryan Air from Manchester to Girona, one hour north of Barcelona.  When we first stepped outside the weather was perfect.  It’s around 29 C, 84 F, no humidity, no clouds.  All sun.  Getting around was difficult at first, as not many people older than us speak English, but due to the weather that was no problem.  We could not understand the tube so we walked from the bus station to our hostel.  Barcelona has the attitude of St. Petersburg/ Clearwater, Florida; the weather is nice, open the windows, get outside, enjoy the day.  Barcelona has wide boulevards friendly to pedestrians.  Tomorrow is a national strike day, as dictated by Spain’s two largest unions.  In light of such news, we will be seeing the sights outside. (attached photos)

Oxford

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Like I said, Oxford was really cool.  They were hosting a literary convention, so most everything we wanted to see (Hogwarts’ Great Hall, Hogwarts’ Library) were closed to like us and open for people way more famous and way more literary than us, big deal.  We toured Oxford and the Botanical gardens.  I tried marc de champagne truffles for the first time, I want more already.  I also had my first ice cream of the year (Irish cream, one scoop, waffle cone), officially kicking off summer (it’s still around 15-17 C here, 59-62.6 F).  I’m not sure if it’s actually nicer outside or if I’ve really missed nice weather.  Everyone else is outside so it must be getting nicer! (supplemental photos)

Oxford Botanical Gardens

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Photos from Oxford, the Christ Church Cathedral and the Botanical Gardens.  Oxford is amazing.  It is quite different from the other cities I’ve visited, primarily because of its uniformity.  The buildings in the city center have many columns, large windows, vertically stretched features, and spires.  It would be a great place to study.