Nothin' like Sutton

Let me start off with saying that I question if last night was a dream, or if we were in a movie, because it was the best time of my life and I will never forget it. Ever.
“I look like a gnome.” -Shea. Don’t ask, I just have to put that in here to remember this great moment haha.
We started today off with a city tour with a small group. Our tour guide was an older man from England. His accent was so fun to listen to!  On the tour, we went up a huge hill, Passeig Maritim, (which was very steep) and passed the Olympic Stadium. Lady GaGa will be performing there sometime this week and so will Black Eyed Peas! The view from the top of this mountain was BEAUTIFUL. You could see the Montserrat, Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia, and you could see for miles in every direction. As we left, we went down Passeig de Gracia, where we viewed numerous examples of Antoni Gaudi-inspired architecture. The streets were so busy and there were many shops and restaurants, it was so fun! On every street there are elaborate stone buildings and intricate iron balconies. It is endless. I can’t wait to share the beautiful pictures! We went to the Placa de Catalunya, the city’s main square, and the Columbus Monument, which is located at the sight where Columbus returned to Spain after his first voyage to the Americas. It was HUGE and people are always around it, even at 5am. Next, we went to Gaudi’s unfinished masterpiece, La Sagrada Familia, one of the most visited sites in Spain. It was so crowded but definitely worth it! Gaudi designed this awe-inspiring building in 1882, and should be finished by 2026!! After that, we went to Barri Gotica (the city’s old gothic quarter). It was full of courtyards, plazas and cobblestone streets! There was a winery where we tasted delicious Sangria and many types of chocolates and snacks. There was a shop where you can watch a man hand-make a guitar, and then buy it… but he was closed while we were there. Maybe I’ll go back! Then went to the Cathedral of Barcelona, a 600-year old Gothic cathedral in the middle of Barri Gotica. It was incredible inside. I can’t wait to show pictures of that too! Before we went in, I took some pictures of a street man playing the fiddle. I didn’t realize that when you take their picture, they expect a tip, and if you don’t, the get mad. I found this out AFTER I took his pick, got a mean look, and walked away. I had no idea! Next time I took pictures/videos of musicians, I tried to hide the camera, because I had no change. To get into the Cathedral, you have to wear a knee-length skirt, and cover your back and shoulders. Thankfully, I chose to wear a skirt (they didn’t tell us what not to wear) but I had on a tank top. Since the World Cup is involving Spain, and we are in Spain to watch the game, everyone bought the soccer jerseys. One of the girls let me borrow it to cover my shoulders so I could get in! It didn’t match well with my cute black and white skirt, haha. And I got some funny looks too. Once we went into the Cathedral, it was basically silent. It looked like everything was made of gold and the stained glass windows were amazing. Again, I can’t wait to share those pictures; it explains the beauty.

After the city orientation, we met up with several girls and wondered around looking for a place to eat dinner (everyone eats dinner around 10!) While walking by the harbor full of beautiful sailboats, we saw these men from Jamaica selling designer purses, like things you would find on Harwin. He would lay out a bed sheet with strings on the corners. He would set up all of their products, and when he was done, he would pick up the strings and it would make a giant backpack, and he was on to the next street! At one point, a kid lit a firecracker next to us and it popped so loudly next to us! We all jumped/screamed! I found it humorous that this little kid wanted to pick on us American girls, and I’m glad we could provide him some entertainment, and a story to tell his friends.
After walking around for an hour, we found a hole-in-the-wall restaurant called Restaurant Nieve. It was very small, but nice. First, we looked at a menu and we had NO idea what it said. It’s the weirdest feeling not knowing what anything is. I thought maybe we’d be able to recognize some things, or that there would be pictures. After being really confused for about 20 minutes, we realized it was a French menu! So we picked up another, and it was in Spanish, we were still confused. Then, finally, the waiter brought English ones haha, we didn’t feel very smart! We ordered the mixed paella, containing the best seafood ever, and a delicious sauce on the rice. After dinner, we started trying to figure out how to get to a club. On the way, we had gelato. I got dulce de leche in a big cone :) I easily could have gotten seconds and I KNOW that I’ll be getting it everyday! I look forward to Italy because supposedly it is even better, which is hard to imagine!

After dinner and some delicious gelato, we were going to take a train to Chupitos (bar) but then we decided a taxi would be faster and we could all split the price. I sat in the front so I could speak with the driver in bits and pieces of Spanish. He was very surprised that I new it! This was about 10:30, and when we got to Chupitos, it was about 5 girls that I was with, and several guys. It was really fun just chatting and meeting them, and trying to communicate through a language barrier! Shea and I met this one guy, Enrique, who helped us out so much! He told us phrases, good drinks to order, places/beaches to go on certain nights, and he was just a really fun guy to hang out with. He taught us how to do the 2 cheek kisses and when we go to Italy, we do 3 cheek kisses, thanks Enrique! He also said tomorrow he’d cook us the best paella we will ever try! We have his number so we will see what happens. A rush of Semester at Sea friends came in shortly after, along with many other people, and it got pretty crazy! The rumor was to go to Opium, a really cool club, so everyone started heading that way around midnight. Luckily, Enrique informed us that it wouldn’t be the best time to go there tonight and that we should go to another place that no tourists know of called Sutton. We took a taxi straight there and Enrique followed us on his Honda mo-ped! When we arrived, there were bouncers in suits at the door. It was very modern and stunning! We asked to take a picture with the bouncers because they looked nice in the outfits with earpieces and sunglasses. They said no at first because they aren’t allowed, but then when the main bouncer walked away, one jumped in a picture with us, he was funny. I’m pretty sure that this club was very expensive and nice, but I don’t know the cover price because Enrique paid for us!  Let me just say, Sutton was the BEST choice I’ve made so far.
Tip if you go to Chupitos: Best drink ever = “Harry Potter”. It lit on fire, and sparkled with cinnamon, and came with a caramelized orange. My mouth is watering.

When we walked in, the music was blaring, people were everywhere, dressed very nicely, and there were dancers on a stage. All of the guys would walk up to me and Shea and try to ask us questions about where we are from and they all wanted to dance. Haha an experience I will never forget! Everyone would guess where we are from and they never guessed America! That’s how local this place was, they don’t see American girls in there. They guessed Sweeden, Norway, Finland, and a few other places, but not America. It was very entertaining.

One of the coolest things about last night (and will continue this entire summer) is communicating with people even when you do not speak the same language. It is definitely possible to understand someone when they use nonverbal communication and facial expressions. It’s hard to explain, but it is one of the best experiences ever. I LOVE not being able to speak their language very well, and I love that they do not know much English. It makes it so fun and just amazing how you can still communicate and make friends!This was by far the craziest place I have ever been. This is like nothing in America, and nothing like college. We don’t have clubs with blaring music and only for dancing. I didn’t want to leave that scene! In the restroom (there was a security guard letting people in one at a time…) Shea and I were asking every girl for gum or a brush. I guess in Lubbock everyone asks everyone, and we all speak English. After about 10 minutes of no one answering us, we started laughing at what we were doing. Here we are in Spain asking questions to girls who don’t know any English, what were we thinking! Haha we still are laughing about it, even though it might not seem that funny to anyone else!I think I’m partially deaf from last night. My ears have never hurt this bad! I’m wearing earplugs next time and I really don’t care what it looks like, it hurts.

Coincidentally, we met these really handsome guys from Istanbul, visiting here! We hung out with them for a while and got to know them a little better. They are going back to Istanbul the same time we are, and when we get there, we are all meeting up! What are the odds! We aren’t even close to Turkey and we already have plans to hang out with people we met in Spain! It just blows my mind how things work out so strangely.One guy, in particular, was an incredible dancer/very charming! I’ve never seen anyone dance as well as these boys could. Sergio was from the Canary Islands, and is visiting his cousin who just bought a really nice flat down the street. He taught me how to dance certain ways, like tango, and a few other steps I already forgot! We took plenty of pictures so you’ll be able to see them when I get Internet or find time to upload them! When we left Sutton, Sergio and Shea’s friend from Turkey (Torro?) walked us to the cab with some other SAS folks to make sure we got there safely and helped us tell the driver how to get to the ship.

On the cab ride home, we thought the streetlights were super bright, but then we noticed, it was SUNRISE. We laughed some more. When we got to the room (6am), we sat on the bed, accidentally fell asleep, and woke up at 9. Our plan was to shower, eat, drink coffee, then back to the city! Yep didn’t happen. We slept for 3 hours and missed the bus for a tour :( So today we have about 6 more hours of free time! (Which I’m totally down for). We are headed out to get some breakfast and have another great day in Barcelona!!