Hola, Stranger...

Um, hi Blog. Hmm… I honestly don’t know where to begin. So much has happened since last I wrote and to try and summarize it all would be boring and not give the past few months the justice they deserve. So how about a Favorites List of some of the events that I’ve been involved with… There are some hilarious moments, some sweet moments – and all memorable. In short, I’ve had visitors out the wazoo since the beginning of March. And I’ve loved every minute of it! I love going non-stop, showing the beautiful Barcelona to my beautiful friends and of course, fitting in travel opportunities when I can. So let’s begin there… With our trip to Portugal!

Top 3 Portugal Moments (with Anna and our various new Portuguese, Brazilian and French friends!)

1. Taking a bus ride into the ghetto of Lisboa trying to see the Vasco da Gama Bridge. It’s the longest bridge in Europe and well, we were told we MUST see it when really – it’s comparable to the Lake Pontchartrain Bridge. There really is no “look-out” or tourist standing point. So when we jumped on a bus to go in that direction and our bus driver tried to kick us out in a ghetto resembling the opening scene from Requiem for a Dream – we freaked. Luckily, we hailed a cab and made it back in time to siesta at our darling hostel in order to be ready for the evening…

2. Which consisted of going out in the Barri Gottic neighborhood of Lisboa! So much fun to be had by all! So our hostel (Alfama Hostel – if you visit Lisboa, you MUST stay there) hosts a pub-crawl every Friday night. Anna and I signed up and go to the lobby for 9PM, where we are to meet our group doing the crawl. So we get there and witness one of THE most attractive guys greeting us and announcing that he was going to be our guide. TOMA! It was just me, Anna and a gal from Brazil, Thais, doing the tour. Thais was a complete doll and the four of us became buds right away when we started drinking Portuguese Sangria (they put Everclear in it … 1 drink and done) and began the bar hopping evening. At one bar, we befriended the DJ (as he was from Barcelona) so he kept playing these crazy salsa songs and Spanish techno music – this is when the dancing began. We then go to this special Brazilian bar… Okay, just a side note – I LOVE Brazilian men. For the fact that they can dance like no other… So Anna and I were at home in this bar – salsa and twirling around with these cute boys. This has now sparked my interest in visiting Brazil in the very near future… Anyhu, the night continued on – more special Portuguese drinks (black vodka!) and more dancing.

3. Anna and I took a train outside of Lisboa to hit up Sintra – a town known for all of their castles. No need for me to describe how much fun we had and how amazing these beautiful castles were – just check out my Lisboa photo album on Facebook.

4. (Sorry, I had to add a 4th) – Cheering on the Saints for a Super Bowl victory at The Hard Rock Café in Lisboa with our new Saints friends/fans. Leading a bar full of European accents into a “Who Dat” chant was a very proud moment for this New Orleans gal.

In short, I want to return to Portugal. Explore the north, savor the south and enjoy everything in between. For a moment, I considered moving out of Barcelona to Lisboa as I fell in love with the city, the people, the culture! Totally under-rated and over-looked. And perhaps my favorite city I have visited since I’ve been living in Europe. Love Portugal!

So after Lisboa, February somewhat flew by – Anna had a few friends in town visiting which was fun and kept us busy until March, the start of my visitors!

So each group (or person) that visited made me realize how much I miss home. It was wonderful catching-up with everyone IN PERSON and not via emails or skype or whatnot. I loved it! I can’t really do a Top Three for everyone as there are so many more highlights from everyone’s visit but I can recall some of the moments that stood out in my mind…

- Taking Michelle, Erin, David and Nick out to our favorite bar and introducing them to all of our local friends. It was so much fun to mix our different groups and have everyone get along SO well (even if there were a TON of lost in translation moments).

- SNOW for M, E, D and N’s visit! I know it kind of put a kink in their plans but Anna and I cancelled our classes that evening and had a snowball fight in front of Sagrada Familia. I don’t know how many people that can possibly say they’ve done that… Oh, pictures coming soon as we took them on this disposal that we plan to complete this weekend – haha.

- Amanda’s Birthday dinner at 7 Portes. We had the best time – drinking sangria, eating delish Paella and laughing up a storm. Brooke has got to be one of the funniest girls I know and as this was towards the end of their visit – we just kept recapping funny incidences that occurred. A dinner I will always remember.

- Watching I Heart NY with Amanda and Brooke (or I Sex NY – becoming the catch-phrase for the rest of the week).

- Convincing Amanda and Brooke to pull an all-nighter with me (and the twins) and go out in Gracia and do Barcelona up big! One. Last. Time. Again, many laughs…

- Scott’s amazing FEAST he prepared for me and Anna. He’s such a talented cook it’s great to be his friend – haha. And forget baking for him as he made the best Pear Tarte I have ever tasted.

- Planning a last-minute, spontaneous trip to Mallorca with Scott… I’ll get to that one later.

- Having a great night of drinking mucho vino with Lily and Jeanna in El Borne. As we were leaving the bar, we bumped into a Paki selling my favorite street food – samosas! They are these fried wonton things with curried potatoes and bell-peppers inside. They are perfect after a night of drinking. So I tell Lil and Jae, you MUST try one of these… So as I’m bartering with the guy to get three for the price of 2 – Jae is talking to his buddy. And all of a sudden I hear the buddy go, “Yeah I can get you chocolate.” So before Jae can confirm, I shout “NOOO! No quiero chocolate!!!” Everyone is staring at me like I’m nuts. Jae is about to protest, the Paki buddy is pissed off – “…But she said…” So as I pay the other guy for our 3 samosas, I grab Lil and Jae and make them run to the cab as the guy is yelling at us. So we get in the cab and the girls are like – WHAT just happened?!... So I had to explain that chocolate is code for drugs (specifically marijuana) here in Spain. While Jae was asking an innocent question, do they have a chocolate version of the samosa, this dude thought she was ready to purchase some weed. Honestly, one of the funniest lost in translation moments I’ve experienced since living in Spain

- Going to the Freixenet Winery with Lil, Jae and Anna and making our own taste-testing experience.

- Going to Madrid with Nicole…I’ll get to that later as well.

- Going out with Nicole, Anna and the twins in Gracia and – on our walk home – drunkingly playing on the playground for a good thirty minutes. Have you slid down a slide lately? Seriously, it’s too fun for words.

So yes… So many great moments summed up in such a short list. I can’t express how happy I am that everyone came out to visit me – I really had the best time and felt very blessed that I had friends who wanted to come see Espana while I was living here. I’m looking forward to Amanda Burn’s visit (with her mountain man) as well as Viva’s visit! Both are coming when Barcelona finally decided to become warm! So they will get a better sense of the relaxed, playful atmosphere that I associate Barcelona with.


Yes, so during my friend visits – I managed to convince a few of them to take trips with me as well. My goal, before I return home, is to get a good sense of Spain and experience the different cities and cultures of this amazing country. So when Scott came over, we decided to do a random trip to somewhere for the weekend by checking out our Southwest Airlines (Vueling) and seeing where the cheapest fare led to… So we ended up in Mallorca! It’s the largest of the Balearic Islands off the coast of Spain. Funny enough, it has a huge German influence so when we were sitting at a bar’s terrace, people-watching the boulevard, we shouldn’t have been shocked when the German’s Hell’s Angels came and sat alongside us. They were the most extreme, tattooed, big –ass Germans I have ever seen. So of course, they kept staring at us the entire time we were quickly trying to finish our sangria when Scott leaves me there to go to the restroom. As soon as he gets up, one leans over and goes “Where are you from.” – but it wasn’t like a sweet, casual getting-to-know-your-neighboring-stranger question, it was like interrogation by a German giant. So I squeaked out, “USA.” And another one goes, “What part.” … “Louisiana?” ... And that was all it took. “Aw I LOVE Louisiana! Oh the South is great! Good food, so fun, etc. etc.” – So I took a liking to these Hell’s Angels who kindly invited me to their neck of the woods (close to Luxemburg) and gave me a little explanation of why they were in Mallorca, the Hell’s Angels in Mallorca, etc. Scott returned and we left but yeah, good chat with some good ol’ biker boys. Anyhu, Mallorca is beautiful – a wonderful mix of pretty beaches and mountains with the charming small town of Palma making it really darling. We even took a bus ride to the opposite side of the island to explore these caves. We just so happened to go when a bus-load of 70+ Spanish men and women decided to hit up the caves as well. We were in the very back so let’s just say that the standard 2 hour tour was going to become a 5 hour one if we didn’t do some intense dodging around. Rather comical. I think my favorite thing in Mallorca was Palma’s main cathedral. By far one of the prettiest ones I’ve seen during my time in Europe. So, all in all, Mallorca was lovely…


When Nicole was here, we took a long weekend trip to Madrid. We had a trip that was mixed with some REALLY good luck and some REALLY bad luck so I’ll break it down that way…

Bad Luck: We get to our hotel (a real snazzy one that I got a steal of a deal on) to be informed by the desk clerk that we didn’t have a room for that night (over-booking-bastards) and that they had us in another hotel that was “nearby” and just as nice so to come back the next morning to check into our real room. Anyhu, talk about a big, fat lie. The hotel was a good 20 minute cab ride away and next to the train station (hmm…bit sketch, no?) – So as we are starving (this is around midnight now) we ask the new hotel clerk if we could get a bite to eat somewhere nearby. So he’s like – Yeah, call room-service. So we get to our room and do just that… Well, room-service informs me that they only have ham & cheese sandwiches left. So we order 2 of those (and a huge bottle of wine) and the lady brings it on up – it’s not even freaking jamon – it’s like nasty Oscar Meyer ham on toasted bread… So after we killed that bottle of wine in 2.5 minutes, we crashed and prayed that the next day would be better…

Good Luck: The weather reports said we were going to have rain the entire time we were there. Friday, our first full day in Madrid, could not have been any prettier. We visited the Palace and did the Teleferica across the city along with some rambling around the plazas and squares (where I met my beloved Matador) under the bright sun and blue sky. Perfecto!

Bad Luck: That night for dinner, we wanted to go to Sobrino de Botin – the oldest restaurant in the world. So we cabbed it over there to be informed that we needed reservations (um, hello – oldest restaurant in the Woorld!) so we made reservations for the next evening and hopped back in the cab and told him to take us to this other restaurant I had listed (according to my Frommer’s Guide) known for their olive oil and sherry… 30 Euros later, we are in a sketch part of Madrid and I’m trying to not have a panic attack as I believe our cabby has just kidnapped me and Nicole since he turned off the meter. Luckily, he was just lost and being courteous to not charge us for his mistakes… So he drops us off at this restaurant to find out… It’s closed.

Good Luck: We are starving and will eat anywhere (now that we are in the suburbs of Madrid) and walk across the street to this Argentinean Beef restaurant that, still to this day, no idea what the proper name is, but it did say somewhere on the menu “Baby Beef” so that is what Nicole and I lovingly refer to this restaurant as. Well, like any good steak restaurant – it was full of old couples, groups of business men and big families. By far, we were the only 20-something girls in there and were dressed as if we were to go out clubbing, not to eat at some steak restaurant. This was an advantage as we ended up with a few various cute waiters (all men), a free appetizer and, by the end of the night – a few free glasses of cava. One of our waiters, Christiano, was from Brazil (eeks!) and was so damn cute. He told us to wait for him to close down the place and he would take us out to his local joints. And he did just that – we ended up at some crazy Brazilian club (called Mu? Shoot – I don’t remember) and I got to get my Brazilian dancing fix in while he and Nicole became buddies… We ended up leaving when someone said it was 6AM… Time flies when having fun!

Bad Luck: Cava + Capriccios + Makers&7Up = Horrific hangover the next morning/afternoon.

Good Luck: Another full day of great site-seeing (The Cathedral, more plazas, Museum Reina Sofia) and a wonderful dinner (hooray – FINALLY Botin!). This was followed by the next day with a visit to The Prado and The Thyssen – amazing to witness some classic art pieces (with a special Monet exhibit at the Thyssen!! Major bonus!) in person.

Bad Luck: We get to the airport to discover that our flight was cancelled…because of that damn volcano in Iceland! Seriously? A volcano?! As they didn’t know when flights would begin again (predicted Tuesday and it was a Sunday) we got into another cab and hauled ass to make it onto the 4:30 train back to Barcelona (talk about a funny sight – seeing me and Nicole run through a freaking crowded train station with our suitcases).

Good Luck: An awesome view of the Spanish countryside with our relaxing train ride back into the BCN (minus that I had a minor stalker on the train but this is becoming a ritual now for my Spanish train rides …)

So really, when you review it all – the good luck totally outweighs the bad luck (which really ended up becoming funny stories consisted of volcanoes and ghetto ham & cheese sandwiches).

So yep… March and April consisted of great times full of familiar faces. This past weekend was Sant Jordi (you probably received my email regarding the holiday so no need for the history lesson) so I went out Friday to check out the scene. Anna was going to come but was pretty sick so she stayed home. As I’m leaving, I get a text from Sergio (one of the twins) to meet up for an “emergency intercambio” – So I pick a spot near Las Ramblas where all of the vendors are and go out there early to just walk around, check out the books, admire the beautiful roses and feed-off of the positive energy from everyone. I’m at our meeting spot, texting Anna to see if she needed anything when I look up to have a big, red rose staring at me in my face with Sergio bashfully standing behind it. I start with the whole, “Aww Serg – you didn’t have to, that was really sweet, you are very nice, etc.” and he’s all like, “Nooo Linds! It’s no pasa nada! I give a rose to my mother and my grandmother too!” HaHa. So we walked around and made-up scenarios of why this person had a bunch of roses, why this one didn’t, etc. I also picked up a really cool book about Barcelona for my future coffee table so just a lovely day and a holiday I wish we could transfer to the States…

As for future trips, Anna and I are going to Girona (known for their flower festival) and Figueres (home of Dali) in two weekends and then Granada and Seville for a long weekend at the end of May. June will consist of major beach time here and around Barcelona and then, the last week in June – our final destination vaycay to… Nice, France!!! We were all gung-ho on Greece but after closely watching the economic fall of the country this past week along with reading warnings on Homeland Security’s site regarding a strong watch for terrorist attacks for this summer (due to the scare the one caused earlier this year in Athens) – Anna and I decided to not tempt fate and go somewhere a bit safer. We wanted beaches so, after reviewing options, and recognizing how close we are to the South of France – it was a no brainer! (Although Croatia came as a close 2nd and I’m not joking – seriously, google image Croatia Beaches.) We will be in Nice for the most part but want to take a day-trip to Monte Carlo along with a train ride up north to the Champagne region. I mean, talk about a romantic get-away – haha – but I think this will be something really different and fun to experience after our crazy year in Espana. So yes, if you don’t know by now (or haven’t figured it out) I’m returning back home in July!!! I’ll be home that first/second week of July (in time for my birthday. Jeanna and I discussed an Abita Beer Tour that weekend – if you are game, let me know) and I really can’t wait…Or can I?


It’s been so bitter-sweet when I think about returning home and closing this chapter in Spain. I’ll have to admit that my students have been making me really sad… I’ve had to break it to all of them that my last class with them will be the 3rd week in June and each one has broken my heart and made me 2nd guess my decision to move back home. I have created such a bond with all of them (one even started crying – but this is the one that cries all the time so, I mean…) that it really will be ripping off a band-aid when I leave. I’ve already had my first taste of sadness as I had my last class with my favorite student, Domingo, this past week. As work for him in May and June is crazy, we had to bring our classes to an end. We are meeting up for lunch sometime before I leave and are going to remain in touch via email (I will write to him in Spanish and he’ll respond in English) but I was seriously depressed when I had to say my good-bye to him. So many of my students have taught me so much more than I could possibly have taught them and I’m going to have a slew of Spanish pen-pals by the time I return to the States. In the meantime, we continue to have fun in class and I’m just making the most of my last two months here…

That being said, I also really can’t wait to get home! I know – I’m all over the place… But I can’t wait to see my family and just chill with them and talk around the pool without having to repeat myself four times because of my crappy skype connection. I can’t wait to drink a good Bloody Mary/Daiquiri/Blue Moon with friends around familiar bars where everyone not only knows my name but can properly pronounce it. I can’t wait for my other big adventure awaiting me when I return – haha – I can’t stop traveling JUST yet! So I’m going to San Diego at the end of July to visit Jake. I’m super pumped and, while I’m planning the details of my Nice trip, I’m also informing Jake on what I want to see and do when I visit San Diego – as it will be my first visit to this city I’ve heard only positive things about. I’ll also get the opportunity to see Colleen and her new little man, Alexander! I can’t wait to see her and catch-up… And cuddle with the babe! So yeah, life is really positive. I’m not taking anything for granted (trying my best at least) and just appreciating every moment, every day as it is… So while things are going to be super busy these next two months, I will update the blog as best as I can so I can include those funny, little stories I’ve forgotten to write about. I don’t know if I’ll continue a blog once I return to the States… But who knows… I’ve really enjoyed doing this one so we’ll see. I guess if ya’ll would read it then porque no?

On the Search for a Matador that wants an American girl (that was raised on promises),

Lindsinita (what my little darling girls call me…I know, so Spanish, right?)


Oh and PS – when I return to the States and can’t speak proper English, just know this is a minor side-effect of spending a year in a foreign country.

Song Suggestions:

The Mall and Misery – Broken Bells
The Only Night – James Morrison
So Right – Dave Matthews Band

Nuevo Ano, Nuvea Chica

2010. A new year, a new decade, a new outlook on my future! Wow, it’s been some time since I’ve updated my blog and to be honest – if I were to include all of my past adventures, heart-warming moments and not so lovely ones – I would have to write about 12 pages worth. I’m not up for that task and I doubt you are up to reading it. However, I would like to share some of the highlights of the past two months and get back into the swing of updating the ol’ blog. So, let’s start at the very beginning. A very good place to start…

My family arrived in Barcelona mid-December. Right when I met them at the airport (running late in true Lindsay fashion) I felt as if it hasn’t been six months since I’ve last seen them but six days. Just like anyone that you are close with, you pick up from where you last dropped off. So that first day, I walked them around all of Barcelona (literally) and shared my excitement and love for my wonderful city. I guess all of my gung-ho-ness took a toll and the next morning, I woke up as sick as a dog. Definitely the sickest I have been since living here. Couldn’t get out of bed. Barely could talk. Over-dosing on Nightquil. Bleh. So I had to pretty much map out where they were going versus being the delightful tour-guide I had been training to be. It sucked. Luckily, Emergen-C is my new best friend and – after taking shots of it on an hourly basis- I was back to my usual self. So the week in Barcelona with the family was a lot of fun – my dad got his fix of olives and tomatoes, my mom got her fix of Gaudi and my brother got his fix of checking out Spanish women asses. The last night they were here (before we left for Italy) Anna and I took them to my favorite restaurant in all of Barcelona, Cerveceria Catalunya (or as we American chicas call it – The CC). We had the best time chowing down on the multiple tapas that came our way and downing pitchers of Sangria. After dinner, Anna and I decided to take Christopher out for a chill night out on the town. We went to one of our fave neighborhood bars, Bonobo, and decided to grab a beer. Well, one beer resulted into many followed by shots of Whisky and Patron (oh yes). We are dancing around the bar. Chris is flirting with the bartender. Anna and I made new (male) friends. We were having a blast. As the fun looked as if it was about to end (it was approaching 3AM) we (along with our new friends) decided to go club it up. Toma! So we get to the club and this is where the chaos begins. As I was being the friendly American gal I am by chatting it up with our new (male) friends, Anna and Chris decided to continue their love for Patron.


{Okay, so the next parts of this story were re-told to me by Chris the next morning while we were hung-over on our flight to Rome.}

So Chris and Anna are at the bar and, as Anna, being the hot-mess she is, finishes her shot, she slams it down on the bar and decides to slide the shot GLASS across the bar. It lands in a bucket of ice next to the bar, shattering into millions of pieces. The bartender is pissed. Anna runs away. Christopher attempts his apologies in Spanglish. We then have to leave the club.


We grab a cab and head back to our place. Once we arrive, I look over to my left and see that Anna, no surprise, is passed out. I point this out to Christopher who then has to come around and carry Anna up three flights of stairs to our apartment. Once we get inside, she wakes back up with this newfound energy and decides we need to have a feast. I go to change into my pajamas and come back to the kitchen to see that she has concocted some type of tex-mex-fried-rice meal that Christopher is happily scarfing down. I feel a bit queasy and decide to return back to my bedroom and pass out.


{AGAIN, the next parts of this story were re-told to me by Chris the next morning while we were hung-over on our flight to Rome.}


So Chris goes to sit down in the living room and asks Anna if he can get on her computer. While Christopher is checking his emails and such, Anna proceeds to pass out on the couch. Chris is ready for bed and tries to wake up Anna who won’t move. So, being the Southern kid he is, he picks Anna up and carries her to her bedroom. As he is walking down our narrow hallway he comes to the foyer and, while trying to scoot past our table, he hits Anna’s left leg into the wall. She starts yelling and, trying to calm her down, his initial reaction is to turn the opposite way where he now rams her right leg into the wall. Anna continues yelling, “Owwwww! Owwwww!” Chris continues carrying her. Finally, he gets to her room and drops her on her bed. As he walks out the door he hears a loud crash. Anna rolled off her bed, into her nightstand, taking the lamp with her. Chris, once again, puts Anna back into her bed, picking up the broken lamp and tries to leave. She begins to yell at him, “WHERE IS YOUR SISTER?!? I NEED YOUR SISTER!! WHERE IS YOUR SISTER?!” After he calms her down, informing her that his sister (me) is asleep in my own bed, she passes back out.


And that is when Chris decided that drinking with his sister and her friends ends up being more work than necessary.


So yes, Barcelona with the family was an adventure. But Italy was even more so: a new country for all of our eyes to witness, a language that nobody knew (even though there were attempts) and customs that were very different – you understand why I can’t possibly include everything from the trip. As a result, I have composed a Top 10 Moments in Italy list:

In no particular order…


1. Enjoying some of the most amazing pasta, lamb, wine, tiramisu and lemoncello of my liiife.
2. Throwing a coin into the Trevi fountain twice (once to return to Rome, twice to fall in love in Rome and three times to get married in Rome).
3. Exploring the Vatican with our wonderful, intelligent and oh, so witty British tour guide.
4. Gelato galore!
5. Having a new appreciation for ancient history during our visit to the Forum and The Coliseum.
6. Boot shopping with mom and Rosa, our Florence tour guide.
7. Climbing 467 steps to the top of the Domo with Chris and then…taking in that VIEW!
8. Laughing at dad’s try at Italian (“Bella your face!”)*
9. Shopping the markets in Florence and hearing the BEST pick-up line ever…**
10. Being surrounded by my wonderful, funny and very American family!


* So we were having before dinner drinks (a standard for my fam) and our waitress was this adorable, tiny Italian lady who had really pretty skin. As we ordered more drinks and chatted it up with her, my dad decided to be such a charmer and compliment her with this gem of a line: “Bella your face!” And yes, he did this in his best Tony Soprano accent. I practically spit out my wine laughing so hard at his honest attempt.

** My mom and I decided to check out the leather markets on our last day in Florence. As you know, walking around these markets, the men will say and do anything to get you to come over and buy something from them. So you hear a lot of “bella! bella!” action. As we pass this one guy, he tries the same old line along with a proposal to me. I kind of laugh and keep walking. So then he goes, “Bella, you dropped something…” My mom and I turn around to look and see nothing. We look back at him as he goes, “My heart!” My mom and I couldn’t keep a straight face after that. I repeated what happened to my brother and I think he’s already tried this line back home (with no success).


So yes, Italy was just amazing. I really enjoyed Rome but really fell head over heels for Florence. I would love to return and explore more of the Tuscany region (hi, Under the Tuscan Sun). And more of Italy! There’s Venice, Milan, Naples, Sicilia and so much more… Ahh, Viva Italia!


Once I returned to Barcelona post the Italian Christmas vacation, I got ready for a new visitor: Scott! We keep laughing because we do not have a single picture together during his visit in Barcelona but, even though we have no picture proof, we had a good time. Of course, the majority of the trip consisted of eating at some of Barcelona’s best restaurants. Research for him, gluttony for me! All in all – it was a blast to host him and I hope he’ll get to come with me and Anna for our future south of Spain vaycay we are still planning.


So now here we are into the New Year! I’m not going to lie… We haven’t had some of the luckiest of experiences starting 2010. Is the bird poop wearing off? Perhaps. I know that I’ve had my first bout of home-sickness: twice within one month! Initially after my family left, I realized how much I missed them. And to think of going another seven months before I see them again well, the thought kind of bummed me out. And even more so, with The Saints in the Super Bowl – I have NEVER before wanted to be back in Louisiana more than now! Oh, talk about a party...


So for the start of January, I thought it was going to be a rather long month. The weather has been really yucky (and freaking cold!) and getting back into the swing of teaching when you’ve had three weeks off isn’t that fun plus no visitors or trips until the beginning of February. So I was a lil sad until I got the best news: Jake was coming back to Barcelona for a quick visit! It’s as if he knew how down I was and decided to come to my spirit’s rescue with a very spontaneously planned trip!


So Jake’s visit was about two weeks ago and we had a blast. As he practically lived in Barcelona for over a month just last year, I didn’t necessarily need to play tour guide with him. We just walked around the city and went to some of his fave spots as well as mine. We did hit up the Picasso museum (first Sunday of the month it’s free) and had quite an interesting experience. Right now there is an exhibit going on with a focus on Japanese erotic art. mmmhmm. Let’s just say, people were REALLY kinky even back in the 1700s. Surprised? Well, I kind of was! Some of the sketches actually made me blush. Anyway, the funny thing is that I told my family to check out the Picasso museum while they were in town (when I was sick) and I remembered that all three of them were like – uh yeah, not really a fan or that was the least favorite thing they experienced and Chris mentioned something about awkward moments…Okay, so when I put everything together I practically died laughing. Oh well.


So yes, Jake’s visit couldn’t have come at a better time. As always, he helped me appreciate what I have going on here and living in the moment. I was sad to see him go but now I have a bunch of things coming up that I’m looking forward to… Such as… Anna and my trip to Portugal! I can’t wait to experience everything the country has to offer. We will also be cheering on the Saints this Sunday while in Portugal. Living up to the stereotype Europeans have of us football-loving/wing-eatin/loud-as-fuck Americans. Proudly! I can’t express how excited I am to have the Saints in the Super Bowl! It just makes me so giddy writing about it now! Eeek!!! Who Dat?!


Anna’s bestie, Annie, comes into town in about two weeks so I’m pumped for that visit as Annie has got to be one of the most fun gals I know. We plan to hit up Sitges while she is here to celebrate Carnival…It’s going to be a blast. Then the first week of March we have Erin, Meesh, David and Nick’s visit!!! I can’t wait to be reunited with 2 of the Loyno gals (and their fabulous men) in Espana. Again – it’s going to be nuts. And then, right after that, my Fanny Pack comes to Barcelona! Then Jeanna and Lils, my BR girls…Then my bestie, Nicole…I mean – the visitor train doesn’t have an end in sight! So jump on! Just do it fast (as we have limited spaces available).


I plan to update the blog more so now that I’m back with a schedule. I promise an update after Portugal. I posted pictures from my family’s visit (Italy and Barcelona) on Facebook and Shutterfly so if you want to see ‘em and don’t have access– just hollah back, shorty.


I know I’ve left out some funny stories, some touching ones and classic Lindsay ones…If I think of any, I’ll repost. Or just skype with me. As Maureen and Nicole can attest – you get a BUNCH more juicy details about my life when you get me chatting. So, just sayin…


Oh, here is our motto for 2010: It Can Only Get Better!
Lovin and Missin you peeps. Keep on keeping in touch.


On the Search for a Matador who (dat!) is a SAINTS FAN,
Linds


Black n Gold Super Bowl!


Song Suggestions:
Little Red Corvette – Prince (theme from when Scott was here)
Lucky Man – The Verve
Run – Vampire Weekend


Movie Suggestions:
It’s Complicated
We saw it in the movie theater here. Not the original version. The dubbed one. It WAS complicated when your Spanish isn’t up to par. And damn hilarious. Oops.

Dar un Paseo en Lado de Salvaje

I feel as if I’m on the verge of getting sick so I have been OD-ing on Emergen-C and decongestants, etc. It’s always when the biggest plans are right around the corner that my body starts to crash. Never fails! Anyhu, I can’t get sick because my family gets here NEXT SUNDAY! I am so excited about their visit and can’t believe it’s already thisclose to happening. On another note, I went out almost every night last week…nights that ran into mornings…mornings that ran into nights… It was a crazy, fabulous, hilarious time. So perhaps I did it to myself? Nah, I’m just going to blame the change of weather. Anyhu, the more I think about what Anna and I encountered this past weekend, the more I realize that we are loco. In a positive way, of course. It’s funny because I’m in a place right now that is soooo different from a number of my friends. Majority of my friends are creating their nest whether it’s with a spouse (or to-be spouse), kids (or kiddies on the way!) or just by purchasing their own home or making a big career change/move. It’s really great – this time in our lives – to see which path everyone is going down, each one leading to something exciting and very special for that person. That being said… I think I got off of my path and ran backwards to a clearing in the woods where there was still a huge party going on – complete with bonfires, kegs and hormones a’racing! I don’t think anything is necessarily wrong with this – I’m just doing some things a bit more different than others. It’s what makes life interesting. Plus, I live in Spain. So I think that may be my best excuse for my behavior. At least, that’s what I’m sticking to.

In short - last weekend was a blast. It’s always the weekends where there are no expectations, where you go out and say “Well, let’s grab a glass of wine or a beer” and then the next thing you know, you are having a dance off with a guy that looks like Tim Curry circa Rocky Horror Picture Show in a club on top of speakers. It was one of those weekends. So Friday night Anna and I met up with a new group of Catalan boys that we recently befriended. They are all so precious – very nerdy engineers with fabulous senses of humor and a pretty darn good level of English. It just so happens that the one boy in the group that I think is pretty cute and whom I happened to hit it off with happens to have a twin… who hit it off with Anna. Hi! Double-date with twins? Check! Anyways, we bar-hopped around our neighborhood and ended up at this fabulous bar that was tucked away various dark alleys and ancient buildings – God, I love this city. This bar happened to have an amazing DJ as well (way to my heart) and was blasting fabulous 60s/70s R&B and Funk music, making me feel that I ended up at The Funky Butt in New Orleans more so than a bar in Barcelona (whose name I cannot pronounce/remember!). One thing led to another and we decided to create our own dance floor in the corner of the bar. We showed our new friends some sick moves: the sprinkler, the lawnmower, the shopping cart… And they showed us their “moves” as well (think Pee-Wee Herman’s bar dance mixed with Flamenco). While we are dancing away, we made more friends at this bar who invited us to come with them to a club nearby. So once they kicked us out of the bar (bars close at 3AM, clubs at 6AM) we ended up at this fabulous club, Magic, and continued our dancing marathon until the sun started to rise. Nights that consist of dancing, fabulous music, tasty adult beverages, cute Spanish/Catalan boys and tons of laughter are my absolute faves.


So come Saturday night, I was grateful to have chill dinner plans with a former boss/advice guru/friend of mine (who was in town for a big conference) so I could sober up from the evening/morning before. The next morning I took Claire around the city and got to show her some of my favorite parts, my neighborhood and everything that makes Barcelona delightful. Claire has been the first familiar face I have seen since I have been living here and let me just say, I loved it! It was so great to catch up in person, not email, and show someone your new hometown. I loved playing tour-guide and cannot wait to do the job full-time once my family gets here… Anyhu, if you have been toying around with an idea to come and visit me – do it! I want to see more familiar faces and, by the time you get here, my tour-guide skills are going to be amaaazing. Promise.


Anyhu, Sunday night rolls around and I planned on having a very chill, lesson-planning kind of evening. Right. Sunday night held the biggest match for football in this town – Real Madrid vs. Barcelona. It only took one phone call from a friend to convince Anna and me to go out and watch the game. After the game (we won) we decided to keep on celebrating… And this time, as bars and clubs were done at 2AM, we decided to create a dance party at our friend’s flat instead. I know his neighbors must have loved it. It was Friday night all over again – except this time – switch out the Catalan/Spanish boys with American ones. Still fun, still crazy and I’m still tired from it.


Anna and I recapped our weekend and decided that if someone was real smart, they would consider taking our life stories and creating a sitcom out of it. I had some incidences that occurred that it was as if they were taken directly from episodes of How I Met Your Mother, Sex in the City and The Hills (d-rama! HaHa…Not really, but the way Anna and I recap our evenings the morning after reminds me of how Kristen and that bartender hoe always recap their evenings).


Oh, by the by, we have a mascot! Yes. We have a mascot. So Claire brought me a goodie bag of Americana (Canadian) delights and one of these items happened to be a little stuffed animal of a squirrel/beaver/chipmunk Canadian creature. He happens to be one of the mascots for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Vancouver…But now, he also happens to be Anna and my mascot as well. His name is Muk-Muk (no, we didn’t make this up) and he’s so adorable but looks rather mischievous. Plus, it’s really fun to yell out “muk-muk” at random times in a bar. Try it.


Teaching has been going along fabulously. My teenage girls are pretty funny. They found out I’m on Facebook and wanted to befriend me – I told them at the very end of the year, I’ll go ahead and accept them but not now…Also, as a treat for doing so well these past classes, I’m letting them pick American songs that they like and help translate them. So get what song they really want translated: “She Wants It” – 50Cent/Justin Timberlake. I was like – “Yeah, no. We can’t do this song. I mean, do you know what they are referring to when they say ‘it’ – they aren’t talking about cookies.” So they started laughing and think it’s so cute that I’m really “shy” when it comes to talking about sex. I told them my job was to teach English and not sex-ed and that even though I can agree that Jacob looks hot without his shirt on in New Moon, that’s about where sex-related discussion end. Dear Lord - they start way too early in this town.


Last week, my students loved hearing all about Thanksgiving and Christmas and American traditions and I loved learning about the Spanish traditions for Christmas, NYE and Kings Day. For my little ones, I made them make turkey hands as one of their projects. Well, I attempted this but they didn’t understand why we were making turkeys so, instead, they made hands that said BARCA on it (the ones you see at the football matches) and ran around yelling the chant for Barcelona’s Football team. Mmmhmm. Making such a mark on these young ones.


As for Thanksgiving in Spain – it was delightful. Definitely not anything as good as being home in the States but Anna and I decided to go out for a traditional Catalan meal at a great little restaurant and gorge ourselves to death. I got the chance to talk with my family (via skype) as they were all at my parent’s house for Thanksgiving. It was sooo wonderful to hear my little cousins’ voices and to talk with my grandparents and feel the love coming all the way from home in Baton Rouge to my little flat in Barcelona.


I know I have mentioned that I may never leave this city. I actually said that to some friends I had dinner with the other night- that I don’t see myself leaving any time soon. I am working under 20 hours a week, I love my job, I love my flat and I love this city so much. But there is something that really tugs at my heart a bit stronger than this city which is full of culture and history and hot guys (hehe) … And that is missing my family and friends back home. I think with the holiday season, it really has made me reflect on how close I am with my family. How this is the time of year I get to spend with them. This realization really occurred when I started talking to my Granny on Thanksgiving. Even though I send family emails and letters to my granny, I forgot how important it is to hear your loved ones voices. She started off our conversation with “I miss you soo much and I’m happy you are having fun but we want you back.” It took every nerve in my body to not breakdown and buy the first ticket back to Louisiana then and there. I have such a special relationship with my grandparents – I talked to them about once a week on the phone and always made the best attempts to visit them numerous times during the year. I guess since I’ve been so busy going and going and partying and teaching and going I haven’t had the opportunity to sit and think and reflect on how much I miss everyone. If only I could have my cake and eat it too – I would ship everyone out to Barcelona so that I could continue enjoying this city, the life I’ve created here, while having all of these wonderful, familiar faces of loved ones enjoying it alongside me too. I still don’t know what I’m going to do come June… There is so much that can happen between now and then. More places to visit, more parties to attend, more classes to teach, more cute boys to meet and more friendships to form. I do know that the longer I stay, the more I miss my family and friends. This has been such a great experience for me and I hope that I continue to grow from it. As well as squeeze out a few more crazy, party nights.


It’s getting super cold here in Barcelona. It’s been in the 40s-50s and – I KNOW that is nothing compared to all of you who are getting snow back home but when you do not have a heater…it sucks! Anna and I walk around in triple layers of clothes and huddle around our portable three-foot heater.


So - I think this will be my last blog entry for 2009! As I mentioned, my family arrives next Sunday and I get to show them around the city for that week and then we jet off to Italy (Rome and Florence). They leave, New Years Eve occurs (can’t wait!) and then Anna and I take our crazy, jam-packed trip all around the south of Spain and Portugal. I plan to have many stories and pictures to share upon my return so if I don’t update this blogity-blog until mid-January 2009 – I want everyone to have a Merry Christmas (Bonnes Fetes! Feliz Navidad!) and a Happy New Year…


Continuing the Search for My Matador into the next year…


Lindsay


Song Suggestions:


The Perfect Crime #2 – The Decemberists
Show Me – John Legend
Old Friends/Bookends – Simon & Garfunkle


PS – Diana Krall’s Christmas CD is de-light-ful.


PPS – Loved this article. For various reasons: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/fashion/06love.html