I arrived in Barcelona after a short flight (an hour and a half) from Paris Orly Airport. Another friendly member of the church I'd met on Facebook, Ximena, hosted me my first night! She and her family were very welcoming: they even had a hot lunch waiting for me when I arrived. It was so NICE to get treated like family even though I was a stranger!
The next day I found an incredible hostel with not only a garden but a rooftop terrace, with a great view of the hills around Barcelona.
After the intense week in Paris it was great to relax here for a few days.
I did happen to arrive just in time for a huge St. John the Baptist party on June 24th! I went to an all-ages dance hosted by the Church in a chapel about an hour from Barcelona. I thought I was a pretty good partyer, but when we left around 2:30 am, there were still whole families (including babies in strollers) hanging out. Best moment of the night: when the bishop got up on a speaker and started dancing. Second-best moment: watching the crowd line-dance to "Achy Breaky Heart"...in Spanish.
If you've listened to CBC Radio 2 in the last few months, you've probably heard "Horchata" by Vampire Weekend about a thousand times. If not, here it is:
I finally tried this drink!
Surprisingly, I didn't like it much. It was like extremely thick and sweet milk. There was also a flavour I couldn't place, which I later found out was probably tigernuts. I have definitely never had those before.
My experience with horchata was much different than James I of Aragon (a king of Spain in the 13th century). Apparently upon tasting he uttered the phrase, "Això és or, xata!" The translation is this post's headline.
Hilarious! I love horchata...ofcourse I haven't tried it in Spain. I have had the rancherito's variety peddled in Utah...
ReplyDeleteI've only had the Mexican horchata made from rice. It was good, but VERY sweet. I could only do a cup in a sitting.
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