LIVING IN A LIVING ROOM

Today I am proud to announce that I have successfully moved into my San Diego room. Well, I mean, it’s not your traditional room with four walls and a decent amount of privacy…but who needs privacy these days?… it’s a living room!

I am trying to save money on rent and save for future travel opportunities 🙂

My living room has two walls; one has a huge window that I love! I’m a huge fan of natural light and I actually prefer waking up to the sun rather than shutting it out. I guess you can say I’m an early riser.

With the help of my dear dear father, we set up my room after an 8-hour drive from San Mateo. We hit traffic in LA (surprise) and the truck had no air conditioning so we were stuck in 91 degree weather… I don’t think I will ever willingly live in LA.

We went to IKEA and picked up four room dividers, the ones you see in the picture. My dad chose them (not me) and I’m glad he did. I absolutely adore them. The top part of it reminded me of my balcony in Barcelona. We brought my desk, chair, bed, rug, and clothing rack from home.

I proceeded to decorate my room as I saw fit. All the things in my room I’ve hoarded from previous years-that’s what happens when you get to college.

I am super excited to put some stuff on my wall. I have an idea of what they will be so I will keep that updated.

I haven’t posted recently because I have been living without Wi-Fi! The cable company comes tomorrow so lets hope everything goes well.

I’ve been cooking for myself a lot more and I feel really comfortable in this place. It also helps that I am living with Rebecca, who I met in 9^thgrade and studied abroad with! She is a true gem. We are also sharing with two ladies. We are all living in a two-story town home near school and they each have their own room. We have our own washer and dryer for laundry which is pure luck! We also have a fully equipped kitchen with a functioning oven.

I’m ready to start the school year. I’m nervous to start work but hey, it’s got to happen some time.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

My short but very sweet visit to NYC.

22 YEARS YOUNG

I finally put my Pinterest to use.I know-about time right? I decided to do a sort of garden tea party theme for the occasion. It turned out lovely.

I made appetizers that consisted of mini sliders, pigs in a blanket, and watermelon cubes.

For refreshments we had blueberry lemonade, mikes hard lemonade/strawberry lemonade, and wine coolers.

For the main course we had chicken with mushroom cream sauce, jasmine rice, and salad.

Keep in mind, were all extremely full. But my mother brings out chocolate fondue and it is too scrumptious to pass up.

Later into the night, I took out my Sippy Cupcakes that had my favorite flavors: carrot cake and red velvet :). SO YUMMY.

I had an amazing time with everyone.

Please forgive the quality of the pictures. The focus on my camera is broken.

ONE DAY MORE, definitely more

Two days ago was the one year anniversary of my journey to Catalunya, Spain. I don’t even know what to say except for the fact that I want…nay…I need to return to Europe. It’s been nice being back in California, but my experiences in Barcelona remain fresh in my memory. It’s hard to say this but nothing really compares to that city, those moments, and that feeling. I don’t know if it was the amount of independence I had but I have a feeling that a couple years living in different cities in Europe is exactly what I want to do. Maybe I just need to venture out; maybe it doesn’t even need to be to Europe.

This study abroad experience was the match that lit the flame; it initiated this ever moving rollercoaster towards the need to see something more than what my life in California has to offer. I feel that it is a bit harder for me to get inspired here. It was so easy over there. I could sit in Plaza Universitat, any plaza in Gracia, passeig de sant joan, El borne, basically anywhere and just whip out my sketchbook to draw. Everything that surrounded me had some sort of story. Even the hue of the sky carried some sort of aged beauty that I can’t begin explain.

Barcelona is truly a dream city-every corner you turn is a new adventure. Every walk leads you somewhere new. With Barcelona, you always need to do a double take or you’ll miss something; this is incredibly thrilling!

All I know is that I need to go back.

CLOSING TIME…One last call for…

August 24th, 2013:

It was the worst of times. This is the one day out of the entire 10 months of studying abroad that I felt alone. ‘Twas the first night in Barcelona, I roomed with Rebecca, my dear friend from home. I hadn’t had any sleep for about 25+ hours. We had to go straight to orientation and then we were expected to socialize over dinner. That night I had this overwhelming feeling to hail a taxi, get to the airport, get on the first flight to SF and never look back. I could still make it in time for the fall quarter.

hmmm, yep, thank goodness that didn’t happen.

I love Barcelona: it’s creative, innovative, warm, youthful, safe, and quaint. But, can I be frank? Barcelona wouldn’t be as amazing as it is without all the radical friends I made this past year. If I were to return to Barcelona, it wouldn’t be the same. Why? Because the people that I cherish so dearly won’t be here. Most of my friends are Americans or international students like me, so what is Barcelona without the people I’ve grown to love? It’s still something; it just isn’t everything.

My biggest fear about leaving is…that this whole year will feel like a dream…as if it never happened…

But you know what?

Life will keep on keeping on. Even when you find something amazing, you have to let it go eventually. We can’t all be stuck in paradise for too long…where’s the fun in that? I had a good thing in San Diego and I left it all to study abroad. Now it’s time to let my Barcelona experience go and start a new adventure, an adventure where I have a tighter grasp on who I am and I’m going to do my best to thwart every curveball life throws at me.

I want to thank my family for all their support and understanding; none of this would’ve been possible without them. I want to let everyone know that they have made my time abroad the most AMAZING, REMARKABLE, MAGICAL, and MEMORABLE experience I could ever have.

Here are a couple high points of this year:

-My 21st Birthday.

-Every trip to SITGES.

-Chilling at Cosmo.

-PAULA BONET.

-That one night where a random group of us bar hopped? Ate some interesting pasta and had a very cold sleepover.

-Stephanie’s potlucks.

-PRIMAVERA SOUND.

-That one night after going to the oh so famous club, OPIUM, at that one Doner kebab place with throwback songs.

-1st Nick Havana experience.

-BIMBO, CHOCOLATE, and BUTTER.

-BUNKER hikes.

-My first time trying tinto de verano.

-NEW YEARS EVE.

-That one night we had an electro-latino dance party at my place after making some mexican food #chipsandGUAC.

-COLEGIO MAYOR DAYS.

-The days where none of us wanted to go home and we would cafe hop like nobody’s business.

-ALVIN’S VISIT.

-CINDY’S VISIT.

-JESSICA’S VISIT.

-EMILY’S VISIT.

-That night Emily, Dalia, and myself were very “alegre” at the “clerb”.

-Discovering Parc de la ciutadella.

-Chilling on my balcony.

Honestly…there are just way too many beautiful moments.

As for low points…meh, they don’t matter.

So Barcelona, I guess this is it, you’ve done me well and you will always be my favorite city in europe.

Hasta Luego,

Dre.

–

Springin’ into change

Life has been a whirlwind of emotions for the past 9 months.

As I spend my last couple weeks here, some things have been settling in while other things have been bouncing off the walls (my push pins that hold everything in place).

It’s a race to the finish line. I am trying to do as much as possible in such a short time. To be honest, I can’t believe there are still mysteries to uncover in this city!

I’ve been walking everywhere, seeing everything, walking into shops, purchasing antiques to take home with me. Word of advice, do this early on! Barcelona has so much to offer. Go get lost in El born and El Raval, you never know where you’ll end up! (and in my opinion, hand made jewelry is cheaper than in Gracia! Heads up!).

Things that I will miss about Barcelona:

1. There is a cafe at every block, actually, more like 2 every block.

2. The creative spirit of the city.

3. How easy it is to find an illustration by Paula Bonet.

4. My room and how cheap rent is for a single.

5. The metro, even though it gets a little hot and sweaty down there it is the most reliable form of public transportation.

6. MY FRIENDS.

7. The balconies and aged buildings.

8. Cosmo.

9. Cafe Camelia.

10. QUINOA.

11. Street vendors.

12. Parc de la ciutadella.

13. Little shops.

14. Gaudi architecture as a normal thing to see everyday walking to school.

15. The UB filologia building

16. The Raval people ;).

17. Spring in barcelona

18. Restaurants are open really late.

19. How laid back everything is.

20. Art galleries. EVERYWHERE!

21. Bomb flea markets!

There are so many things that I just can’t think of at the moment that have brought me so much joy whilst abroad! ugh!

My Barcelona Room Tour

The apartment is super small and so darn charming! I share it with one other woman and she owns a flower shop. I also share it with her dog Lula, who is a crazy party animal and stays out later than I do -.-.

I live on passeig de sant joan (in spanish, paseo de san juan). It is a beautiful street (passage? i don’t really know what to call it in english). It has a ton of trees, dogs, and families.

The piece de resistance: every morning I am fortunate enough to wake up to the sun peaking through my beautiful balcony facing passeig de sant joan. I couldn’t have asked for anything more!

The postcards taped to the wall are made up from my trips to southern Spain, Galicia, The Dali Museum, and my home city Barcelona.

The store cards on my wall are all places in Barcelona that I admire dearly or need to visit. (located above the dresser next to my bed).

I feel so comfortable in my room and I am going to miss it so much!

It’s a WOK kind of day

I have missed Asian cuisine so much! Succumbing to my craving, I decided to treat myself to some WOK from an organic grocery store called Woki on c/ Asturies in Gracia. They have the best WOK here in Barcelona. It is similar to trader joes, except of course, everything is in euros.

Already with my WOK in hand, I walked down Carrer Asturies and wandered into a couple of shops. I picked up a some knick knacks on the way home :). I discovered so many shops that I bookmarked so that I know to go back there. I never really took the time to appreciate everything Gracia had to offer ( aside from the food, I’ve made plenty of time for the food).

During my free time, I have been able to take more pictures and write more blog posts. I have been inspired by The Secret Life of Bee and ELLA; they are both amazing bloggers! I think I might’ve caught the bloggy-bug.

OH! And the song I’ve had on repeat is Devotcka’s All the Sand in the Sea from the Steadfast Stanley zombie animated short :).

SOME PICTURES OF MY DAY:

BUCKETLISTING WITH WOK and green tea with grape juice

BUCKETLISTING WITH WOK and drinking green tea/grape juice

MANGO dress

Some goodies from a store on c/asturies and the earrings i got from granada

Nail polish was a lilac color 🙂

QUINOA

A truly magical place for vegetarians living in BARCELONA! It’s cheap, it’s delicious-what more could anyone ask for? The waiters I know of are both Italian and very kind. They take time to craft your meal and the presentation of it all is both clean and delicate. This is one of the cafe’s I am going to miss the most when I leave Barcelona. It also has FREE WIFI! Vegans will also appreciate their dessert menu!

LOCATION: Travessera de Gracia 203, Barcelona

SPRAAAAANG BREAAAAAAAK!-M.O

Andalucia was everything I pictured Spain would be. We hit up 3 cities in 10 days.

First Stop: Granada

Its hard to say which city I liked best; all these cities have their own draw and theme. If you’re in Spain you must go to Granada. This city-town hybrid is for those who love a bohemian atmosphere and want to live in a place where all you see is warmth that resembles the valencia filter on Instagram . I haven’t seen so many people with so many dreads, piercings, tattoos, and with such free spirits and originality.

It’s a bit difficult to keep your feet firmly planted on the ground; I found myself slipping and tripping a lot due to the beautiful marblesque floors that cover all of Granada.

Oh yea, LA ALHAMBRA was AMAZING.

My little Grand Budapest Hotel 🙂

Maggie, the master of all water bottle balancing.

The Beach Town: Málaga

We hit up Málaga for a good tan and some well deserved relaxation. It is definitely the florida of Spain, and it has really good seafood :). The processions for semana santa were super intense that it was difficult to walk to our apartment because of the human blockades.

I finally swam in the Mediterranean! It was super cold at first but then I got used to it! It was so exhilarating! One of the best parts of the trip by far!

Oh, and our apartment spent days soaking up aloe vera after only spending 3 or 4 hours on the beach (#sunburn).

I GOT MY EAR PIERCED! Maggie, Steph, and myself found a tattoo and piercing shop and they were all so kind and accommodating! I got a hoop on my lobe 🙂

The Last but certainly not Least: Sevilla

To my surprise, it is a modern city. It has a beautiful metro, very clean and tidy. It has a Starbucks on every corner of the city center which was a bit…weird. It has amazing architecture! Plaza Espanya was my favorite!

We also saw a kick-ass flamenco show!