How is it possible that I have been in Barclona for six weeks already, and in Europe for over eight?!

This week, among other things, I visited the Santa Caterina Market (fish photo) with a group from my program. Having already seen Mercat de Sant Josep (La Boqueria), one of the most touristic places in all of Barcelona, it was fun to see a market where locals actually shop. We tried cured meat, olives, and cheese. It’s places like these were I truly feel like I’m in Spain. When I’m surround by locals talking about their day, what they’re making for dinner, and this strangely warm fall weather. You can buy almost any food item you need here, all as fresh as they come.

This last week I also visited Park Güell, Cementiri de Montjuïc and went to the top of Cúpula las Arenas. Park Güell, the photo of the mosaic salamander, is a park that was designed by Eusebi Güell and architect Antoni Gaudí as a sort of community. However unsuccessful as a housing development, it is now one of Barcelona’s many famous historic architectural sites and brings in many tourists year round. Cementiri de Montjuïc, photo of the grave, is a large cemetery in the south of Barcelona. It is the resting place of over one million people, most of which are in plots nestled in the rocky hills of Montjuïc. It opened over 130 years ago, and many graves are showing their age. It was amazing to see all of the large statues and monuments that represent the families buried there, or sometimes just a single person. Cúpula las Arenas, is an old bull fighting arena that was converted into a shopping mall since the outlaw of bull fighting in Catalonia. From the top you have a 360 view of most of Barcelona. Directly below you can see Plaça España and beyond that Font Màgica, and the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya.

Elani