Hasta la próxima, Barcelona.

Today has been my last full day in Barcelona, and what a day it's been! We leave for the beach tomorrow - I can't wait.

The past 2 days I've had free to do whatever I like. I went out both days and did some exploring. Yesterday I didn't really have a plan as such but I headed towards the Passeig de Gràcia. I went in all the clothes shops and found some new ones that I like, hopefully they'll be in Granada too. I tried not to buy a lot because of my baggage allowance on the way home but I got a few things.

I also popped into Orange to try and sort a Spanish sim card out but turns out I needed my passport. A really annoying situation occurred as well. When I walked up to the customer assistant, I explained that I have an English phone but I need a Spanish sim for my year abroad (in Spanish). The assistant then said 'Ah, English ....' then proceeded to explain everything in English rather than Spanish. I find this so annoying, LET ME SPEAK SPANISH!!

Afterwards, I went into the Catedral de Barcelona. It was absolutely stunning, you had to pay 6 euros but it was worth it. There are so many different sections to it including a garden and fountain. Afterwards, I bought a huge ice cream (2 scoops, mint choc chip & kinder chocolate) and sat in the sun. I walked back up through some small streets and found the Palau de la Generalitat. I walked home through Las Ramblas and took a detour on the way into Mercat St Josep - La boquería. It's an amazing food market. I bought a mango and coconut fruit juice and had a look around. It's well worth a visit. I took a slow walk back home, my feet were hurting from all the walking I'd done!

I got back and had a little siesta, skyped my parents then we went to the Italians' for dinner. We had prosciutto all the way from Bologna! (yes, they brought a whole leg of pig in their suitcase). It was delicious, we had it with melon and some bread. We got through 3 bottles of champagne too, given that it was our last night it was clearly going to be the best champagne. Each bottle was around 400euros. Absolutely mental. It was pretty good though!

Anyway, today I head out with the intention of seeing Casa Milà and La Iglesia de Santa María del Mar. I didn't actually go into Casa Milà, I was going to then I read that you couldn't take pictures. So I carried on - it was such a long walk. En route I saw some people getting off a bus and I thought, I really recognise those outfits. They were a group of castellers! I've learnt a lot about Els Castells in my Catalan Culture class at uni and I really really wanted to see it. So I decided to follow them. We ended up in front of the Cathedral (where I had been yesterday). The square was absolutely full of people and on the steps up to the cathedral there was a band. They started playing and then groups of people formed circles and began La Sardana (a typical Catalan dance). It was such a great atmosphere, I was so pleased I followed the castellers. 

After the Sardana had more or less finished, an instrument sounded and all the Castellers (there were 3 teams) began a procession towards where it was going to take place. I once again, followed. Each team had a few people who were playing the traditional instruments. We ended up down a random street. The first castell was a small one, maybe just to warm up, I'm not sure. After that, each team took it in turns to build their castle. Men, women, boys and girls all take part. Each team has their own colour top, and they wear white trousers. They wrap a black cloth around their stomach, then tie a red bandana round them too. I think this not only adds to their costumes, but also helps the people climbing on top of them as it gives extra support. All the big strong men help form the base, while more climb on top, and so on, until little toddlers climb all the way to the top, stick their hand in the air then climb down. It was amazing to watch and I'm so glad I got to finally see it. 

Once I'd watched all 3 teams, I headed off again. I went to the Santa María del Mar church. Núria had told me this was her favourite church and I can completely understand why. It was stunning. Although I'm not religious, I have really enjoy walking round these different churches. I was absolutely shattered walking back, it's a really long way but I had a good day. 

Tomorrow we're going to the beach. I will be sad to leave Barcelona because I've finally got my bearings and it is such an amazing city, That said, it's been a very tiring 10 days and I can't wait to get to the beach. I'll be spending my days making sure the girls do their homework,once that is done we can go swimming or go to the beach. Tara might even be coming one weekend!  It is going to be a calmer atmosphere. Hopefully I won't get any more sun burnt though!

Besos. 

Basta!

Following my last blog post...

The paella we had was lovely, I even ate the seafood and it wasn't as horrible as I thought. I'm not a converted seafood lover yet though. We had crema catalana for dessert, I was really excited for it. Turns out it's glorified custard with a glazed sugar top (like creme brulée). It was nice though. We also had more coca too. I'm gonna get fat but right now I don't care because it tastes SO GOOD!!! They always make me have seconds too. Antonio has said more than once after he's made me eat more that he doesn't want el Ejército Británico turning up claiming Ellie Laing returned to England malnourished. I have assured him that my Dad is no longer in the army and that I won't return malnourished...anything but!

Tuesday was the official start of my au pairing. The parents went back to work after the long weekend and the children started their holidays. This means I have to speak to them in English and they have to speak to me in English too. It's not as easy as it sounds, for them anyway. That said, they did a great job of trying to only use English and asking me how to say a word or phrase if they didn't know. We took the bus to a park near their school. It's quite far out looking over the city. The park is on a hill, I actually found it more difficult to climb than the mountains last weekend. The girls were really keen to show me round their school too. Luckily, it was open. All the teachers were there as well as some pupils who were helping out taking down displays and preparing for the next academic year. I met some of their teachers and looked round the school which was lovely, some of the views from the classrooms were of the whole city and the sea! If I'd have had that view when I was at school I would've been so distracted! Something else I noticed is how affectionate the teachers are to the pupils, I know they're young and it's part of the Spanish culture but there were besos here there and everywhere. When we got back I found out my uni results had been published online. Somehow I managed to get 83 in my Spanish exam (an average of 3 exams, listening, writing and oral) which I was and still am over the moon about. This has given me an overall grade of 69.75% (unfortunately the exam wasn't worth a lot so it didn't boost my grades up that much). Any uni students will understand that is possibly the most annoying grade ever. The difference between a 60-something grade and a 70+ is the difference between a 2:1 and a First. This means I am 0.25% off a first for my second year (the first year that actually counts towards my degree). I have all my fingers and toes crossed that they automatically round it up to 70. It'd be mean not to.

On Wednesday we went to Tibidabo with the Italians. It's an attraction park on top of a mountain which overlooks Barcelona. The views were absolutely breathtaking. We got a taxi up to the Funicular station (like a train). It was so cheap, in England it would've cost so much more. Anyway, we arrived at Tibidabo and went straight on a 'ride'. It was just a metal basket with 6 of us in which went up really high then came down again, it was very slow though. Boring but with great views. All the big and fun rides were closed, we're not sure why. So we were left with a carousel, a flying plane and small rides for children. I didn't go on much. There's also a huge church that I went in with Manuela and Berta. It was beautiful inside and out. It was so so tall, we had to take an elevator to the top (2euros!!), which turned out to not even be the top. We had climb about 200 more stairs to get to the peak. It was worth it though, with even more beautiful views and a huge statue of El Cristo just like in Rio de Janeiro.

Today we went to the aquarium. It's apparently one of the best in Europe. They're all rather similar to me though and I don't particularly get excited by different varieties of fish. That said, I've discovered a new found love for stingrays upside down, they just look really cute. Tonight we are having a big dinner with the Italians and some of Antonio and Núria's friends. Lots more food I imagine.

When I write my blog, I do make it sound like I'm living the dream. Although I'm having a great time and enjoying the experience, it's definitely not as easy as I thought it would be. I've found it hard coming into a family's home. I feel like their relationships are so different to those I ever had with my parents (not in a bad way, I love my parents). They're extremely affectionate, they shout a lot and the children are allowed to swear. Sometimes I just find myself sitting there thinking about how different it all is. However that's what part of this experience is about, seeing how the Spanish live compared to how we do. Antonio said the other day that the only trouble with me au pairing is that any previous desire to want to have children has now gone out the window! I wouldn't go quite that far, however it's definitely teaching me how much time and energy they take up. And that I probably don't want to teach children...

Only a few days left in Barcelona, we leave for the Torredembarra on Sunday or Monday. Hoorah!!

P.s.The title of the blog is a word I've been hearing all too often. The Italian girls are always screaming, shouting, fighting, generally just being annoying little shits girls. Manuela and Mauricio always shout BASTA EH!! (The 'eh' on the end essential to Spanish and Italian speakers). It basically means 'that's enough now!'.

Un buen fin de semana...

Wow, what a weekend I have had! This is going to be a long post, I apologize now.,

On Friday evening we left for the mountains, it took about 2 hours to get there and there was the worst thunder storm on our journey. Having only packed thin leggings and a hoody for hiking the next day, it was safe to say I was feeling slightly apprehensive about the weekend to come! We arrived in the dark and in pouring rain, dinner was straight on and we were soon sat down eating a lovely empanada (of course with champagne).

The next day I got woken up about 8 to get ready for the mountains. Luckily, the bad weather had cleared and it was a beautiful day. Núria's brother-in-law, Victor, joined us for the hike too. The Italians decided not to hike and would get the train to Núria (the name of the valley) later on in the day to meet us at the final destination. We had to drive for about 15-20 minutes to park the car, then we were off. The views were honestly so incredible, I couldn't take it all in. The walk seemed pretty easy at first, however Núria insisted I wore a hat. I did try to politely decline but she wasn't having any of it. It was a lovely shade of bright yellow.

Said yellow hat

Vall de Núria. Beautiful.

We hiked for hours, I actually really enjoyed it. It did get quite hard at some points, but I didn't fall over! We got to Núria about 2pm, very thirsty! The water of Ribes is said to be the best, fresh from the mountains. We filled up our bottles with it, but not before picking 6 stones out of the water and making a wish. We'll see if my wish comes true in 2 years time. We headed over to meet the Italians and had a look in the church. It is a very old church with many traditions to do with the virgin, many people travel from all over to come and pray to her. There's also what I can only describe as a piece of furniture. It is said that if you are having problems with fertility or migraines, to put your head inside and someone (typically your husband) to ring the bell three times. This grants you fertility or relief of migraines. Manuela (the Italian) came here years ago and following, she had 3 children in 2 years! The eldest is, as a result, named Núria. Safe to say, I definitely did not put my head in.

We had some lunch then travelled back on the train. Antonio had to walk the whole way back because the car needed collecting. One hike was enough for me. The train was a nice calm way to travel back to Ribes de Freser, although I was sat opposite an annoying Asian/Spanish woman who gave me absolutely no leg room.

When we got back, Berta asked me if I wanted to go for a run. After all the hiking in that heat you'd have thought I'd say no. I didn't. We ran around the town and it was really lovely, but hard. I thought I wasn't going to faint towards the end. Still, it was nice to do something together. Unfortunately once we got back I happened to notice the sunburn on my legs. I slathered suncream all over my face and arms before we went hiking, I completely forgot about my legs because I was wearing leggings. I look absolutely ridiculous.

We ate and drank well again that night, I even tried anchovies. For anyone who knows me well, this is a big deal. I liked them too - revelation!

On Sunday we didn't have to get up too early, I went down into Ribes to take some photos of the town and stole a hotels' wifi to Skype my parents. I came back in with the Italians and Berta, the Italian girls had a drink of milk but they put sugar in it. I have never known anyone to put sugar in milk. Must be an Italian thing..

We left Ribes around 4-5 and headed to Santa Eulalia. En route we stopped off at Ripoll. Ripoll is officially the capital of Catalan culture. Myself and Núria went into the monastery, it is one of the most regarded in the world apparently. It was absolutely beautiful. We arrived in Santa Eulalia for Sant Joan festivities and I met all the family. It was a great night with a big bonfire and fireworks. The food was incredible too. I ate so much. I embarrassingly had 3 portions of dessert too. It is called 'coca'. There are two versions, one with a custard filling and one with cream. I had 2 custard and 1 cream. Yum!! We played some games with the children and all in all just had a great night.

We are back in Barcelona and tonight the Italians are coming round for paella.

I'm here

After a long journey I finally made it to Barcelona at about half 3 yesterday afternoon, my Spanish family were all waiting for me in arrivals. We hopped in the car back to the apartment, which turns out really is in the heart of Barcelona in an area called Eixample with the most beautiful views, to the right you can see the sea through the streets and to the left the mountain, Tibidabo.

The photo doesn't show the sea very well. It's there though!

You can just about see Tibidabo.

As soon as we got here I got shown around, then we had to go and buy some bread for the youngest, Elna because she has to eat gluten free. After that, the girls took me down to a toy store to learn the rules for a new game they have. It was a bit slow and it took me a good hour to fully understand the rules. It was a card game to do with American cities, trains and colours. Very bizarre. We ended up there for a good 2-3 hours. You can go and play their games and one of the shop assistant will play with you. It made me realise how laid back Spanish shops are, one of the assistants popped next door to get a hair cut and the hairdresser and the assistant came back to ask opinions of his new 'do'. There was also a little dog roaming around. This sort of stuff doesn't really happen in England, I think it's nice though.

Yesterday was also the arrival of their family friends from Italy who have 3 young girls. We walked over to the apartment they are renting for the week and had dinner there. I had to go up with all the girls first, then the adults followed with the suitcases. While we were waiting for them outside the door to the apartment, Elna accidentally pressed a switch she thought was for the light, turns out it was the buzzer for the apartment next to them. Out came an angry Spanish man in just his underpants, the kids were laughing like crazy, I just said 'Perdon..' and turned away. All the girls are friends and speak in Italian, they were clearly excited and would not stop screaming and running around. It was a bit much after a day of travelling.

We had some food, tortilla de patatas, gluten free meatballs and salsa de tomate, nice bread and some manchego cheese. The Italian parents are big lovers of wine and champagne, so Núria and Antonio told me. We had champagne with dinner last night, the first bottle was 150 euros, and the second 230!! I couldn't believe it. The craziest thing was the father was not even swallowing it, he swished it around in his mouth then spat it in a cup. I certainly enjoyed it but I won't be spending that much on alcohol anytime soon.

One of the things I didn't really think about before I got here was language. Catalonia has two official languages, Castellano and Catalan. Although I speak both, Castellano is what I am used to. However, the girls always speak to their parents in Catalan, but the parents speak to each other in castellano. In the games shop the girls were speaking Catalan, but the assistant replied in Castellano. Confusing.

Today is the girls last day of school and the parents are both working til the afternoon. I'm free to do as I please! I've had a bit of a lie in. I'm gonna grab some breakfast then go exploring with my camera, maybe some tapas too. Núria gave me a map and marked certain places but I'm guaranteed I'll still get lost.

Late this afternoon/evening when everyone is back we are going to the Ribes de Freser, a town in the mountains of Girona. Apparently we are doing a 45 minute- an hour trek, not sure if that is today or tomorrow. There's the option to get the train but I'd like to try and do the hike. We spend Saturday and a bit of Sunday in Ribes too. Sunday is La Festa de Sant Joan / La Nit de Sant Joan. We'll be coming back to Barcelona to join in the fun. It celebrates the shortest day of the year. It should be a great night with lots of fire and fireworks, I think we may be going down to the beach for it.

All in all, so far so good.

Preparativos

In 2 days time I will begin my 5 weeks au pairing in Barcelona. As a language student, au pairing has never been something that struck me as a way of practising Spanish, seeing a bit of Spain and earning some money - this all changed after a conversation with my friend Tara at uni. Tara was telling me how she'd applied to be an au pair in Spain for the summer, after looking into it myself I decided I too liked the idea of it and also began to make a profile on an agency website.

I definitely didn't expect the amount of responses I received. I spoke to potential families from all corners of Spain but mutual differences and expectations always seemed to result in me getting absolutely no where for about a month or so (and me being me, I expected to find my dream family overnight). I began to give up and think maybe this wasn't for me until, with luck, a family in Barcelona wrote to me expressing their interest and after many emails of introductions and information about the job, my flight was booked and it was a done deal.

Those who know me will remember how gutted I was when I didn't get my first university choice for the Erasmus year abroad. I had my heart set on Barcelona but truth be told I'm not quite sure why. I had never been there nor did I have any specific reason why I wanted to go apart from the fact I was one of a few bunch of students studying Catalan (the official language of Catalonia), which I clearly thought made me the  obvious choice to be granted one of the 8 places out of the hundred Spanish students at Kent who also all applied to go there. Instead, I was placed in Granada. To cut a long story short, I was sad but I am now very excited to begin my year abroad there in September. The fact that the family that I am au pairing for live in Barcelona is a massive plus. I may have missed out on the chance to study there, but at least I am lucky enough to be able to spend some time there over summer.

Having never done anything like this, I am not sure what to expect from this experience but I am going with the intention of speaking a lot of (and improving) my Spanish, helping improve the children's English and just experiencing the Spanish way of life. Oh, and getting a tan wouldn't go a miss (never going to happen - ginger genes).

When I booked my flights back in March, 20th June seemed so far away but here I am 2 days to go and now I can't believe how quick it has come around. I've got loads of sun cream, a new camera and my suitcase is just about packed - I think I'm ready to go!

My next post will be from Barcelona. ¡Hasta luego!