Wow, it’s been weeks since I’ve posted. Lots have happened and school has definitely kept me busy (I’ve already done 3 presentations already!! And with more to go!).

To finish where I left off, after coming back from a lovely weekend of shopping and sightseeing in Milan, my Sauder friends came to Barcelona for La Mercè. They are on exchange like me and I can’t really explain how nice it feels to see people from home. It was such a heart-warming reunion and plenty of crazy memories were made.

After my flight home, I met up with Ali and Lauren (who were staying at my place while I was gone) at Parc de la Ciutadella and because of La Mercè, the park was filled with concerts, shops, games, food, and wine. It looked like a mini fair. Since I’ve been taking so many pictures and I am pretty much a professional photographer (haha yeah right), I gave Ali and Lauren a mini photo shoot in front of the park’s fountain and Arc de Triomf. I wanted to take them to the Market near La Rambla to get some fresh fruits and juices, but we arrived too late and it was closed. Boo!

And in order to squeeze as much night life in their last night in Barcelona, we rushed home to get ready and met up with Shandon and Larissa, who I didn’t even know was staying in Barcelona and going to UPF. We were suppose to be at their place at 6pm (they live literally 2 mins away from Barceloneta Beach, so jelly), but clearly since we’re in Spain, we were running on Spanish time (10-15mins late is socially acceptable). We were an hour late, but we did bring our good friend Don Simon Sangria, so who can be mad at that? I can’t believe how cheap and great tasting it was (only 2.50€!!), my new favourite drink. Tyler and Meagan were both staying at their place and Miya was also in town! Huge Sauder reunion indeed. We went out to a restaurant (La Malandrina) near Barceloneta and boy, the food was unbelievable! The portion was huge (I had to split with Miya and we had streak with salad) and super affordable. I definitely recommend the creme potatoes and I am salivating just thinking about it. Their sangria is also good, but I would go for the Tinto de Verano if you want to try something different apart from the regular sangria (it’s like sparkling sangria but BETTER!).

After dinner, we wanted to join in on the La Mercè festivities, so we rushed to Jaume for a laser projection show and on the way, we found a drum parade and a firework parade. Let me explain, this was no ordinary parade. People in masks and costumes were basically holding giant sparklers and spraying everyone with the sparks. It was crazy, terrifying, and accelerating at the same time. I can’t imagine anything like this happening in Vancouver, it looked like a riot to me. Hopefully my photos will do it justice (taken with my iphone) and show you how intense this was. Poor Miya was so terrified.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8h3yRSqw0w&w=420&h=315]

And when we finally made it to the show, it was just beginning to start! Perfect timing. The laser projection was quite random, maybe too artsy and conceptual for me. I filmed a bit of the show with my phone, so maybe you can tell me what it’s all about.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92tWTco9p_U&w=420&h=315]

The whole day and night, I’ve been rooting for Chupitos (shots for only 2€!) and it’s a must-go if you’re in Barcelona for the night life. SO AMAZING. It is a bar and they have over 200 different recipe of shots and 90% of them are on fire. It is a hot spot for many exchange students. We did my favourite, “Boy Scouts” which was shots lit on fire and we had to roost our marshmallows over the fire and then dip it in the shots. All that for only 2 euros! It was so much fun. I also tried black absinthe for the first time and it tasted like spicy black liquorice. It burns though, like a lot. Easily one of my favourite bar in Barcelona!

Just to add the cherry on top to make the night even more epic, we went to Opium. We had a ton of free passes (they gave them out during the day) and most clubs in Barcelona are free until 12am-2am. This is because Spaniards party until 7 or 8 in the morning. Too intense for me, I would die. Although it was a sunday night, it was still packed! I loved every minute of it since they played top 40 remixes (yes, i listen to crap music and I like it) and we also met a couple of other Canadian girls from Queens (I think…) A memorable night in Barcelona and surprisingly, it was also my first time at a club in Barcelona (I haven’t partied as hard as I liked…). Ohhh—in regards to dress code, weekdays and saturdays are more strict for guys (Nice shirts, pants, and shoes. but please no shorts or sandals and expect to paid more than girls ) and for girls, they should have nice flats/heels, top, dress, skirt, and jeans. Pretty standard like everywhere you go. But sundays are more relaxed and you might get away with ugly clothes.

It was such a fun weekend but I’m sad that Tyler, Meagan, Ali, and Lauren all had to leave—oh well, hopefully we’ll plan a trip together and meet somewhere…

The following days after have been crazy as well since it’s the final days of Mercè. There was a giant human castle building contest, beautiful fireworks at Espanya, and not to mention, random street parties here and there.

[Short video of Fireworks]

Anywho, sorry for the late late late post (two weeks behind haha), but now that I’ve finished with my presentations, I have more time to work on this blog and hopefully relax.

Cheers,

Kevin