Thanksgiving dinner in the dorm. we served i think a total of 26 people...like 5-6 people all helps cook...it was really fun!!! We invited the instructors from the school, as well as all the students in the school and staff. Then we had so much food we went upstairs to the schiler dorms and invited the americans floating around up there missing home to come down and join us....of course they needed to bring their own plates because by then we had run out!!!

Home to Heidelberg

After 10 hours of travel yesterday, starting at 8 am and including 2 subway cars, 2 busses, a plane & a trolley, I have made it back to Heidelberg. Luckily our plane landed early by 25 minutes so we were able to catch an earlier bus, that was actually scheduled to leave the airport 5 minutes before we were scheduled to land, this saved us a 2 hour wait at the airport for a bus back to town.

Unfortunately the trip was not so good for my health, the cold I left town with is now full blown bronchitis. So, if there is an outbreak of bronchitis this week in Barcelona, you know where it came from...

Dancers

This couple was dancing in the street in Barcelona to a little band that set up right in the walkway and was playing...there is also a single older man dancing with his cane they were so adorable!!

a long day

today was a long day in Barcelona we walked up a mountain to Guell Park where we saw some of the amazing architecture of Gaudi, as well as met some interesting people. We then walked Las Ramblas to the water and ate dinner before stopping at La Sagrada Familia on our way back to the hostel. It has been a long day...I will blog more later I am on a time limit here and there are people waiting to use this computer.

last night

So, last night after we arrived and checked into the hostel we took a brief nap and then headed out to check out the beach. Enis had fun running on the beach, while I preferred not to get sand in my shoes and stayed on the pavement. The beach appeared to have been manmade with a gravelly coarse sand mixed with shells and other foreign substances. It was nice but chilly to be on the beach. After walking around Badalonia for a while looking for a place to eat, and finding everything closed, we decided to take the subway into Barcelona. We ended up eating at a chain style pita place that served schwarmas & pitas. The food was fast, cheap & greasy. Enis loved it, I was not thoroughly impressed. Then after walking and taking some more pictures at night we headed back to the hostel. After meeting a couple of American girls who are on vacation from their jobs in Paris in the TV room and joining them for an episode of “tool time” in English I headed off to bed, for a long night of no sleep and lots of coughing.

PS – I think I have bronchitis

Barcelona

Today I woke up in Barcelona...after a long day of traveling yesterday. We left the dorm yesterday morning at 5am to catch a trolley, to the bus to Frankfurt-Hahn Airport. Unfortunately the bus schedule changed and they did not update it on their website, so we missed the bus. Luckily my travel companion found another bus driver who was able to call the one we needed to be on and ask them to wait at their next stop for us. We then jumped in a taxi (for 35€) and raced 2 towns over to the train station there where our cab driver got lost, twice. Luckily the bus driver was nice enough to wait for us (18€ one way) and we made it to the airport where we spent 2 hours waiting for our flight.

For as inconvenient as the locations of Ryaniar flights are, I have to say it was the best flight I have had in quiet some time. From takeoff through landing it was an amazingly smooth flight, although having to buy water on board after airport security took mine was a bit of an annoyance since I have a slight chest cold and cannot stop coughing. then upon arriving we waited approximately 35 minutes for the bus from Reus airport into Barcelona (19€ round trip)

Our hostel although a bit out of the way is just off a metro stop (7€ for 10 trips) and very nice. We booked through Hostelbookers.com and stayed in Barcelona Dream - Be Hostels. The room is a private double with 2 simple twin beds, and a private bath with stand up shower (55€ per night for 2 people). It is quiet spacious and brightly colored. The shower can be a bit on the annoying side, like a public sink when you push the button in, it shuts off after about 3 minutes, and it takes about 4 times of reaching through the ice cold water and pushing it on to get it to run hot water. Free breakfast of toasted rolls with butter and jam, two kinds of cereal, milk, OJ, coffee or cocoa are available.

Snow

Today with the sun shining we had show here in Heidelberg. Honestly I think I prefer the snow to the wind and rain we have had for the last 2 weeks. The snow however does not last very long in the sunshine. This could be a good thing since I have been sick all week and I leave early in the morning for Barcelona. Today I left class early hoping to catch the Doctor’s office open, and I just missed them as they closed for lunch. Hopefully my cold medicines will help so I do not end up on a tour of Barcelona’s finest Hospitals!

Finally

After almost a week of being sick in bed I finally made it out to somewhere other then school and the grocery store. Last night several friends and I attented an opening for an artist we met, held at the Rathausfoyer (the city hall). The artist's name is Guiseppe Blasotta, originally from Italy he has spent the last 10 years painting in Heidelberg. The opening was nice, despite the large number of people in a small space, and the homeless man attempting to blend in among the crowd for the free food, drinks & warmth.

After the opening we enjoyed dinner at a nice italian restraunt just off the Marktplatz, and then a few drinks at Eckstein's before heading home in the frigid weather. The colder it gets it seems the slower and less frequently the trolley's run, even though thier schedule has not changed. There are however certain hours that for no explainable reason no trolley runs (between 11-12pm there is no #23 trolley) so we chose to pay the money for the cab rather then wait an hour for the next trolley or walk the mile and a half home in the cold, wet, windy darkness.

Today I am hoping the sun will come out so that I can go down to the Hauptstrasse and do some shopping, and maybe check out the castle again for some more photos. As of right now it is cold, wet & grey outside.

Flohmarkt

Today a friend and I decided to venture out to the Flohmarkt (Flea Market) being held at Messplatz. Unfortunatly the weather was not very nice and the Platz was not even 1/2 full with about 2-3 dozen venders. I did however make a few small purchases, a small german book for practice, a poster of WWII military uniforms, and some old postcards with castles on them.

I have also decided that all this studying I have been doing recently has earned me a vacation, so the weekend after next I will be heading to Barcelona for 3 days with hopefully warmer, dryer weather.