posted the photos from La Noche de San Juan. same link as before, but here it is again. More pictures from Spain/Catalonia coming soon...
http://community.webshots.com/user/MMcDev14
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Sunday, June 24, 2007
weekend for the ages/La Nit de Sant Joan (La Noche de San Juan)
all I can say is wow. This weekend was incredible. After taking a test on Friday, I think everyone in the program was ready for an epic weekend. Friday night we went to this famous nightclub here in Barcelona - Razzmatazz - its in an old factory - is somewhere around 4 stories tall - and has five separate rooms with all different music. Probably 20 of us went with our "Guardian Angels" - Victor, Eric, and Andrea. (each year the program appoints three college-aged people as Guardian Angels who help show us around the city, and accompany us on excursions). This wasn't a coordinated event through the program or anything, we all just decided we needed to go out with the Guardian Angels - it was a great night.
Some of us first went to dinner, then to a smaller bar near the club, and finally around 2 am to the club. It was there that everyone finally met up. Some people started leaving around 4, but a handful of us stayed until 6:30, and the dance floor was still packed with people. We went to get breakfast afterwards, and then all went our separate ways and slept well into the afternoon - we needed to get a good night's sleep for Saturday's festivities - La Noche de San Juan (or in Catalan, La Nit de Sant Joan).
The best way to describe Sant Joan is to think of the Fourth of July back home, then multiply the amount of fireworks by 20, and keep the festivities going until sunrise. We all went to a small Plaça first, where there was some traditional dance and music. Once the sun went down things really got going - the sky was constantly filled with fireworks, and some ceremonies proceeded - I have plenty of pictures but had some trouble uploading them today - I'll try again tomorrow at school. So after a procession with drums, marches, and a procession of giant stilt figures - there was a speaker (who of course spoke not in Spanish but in Catalan) who seemed to get the crowd pretty excited - there were some chants going back and forth - it was amazing. Then, they lit the bonfire, a band started to play, and the fireworks resumed.
After the bonfire started to die down, we (and almost everyone in the city) proceeded to the beach, where we stayed until sunrise. There were plenty of bands and DJs to which everyone was dancing. The beach was so crowded with people of all ages - I remember seeing small children (with plenty of energy) running around at 4 am, as well as some elderly couples. Eventually the sun came up and we left the beach around 7 am. What a night, what a weekend. Its safe to say that things are going well in Barcelona! Check back tomorrow for pictures - I should have them up by then. ¡Hasta Luego!
-Matt
Some of us first went to dinner, then to a smaller bar near the club, and finally around 2 am to the club. It was there that everyone finally met up. Some people started leaving around 4, but a handful of us stayed until 6:30, and the dance floor was still packed with people. We went to get breakfast afterwards, and then all went our separate ways and slept well into the afternoon - we needed to get a good night's sleep for Saturday's festivities - La Noche de San Juan (or in Catalan, La Nit de Sant Joan).
The best way to describe Sant Joan is to think of the Fourth of July back home, then multiply the amount of fireworks by 20, and keep the festivities going until sunrise. We all went to a small Plaça first, where there was some traditional dance and music. Once the sun went down things really got going - the sky was constantly filled with fireworks, and some ceremonies proceeded - I have plenty of pictures but had some trouble uploading them today - I'll try again tomorrow at school. So after a procession with drums, marches, and a procession of giant stilt figures - there was a speaker (who of course spoke not in Spanish but in Catalan) who seemed to get the crowd pretty excited - there were some chants going back and forth - it was amazing. Then, they lit the bonfire, a band started to play, and the fireworks resumed.
After the bonfire started to die down, we (and almost everyone in the city) proceeded to the beach, where we stayed until sunrise. There were plenty of bands and DJs to which everyone was dancing. The beach was so crowded with people of all ages - I remember seeing small children (with plenty of energy) running around at 4 am, as well as some elderly couples. Eventually the sun came up and we left the beach around 7 am. What a night, what a weekend. Its safe to say that things are going well in Barcelona! Check back tomorrow for pictures - I should have them up by then. ¡Hasta Luego!
-Matt
Thursday, June 21, 2007
so where was I? Oh yes, on the way to Madrid. Madrid was pretty cool, with the exception of really cold and rainy weather, but we got around it. We took an early train Saturday morning (most of us just stayed out all Friday night and then slept on the train), and got going about the city right away. We checked out the Prado and the Reina Sofia museums and though both were amazing, we rushed through them a bit too fast. Its funny, when we learned all about Dalí, Goya, Picasso, Velazquez, and other Spanish artists, it was one of the things I enjoyed most in Spanish high school - seeing their works in person makes me appreciate them to an even greater extent.
The next day we did a walking tour of the city, and then ventured around our own to many different places - and also went inside the Royal Palace which was absolutely stunning. So many different rooms, decorated in so many different styles. Gorgeous.
Overall, I liked Madrid - its a really cool city - many things to see and do. But comparing it to Barcelona is redundant because they are polar opposites - Madrid is much more old and traditional, with very little modern architecture, and few large buildings - if you took all the cars and modern advertisements out of Madrid, it would be hard to say whether it was the year 2007 or 1607. At least thats the feel I got from it.
Oh and just for the sake of concluding what I started discussing last time - Real Madrid unfortunately ended up winning La Liga - disgusting. But I guess we can't complain here, Barça has won it the last two years.
So now that I'm back in Barcelona, school kicks in - I have a midterm, if we can call it that, in my language course tomorrow, and then one in my cultural class sometime next week. I cannot wait for tomorrow's test to be over, because this weekend is going to be great - Saturday is the Festival de Sant Joan - where everyone celebrates the summer solstice - huge bonfires and fireworks everywhere, people stay out all night, walking along and hanging out at the beach. People also jump through these huge fires - an old tradition that still lives on. Some online travel guides said this: "If you don't like loud bangs then this is a good weekend to go on a weekend trip to France." - I think I'll be fine here in Barcelona. Hopefully I'll have plenty to write about after this weekend.
Matt
The next day we did a walking tour of the city, and then ventured around our own to many different places - and also went inside the Royal Palace which was absolutely stunning. So many different rooms, decorated in so many different styles. Gorgeous.
Overall, I liked Madrid - its a really cool city - many things to see and do. But comparing it to Barcelona is redundant because they are polar opposites - Madrid is much more old and traditional, with very little modern architecture, and few large buildings - if you took all the cars and modern advertisements out of Madrid, it would be hard to say whether it was the year 2007 or 1607. At least thats the feel I got from it.
Oh and just for the sake of concluding what I started discussing last time - Real Madrid unfortunately ended up winning La Liga - disgusting. But I guess we can't complain here, Barça has won it the last two years.
So now that I'm back in Barcelona, school kicks in - I have a midterm, if we can call it that, in my language course tomorrow, and then one in my cultural class sometime next week. I cannot wait for tomorrow's test to be over, because this weekend is going to be great - Saturday is the Festival de Sant Joan - where everyone celebrates the summer solstice - huge bonfires and fireworks everywhere, people stay out all night, walking along and hanging out at the beach. People also jump through these huge fires - an old tradition that still lives on. Some online travel guides said this: "If you don't like loud bangs then this is a good weekend to go on a weekend trip to France." - I think I'll be fine here in Barcelona. Hopefully I'll have plenty to write about after this weekend.
Matt
Friday, June 15, 2007
Two weeks into Barcelona
So I've been in Barcelona for a little less than two weeks, and so far it has been excellent. The city is gorgeous, the weather is beautiful, and the people are great. At first it was tough to get the nerve to speak Spanish to some stranger, asking for help or directions, but now its become almost natural (though my Spanish is still far from fluent, or good for that matter). When I first decided on Barcelona I was a bit nervous about the fact that the official language is Catalan and not Spanish, but everyone here is educated in both, and there are so many people from other parts of Spain that Spanish is just as prevalent. But people up here definitely do take pride in their Catalan heritage, and in some smaller areas they'd rather speak to you in English than in Spanish.
I live with a single señora in a penthouse in the Grácia area of town - I lucked out to say the least. She's a great hostess - cooks great food, takes good care of me, helps with my Spanish, and she knows her way around town. She has been a DJ since she was younger and still does it from time to time. She's a hip lady to say the least, and we get along real well.
Anyway, what have I done while I've been here? The first week was all orientation things, though we'd probably only spend a few hours a day on that, the rest on tours and free time, walking about the city, looking at old cathedrals, seeing pleny of Gaudi designed buildings (and the Parc Guell, which was really cool). I must say that the architecture in Barcelona is spectacular - a mix of so many different things that blend together so well.
The weekend was a lot of fun too - people in Spain stay out LATE, though not just on the weekends. Its not all that uncommon to see an older couple strolling along a Plaza at 12:30 am during the week, or to see friends having a drink together at 1:30 am on a tuesday. But when people "go out" - they mean it. Some clubs are open till 8 am, and they aren't empty by then either. Saturday we went to a bar to watch the football (soccer) match between FC Barcelona and Espanyol. Unfortunately Barça let the lead slip away and ended up tying. The season is almost over, and a win last Saturday would have been crucial. The last games are tomorrow and Barça needs to win and have Real Madrid lose or tie in order to win the leage. Its a long shot but you never know.
With this week came the start of school. I'm taking two classes, a language course and one called "Cultural Encounters in Spain" which examines cultural changes since the death of Franco. The teacher is hilarious and I really like what he's laid out for the next four weeks. Should be very insightful. My language course has eleven people in it, and the culture one only four which is a nice change of pace from the way things work back home. In total, there are 25 people in the program, people from all over the place back home, and we thankfully get along real well. We all lucked out with a good group of people.
This weekend we're going to Madrid. The train leaves tomorrow (saturday) at 7:30 am. Not the most favorable time, but there will be plenty of time to sleep on the train. The trip should be a lot of fun - we have a pretty hefty itinerary with a lot of tours/museums, but we also have a lot of free time.
I'll post again sometime after I return, and will also post some more photos. Hope all is well back home, wherever home may be.
-Matt
I live with a single señora in a penthouse in the Grácia area of town - I lucked out to say the least. She's a great hostess - cooks great food, takes good care of me, helps with my Spanish, and she knows her way around town. She has been a DJ since she was younger and still does it from time to time. She's a hip lady to say the least, and we get along real well.
Anyway, what have I done while I've been here? The first week was all orientation things, though we'd probably only spend a few hours a day on that, the rest on tours and free time, walking about the city, looking at old cathedrals, seeing pleny of Gaudi designed buildings (and the Parc Guell, which was really cool). I must say that the architecture in Barcelona is spectacular - a mix of so many different things that blend together so well.
The weekend was a lot of fun too - people in Spain stay out LATE, though not just on the weekends. Its not all that uncommon to see an older couple strolling along a Plaza at 12:30 am during the week, or to see friends having a drink together at 1:30 am on a tuesday. But when people "go out" - they mean it. Some clubs are open till 8 am, and they aren't empty by then either. Saturday we went to a bar to watch the football (soccer) match between FC Barcelona and Espanyol. Unfortunately Barça let the lead slip away and ended up tying. The season is almost over, and a win last Saturday would have been crucial. The last games are tomorrow and Barça needs to win and have Real Madrid lose or tie in order to win the leage. Its a long shot but you never know.
With this week came the start of school. I'm taking two classes, a language course and one called "Cultural Encounters in Spain" which examines cultural changes since the death of Franco. The teacher is hilarious and I really like what he's laid out for the next four weeks. Should be very insightful. My language course has eleven people in it, and the culture one only four which is a nice change of pace from the way things work back home. In total, there are 25 people in the program, people from all over the place back home, and we thankfully get along real well. We all lucked out with a good group of people.
This weekend we're going to Madrid. The train leaves tomorrow (saturday) at 7:30 am. Not the most favorable time, but there will be plenty of time to sleep on the train. The trip should be a lot of fun - we have a pretty hefty itinerary with a lot of tours/museums, but we also have a lot of free time.
I'll post again sometime after I return, and will also post some more photos. Hope all is well back home, wherever home may be.
-Matt
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Photos
here's the link for my photos - I'll keep posting them, and labelling then as time goes by...
http://community.webshots.com/user/MMcDev14
http://community.webshots.com/user/MMcDev14
Friday, June 1, 2007
From London to Ireland
So its been awhile since I wrote my last blog, and since then I left London have been to Dublin for a day, Galway for two, and am now in Dingle.
Its safe to say I fell in love with London - it really is a great city in many many ways. The weekend was excellent - spent much of Friday with Dave and Ana, then hung out with them and a bunch of their business school friends - many of them were out there to celebrate one of their former classmate's (who now lives in London) birthday. I stayed there until I had to catch my tube stop back home, then said goodbye and went and actually met up with Ben and a bunch of his friends - it was a very long but very good evening. The next day I met up in the late afternoon with my friend Mike Smaglick from back home. We got dinner, walked around a bit, and then went out with Ben and company again to a small pub and then a night club which was a blast.
Sunday was my last full day in London, and I walked around with Ann over to the British Museum, Westminster Cathedral, St Paul's Cathedral, Trafalgar Square, and many other sites. It was really nice having her with me telling me all these things I would never have known about London itself and the sites we saw. It was a bit bittersweet though, knowing that the next day I'd be leaving London.
Since then I've been going about Ireland - spent only one night in Dublin (though will be going there again tomorrow) so I didn't get to see much. Galway was really nice - small, college-town type place with a real nice square which everything seems centered around. Yesterday we arrived in Dingle Town in the Dingle Peninsula, which so far has been my favorite part of the country. The town is nice and small, the people are great, and peninsula is stunning. Last nigh we went to a pub and heard some real good traditional Irish music - unfortunately we only caught the tail end of their performance, but it was enough to make me buy their CD. Can't wait to find a CD player. Today, Mike and I took bikes out and went around the peninsula - it was gorgeous and although we were aching by the end of the day, I think we'd both say it has been the best thing we've done in Ireland.
So anyways there is my second update of the trip - I'll probably put up another post once I've been in Barcelona for a little while - my flight leaves Sunday evening - and I'll get those pictures up soon.
Cheers,
Matt
Its safe to say I fell in love with London - it really is a great city in many many ways. The weekend was excellent - spent much of Friday with Dave and Ana, then hung out with them and a bunch of their business school friends - many of them were out there to celebrate one of their former classmate's (who now lives in London) birthday. I stayed there until I had to catch my tube stop back home, then said goodbye and went and actually met up with Ben and a bunch of his friends - it was a very long but very good evening. The next day I met up in the late afternoon with my friend Mike Smaglick from back home. We got dinner, walked around a bit, and then went out with Ben and company again to a small pub and then a night club which was a blast.
Sunday was my last full day in London, and I walked around with Ann over to the British Museum, Westminster Cathedral, St Paul's Cathedral, Trafalgar Square, and many other sites. It was really nice having her with me telling me all these things I would never have known about London itself and the sites we saw. It was a bit bittersweet though, knowing that the next day I'd be leaving London.
Since then I've been going about Ireland - spent only one night in Dublin (though will be going there again tomorrow) so I didn't get to see much. Galway was really nice - small, college-town type place with a real nice square which everything seems centered around. Yesterday we arrived in Dingle Town in the Dingle Peninsula, which so far has been my favorite part of the country. The town is nice and small, the people are great, and peninsula is stunning. Last nigh we went to a pub and heard some real good traditional Irish music - unfortunately we only caught the tail end of their performance, but it was enough to make me buy their CD. Can't wait to find a CD player. Today, Mike and I took bikes out and went around the peninsula - it was gorgeous and although we were aching by the end of the day, I think we'd both say it has been the best thing we've done in Ireland.
So anyways there is my second update of the trip - I'll probably put up another post once I've been in Barcelona for a little while - my flight leaves Sunday evening - and I'll get those pictures up soon.
Cheers,
Matt
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)