Where Heaven Touches Earth

Two Sundays ago I met up with a friend I hadn't seen in months to drink a coffee, catch up and go on a walk we used to do a year ago. By surprise, we came across these beautiful sculptures in the middle of Rambla Catalunya that are absolutely spectacular. Look closely, you'll find faces, hands and wings where least expected. The pictures do them no justice, in person they are enormous and so delicately designed. Their grace makes you forget they are made of such a cold hard material like copper and bronze. On a warm evening in May, there was nothing better than to be walking down the street, arm in arm with an old friend as we admired the art.

Tonight I sit in the comfort of my home, recovering from a terrible stomach flu that attacked me this weekend and kept me in bed all day Sunday and half of today. In a way, it must be my body telling me to slow it down a bit, to watch what I'm doing and eating. So I'm listening and decided to take the evening off to rest, go to bed early and eat healthy. Besides I have to be 100% for all those wonderful people coming to visit this coming month and for the summer ahead that will require a lot of energy.

Before being attacked by the stomach alien, I got a chance to hang out with some of my favorites. On Saturday, Idoia came to town and we spent the entire day shopping, relaxing and enjoying each other's company. What a difference a day makes when you get to spend it with an amazing friend just chatting and enjoying the simple things in life, like trying on clothes and shoes. We decided to go "glamour glamour" that same evening and got all dressed up and went to a beautiful Japanese restaurant where I started to feel the enemy attack. But I ignored it, had some soup with seaweed and udon noodles (my favorite) and laughed. After dinner, my buddy Jordi met up with us and later my roomie Jordi and Marta did as well for drinks and a little dancing. These are the people I look at and think, I'm the luckiest of them all cause I get to have them all. They are the ones that make me laugh, that give me energy and that make me realize that I have many incredible reasons to stay here.

I mean, look at them, how you can you not fall in love with these clowns?? and these shoes? this is much better than Sex in the City ladies! And so as the night progressed and I started to feel a little better, I danced my little boody away and forgot whatever it was growing inside of me. Until the next day of course...ouch. But in the end it was worth it. I got to spend some quality time with those that make a difference in my life and am I ever happy that in Barcelona, the sky seems to be much closer to land and so angels drop by more frequently.

Susanna's Day

Last night I had the honor of celebrating Susanna's birthday for the second time and I couldn't believe that it has been a year since I got here. As you all know, without Susanna's help, I coluldn't do what I've done. If anyone has taken care of me, it's her. She introduced me to people, pushed me to learn Catalan and to assimilate my new culture. She has heard me countless times going back and forth about living here or going home, always knowing that I will end up here. She has advised me and she was the one who initially helped me get my job. The experiences I've had, I owe to her and so in return I cooked her and her buddies who have adopted me as well, a fabulous dinner with cake, candles and all. As I watched her last night, I realized how lucky I am to have met her and to have her as a friend. She has broken all the stereotypes of Catalanes being closed. On the contrary, she opened all the doors. This is for you Susanna, Happy Birthday and may you have many many more and may we share them together for many years to come...and like I said, as far as I am concerned, you will always have a candle to blow out and a wish to make on your birthday...Felicidades Amiga mia!

Attacking Amsterdam

Hello again my avid blog readers! It has been much too long since I last touched base with you, but I'm back and with tons of stories and pictures to share. As summer approaches and work begins to lighten a bit, only a bit, which is the exact reason why I haven't been able to write, I have found the travelling bug deep inside me and have taken the opportunity to travel. A few weeks ago I found myself in the middle of Amsterdam with three beautiful friends and smack in the center of the biggest party of the year, Queen's day. Although it's been almost a month since I was there, the memories are still clear in my mind and I still manage to burst into laughter, remembering all the fun things we did.

The first day, Friday, I arrived before the girls and decided to get a quick preview on my own before being shown around. I found canals, lovely sunny plazas, bridges and people of all nationalities who spoke Dutch. The city took my breath away and it was the opposite of what I had imagined, a dark, cloudy, drug infested city. On the contrary, the sun was brighter than Barcelona's and the cafes were authentic and cozy, just like San Francisco.

The first night, Ana(from left to right)Sandra, Idoia and I treated ourselves to an amazing Italian dinner, two bottles of amazing Nero D'Aviola, oh how that reminds me of Puccini and Pinetti and the wine tastings, and Sambucca, of course. Afterwards we went out for drinks and headed back to the apartment, knowing the next day would be a challenge since we would rent bikes and begin the Dutch adventure. The apartment was so tiny, the bathroom didn't have enough room for a sink and so we took to washing up in the kitchen. Look Ma! I'm clean.

We acted like the Romans do and got ourselves some bikes early Saturday morning, taking over the Dutch pathways, four sexy girls on four sexy bikes. Every other hour we would take a break of course and sit in the sun to treat ourselves to cold beer, large refreshing salads and whatever else four hardworking girls needed. It was amazing to see how a city functions on bicycles, the fun you can have and the good you are doing for the environment. Something that surprised me was the silence in Amsterdam, all you heard was the ching ching of the tiny bells that warned you someone was going a bit faster than you. The best was being absolutely chic on these bikes and learning that in the end, we needed practice since we couldn't quite lock up as quickly and when we did our fancy jewelry got in the way...Exhibit A: Ana and her pearls:

The day was perfect for riding, sun everywhere, happy people, and nature. I couldn't have asked for more at that moment. Sometimes, it's as simple as going back to your childhood and putting on those dusty rollerskates or pedaling your soul into the distance.

The greatest part was getting dolled up for the night and riding our bikes. All of us had a taste of falling or crashing into a moving vehicle at one point or the other and instead of helping each other we would burst into laughter at the sight of how hard we tried to be cool and how easy it was to look like a fool. Question of the day: what's worse, a drunk driver or four drunk Barceloneans on bikes? Use your imagination....

On Sunday we rode around Amsterdam did some much needed shopping, and bid our dear Ana goodbye who had to work on Monday. We promised to dance in her name and did we ever. Sunday was the Queen's day eve. Queen's day is a national holiday in Amsterdam, in celebration of the previous Queen's birthday. Sandra couldn't have said it better, SURREAL. The night before the streets were filled with people in good spirits, drummers on the streets, beer and the famous shopping cart of course. When have I ever denied a ride in a shopping cart??

I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard. Imagine this: we find a shopping cart, with little pressure, Sandra talks me into getting in, she starts pushing me around on cobblestone streets. The cart flips over, I fall out, I dust myself off and the three of us walk away, as if nothing happened as people watch us and the cart, deserted once again on it's side...

On Monday, THE DAY...Queen's day, we were treated to a boat ride to see the other side of the canals. Idoia realized we were sitting in a boat with an Ajax player, Amsterdam's soccer team! We toured the city for a few hours and like the Dutch do, started our morning with cold beer. After seeing the canals, we bid Brian the boatman goodbye and experienced Queen's day at full force. I cannot begin to describe this strange party. Rule #1: you must wear orange...Rule #2: you must look like an idiot. Rule #3: You can sell anything, I mean anything on the street, so you can find from handcrafted goods to the oldest junk Holland possess on the street. Rule #4: you must get drunk...and of course if you're with us, you must buy a bottle of Moet Chandon, sit on the sidewalk and drink it. Nothing classier than that. We didn't stop til midnight when we found ourselves in a punk bar, exhausted, with aching butts, arms and legs. The experience was once in a million...and already we are planning our next destination for the summer...Ibiza, Menorca?? who will have to put up with us this time?