Sitges, Tarragona, Parc Guell (again), and the Soccer Museum

Sorry for my absence fitnessandfroyo followers! It has been a busy week with both school and our last couple weeks of Barcelona activities! I will be on a plane back to Texas one week from today. Like, what? I feel like I just got here and have just gotten into a routine. I am starting to get really sad about leaving this wonderful place, but I am more than ready to see my family and eat a real American hamburger!

Anyway, this week was filled with some great activities. One of Sarah's friends just arrived in Barcelona for the start of a six-month internship, so we have been hanging with him to help show him around the city before he has to start work on Monday. He is an architecture major at UT, so we decided to take him to one of our favorite places in Barcelona: Parc Guell. It has some great architecture, if you are into that kind of stuff! If you remember, Sarah and I went to Parc Guell during one of our first few days here, so I was really excited to go back because I loved it the first time, and I was excited to discover different sights that I had missed the first time. The temperature was a little bit higher than it was five weeks ago, so it made for one very sweaty afternoon, but it was worth it, as we climbed to the top and were awarded with beautiful views of the city that I have come to love so much. 

We also discovered this wonderful place and decided to make the short trek up to snap a picture and take in the views. I still can't believe that I have LIVED here for almost seven weeks. I have been so blessed to have this opportunity!

Sarah and I planned on heading home to do the laundry that we had been putting off for about two weeks, but then we decided to take Blake to our favorite beach restaurant in Barcelona: Ona. We hopped on the metro and walked to Barceloneta where we enjoyed our absolute favorite Spanish meal and watched the sun go down over the Mediterranean Sea. It was beautiful, and such a nice night. These are the kinds of memories that will stay with me forever!

My favorite Spanish dish!

On Wednesday, we had our usual date with the IES Jogging Club, and since we are running a 10K tomorrow morning, we were lucky enough to get to go to the park and run sprints. It was tough, but it felt good to push myself that hard, as I feel like my workouts since being here have not been up to my usual intensity - I can't tell you how excited I am to work out in an actual gym! Sarah met Blake to go watch the semi-finals of the EuroCup (Spain v. Portugal - SPAIN WON, going to the finals!), but I had a big project to work on, so I anxiously tracked the game on my computer. It was so intense - it went down to the penalty kicks! We play Italy tomorrow in the finals! Viva Espana!

Apparently, the soccer game turned us into die-hard soccer fans, so we decided to visit the FCBarca stadium and museum on Thursday after class. Y'all, it was so cool -- there is so much history to the FCBarca team and it really unites the city while also giving back to the community. We read through decades of history about the club before getting to see the actual stadium where the games are played and getting to walk around the visiting teams locker room and sitting in the press box at the stadium. I felt like I was practically an FCBarca player, despite the fact that I have never even watched one game. Sarah and I decided that the next time we come to Barcelona, we are definitely coming during the season so we can experience the fun!

Kubala's bathrobe worn during surgery 

Oldest futbol jersey

Messi!

We also saw some interesting people -- you could hide a whole lot in that hair! 

After getting some gelato, Sarah and I really had to do laundry, as we were down to our last pair of clean clothes. I also (attempted) to work on my oral presentation that is due next week, but I have all day tomorrow for that! We enjoyed a quiet evening that led to a jam-packed, yet very relaxing, Friday.

I have heard from multiple people that the beach towns of Sitges and Tarragona are just beautiful and they are very worth seeing, so Sarah and I used the last of our Eurail passes to experience some real Spanish beaches. Barceloneta is great, but one, it is a man-made beach and two, there are just so many people. Sitges and Tarragona were absolutely beautiful and there were hardly any people on the beach with us. I brought my Kindle along, thinking I was going to get so much reading done, but I passed out almost immediately. I get about six or seven hours of sleep a night, but with all the activity that we do, that is definitely not enough! At least I got to get some sleep while catching some rays! Here's to coming back with a decent tan!

While in Sitges, we found a fro-yo place, so naturally we had to get some. While not as good as yummynatural (no peanut butter), it was delicious and so refreshing after sitting in the sun for almost two hours. 

My first time trying kiwi. Verdict: Thumbs up!

We walked around the little town of Sitges before heading to Tarragona, well, attempting to head to Tarragona. It was a little bit more difficult than we anticipated, but we finally got there and we were hungry. We really wanted, you guessed it, the Spanish tortilla, and we happened to find a little cafe that sold them. They also had free Wi-Fi - this was our kind of place! We paid less than two euro for this sandwich and it hit the spot -- I was full until dinner time!

We then attempted to find our way to the beach (a little bit more difficult than it should have been!) and laid there reading, or in my case, sleeping, before heading back to Barcelona around 7:00. We were hot and tired, but really glad that we made the trip - it was well worth it!

We are planning on putting in a couple hours of homework before heading back to Tibidabo (no, we are not going to hike it again!) to visit the amusement park, and then to do some souvenir shopping! Enjoy your Saturday!

PS - I have to give a happy birthday shootout to one of my all-time favorite teachers: Mr. Avis! Have fun running your age!