Lyon and stuff...

Sorry for being a little behind with this blogging malarkey, it's been a bit manic recently but I don't seem to have done anything. The last couple of weeks have been relatively normal to be honest. 

My normal week consists of going to school 4 days a week, going to my Catalan class twice a week, dragging myself to my gym class 3 evenings a weeks, drinking in cafes more often than I should be, having Spanish language exchanges (in yet more cafes) and enjoying fun and games on the weekends. All the rest of the time is filled in with tele watching and a lot of eating (hence the gym).

Having said all this, I have done a couple of things for the first time very recently. I paid my rent which meant trying to find the Estate Agents again which was a bit of a challenge. However, the people were very nice and I was referred to as 'the English girl'- could be worse I suppose. I also decided it was time for a hair cut so I braved the trip to the salon to tidy up the birds nest that was, my hair. I also left my keys at school this week which was a tad dumb. It meant I wasn't able to get into my flat for a good few hours before my keys were returned safely to their rightful owner. Nonetheless, I embraced the situation and went for some delicious Tapas to pass the time.

This weekend, however, was a lot more exciting. It started on Friday evening when I went down to Barcelona for the evening to stay in a hostel for the night, before I had to catch a flight the next day...more on that in a mo. I spent the evening wondering around the city, soaking up the hustle and bustle of my favourite city. I went to the fountains near to Placa Espana called las fuentes de Montjuïc, they're gorgeous and mesmerising to watch. After exploring a bit more of the city, I headed back to the hostel for some tea with some Canadians I had met when I arrived. They were good company but a bit weird- never mind eh? 

Saturday morning started too early for my liking- 6am! My flight to Lyon was at half 8 so I needed to get a move on. The reason for visiting, was to see the love of my life Fran and my beautiful friend Abbi, who are also teaching as part of their year abroad, and as flights were ridiculously cheap, I could hardly resist. 

The first day was spent wondering around Lyon and generally catching up. Although, we did find a rather spiffing free zoo in a park which was a nice surprise, good research Abbi! The rest of the day involved walking round in circles in the centre of the city, eating in a restaurant far too posh for us students and travelling back to Fran's house a million miles above sea level. The village I was staying was lush and the scenery was amazing. To be honest it was great to get some genuine fresh air rather than the farmy/pig smell here in Vic. Having said that, there's not a great deal to do there so I'm kinda glad I don't live there. Although, we did find a lovely little crepe place in the village that was extremely French and so we couldn't resist. The rest of my time in the middle of nowhere was spent watching films, cooking and eating traditional French food (pizza and fajitas) and absorbing the wonders of the French countryside. 

The downside to the trip was the fact that I, yet again, had to get up at the unreasonable hour of 6am to get the bus and train back to Lyon for my flight at 8pm. This obviously meant that I had a lot of time to kill so I made the most of this by going to the Fourviere on the big hill, the old town, a couple of cathedrals, some cafés and a shopping centre. After a tram to the airport, the plane back to Barcelona, a bus from the airport to the city centre and a train back home to Vic, I was knackered but was pleased to see my lovely flat and more importantly, my bed. 

So, to sum up, the last couple of weeks have yet again been great and it was great seeing some familiar faces. It's starting to get really cold here in Catalonia and those sparkly lights have been going up which can only mean one thing...CHRISTMAS! I'm very much looking forward to this but I have another month or so of fun and games before heading back to sunny Wales for some Christmas Cheer. 

Zaragoza

Last week, I had a 2 day working week. That was thanks to the Spanish and Catalans and their constant need to celebrate something. 

Anyway, this time it was Castanyada. I'm not really sure what the story behind the whole thing is but the Spanish eat roasted chestnuts and little cake things. My second day of work (Wednesday) which only starts at 11am, was fun and games in the afternoon so I technically only did one day of teaching. This was absolutely fine by me as you can imagine. I didn't let all the free time go to waste though- don't worry.

I was invited to my mentor's house so she could show me what normally goes on at Castanyada. Jade and I went over in the evening bearing nothing but a pumpkin that I carved for Halloween and had a fab evening. We met up with Merce and Tomas (who we already know) and their friends Jan and another woman whose name I can't remember. Jade and I were most impressed by the fact that Jan was an Inuit who could speak 5 languages, play guitar, paint (pretty well), and make amazing Sushi. The night was lush and it felt really family-ish and homelike. 

On Friday morning, Jade, Anna and I went on a little 'holiday' to Zaragoza. We arrived in the city about 5ish and after checking in at the hostel, we went straight to the Palace building, which seems to be the 'image' of Zaragoza. The building is MASSIVE and the area it's in is just lovely. 

We did lots of exciting things over the weekend including visiting an art museum (it was free), going to the future (the futuristic looking buildings of the city), going inside (and up) the palace building, visiting the university, walking around a lush looking park and going to clubs and bars. Arguably the best bit of the trip was the last night when we went to the El Tubo area of the city where all the bars and restaurants are. We had the most incredible Tapas ever and for only 10 euros each. I also had the best xocolata desfeta in a gorgeous place on the main drag through Zaragoza, and it has gone to the top of my list as the best one I've tasted since I've been here.

Once again, had an enjoyable weekend away discovering another part of Spain. I would definitely go back and recommend it to friend. Definitely falling for this travelling malarkey!