And now...the end is near...

Well my time here is drawing to a close and quite frankly I don't want it to. I have been well and truly making the most of what little time I have left in sunny (at times) Spain. It's been a jam packed couple of weeks for one reason or another, most of this time was spent gallivanting around the local area to soak up some last minute sun/culture before I leave for Wales on 7th June- a mere 11 days away!!

A couple of weeks ago we decided to go to a beach north of Barcelona for the day as it due to be a lush day, and when we woke up in Vic the sun was blazing...it was going to be a fab day! We went to a place called Calella where a lot of tourists can be found. However, it was not so sunny when we arrived in fact it starting spitting! The spitting soon stopped but the clouds hung around all day long. Sun bathing was out of the question (even though we were dressed in the appropriate attire for a British tourist in Spain), as was swimming in the sea- the water was freezing! We decided to entertain ourselves by buying a frisbee and a red football to throw about. We had a great time playing like 8 year old boys on the beach with our new toys, we even had a penalty shoot out! It was a day of lots of silliness and we were well and truly knackered afterwards.

Maria and me

Since my time is coming to an end, my English teacher has decided that every Thursday she takes me out to see something local and cultural. So far we've been to some lovely places such as some religious hills on the outskirts of Vic to get some great views of the plain and the city and a monastery on the edge of a cliff with spectacular views over the landscape. We also went to a reservoir in which there used to be a small village, you can, in fact, still see the church spire sticking up through the middle of the lake. It was quite spooky but beautiful nonetheless. In fact the majority of the landscape here is beautiful so I consider myself very lucky to be here.

Being here in Catalonia close to Barcelona it felt right that I go to Camp Nou, Barcelona's football stadium. Unfortunately I didn't see a football match, the tickets are very expensive, but I did do a tour of the museum and the stadium which was great fun. We even had our photo taken with a pretend Leo Messi and a fake Champions League Cup so all in all it was a great experience.

Tossa de Mar

Yet again I was invited away with the VallFus family to another beach house close to Tossa de Mar on the bank holiday weekend a few weeks ago. Just like the other place that I mentioned, it was beautiful. We were staying on a an estate (full of Germans) with a view of the sea from the garden and more lovely countryside to marvel in. The town of Tossa de Mar is gorgeous, every street is a picture and it really is beautiful, along with the castle and spectacular views of the Costa Brava. Yet again, I felt like part of the family and I even met the grandparents who are also lovely people. The weather was beautiful but not quite warm enough to swim in the sea (mainly because the waves were unusually high and so with little kids it wasn't really very safe.) Having said that I did enjoy chilling on the beach with a beer and great company.

I've been going to Barcelona more than usual recently. I think it's because I know I'm not going to get the chance to go when I'm back in the UK so I', making up for it now. We recently discovered a park next to the Arc de Triomf and we've been making the most of the green space there and we even went on the little rowing boats on the lake, only to get stuck under a tree, much to the amusement of a family of tourists. We also rented bikes and took them all the way up the coast as far as we physically could. This was an experience in itself and playing dodge the tourist who does bot respect the rules of the cycle lane was proving....interesting. Either way, it was lovely to spend some more time n the sunshine, although I did get a little burnt- whoops!

More recently, we went back to Sitges (the beach town where it rained the last time we were there) as it was actually due to be sunny. And sunny it was. I even managed to go for a swim in the sea- finally! At least I can say that I've done that now. We sunbathed on the beach all day and enjoyed a luscious lunch in the lovely little town. Sadly it was a little too windy to endure more frisbeeing and footballing but nevertheless we had fun doing other stuff.

Well I think this will be my last blog from Spain as life it about to get hectic with one thing or another over the next few weeks. I have a Catalan oral and writing exam coming up on Tuesday and Thursday, both of which I am thoroughly looking forward to. Then I have my last school days, last meal out in Vic, last Barcelona trip and then that's it. Two on my friends from home are coming out to stay for the last few days- I'm very excited to see them. Then Friday 7th June, my year abroad in Spain comes to an end, very sad but I'm very much looking forward to coming back to HK and spending a bit of time in the UK before my next adventure. 

Sunshine and rain.

At the moment I don't seem to ever spend a weekend at home as I'm off with friends being a tourist somewhere. However, this weekend I've been blessed with a Sunday at home- time to relax!

A rainy day in Sitges

A few weeks ago, on a whim, Jade and I booked a weekend away in Sitges to chill in the sun by the sea. Sitges is a great little city with a bit gay population and a mountain of tourists- lush right? Wrong. It rained the whole time! Fortunately it rained all over Catalonia that weekend so we weren't singled out. We did however still have great fun there as we were able to entertain ourselves with other activities. For example, we took a lovely albeit wet tour of the city, taking regular pit stops in cafes and bars to replenish, we went tot he Bacardí museum for a tour and a lesson in mojito making (that bit was awesome) and we did manage to spend a bit of time skimming stones and finding nice shells on the beach when the rain let up a little. It was a super girls weekend away but it was just a shame that the Spanish weather did not feel the need to give us some sunshine. Another time maybe!

A sunny day in Montserrat

In Spain, 1st May is always a bank holiday. Not the first Monday of May like in the UK, but the 1st. So, if the 1st falls on a Sunday- tough, that's that- no bank holiday. Fortunately for me, it fell on a Wednesday this year so I had a lovely disrupted week. We decided the make the most of my day off and head to Montserrat. No not the rather large opera singer that sang Barcelona with Freddie Mercury, the big religious mountain here in Catalonia, after which she was probably named. It took a while to get there and 3 trains but it was most definitely worth it! The views from up the top are spectacular as was the church and the buildings. We were also lucky that the weather decided to resume normality and let the sun shine. We could see the city and the sea at Barcelona and the Pyrenees heading towards France- that's quite a lot! Yet again, it was a great day out with some top friends.

Currently writing this on my balcony in the sunshine, trying to catch some rays- I should be so lucky! 4 school weeks left now and then that's it- my goodness how time flies!