These past few days I've started to settle into my life here in Barcelona. Before I can set out and explore this vibrant, historic city I should probably get a few groceries and finish unpacking. It does seem awfully logical and a bit like me. So I thought I would share with you a few of my every day experiences here.
Back in St. Louis as I thought my trip to Barcelona I fantasized and probably romancized my life here though maybe this post will sound a bit romantic to you...
If you haven't gleaned this from my previous entries let me spell one thing out for you. The most important driving factor of my life is food. I love it and so it was naturally my first big concern here at the apartment. I had to eat and without free tapas here in Barcelona it looks like I'm going to have to cook.
Ryan showed me a grocery store just across from our apartment which is super convinent.
Before I continue I should note unlike many people, I love grocery stores. This enjoyment probably stems from my grandmother and my father. When I was little my grandmother would always take me to the grocery store and Walmart: Yes they were different things back then. I loved walking down every aisle with her, picking out my favorites, staring as she carefully choose just right produce and snuck in a few tastes to confirm, and told the bagger just how she wanted everything separated. Although my favorite part was stopping by the front deli area and getting chicken nuggets. These were heaven to me...my childhood happiness. As I grew up, my father and I have spent countless hours wandering through grocery stores comparing, noting, and buying delicious foods to try. We enjoy cooking so we are often looking for some new ingredient, spice, or produce.
So a new country's grocery store peaks my interest. My first observation was size. In the U.S. grocery stores are huge with everything and if by some ridiculous chance they don't have what you are looking for you just drive down the street to a different one and Voila: you've got it. This is not the case here...stores are much smaller with limited variety of everything not mention that they carry different things then which I am accustommed to. Needless to say our first trip there, I was just taking it all in and trying not to panic with the unfamiliarity. Lucky for me my number one priority was present: coke. Relief spread through my body and I promptly bought four cans to tide me over.
As Ryan set off for work the following day, I knew my task: groceries. The teacher in me makes me a planner so I brought my Rite in the Rain notebook and began at the familiar close grocer. I walked down the aisles noting prices of the things I wanted to get and really taking a much closer look. This time I was buying things to cook and eat not just see the place. There are many familiar favorites here: pasta, tomato sauce, balsamic vinegar, a few cereals, jam, honey, butter, eggs, milk, etc. Some of the biggest changes always seem to be meat and cheese. Whenever you travel, you just never know what you are going to get. At this grocer, the meat is mostly behind the meat counter which is not very helpful for me since I'm still learning the language. In the end I picked up a couple things that were on sale and dropped them off back at the apartment.
If you are still picturing a romantic view of life here, know this. Our lovely apartment with balconey is at the top...the top of five flights of steps. Ahhhh...now you see.
Anyways, I started my journey to a unknown store that is part of the Mercat de Santa Caterina. This is another lovely market in Barcelona (I will definitely do a blog on the markets sometime). Ryan had pointed out Caprabo the other day saying it was larger than other. Another romantic characterstic of my daily life is walking. Now Patrick would definitely approve of this seeing as he always ashews cars whenever possible. Truly I don't mind the walk especially through these streets. Every turn you can find a beautiful old church, say built in 1300 or some wacky sex shop or Roman ruins or more possible a beggar. It's enjoyable to walk this city as long as you hold your belongings close and know where you are going.
When I arrive to Caprabo, I was surprised by the prices. I expected the place close to home to have the best prices for the most part, but Caprabo beat almost all of them. This was very exciting for the money saver I am. I promptly walked through the entire store twice (which still is like walking through half of Dierburgs, seriously) and bought 3 bag fulls of groceries. I know you are all very smart and have put two and two together to discover while it normally equals four, here it means: Amy is carrying 3 heavy bags of groceries alllllllllllllllllll the way home and THEN up five flights of steps. Breathless was an understatement. You should know my arms and shoulders are sore today.
I did title this "everyday life" because I wanted to include more than just my grocery shopping although I sure that was very exciting to read ;)
Another big adjustment for me here in Spain is washing clothes. Before you get into a tizzy, you should know I do my laundry back in the states as well. My challenge here lies in the dryer. You see, there isn't one. Nope no dryer just a nice washer, iron, and LOTS of clothes pins. Outside my balcony are lines to hang my clothes or sheets or towels or anything else that may need to dry. It isn't too much extra work although I've found myself holding my breath every good wind. I'm sure I'll lose at least one piece of clothing before this trip is over, lets just hope it's Ryan's!
Just imagine this space filled with screaming children.
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