Alright, so it's no secret that I am insanely, incredibly bored. I mean, that will probably change once the school year starts and I have little Spanish children to pretend to not understand unless they're speaking my language on a daily basis, but as for now, I have nada que tengo que hacer. Also, I'm mad broke and while wandering around Barcelona is fantastic, I can't do that because I have no self control and I don't have near enough money to even begin to think about making it rain. Sooooo, I came up with this great idea: I review things!! Why not combine a few things I'm good at (specifically, giving my unsolicited opinion, pretending I know what I'm talking about, and drinking alcohol) and share my gift with the world?! LET US COMMENCE. What we (hah!, okay, I) have here today is lovely bottle of red wine. It's name is obvi in the title, but I will repeat that here for all of you lovelies. The company (brand? maker? vineyard? bottler?) is Marqués de Taute. The wine is a crianza, a deep red wine bottled in 2011. It's from La Rioja, known worldwide as the wine country in northern Spain. Learn more about wines from La Rioja here and check this graphic about them taken from the same website (Wine Folly). THE BOTTLE SAYS: "Wine made from selected grapes of the indigenous varieties of the area: Tempranillo, Red Grenache and Mazuelo. Once the malolactic fermentation is completed, the wine ages for 12 months in French and American oak barrels, then rests in bottles for at least 6 months to complete its maturing process and roundness. Wine with an intense, brilliant ruby red color with slight purplish hues." I SAY: First things first, the smell. You know how some wines smell super vinegary as soon as you open the bottle? Ugh, I hate that. Not this one! It was really smooth with the faintest hint of fruit. Oddly enough, it also smelled faintly like caramel. Now, guess how much I paid?? €5,85 (that's $7.83 US dolla dolla bills and change). I decided to class it up more than my €1,85 bottle from yesterday because that was beyond awful. I mean, I drank it, of course, but blegggh. Also another reason to write reviews: now I can go back and see what I like/don't/want to try again because I know for sure all of this stuff is going to blur together. Staying at a hostel, probably (yet to be determined) overpacked my luggage, and living on a super budget leads me to drink out of only the most respectable receptacles (how clever am I for coming up with that?!!?!) aka today's cup is fun-sized, party polka-dot plastic cup. Where there are polka dots, there's a party. Kudos to me for not just drinking straight out of the bottle as per usual, but the night is still plenty young. Taste: Deliciosa. Not sweet, and not too sour/vinegar tasting. I don't taste anything resembling the caramel I smelled, so I was probably on crack earlier (JK mom and everyone else, I don't do crack, promise). It's pretty mellow and feels like it would pair well with a lot things on the Thanksgiving table.
Mouth feel: It didn't make my mouth super dry after taking a sip. Also, it's not exactly light, not exactly medium. I would say on the lighter side of medium. I should probably taste something medium and heavy though to be more sure.. Drinkable: Super. Another round or five and I'm fine with that. Hangover factor: TBD. I've paced myself during the writing of this article and haven't even finished the glass, though don't praise me for my restraint just yet, it's mostly due to my inability to multitask. My grade: B. Solid and middle of the road. Not supremely memorable and OMG fantastic, but something I would drink again and buy if I'm feeling kinda classy on a date (side note: take me on a date and provide me with better wine than this and I will definitely call you again).
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Next, I ventured to the city center. Festes de la Mercè is happening this month (September), which is Barcelona's festival horning their patron saint (sorry that I didn't find out who that was, but I'm feeling too lazy to Google completely), so there a ton of things going on. I had a quick tapas dinner (see photo and also become my friend on Instagram for more like it) and then went to go check out the carrefoc (fire run). The carefoc was madness! It's this huuuuuuge parade and there are all of these pyrotechnics and fireworks and people dressed like devils and drumming, among other things. I got hopelessly lost trying to find it, but when I eventually did, it was super cool! Because I got there so late I couldn't see a lot (being 5'3.75" doesn't elevate you that much), but I could definitely hear. It was fun experience, but after a little I called it quits and went back to the hostel because I couldn't see much (and that's what YouTube is for thanks to the people up front!) and because I wanted to lie down after attempts at sleeping in cramped seated positions.
So the next day (that day being today) I woke up refreshed for a change! Funny how lying down and being able to stretch out can actually allow you to sleep. For some strange reason, jet lag rarely affects me, so I woke up good to go. I took my time getting ready/physically out of bed because I didn't have too much that I really needed to accomplish. I made a to-do list and accomplished 2 of 3 things. My To-Do List: 1) Go to Barclays to withdraw money. Accomplished! Most countries are not like the US where you can use your card for most things (true life: I've used my card to purchase things that are under 50cents before). Cash is the preferred option. I bank with Bank of America and Schwab. Schwab is awesome and they don't take out ATM fees, but I'm still waiting on a check to clear so I don't currently have any money to take out. I have money in my BoA account, but if I use any ATM that I see, I may get charged additional fees. When I initially contacted BoA and told them I was going to Spain, they told me that they didn't have any Spanish sister banks. Buuuuuut luckily I also asked them what all of their sister banks around the world are. Turns out, they are aligned with Barclays. Barclays is a British bank, but there are a TON in Spain that I've found, so yay!!! Long story short: I got cash without paying additional bank fees! Also, my advice to you is to ask what all of your bank's sister banks are. 2) Get a SIM card/phone plan. Yep! As I wrote before, I was traveling overseas with an already unlocked smartphone. In this day and age, I don't think I can go back to using a "dumb" phone in such a technologically forward country. The phone was a gift from my dad (thanks, padre!!) and is an iPhone 3GS. It runs on the GSM network, which means that I can put any SIM card in that uses that network and have service. I was initially trying to find a Vodaphone, but didn't end up finding one, which was no big deal. Instead, I went to Orange. I have an official Spanish phone number with a data plan for €8,95/month. I get 1GB of data, which should be more than enough for me. I'm not quite sure what the phone call/text part of the deal was (ask someone more tech savvy how it works), but that's quite alright because I plan to use WhatsApp to "text" for free via data and not a whole lot else on my phone besides maybe Instagram/Snapchat. Also, I plan on taking advantage of WiFi (say it like the Spanish! Say "Wee Fee"!) when I can. 3) Map out directions/route to the university where my orientation will be. Nope, didn't do this. It was raining and I had had enough wandering for the day. Possibly if it wasn't raining/I didn't have all my stuff from my adventures earlier. Probably should do this tomorrow. Throughout the day I also had lunch (at this make-your-own noodle wok combo place), wandered for a little near Plaça de Sants, and bought some granola bars, wine, and a corkscrew. All of that and this is the conclusion I've come to: it's really lonely not having friends. I'm sure I will make them eventually, but so far I've just been spending time all by lonesome. Refreshing at times, but also difficult to do forever. The internet also rarely helps because you get online and you look at everyone else having the time of their lives, which is all I currently want to be doing. So with all that, I am signing off to read my book. I may not be making friends just yet (I mean, I've been here for slightly over 24hours...), but it will come. Instead of aimlessly searching and learning about every single thing every single person I've ever met in life is currently doing, I'm disengaging for a little and delving into a good book (full disclosure: the book I'm currently reading is actually not that good and hopefully gets better, but I always make it a point to finish every book I start with the only exception being 50 Shades of Grey because that was actually HORRENDOUS). I'm also having a glass or few of wine because this is wine country and who am I if I don't delve into local culture?? Adios and hasta pasta! TTYL Oh, and I might update with another post on what/how I packed sometime later! Alrighty. So it's crunch time. Today is my official last day at American Tap Room and I'm leaving to sail (fly) over the wild blue yonder to the land of wine and siestas. I'M GOING TO SPAIN!!! Ahhh I can't fathom this. I think people laugh when I tell them that I can't afford a ticket home, but it's the truth. I can hardly (and by hardly I mean not really) afford my first couple months in Spain because as an Auxiliar (or rather, Language Assistant because I'm going through a different program) I don't get paid until mid-November/mid-December. Yikes. Add this to all of the other things I have to do to get prepared and OMG.
I've yet to pack a single thing, but I have however jumped the ball on a few things. Thanks to fellow auxiliars who are a million times better at blogging than me, I've gotten some things settled. For one, I already have an unlocked cell phone. Plans in Spain are apparently uber cheap (links to come in a subsequent post), but the phones are expensive by themselves. That and my visa I can successfully check off. As for everything else... Well, I have to get to that. In lieu of packing, I've decided to online apartment scout and drink wine because that seems infinitely more fun. Updates to come. The best definition for passion is “a challenge that you look forward to conquering.” --Paul Hudson (as written in an article on Elite Daily, found here) I was reading an article on Elite Daily about passion just now. I always have to take these with a grain of salt because while I do believe they are quite contrived, they sometimes unearth a few gems. This article in particular called to me. It spoke of the importance of being able to name your passion.
One of my greatest passions is travel. The connections formed with different people, places, and times is one of the best fountains of knowledge I've ever drank from (I sound horrendously fake right there, I know). Can I get a "what-what" for teleporting superpowers (THIS IS MY NUMBER ONE SUPERPOWER WISH AND IF SOMEONE HAPPENS TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO THIS LET ME KNOW ASAP PLZZZZ). But in all honesty, the idea that we can always learn something new is refreshing to me. I sometimes like to pretend that I know it all or at least most of it, but in reality, I don't. Traveling for me is cathartic, relaxing, exciting, stressful, and eye-opening to say the least. The really cool thing is that there is always something new to discover and explore. I am getting ready to upend my life as I know it in the states and move to Madrid for the better part of the year. I am absolutely terrified. Along with that, I am beyond excited because this is one thing that I truly love to do. True, I did study abroad/live/siesta/drink there (España, Madrid) for 5 months, but it was a different exploit. This time around, I've signed up to be an Auxiliar (or rather, a Language Assistant as I am going through a program called Meddeas (more on these programs to come)). Long story short, I will be teaching English. I love meeting new people and seeing new (or familiar) places and having different experiences and learning new things and finding ways to bring those all together with what I already know. Soooo here we go. This is the adventure of a lifetime, but not so much when you consider that I regard my entire life as an audacious undertaking. Come along for the ride with me and experience the ups, downs, laughs, loves, and many emotions in-between as we attempt to navigate these waters. |