The Barcelona Young Adventurer's Club (I'm the only member so far)

The above advert implores passers-by to take advantage of this life, because you don't know what you'll be in the next one. Thanks, little frog, because sometimes I get caught up in the hubbub and forget. Though, to be a frog might be kind of fun. And if I don't like it, frogs don't live that long anyway and I can try being something else.

Here is a quick review of my day-to-day adventures in Catalunya (the autonomous region of which Barcelona is the capital), which I now see as a separate country from Spain. The language, culture, and energy of the people is much different than that of Spain. I am learning to love it.

The ever-lovely Rowan George and the infamous doughnut man. He runs around the busiest beaches with a huge tray of doughnuts balanced on his head while singing and playing the triangle. Sells them for a euro a pop (about $1.45). He probably makes lots of dough...nuts. Eeek, bad joke. He was in the Shakira music video for Loca, so at least he's got that going for him.

Yes, I count this as an adventure. I got to visit the sepulcher of Santa Eulalia, the patron saint of Barcelona. She's beneath the Gothic cathedral. I lit a candle and thanked her for helping me grow through her wonderful city and for keeping me safe while I'm here.

The cathedral up on a mountain above Barcelona, in the town of Tibidabo. I went with a group of interns from my program. We had such great views from the top! I honored this place for its holiness and beauty...then on to the amusement park at Tibidabo.

The Aeroplane of Tibidabo...been spinning since 1928. We all bought ride tickets so we could ride the Aeroplane...like our own private jet over Barcelona, except that there were other people and it only went about 5 m.p.h.

Making my grand exit from the "private jet," movie start/presidential style.

This is Jamie and Nauzli playing on some springboards we found hidden in the depths of Tibidabo's amusement park. Probably the funnest ride of the day.

If you ever need to make your inner child happy, I recommend this: go to an amusement park on top of a mountain in Spain, get your face painted, and eat a candied apple after taking an airplane ride. Seriously, isn't that every six-year-old's wildest dream?! I was thrilled.

Here's my group of fellow Adventurers for the day (from left): Jamie, Nauzli, Daniel, Herman, me, and Rowan. We all got our faces painted...the guys' paint was the coolest. Daniel got open eyes painted on his eyelids so it always looked like his eyes were open. Herman got an eye patch and then all the girls gave him kisses on the cheek after we got our lips painted red.

What a happy ending to my fantasy day at the amusement park. We all went out for tapas and paella on Las Ramblas.

That same weekend, I went to the beach with some more of the interns. DJ and I swam out to the huge concrete blocks that break the waves before they reach the beach. Sea urchins don't scare us.

Some of the coolest cats I've met on this trip: Maria, DJ, and Herman. This is at Barceloneta beach, probably around 7:00 p.m. The sun shines brighter and longer here, it seems!

On June 23rd, I celebrated the country-wide festival of San Juan (or Sant Joan in Catalan) with a new group of friends. I "met up" with about 75 Barceloneces (people from Barcelona) to celebrate the summer solstice. Though it's celebrated differently throughout the country, the main themes are water and fire, which both cleanse you of the past year and prepare you for a prosperous and healthy new year. Some traditions include burning old furniture, jumping over bonfires, swimming in the Mediterranean at midnight, harvesting herbs for the coming year, and PETARDS. Petards are tiny explosives, much like firecrackers yet much more deafening. The entire night was filled with explosions on the ground and fireworks in sky, usually ignited much closer than what I would call a safe distance. SO FUN!

I got to participate in a couple of the San Juan traditions first hand. For one of them, I was given a flower, a piece of fruit (cherry), and a coin (1 cent euro). The flower represents good health, the fruit is for productivity in work, and the coin is for prosperity. Everyone stood with his/her back to the sea and tossed each item in one by one. Then we all turned around and let seven waves wash our feet. This is supposed to bring us good luck for the next year!

This is Carlos and Fortunato, the buddies that I ended up spending the most time with during the San Juan festivities. We found a dance club right on the beach, so boogied for a while before going our separate ways.

Yet another adventure-filled evening came my way not too long after San Juan. I went to a Catalan/Spanish cooking class and learned how to make (and how to wholly enjoy) gazpacho (cold tomato/vegetable soup), tortilla española (very thick potato, onion, and egg omelet), pan de tomate (crusty bread with garlic, olive oil, tomato, and sea salt), paella de pollo (similar to a chicken gumbo, but not sticky), and crema catalana (a dessert similar to creme brule but with lemon zest).

Here's me whipping up the egg yolks and sugar for the crema catalana after I'd separated a dozen egg whites. It was SO NICE to have a night of cooking and enjoying food with fun people! The cook was super fun, my program director Rich was there, and everyone helped to put together our scrumptious meal. I got compliments from the chef about how I cut my veggies for the paella. He said, "se nota que cocinas mucho. eres como una profesional!" or in Uh-Merican: "You can tell that you cook a lot. You're like a professional!" That really made my night! Yet again, I have to tell you that I am very much looking forward to being with good friends and cooking delicious food, both while I'm traveling and once I get home.

Well, dear readers, thank you for taking an interest in my travels. More to come soon!