Week 17 – My Last Full Week in Barcelona

Hey Beholders, I’m happy to announce that I’m officially done with finals! Woohoo! Although they weren’t horrible (and certainly not comparable to UCSD finals), it’s still always nice getting all of the stress and pressure lifted off your shoulders. With this, I spent the bulk of my weekdays studying for finals as well as working on a personal project in my free time. But once finals were over, my friends and I got ready to have our last few nights out on the town and I had a very special guest visit! 

Cerveseria Universitat

After our last “Understanding Spain Through Art and History” class on Tuesday (a class that seven out of eight of the people in my friend group took) we went to the cerveseria across the street from my school to celebrate. Each of us got a burger and we shared a sangria pitcher, then played the game “contact” until our brains were completely burnt out. Contact is a game that we play basically at all waking hours when we’re together. Pre-gaming for the club, post-gaming from the club, out to eat, or on the metro, we are always playing this game. It’s a game where one person comes up with a word and then gives the first letter. The other players have to ask questions that hopefully gain more letters in the word until they eventually figure it out. 

Last Razz Night

On Thursday I officially had my last two finals which wrapped everything up. To celebrate, the usual squad headed out for our last visit to the club Razzmatazz. It was a blast as always and a great final night there. 

My Final Visitor

This weekend was very special because not only was it my last weekend, but Isla also came to visit! For those of you who don’t know who Isla is or need a recap, Isla and I met on vacation in Saint Lucia ten years ago and have been doing trips to see each other ever since. She is from England so I’ve visited her three times and she’s come to New Jersey twice. We also went to Greece together one summer and met in Saint Lucia again the year after we met for the first time. While I did see her in England for a little bit when I went to London while abroad, it was nice getting to spend this whole weekend with her. 

When she first arrived Friday night we hit the town right away and went to one of our favorites, Ovella Negra. We played foosball and won three out of four of our games, then also played a little bit of pool. Isla and I are both very competitive.

The next day we explored the Gothic Quarter, where I finally bought all of the souvenirs I’ve been meaning to get and I got to show Isla some of Barcelona’s famous landmarks. That night, we went to Shoko where we danced the night away. We also tried the restaurant Toyo and I thought it was super good while also being very affordable. It is directly across the street from my apartment so I’m glad I gave it a try before leaving. 

That night when we got home from Shoko, we ended up being locked out of our apartment because our key cards weren’t working! It was quite the adventure that we ended up having to try to find shelter for the rest of the night. 

Due to our less-than-ideal sleeping arrangements, on Sunday we grabbed an extremely late breakfast (does it even count as breakfast if it’s at 4 pm?) and then Isla and I just spent the rest of the day talking and catching each other up on all of the parts of our lives that we’ve missed. This was really fun and I’m so happy that Isla could squeeze in this time to visit me. 

Overall, it was a party-filled week that will go down in history as my lasts for a lot of places. 

Thanks for checking in! 

Sending virtual hugs and high-fives,

Chlo

P.S. I love reading your comments! Feel free to let me know any thoughts, connections, ideas, etc. you may have.