When in Barcelona...

Saturday, November 6th
Barcelona!!

Yesterday we met up with Kelsey, Amie and my (Erin)'s freshman year roommate, who is studying abroad in Barcelona. She showed us around town and brought us to the Park Guell and the Sagrada Familia, both of which are designed by Gaudi. Gaudi is a famous architect/artist who has many significant works in Barcelona. Kelsey described Barcelona as "Gaudi's playground." While exploring the city we had a number of strange occurances:

1) At the top of the Park Guell we met up with Kelsey's friend, Miriam, from her program and Miriam was with her friend Tim (who is studying in London). Tim happens to be from Bowdoin and Amie and I both know him very well. So that was cool.

2). While talking to Tim we dropped the word "Bowdoin" several times and a girl next to us asked where we were from. Turns out she is from Falmouth, Maine and recognized me from cross country running in high school. She also knew McKayla's cousins who live in Falmouth.

3). After leaving the Park we walked down a random road and walked right by my next door neighbors, the Skapinskys. WEIRD. Annie, who is McKayla and my age, is studying in Barcelona and her family is out visiting her. We exchanged hugs as it was nice to see familar faces.

4). After dinner (we ate at a delicious groumet-chef-in-training restuarant, it was yummy and cheap! called the 15 nights) we went out to a bar where Tim saw friends from his high school.

5). After we left the bar we were walking down the road and we ran into a fellow Bowdoin student, Mac, who is sutdying in Copenhagen. I also saw him again this morning when I was out running along the water.

6). Another one of Kelsey's friends from her program then met up with us. His name is Sam and he brought with him some friends who were studying in Athens. One of them, Matt, was from Cumberland and knows some of our Bowdoin and Hamilton friends from Cumberland. Another of them, Greg, was from New Jersey and dated Christina Pindar, a Bowdoin stduent who Amie is rooming with this spring.

7). Kelsey then ran into a friend from high school who was visiting from Madrid.

IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL!!!  We love having friends...

oh also, Barcelona is a very beautiful city.  It's clean, classy, and colorful; it's real nice.  More modern than other major European cities.  The people are friendly (although pick-pocketing is a major poblem here... McKayla got her ID and 7 euro stollen yesterday, could have been much worse...).  The weather has been incredible too, real hot and sunny!