breaking dawn

Being a massive twilight fan I was very worried when I realized I would be in Barcelona for the opening of the final film and might not be able to watch it until I got back and so was very very excited when I was informed that it was being shown in a cinema right by where we live and it was in English!! So on Sunday evening when we definitely should have been going to bed as we had a early start, we went and watched it and it was amazing!! There were Spanish subtitles but once I got into the film I didn’t even notice. It was also really nice to go to the cinema as it made us feel really like we were locals and it seemed a normal thing to do. 

a weekend to ourselves

Since being here every weekend seems to be filled with doing something or someone being here so it was exciting to have a weekend free to just do what we wanted and relax for a bit. We still hadn’t visited the art museum so decided to go do that for the afternoon which was really nice. The actual building of the museum is what impresses me most. I love it. And the inside was also very well done with a lot of thought being taken into the way the pieces were exhibited. Was definitely worth a visit.

In the evening we decided to go out ad have a nice dinner just the two of us and as becca had never been to a hard rock café before we decided it was time for her to go! We massively over ate and ordered the biggest cocktail I have ever seen but it was as always a very fun experience and something fun to do whilst here. 

IED vs Chelsea

With so much going on here and wanting to make the most of the time I have in such an amazing city I find it easy to forget the main reason I am here which is of course to work. The university here like Chelsea is just an art university and so the whole building is set up for being creative and as it is brand new this year there is so many amazing facilities for us to use which is amazing.

I am really enjoying the experience of going to uni in another country and seeing how different it is to home but I think there are a lot more differences than I thought. Our weeks here are very structured and we have a set timetable for each day and most days we are in for at least 5 hours which means through out the week we spend a lot of our time actually in uni. The way they structure the lectures is also very different. It a lot more like a lesson with the tutor standing at the front and teaching us how to draw, use computer programs etc. in way I do feel like I have taken a step backwards and gone back to school but for me being giving this much help with programs such as autocad and illustrator is amazing as im definitely not a natural when it comes to using a computer. So this is so helpful. After just two weeks I have been able to create the front cover of a frame magazine and make exact copies of icons. Something I never thought I would have been able to do.

The thing I find hardest is that there is several projects all running along side eachother and so you have to manage your time very well otherwise it is very easy to fall behind. The volume of work expected isn’t as great but having to think about and juggle so many different assignments is hard and each class sets homework for the following week so we are never without something to do. Here are a few pictures of what I have been doing so far…..

my work on photoshop

initial ideas for my funiture project

my final model

perspective drawing of my final design

magic fountains

On the Saturday evening I took them to the magic fountains, which run for several hours and are short fountain shows timed to music. They are very impressive and the setting in front if the art museum is just amazing. We ended up sitting there for almost the whole time just watching and enjoying the atmosphere. They are really amazing to watch and are a nice way to spend an evening together.

The time spent with mum and dad was really special and it was nice for me to spend time just me and them and just enjoy having them here and showing them around. The time always passes too quickly and it was difficult to say goodbye but I knew it would only be 5 weeks until I would be home for Christmas and time just seems to fly by here. 

sangrada familia

Having visiting Barcelona a few times before, there wasn’t many things they desperately wanted to do apart from visit and go inside sangrada familia. I was more than happy to do this as I still hadn’t been inside and it was something I was excited to do. When you arrive the thing you see is the resurrection façade which gives a detailed description into the final days before Jesus’s death.  This is probably the most important part of the Christian faith and I really felt the architecture did it justice. It showed the seriousness of the event but also the miracle of him rising again.  I hadn’t even stepped inside and I was totally in awe of this building. And when I did finally go inside I was pleasantly surprised to see the huge contrast to outside and it was totally unexpected.  The yellowing heavy stone from the outside was replaced with smooth white marble and the most overwhelming beams of colour as the outside sunlight shone in through the hundreds of handcrafted stain glass windows. I was nothing I have ever seen before, endless colour and light streaming in and consuming the church. It was amazing. And so was everything else about the inside. He use of nature and numbers is incredible and he has been successful in creating what he wanted to achieve. You really do feel like you are standing in a forest under a canopy of trees from the way he has created the coloums to rise up and branch out in the same way a real tree would. We were inside from hours but with so much to see and learn about the time passed by so quickly. I was very worth the visit and I hope to find the time to go again before I leave it is impossible to pick up on and see everything is just one visit. There are endless details to discover.

winter sun

The arrival of my parents was also the start of some fantastic weather here in Barcelona. It was the middle of November and we were sitting up by the roof top pool enjoying the sunshine. Definitely didn’t expect that and so it was a nice chance for us to just relax and enjoy each others company whilst topping up a tan!

we must remember them

the 11th of november is a very important day in Britain as it is when we take a few minutes to think about the people that lost their live serving their country. it was strange not to have brought a poppy this year and been able to support the British legion charity but as this day is not celebrated in spain i was unable to. with my parents here we decided to do the minute silence at 11am local time and then also and 11am british time as we could watch the ceremony on TV in their hotel room. it felt really special to still take time to remember them but also i felt it was very important for me not to forget this and carry on as if i was at home. it always makes me proud to be british and it was nice to share this moment with my parents.

family time!

I have grown up in a large family of four children and so being away from my parents and siblings for a long amount of time isn’t something I have done before. I am an independent person but do rely on my family a lot and would consider my brothers and sisters my best friends and so I thought the time away from them would be really difficult. Although it has been weird not having them around and seeing them I think it has been good for me to step away from them and do this by myself and as a result I think my relationship with all of them has grown. This last week I have had my parents to stay which has been amazing! They came bearing gifts of orange squash and Cadburys chocolate!! Which made everything seem so much more like home.

With them here to stay I had a very busy week and fortunately their arrival was timed well with some days off we had with uni which meant I was able to spend a lot of time with them and show them around the city I now called home. Was a good feeling to be the guide and actually be able to show them around like I really new the place. I have become more settled here than I ever thought I would and this experience feels less like a holiday everyday and more like real life. 

a pretty cool evening...

Like London, Barcelona also has an ice bar which they describe as ‘the coolest place in Barcelona’, and so we thought having experienced the one in London it would be good to go and see what their version was like and have a good evening out with some of the people in our flat. Although it wasn’t quite as big as the one in London it was equally as good and we all enjoyed drinking cocktails out of ice cube glasses! I had already experienced the Sangrada Familia made of chocolate but in the ice bar I also got to experience what it looked like made of ice which was equally impressive. It was a really fun evening and good thing to do! Even if I could feel my feet for a few days after!!

creative talents in barcelona

when walking home from dinner one evening me and becca stumbled across this interesting structure a man had created using toilet paper and tying it together over an air vent along the pavement. really random thing to do but was an very simple but effective was of creating space. very cool!

time to relax!

Having had a very busy few days with Nick staying we decided that we needed a chilled out and relaxing weekend to recover and catch up on sleep. Where we are living we have the worst best I have ever slept on! Have honestly had better nights spent sleeping on the floor!! And so we decided that a little bit of swimming would do us good so we looked on the internet for a local public swimming pool but in the process stumbled across some Arabic spas which were just round the corner from us. With this idea put in our heads we set out in the pouring rain for an afternoon of pampering!

The experience was so much better than expected! Spending two hours moving between the 7 different pools of varying temperature whilst only lit by candlelight was unbelievable! Never felt to relaxed! Was a different thing to whilst here in Barcelona and definitely more exciting than going to a swimming pool. Will be visiting again before I leave I hope!

an eventful afternoon!

Having had days of bad weather Nick arrival brought glorious sunshine and blues skies and so we headed to the beach one afternoon to have a wonder. Definitely wasn’t swimming weather but still nice enough to sit and enjoyed the fact that we live walking distance from a beautiful beach.

We paddled in the sea and enjoyed running away as the waves came crashing towards us. Felt like we were children again, playfully splashing eachother and trying to get everyone else wet but stay dry yourself. After a lot of thought we decided that we had all got so wet that it was stupid not to just go in and swim. So before anyone could change their mind we stripped down to our underwear and ran in. As I said before it definitely wasn’t swimming weather and once we were fully in we realised why no one else on the whole beach was swimming. It was FREEZING!! And that’s when we realised we were completely unprepared and now somehow had to dry off without a towel! Never a good idea. So whilst we tried to dry ourselves on and empty beach in Barcelona as the sun went down, none of us the naked man approaching us to come talk to us about the coins he was collecting. Somehow I got left having to make conversation with him whilst the others rolled around laughing! Then he insisted on having a photograph taken with me and becca so here is the edited photographic evidence!

So what started as a fairly normal trip to the beach, ended up being one of the funniest afternoons in Barcelona! Definitely loving my life here! Will have to swim in the thames when im home!!

the sound of jazz!

Nicks unplanned visit couldn’t have come at a better time because it was national holidays here in Spain and so we had both the Monday and Tuesday off that week which allowed us to show them the city and explore it a bit ourselves too! Neither of them had been to Barcelona before and so we spent the afternoon wondering the streets of the gothic quarter, which is still my favourite part of the city. It was nice because for the first time I felt like the guide and was showing them my new home and all the things I loved about it! Didn’t think I would have settled in that quickly!

The afternoon quickly turned into evening and we were still out exploring the city and stumbling upon new things. Late that night, down some little side roads, which can be described as nothing more than dodgey back streets we found a little Jazz bar know as the Harlem Jazz club. With nothing better to do with the evening we went in and got a table in what seemed like a rather empty, little bar with a microphone and guitar one end. My expectations weren’t high but the company made up for it. We sat and waited for the act to start and gradually around us the initially deserted bar began to become rammed full with local Spanish people which to me seemed encouraging! They had to be coming for a something and I was excited to know what! When the jazz actually started I knew exactly why! It was AMAZING! The passion and enthusiasm for the music the musicians showed was inspiring and their talent was incredible! I have been to Ronnie Scotts Jazz bar in London, but this wasn’t a let down at all! Completely different set up and style but just as impressive. Turned out to be the best find in Barcelona so far!!

an unexpected visitor!

I was woken up very early on Sunday morning, and by early I mean 4.30! By a phone call from a good friend of mine from home nick. Assuming this was a drunken mistake I ignored the call and tried to go back to sleep. After the 4^th call and countless messages I thought I should probably answer the phone and see everything was ok. He proceeded to tell me that he was currently boarding a plane at Gatwick airport with a friend and would be in Barcelona in 3 hours or so!!  Not sure if he was joking or not I told him to ring me when he landed and I would come and them and bring them back to where I was living. My alarm went and I wasn’t sure if I had dreamt the whole thing but when I looked back at my phone I realised it was real and with a call from Nick I went and met him and the exciting few days began! Probably the most spontaneous visitors I have ever received!