Today I paid a much needed visit to Anna's Taqueria, Boston area staple for delicious, fresh Mexican food. I visited the location near Coolage Corner in Brookline, MA.  I have to say, it is a great restaurant for casual dining and hefty portions of burritos, quesadillas, and tacos.  Excellent chicken, steak, and carnitas burritos with freshly made pico de gallo, guacamole and Mexican rice.  Go with the Super Burrito, rolled up with chicken and all the toppings made in seconds all for about 5 bucks.  They have great, inexpensive lunch or dinner for students and anyone who loves good Mexican and large portions.  Cons include slightly rude service occasionally (when busy, moving customers down the "assembly line"), and an "interesting bathroom" not dirty, but with some "creative" graffiti on the walls. 

Amsterdam and Portugal!

More Pictures!!!

Pictures!

Below are pictures of Montserrat, the monastery and some other interesting pictures from my trip, enjoy!

Montserrrat, Montjuec, Montblanc Muchas Montanas!!

Sorry for the time between posts, I have been extremely busy traveling, checking out the major tourist attractions, planning future trips, and (oh yeah) attending classes! This last week included the fiery spectacle that is the Feast of Saint Joan, fiestiaing (a new word?) at the posh CDLC on Barcoloneta beach, climbing the craggy peaks of Montserrat, and a refreshing swim in in the Piscinas Montjuic (beautiful pools overlooking the city, the former home of the high dive in the 1992 Summer Olympics. The scenery and landscapes that abound in the Catalunya region of Spain ane incredible and offer both high mountain peaks and ever-expanding sprawling overlooks of the Mediterranian sea and expansive beaches.

The feast of Sant Joan, an annual festival of fire and the Summer solstice emerging from pagan traditions, was an incredible displey of countless floral, shimmering colors exploding in the sky, all night reverly including enough cava to fill an ocean and bonfires that burn past morning. We spent the night on the beach with a large group of friends, and enjoyed the festivities and delicious ¨Coques¨, traditional pasteries made with fruit and anise. The fireworks were spectacular and not only relagated to the air above the water, with children and others ensuring that the fireworks continue in and around the crowd (I actaully took a firework to the leg, luckly my jeans saved me!). The night itself was filled with the youthful, ecstacic spirit of Spain, always full of life, happiness and appreciation for the ¨finer¨ (hedonistic :) ) side of life.

On Saturday, we traveled once again on the incredibly efficient train system for about an hour to the cable car that extends directly up the mountain to the classical monastery, museum and paths above. The cliffs of Montserrat are like none other in the same vicinity, showing a very rounded, ¨serrated¨appearance, that have shown through geologic evidence to have been under the sea millions of years ago in history! WE purchased both tickets at the Espanya station and were successful in reaching near the top of the mountain. I would highly recommend traveling to Montserrat for a day trip for all who visit Barcelona.

The monastery was incredible as well as the cathedral next to it, while the museum was also amazing. We came at the right time apparently, as the museum had on loan a comprehensive collection of archeological artifacts from the Sumerians, Egyptians and ancient Iberian peoples. They even had a mummy and pottery with cuneiform (the oldest form of writing!), and also many sculptures and tools. Even more exciting was the museum´s collection of Picasso, Monet and Dali, with several pieces on display nearly 5000 feet above sealevel in a building literally carved out of a mountain! A Bunch of pictures are to come!!

Los Indignatos and una Semana Excelente

Hola vosotros, just concluded my second week of classes in Spanish civilization and Spanish language at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. So far, everything has been great, I am learning exponentially more Spanish than I ever have before due to my immersion in the culture, the weather has been clear and sunny and I am becoming somewhat more acquainted with the city and its layout. During this week, I attempted to walk to my apartment from school (took about 3 hours, apparently there are 2 streets named Maragall...oops), checked out the magnificent and looming spectacles of the Sagrada Familia and Arc de Treomph and enjoyed some exceptional Kebabs (not Spanish food I know, still amazing!). The jamon serrano bocadillas as they are called are still excellent and I am not sick of them (yet), and I seem to have one just about every day (see the picture below :).

We also discovered a local hangout frequented by young travelers called Chupitos, where rowdy patrons can enjoy an incredible variety of shots (over 500 available!), all for 2 euro each, a must-go if you are in Barcelona. Other interesting moments include saying hello to a dog (hola perra, found out it means something else, think female dog), and the awesome George Payne Irish Pub reminiciant of Macdinton's Irish Pub in South Tampa, with Guinness flowing and buckets of Amstel for 10 euros. Tomorrow we are traveling to the pristine beach town Sitges, located about an hour south of Barcelona, to enjoy the beaches and tour the largest winery/cava crafters in Spain. I will update after my trip for sure, here are some pictures of Sagrada Familia, the Arc de Treomph and other interesting sights/eats from my travels.

1.Em in Front of the Masterwork in Progress, The Sagrada Familia Cathedral
2. Striking Modern Art in the Gothic Quarter, a Commentary on the Thousands of Cameras that have been Installed all throughout Spain and Europe
3. The Ubiquitous Jamon Serrano Bogadilla and Espresso (Cafe Solo)
4. Delicious Plate of Homemade Hummus with Veggies and Pita
5. Me in Front of the Arc de Treomph
5.

Some More Pictures and a Festival of Fire and Lights

Hello my fellow blogreaders, just a quick post and some more pictures that I just uploaded from my camera. Today is Sunday, and Spain reveals its Catholic roots, with most stores closed and the beginning of the Feast of St. Joan festival. Some got started early yesterday, setting off impressive fireworks and readying themselves for an all night long festival with bonfires in the streets, extravagant firework displays, and reveling until morning. Oh, also, we have no school on Monday. Here are the pictures:

1. Hampsters and other pets for sale on Las Ramblas
2. View of Barcelona skyline from Park Guell (Conceived and completed by Gaudi)
3. Barcelonata Beach
4. Bullet Skyscraper completed in the last 10 years
5. Protest march of the youth movement over the high unemployment and support of corperations
6. Us off the Costa Brava, near Cayacae
7. Massive solar panel array on side of highway. Spain is leading the way in alternative energy production, the US needs to wake up!
8. Extremely delicious traditional Catalan dish with tomato, extra virgin olive oil, and garlic

Cayacae, Roses and Emporia!!!

It has been an incredible weekend so far, we took a trip yesterday to the beautiful fishing village of Cayacay on the Costa Brava, the place the Salvador Dali called home for most of his life. The village is located on the juncture of the sprawling Pyrenees mountains, which form the border between Spain and France. Only accessible by boat, Cayacae is a quiet, pristine paradise that has yet to be overrun by tourists. I was amazed by the complexity of the buildings and their location, carved right out of the rolling mountains and rocky cliff sides. The undoubted highlight of the trip was a swim in the azure, aquamarine expanse of the Mediterranean off a chartered glass-bottom boat, complete with several dolphin sightings and views of the craggy, steep landscape of the igneous formed cliff sides and caves.

Emporia, an extremely well preserved set of enormous Greek and Roman ruins dating back to 600 BCE, was incredible as well, situated directly on the shores of the sandy Mediterranean and also next to a beach side bar/restaurant that serves up delicious jamon, bogadillas, and a refreshing Lemon/beer combination on tap. The beaches were amazing and even had reachable cliffs that others in our group explored and took some ecstatic dives into the water from. More to come very soon!! Now the pictures, :)

1. Pyrenees mountains, Roses, Spain
2. Us at the Emporia Roman/Greek Ruins c. 600-200 BCE
3,5. Emporia Beach, Notice the Pyrenees in the background. It is about 50-60 km from the French border.
4. Emily enjoying a glass of agua? at the beach bar, notice la copa in her hand
6. Greek statue of Asclepius, Apollo's son and god of medicine and healing