La Merce & The Fireworks

La Merce eventually had to come to a close (womp, womp, womp). What better way then with the most amazing fireworks show ever!

Not only were there fireworks the three previous nights over the beach BUT tonight to end La Merce there was a massive fireworks show in front of the fountain and the Museum of Catalan Art on Montjuic.

What's even better you may ask? Well, the show was coordinated with music and every person was given a sparkler and a lighter to light at a certain time during the show.

Que bueno!

Besos de Barcelona.
ry.

p.s. - classes actually start tomorrow (womp).


Amazing.


I even held a sparkler by myself.


Fireworks +music + thousands of people with sparklers = awesome.

La Merce & Its Specialties

Hola.

The days of La Merce were filled with some crazy things.

Here are some pictures of the giants which are paraded through the streets. A person is actually under them!

Also, there are some pictures of the famous Catalan Castellers or human towers. This is a specialty of this region of Spain. Competitions were held in San Jaume Plaza. Enjoy!

Besos.
ry



The Giants.


Me and a giant.


The Giants in action. (taken from my friends camera).


Los Castellers


Los Castellers.

La Merce & The Fire Parade

Buenos.

Last night for the celebration of La Merce, a parade of fire took place in the Gothic Quarter. The street was completely shut down to traffic and was opened to Los Diablos. Local people dressed in costume of devils holding pitch forks.

This was no ordinary parade, however. Instead of giving out candy and waving like in Los Estados Unidos, there were fire-breathing dragons and sparklers flying into the crowd. I cannot get this point across how terrifying it really was. Los Diablos were literally spraying firey sparkles into the crowds. It was certainly a sight to see.

Besos.
ry


The fire parade.


Fire-breathing dragons (literally).


Dragon.


Spraying sparkles into the crowds.


Dragon.

The Start of La Merce

Hola.

It has been a long week of festivities here in Barcelona. All week long we have been celebrating the festival of La Merce or Our Lady of Mercy, the patroness of Barcelona. Every day and night included some sort of entertainment and celebration. The following pictures were taken from the opening parade of La Merce. More posts and pictures to follow.

Besos from Barcelona,
ry



Los diablos.


Very strange.


Our Lady of Mercy.






Opening ceremony in front of La Catedral de Santa Eulalia.

Montserrat

Hola familia.

Like most everything else in Spain, the internet is very slow. It takes me a while to upload these photos.

But a this past weekend, I went to Montserrat, a Benedictine monastery in the Mountains above Barcelona (a simple one-hour train ride and a cable car). The monastery holds one of the Black Madonna's of Europe known as La Moreneta. The day I visited happened to be some sort of celebration so the plaza and church were filled with people shouting "Viva La Madre de Dios" with banners.

Here are some pictures that hardly do Montserrat justice. The views from the mountains are absolutely breathtaking.

Besos de Barcelona.
ry.




The View from below.


Cable car to get up the mountain.



Me over 4,000 ft. up.


The very oddly shaped mountains.


View of monastery from across on a pathway.


The main plaza of the monastery.


The facade on the outside of the basilica.


Lighting a candle at the shrine of La Moreneta or "The Dark Lady"


La Moreneta


A celebration of the Virgin Mary

La Plaza Espanya: The Spanish Plaza

Hola.

Two nights ago, some friends and I went up to the mountain overlooking Barcelona called Montjuic (it's just a simple 10 minute metro ride). Here, on the Plaza de Espanya there is a huge fountain. Every night in the summer, there are fountain shows with music, water, and colors.

Here are just a few pictures.

Besos.
ry

El Parc Guell: The Park Guell

Hola Familia.

It actually rains in Barcelona. The last two days were filled with lots of monsoons. BUT now we are back to paradise (78 and sunny). Today I went to Antonio Gaudi's Parc Guell. This park is located on a mountain in Barcelona. It was created by Gaudi, although it was never completely finished.

Tonight is FC Barcelona's first futbol game vs. AC Milan! Should be fun.

The internet is being very slow. I will put up the pictures tomorrow!

Besos de Barcelona,
ry



Carved rock.


Decorated ceiling under the plaza.


Semi-closed tunnel.


Me on one Gaudi's benches.


The "Ginger Bread" Houses at the entrance.


At the Park.


View from the top.


The main plaza.

El Mercat de San Josep: Saint Joseph's Market

Hola.

Today, two friends from Fordham and I went on an excursion to Las Ramblas, a large pedestrian street at the city center. El Mercat de San Josep or La Boqueria is located on Las Ramblas. It is a huge outside local market with every kind of meat, fish, candy, olives, produce imaginable.

Here are some pictures from the market.

Enjoy!

Besos,
ry


La Plaza de Catalunya. The Beginning of Las Ramblas.


The entrance.


Lots of interesting animal parts.


Lots of fresh meat.


Animals of the sea.


Lots of fish.


Candy Stand.


Fresh fruit stand.

El Barrio Gotico: The Gothic Quarter

Hi All.

There is some school work to be done here. Today, I was placed in the Advanced Grammar Spanish class. Until full classes begin on the 28th we are required to have 2.5 hour daily Spanish classes. I guess it cannot be a total vacation.

Anyway, today we toured the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, which is at the city center. Although there has been some construction in the 19th and 20th centuries, most of the buildings date back to Medieval times, with some as old as the ancient Roman settlement (BC).

Here are just a few pictures.

Hasta Luego.
ry