spain

just got back from spain, after two weeks of vacationing. i am well-fed (read fatter), tanned and very relaxed. i don't know if i am ready for real life yet, but it certainly was a good time. we arrived in tossa del mar, which was a beautiful if expensive beach town. the mediterranean is surprisingly blue, and very cold this time of the year. the first day on the beach i forgot sun lotion, so my skin was completely sun-burnt, so i was pealing for the rest of the trip. but the sun was very pleasant, especially after the rainy and gloomy spring of new york city.

the second stop was barcelona. cosmopolitan, yet relaxed, barcelona has good food, beautiful women, a picturesque sky and a lot of gaudi. gaudi was simply everywhere. i enjoyed the museums, small cafes, and walking around looking at the buildings. it was also nice that my school friends were in the city to hang out with us. we partied until 3 am one night, and still showed up at the train station at 8:30 am to catch a train to figueres just for the dali museum. the town is about 2.5 hrs from barcelona, so that took a lot of dedication, and was well worth it.

the highlight of the city might have been the Barcelona-MU game. we saw the game at a "exclusive" bar, tucked away from the craziness of the city. the bar was run like a co-op and only members and their guests were present that night. a large unpretentious space with minimal furniture and cheap drinks, the bar was a perfect place to see the match with some very excited fans. and then barcelona won, so we took to the streets. the celebrations were more like riots . it reminded me of the riots in iran, when the students were protesting and were getting attacked by the police. it was weird to think that this is happening after a football match, but i guess the spanish are going through some tough times of their own.

the next day we flew to Seville. if someone asked me what i think spain would be like, i would probably describe Seville. the town was absolutely spanish. the yellow buildings with cute balconies and narrow windy streets were mesmerizing. and the tapas was to die for. the best part: you didn't have to choose what item on the menu to order, you could have ordered them all. they were only 2 euros for god's sake!

granada and madrid were fun too. al hambra was truly remarkable, and the city views from the hill where the mosque was located on were breath-taking. seeing picasso's guernica was probably the highlight of madrid. although, we had some good meals there too.

coming home from such a wonderful vacation is not that exciting. but it is nice to be back home too.