Hello Everyone!
We are starting Week 4 out of our 5 Week Journey! -- wow time really DOES fly by quickly --
To start off this blog I just wanted to give a quick update on the research before we get into the extra exciting stuff. Both teams have been working extra hard as we approach the final days of our journey in Spain. I do not want to share too much until it is done, but the Virtual Water Team have been working on figures and final data calculations, while the Self-Sufficiency Team have been updating final results, and finalizing their (our) first draft! However, both teams are very excited to show off our research once we are completed.
-- Also go look at Elly's post to find out a little bit more about our research teams!
Now for some recent adventures!!!
Thursday, 14 July 2022:
As we finished up the work day, we decided to try something new (for most of us) for dinner, so we decided to try out a Vegan restaurant. Elly and I suggested it to the group, and the rest were just as excited to try it out as we were. The place is called Vegan Junk Food but had all kinds of food from vegan appetizers to vegan BBQ Ribs to vegan Burgers to Vegan Fish and Chips. From what they said, Vegan Junk Food is one of the first restaurants to introduce Vegan Fish and Chips in all of Europe, so of course one of us (Lauren) had to give it a try and she absolutely loved it! Elly and I tried the Vegan Burger that had a Pink Bun, and Blue Sauce -- I know what you are thinking, "Lucas, that sounds very weird," and you're right, but I can honestly say that this was one of the best Burgers I have had in my ENTIRE life!!
Vegan Junk Food
We decided to go to the Moco, or modern contemporary, Museum in Barcelona. As someone who loves art, this was the perfect way to relax after work! Highly recommend going there for those who haven't yet.
Moco Museum :)
Right beside the museum, there is an amazing Gelato place that we of course had to stop at 😋. Then, we walked over to listen to street performers while we waited for the bus back home.
Deliziosa was muy delicioso!
Listening to the performers (not pictured) while waiting for the Bus. Photo creds to Ethan.
Friday, 15 July 2022
After work, Elly booked us a little "Ghost Tour" of Barcelona. This tour gave us new ideas of places to visit while we are still here, as well as a little bit of factual and comedic history of each place. After the tour, we decided to go back home, since we were planning on going to visit the Monseratt Saturday early morning -- key words "were planning"
Some of our stops on the Ghost Tour
Saturday, 16 July 2022
We decided to get breakfast at Granja M. Viader and plan out what we were going to do since our whole day was pretty much free. Most of us decided to go to Jardins del Laberint d'Horta and look at nature -- as most environmental engineers do [plus Shiloh].
Breakfast and Gardens :)
After that, we decided to all meet up for lunch at Burritos in Plaça Catalunya, which might I add is another better version of Chiptole, with more options to choose from!!
Peaceful Lunch
Next, we all went to the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, or the National Art Museum of Catalunya, and enjoyed ourselves with some more art, and a nice view of the City of Barcelona.
Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
Following this, most of us went out shopping, hoping to find some clothes to blend in as Europeans.
We love the trains :)
Sunday, 17 July 2022
Picture this, you are having a nice peaceful sleep, but instead of hearing your alarm go off, you hear your roommate say "Uhh Lucas, I think we have a problem" at 7:30 in the morning. Those are not the words you want to hear while you are, now, half asleep. We noticed the morning of, that our ticket reservation of Montserrat was still pending, and we never received the tickets for it -- we messaged the tour people and told us that they were fully booked, and our tickets could no longer be processed. Luckily, Ethan (who paid for all the tickets) was able to get a full refund for the tickets, and we are planning on going sometime later.
Gif of Ethan waking me up to tell me there's a problem
We then started the day at the Brunch Market, where we got to try Spanish versions of American Brunch Foods, and I think we all would agree that this version is so much better than regular American Brunch Foods.
Pictured: Bacon & Avocado Breakfast Burrito & Californian Waffle Sandwich
After Brunch, we went on a tour of Casa Milà , or La Pedrera by the legendary Antoni GaudÃ, who had also created the Sagrada Familia, Park Güell, and so many others.
Oh my GaudÃ, would you look at that.
After our tour, we decided to check out the Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, or the Natural Science Museum of Barcelona. One of the most interesting things there, or at least to the Self-sufficiency Team, was that they had a Rooftop Garden!! Theirs seemed to be with native plants of the areas instead of vegetables, but it is something that the self-sufficiency teams plan on talking about at a later time 😉.
RTG FTW (Rooftop Garden For The Win)
Afterward, I had to split off from the group so I could do my online classes, but the others went back to Plaça Catalunya.
Me walking to my study spot to do my online classes.
Study Spot: Tables by the UAB Cafeteria - They have good WiFi there
Once it was time for dinner, some of us decided to try Restaurant Pizzeria Piaceri d'Italia in Sant Cugat -- one of our favorite towns on the way to the city of Barcelona. While waiting for a table, two little kids started singing the "Spanish" version of Old McDonald had a farm, which is "En La Granja De mi TÃo," to which Kelsey and I found out that some of the ways animal noises are in Spanish. For example, for a god, Americans say woof or bark, while in Spanish (or at least what the little kids sang) it is: guau.
Pesto Pasta + Water = best way to end the weekend.
That wraps up our weekend adventures, and we are so excited for the next one -- hint: somewhat goes along with one of our Sunday Activities 😮😮😮. But for now, we will be working on our research projects and taking mini adventures after work.
Thank you all for the read! Unfortunately, this is my last scheduled blog, but stay tuned for the others!!
Ciao,
Lucas