Spanish Lessons on Partying

Barcelona is for the young, hot, and single. Honestly any of you reading out there, if you are in a relationship, don't try to make it a long distance one by living in Barcelona, you are already doomed. I don't know whether it is the half-naked beach bodies, the beach itself, the drugs, the alcohol, the heat, the music, or the endless supply of attractive international people, but it all adds to the temptation that makes up this multicultural metropolis. Did I mention you can buy weed plants in the flower shops? Yeah, they can be seen on several balconies.

This past weekend they had a festival called La Merce, there were bands playing all over the city, loads of public drinking, merchants all over, fireworks, light shows, human pyramids, electro festivals, parades, and yesterday was considered a holiday-but only here in this state-probably to cushion everyone's hangovers... I'm telling you these Spaniards could teach us a thing or two! Mad props Spain.

It is tempting this beach life, I don't know how anyone really gets anything done around here. I mean, it feels like the entire city is constantly on one crazy, repetitive vibration. Drink, dance, sun, smoke, eat, have sex (I'm assuming by how incredibly forward the guys are here)...repeat. It wrecks havoc on your health, I mean I know I'm not 22 anymore but still, they never seem to stop. Oh I forgot to add "dress like a hipster" in there.  It puts every drunk I know back home to shame. It is kind of like this music video...all the time...

When seeing liquid streaming through the stones in the street, 8 times out of 10 it is piss. Human or dog. You never know so it is best to try to avoid it all together especially when wearing open-toed shoes. Speaking of dogs, it seems like 1 out of every 3 dog owners here have a French Bulldog, they are everywhere! They really do seem to fit in in this strange city too, their character just fits.

This neighborhood continues to fascinate me. The other night Julian and I were getting ready to go to sleep and we hear what seems like a hundred people yelling outside. I run to the balcony to find about 40 guys all congregated at the corner yelling at each other, some pushing, some holding others back, it looked like a movie set. One guy gets out some kind of large stick (Julian said it had nails in it but I don't know) and starts to beat this other guy, the other guy jets down the street and like 20 guys ended up running after them. I couldn't see what happened next but the police showed up on their little scooters and the entire neighborhood began to clap from their balconies. It's wild, I'm telling you!