The Terrifyingly Awesome Three Kings Parade...

Today is one of the major Spanish holidays- la Dia de los Reyes...the Three Kings day. All around the country, many children received presents.  I just climbed up to Montjuic Castle, and went to Sant Gevasi with my work-pal, Julie. A pretty non-traditional day, but I did enjoy the traditional parade last night...see some photos below! It wasn't only the Three Kings that featured...also some freaky eyeless goldfish, a scary slow-moving teddy bear, and a ballerina dancing to some terrifying music, to name but a few scary floats on the parade. If it wasn't for the thousands of little wrapped-up sweets that they throw into the crowd at the end, like confetti, I reckon little children would be pretty traumatised. See below for the evidence!

A Sunday Detour to Tarragona...

Who said that Sunday afternoons needed to always be lazy? This Sunday, we decided to explore the nearby city of Tarragona- around 90km south of Barcelona. We heard there were some Roman ruins, and a decent coastline...and decided to go and discover the rest.

The photos below pretty much speak for themselves. There was a lovely amphitheatre, which sadly we could not walk around; however, we could still appreciate the ocean backdrop, and Roman-esque trees and gardens around it. We also found our own Roman ruins, or what seemed exclusive to us- an overgrown square, with stunning views of the coastline below, making sure that we felt the sun on our face right up until sunset.

As we walked back to town (the very scenic route, due to a lack of bridges), we wondered why there was a massive white circle behind the ruins we had just visited. Of course, we quickly realised that it was the MOON- but it just seemed too close, and too big, to be the actual moon. But, sure enough, it kept rising before our very eyes, resting on a pink-purple sky. Who knows why it was so big...full moon, super-moon, or maybe just right place, right time.

We finished off our evening with vermouths and bravas in the Placa de la Font- one of the bigger plazas- and Turkish food at a fantastic Turkish restaurant, Istanbul, decorated with the same cozy warm colours that we had just witnessed in the dusky sky. 

Definitely worth a day trip on a not-so-lazy Sunday...

I love these palm trees; it almost looks like puffed-out chests at the top.

Nose-Diving into 2015, Barca Style...

The first few days of 2015 have certainly been very different to previous years! This time last year, I would have called you mad if you had told me I would be voluntarily running a 10K race on New Year's Eve, let alone enjoy it! It was great fun running with my Norwegian housemate Monica- we went our own ways during the race, and then met at the finish line, 2 minutes apart. During the race I saw a dinosaur, a karate team, a man running with his dog, and two men running with their babies...quite the eclectic crowd. I managed to finish the race with a new personal best as well- 1 hour 2 minutes. With my running, my main concern has always been actually finishing the race without walking, so to actually beat my previous 10K time was a very pleasant surprise! The next race I will be running is the Barcelona Half Marathon...I ran 18.5K for the first time yesterday, so slowly getting to the required distance. That race is truly going to be about just finishing without walking- just one of the inspirations from Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. Finishing when you can still do more, the way he compares marathon running with the same stamina needed to write a novel...there is a lot I can learn from Murakami.

Oh, and why the weird title, I hear you ask? It's because the 10k race was called the Cursa dels Nassos, or the Nose Race! Monica gave me a good explanation as to why this was so: "because, once, on this day, a man once had as many noses as days left in the year."

So, there aren't many pictures from our NYE. We had a pretty relaxed evening in the flat, eating the 12 grapes at each stroke of midnight, as per Spanish tradition, and had gin-and-tonics and good conversation to see in the New Year. Below are some photos from the following days, with Rosh and my housemates- both from our favourite cheap cocktail haunt, Sugar, and up at Parc Guell. Enjoy!

On The Shelf: An Ode to 2014

Up on the shelf sat a porcelain ship,
Marble cream,
Many times moved, but still had a gleam.
Other ornaments had come and gone,
But somehow,
The ship sailed on and on
For many years, until-
A knock-
Sending the ship up to the moon
In almost-eternal limbo,
Before plummeting-
Crash!
On the floor.
A mess that's been seen endless times before.

A thousand fragments
Everywhere, unreachable.
When shaking hands tried to save the ship
There were too many missing pieces.
Hopeless. Time to give up.
Who knew
There had been so many cracks,
Silently creeping and waiting
For one sharp moment of pressure.
The ship had been destined to sail
A different sea, but
It wasn't meant to be.

Empty, for a while.
The ship's absence was too loud
To make room for new ornaments.
But then, a figurine of four girls,
Laughing until their stomachs hurt.
And then, another!
A group of children gathered around
A nervous, but serious teacher.
And then, another!
A woman, mid-run, pony-tail flying
behind her.
Those vivid figures on the shelf
Were blinding, real, new.

Looking up at the shelf
And seeing that ship missing
Still stings a little- but, the colours,
The life, the joy brought by the new ornaments,
Feels like toe-tickling waves
On a summer's afternoon. It feels like
Getting lost in a never-ending labyrinth
Of history, and stopping for a coffee.
It feels like a new home.


Thanks to everybody who made me smile in 2014. I hope 2015 sees you chasing your dreams, catching them, and being rewarded with countless smiles. :-)