Hello, Barcelona!

Well, I've now been in Barcelona since Tuesday, and it has been a blast so far. The wifi (pronounced "wee-fee") is now set up in our house, and now I have an adaptor for my computer charger, so expect more posts now!

We're in a homestay with a lovely grandmother widow who loves to talk and can really cook. Charlie and I have a room to ourselves, with our own private balcony, from which the photo above was taken. We're taking class at the IES center in the city center. Our class is pretty good, and our teacher seems like she'll be great over the next month.

Two days ago we went on a tour of "modernisme," the Art Nouveau architectural movement in Barcelona from around the turn of the 20th century. Pictures after the break

Currently, there are a bunch of protestors camping out in the Plaza Catalunya, which is the big plaza at the city center. When I say camping, I do mean camping--there are lots of tents. Two days ago, they shut down the parliament of the state of Catalunya.

This is what the city streets look like in the old city. Really neat stuff. The city was built extremely dense because of the city walls, which were kept into place for such a long time allegedly to keep the rebellious Catalans in. 

This is a Cafe, "4 Cats" that Picasso once frequented. Now, there's an Indonesian restaurant across the street.

This is an incredibly cool concert hall, designed by one of Gaudi's contemporaries. 

Here's a detail from another side of the building. Very cool, very ornate.

This building is not, in fact, a cathedral. It was built for (and still is) the headquarters of a bank

This is a detail of a building built for a printer's guild, or something like that. On top are Dante, Cervantes, and Shakespeare. On top of them, contemporary art: Cloud with Chair (chair not pictured)

An apartment building by Gaudi