Barcelona!

Last week we finally visited Barcelona, Spain!! Last spring we had booked to go with my brother and his girlfriend but the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud prevented that. So now we went with our friend and her small daughter.

The small streets made an impression on me. Whenever I visit a new city in Europe that is what stands out to me the most and Barcelona was full of these! To make the atmosphere more interesting the balconies were full of hanging laundry and flowers. I also enjoyed my first cable car ride with a view of the city, first time wading in the mediterranean, the Font Magica- a fountain with a music and lights show, and of course the architecture and Gaudi art. I really enjoyed Park Guell with it's winding walkways, stone designs, and of course colorful mosaic designs! I wish that it wasn't so hot and crowded so that we could have explored a bit more properly but I really liked what we saw. Also the Sangrada Familia was beautiful. The photos don't fully do it justice. Although it is still unfinished and there are cranes and scaffolding the stonework is beautiful and original. I particularly liked the tree with doves in the middle of the old side. It's different than any other church and the sculptures are all unique not the same you might see on many cathedrals.

My regrets would be not having a nice Spanish meal and not spending more time on the streets with the small shops. They have very beautiful glass work and I would have loved to bring one home. I'm not sure if Barcelona will be on my list of cities to return to.. but I would like to go into the Casa Mila and would like to have a laid back approach to wandering the streets. I will definitely be returning to Spain to to try to get more of a taste of Spanish culture!

(Lina and I in the cable car to the castle)

Changes

I feel that this year is the year of changes for me. We are going to a couple of concerts, traveling, meeting new people. I feel really happy and am now trying to bring that dynamic to my workplace... which is sometimes a negative in my life.

I've done some writing exercises but am a bit stalled. There are other areas I need to work on and I'm doing a little bit of all of them but not throwing myself into any of them. So here's the plan. Over the next two months I am going to...

• Finish at least one research paper for my graduation.



• Do at least 10 writing exercises and blog at least once a week.



• Do 5 units in my Lithunian language book.



• Exercise at least 3 times a week.



• Write emails to my friends from home at least every two weeks.



• Talk to my family once a week.

It's a lot to take on considering the past year.. or years I have been moving as slow as molasses... but I need to. I need to boost my confidence. I need to be that hard working motivated girl I used to be. I need to move forward with my life.

So here goes....