A Pleasant Sunday

A much better start
Well, I'm about 60-70% better. Feeling much better than I was yesterday. I think it's because I got an early start (got up around 9 am). Ever since I got here, I've been sleeping in till about 11:30 am and it's made me very groggy and messed up my sleeping cycle. My mom called me at 9 am and I groggily answered, but I'm glad she woke me up, because it gave me a headstart.

I took a quick shower, got dressed, and noticed I was much better. No more sore throat, dizziness, or lightheadedness. Now, I am just congested ever so slightly feverish. But I'm sure I'll be over the fever by tomorrow. I got a call from my friend Alysse around 10 am asking how I was doing (she went out last night with some friends and Bianca told them I'd been at home sick all day) and if I wanted to go out for the day. I think the very invitation to just get out of the house made me feel better instantly because in no time, I'd had breakfast, packed my bags, and headed off to the metro to meet Alysse, her roommate Lily, and Jessica at the Arc de Triomf

National Day of Catalonia
Although September  11 brings a wave of sadness to people around the world, particularly in the U.S, September 11 is "National Day of Catalonia" here in Catalonia. Think of it as 4th of July for the Catalan people...just as big, flamboyant, and nationalist (in a good way) as it in the U.S.
NOTE: For those of you who are unfamiliar with Catalan's history, Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia ( an autonomous region in Spain). In Catalonia, they speak Catalan ( a Romantic language that sounds like a mixture of French and Spanish).
Anyways, here are some pictures from the festivities:

Very typical dress of National day of Catalonia attendees

More attendees...

Catalonia's Flag waving under the Arc de Triomfe

Undergarments with Catalonia's Flag

Espadrilles for all ages and sizes

Cute little witch figurines

View of the Festivities

After walking around the booths, my friends and I decided to take a tour of Catalan's Parliament. They are only open today (September 11) for public tours, so we took advantage. It was such a gorgeous building, VERY impressive. Check out the photos.

Ceiling of Parliament building

My friends and I at Catalan's Parliament

Catalan Parliament (2nd floor)

Other tourists

My friends and I (I insist on taking group pics!)

Gorgeous architecture

Hearing room

A (Heavenly) Taste of Barcelona's Chocolate Museum
After checking out the festivities from National Day of Catalonia, my friends and I were in desperate need of a chocolate fix and visited Barcelona's Museu del Chocolate (or as they say in Catalan, Museu de la Xocolata). Unfortunately, they were closing in 20 minutes, but that didn't stop us from their knee-wobbling, mouth-watering, finger-licking good hot chocolate. We all ordered a chocolate pequeno (or small hot chocolate). For all you chocaholics out there (I'm with you!), the spoon literally stood in the hot chocolate by itself...THAT's how thick and rich it was.

Museu de la Xocolata's legendary Xocolate Caliente (peqeno)

Literally, I was scraping every last drop of the hot chocolate in my cup. Let's just say next time, I'll order un chocolate grande. The pequeno was such a tease for me...

A Spectacular Evening
After resting at home for a bit and having dinner , I reunited with  my friends from earlier today to see the Magic Fountain of Montjuic (meaning "Jewish Mountain" in Catalan). Apparently, it's every Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the Summer (so through September) and then afterwards only on Fridays and Saturdays. It was so stunning...beautiful water works with gorgeous accompanying music (from Opera to Classical) . I took a video because I was simply lost for words to describe it to you all.

For all the photos from my adventures, please check out my Barcelona 2011 Album.