Reunion

This was the Devils Bridge...It was so cool that I got to actually walk across it!
see all photos »

This morning I had to wake up super early so that I could catch the coach from Frankfurt city to Frankfurt Hahn airport.  The coach ride was 1:45 hrs long.  I had a good breakfast at the Hotel Continental: fruit salad, biscuit with butter, orange juice, water, and a hard boiled egg.  It was a filling breakfast and I headed out on my way to catch the coach at 0700.  I got to the airport at 0845 and got in the wrong check-in line for Ryanair.  If you dont check in at least 40 minutes before the flight takes off you cant board the plane and have to make another reservation.  Another person pointed out to me that I was in the wrong line and I ran to the other side of the terminal to check in 45 minutes before take off...lucky.

Breakfast at Hotel Continental was tasty and included in the price!
see all photos »

At the security check point the lady found my toothpaste and shampoo.  I acted like I didnt know and was really disappointed but she didnt let me have my things back.  So oh well, half-way through the trip and Ive got a casualty.  The flight was roughly 1:50 hours long and had the usual crying babies and kids running up and down the aisles.  Didnt speak to the people sitting next to me because I was flipping through Lets Go, trying to figure out what, if any suggestions, I would have for all of us to do.

view from Pere´s balcony...that´s Sacha by the way
see all photos »

When I landed in Reus, Barcelona I called Pere and he had just picked up Cam and Sacha from the international airport and were on their way to pick me up too.  Unfortunately they ran into some traffic and took about 1:15 hrs to get to me.  Meanwhile, I was helping a couple from Germany try to figure out how they could get to a really remote village they had planned to visit.  A taxi ride was too expensive for them and the road leading to the village wasnt navigable for buses.  I used what little Spanish I had to get nowhere for them.  At least I tried.

Donna might appreciate this little dog. The man thought I wanted him to take a picture of me and kept refusing because he had bad vision...my Spanish = very rusty.
see all photos »

Pere came in a minivan with his father, Cam, and Sacha and I was sooooo happy to see them all!  I had already met his parents because they visited him once in London.  I threw my bag in and we were quickly on our way to their house in Vilafranca.

The area is beautiful and they live in the suburbs of Barcelona where its calmer and really nice.  On the way back we stopped by the Devil´s Bridge which is really an ancient aquaduct built by the Romans.  It was completely intact and people were allowed to walk across the small gorge on the duct.  We got a little history lesson from Pere´s dad, who is a school teacher in history, about the plants nearby and the aquaduct itself.  Then we packed up and headed to his house.

another view from Pere´s balcony
see all photos »

Pere lives in a really nice three-story apartment-like house.  The architecture around his neighborhood is all pretty modern with very straight lines, well-defined edges, and nicely painted exteriors.  The first thing we did was to unwind for a bit and get ready for the 3-course meal that Pere´s mom had been cooking.

She made a soup-like starter which looked like pasta alfredo but actually turned out to be some sort of vegetable instead of pasta.  I cant describe it except that it was creamy and didnt have a very strong taste to it. She also made her own bread with a breadmaking appliance it tasted great!  We had a salad and then she brought on the main courses which were barbecued meats: lamb, chicken, and pork.  All were very tasty!  You  know how we have a lot of things with soyu in Hawaii?  Or how Americans generally like ketchup on many food items?  Well here, they love to put olive oil on everything!  It´s really good quality olive oil and they eat it with everything including the meats, salad, and bread.  They pour it directly upon the foods just like we pour soyu.  It was interesting and sooooo good without being too rich.

my life packed in Jess´s bag for the past two weeks. I did laundry at Pere´s house and that was nice.
see all photos »

We were stuffed and relaxed for an hour or so in their siesta period.  Then the four of us took a guided walking tour of Vilafranca with Pere.  The town is small and centered around its church, also small.  Pere said that it was typical in the area to have towns centered around their churches.  Towns also have a rambla which is sort of like a town square.  He showed us theirs, nothing elaborate, just a simple opening surrounded by shops.  Here, they usually have events, shows, etc.  We stopped in at a bar that Pere used to work at.  It imports beers from all over the world.  I had Satan from Belgium.  They put in some sort of stuff in the bottle itself so that the beer continues to ferment while on the shelf.  It tasted almost sweet and overall very good.

Pere´s room. Bad picture because lighting was too harsh. Weather was beautiful. Apparently, only today started getting really nice. Previous days saw a lot of rain. Good for the area since its sort of dry (reminds me of Farber´s area)
see all photos »

Dinner was at a bar that Pere and his friends frequent.  They served bocadillas which are basically baguette sandwiches.  I have no clue what I had because Pere ordered it for me but it was good and filling for €3 ($4.50).  We partied in the bar for the rest of the night, playing cards with his friends and trying to overcome the language barrier.  They speak Catalon which is different from Spanish.  In fact, the bar that we were at is sort of politically active and does not like to speak Spanish.  There are many younger people who do not feel Spanish and rather feel Catalonian.  I could speak Spanish fine with the ones that were willing to but others sometimes just shook their heads and preferred to unsuccessfull try speaking English.  Interesting huh?

I talked to Pere about that later on and turns out just that bar and his friends are like that and most people do not feel so strongly against Spanish nationality.

We moved our party from the bar to another bar in the rambla.  There were TONS of people partying there and apparently it was a normal thing, not just for Easter weekend.  Everyone was about our age.

The party moved from the 2nd bar to a discotheque, which is basically a dance club.  They played many English language songs including Bye Bye Miss American Pie!  That was tons of fun.  When that place closed at 0300 we moved our party to another discotheque where we (Cam, Sacha, and I) danced very lazily until about 0430 in the morning.  Finally, the catalonians decided the night was over and we headed home.  Normally, they stay until closing (0700)!!!  Glad we didnt!