Spanish Arts & Culture.

This week is my hell week.

It's not that I have lots of courses, projects and homework to do. But, I've been travelling quite a bit for the past two weekends so there's a lot to catch up every time I return to Barcelona. As such, I am unable to continue blogging about my travel adventures.

Many things did happen within these two weeks though. I went to Bristol and Paris during the weekends and explored a little more of sunny Barcelona.

One thing that really makes me happy is that I've been able to meet up with old friends (Shreya, Amanda and Geraldine). It's always a great thing to catch up with friends in another part of the world!

So right now, I'm actually attending the last lesson of Spanish Arts and Culture. I really love this class! It's the most interesting course I've ever taken and I enjoy every minute of Prof Alex's class.

That's why this post is going to be such a short one. Tada!

Camera shopping.

3 November 2014

In case you are wondering about the bad photos in my Montserrat post, it's because my dearest Sony DSC RX100M2 died on Halloween night. As such, the photos are taken using my iPhone. It's a complicated story as to how it met its death but because of that, I need to look for a camera repair shop in Barcelona to see if I can revive it.

Vanessa decided to accompany me as she wanted to get a set of camera prime lens. So we headed down to Universitat station to look for the lens, only to find out that the electronic shops are closed for siesta. (Yes, we have been here in Spain for two months. We know about the siesta, but wanted to try our luck). 

With one hour to kill, we went over to the Asian super mart to stock up more food for our Asian bellies. This is the stupidest choice we made though... You have no idea.

I bought a parka from Lefties on the way back to the row of electronic shops beside Universitat. It has leather sleeves, giving the outfit a rebel look coupled with a feminine feel due to its brown colour. I really like it, even though it costs quite a bit.

We went into a few electronic shops to compare the prices of the prime lens. In the end, Vanessa chose to forgo the lens since they are really pricey, costing roughly around 250euros. 

Now, here is why I wrote that going to the Asian super mart before doing anything else, is the stupidest choice we made! Carrying god-knows-how-many-kilograms worth of groceries, we walked down six streets to a Sony repair store near Rocafort station. I'm not kidding about the weight of the food stock. I can literally feel my muscles building up...

I showed the lady the problem with my camera. And guess what? She quoted a repair fee of 203euros to repair my camera! I almost faint when I saw the quotation! Both Vanessa and I have our shock faces; eyes wide, two mouths open. Never did I expect the repair cost to be so expensive!

To calm myself down, I sat down on a chair beside the counter and called my dad to inform him about the expenses. After discussing, we concluded that I should get a new camera and he will check the repair fee in Singapore for comparison purposes. 

So, getting a new camera means I have to go back to the row of electronic shops. As such, we carried the bags of groceries back the six streets to Universitat. This time, however, it feels easier to walk even with the heavy bags. Perhaps my mind was too preoccupied with the repair cost to care about the pain. Or maybe it's just the deep conversation I had with Vanessa, my sweetie pie.

Regardless, we managed to survive the long walk back and I bought a new camera, Sony A5100. It is the second version of A5000, which Vanessa is currently using and since I'm somewhat used to it, why not?

Truthfully speaking, I still prefer my RX100 to the A5000. Simply because I'm in love with the vivid colours and higher resolution of the RX100. However, I'm now able to take lots of selfies with the A5000! *smirk smirk*

Since we have time to spare, we tried out DelaCrem cafe which is rated highly in Tripadvisor.

It is a cozy cafe, with light decoration and friendly staffs. Based on their recommendations, we ordered a large-sized cafe latte, half caramel half hazelnut ice-cream along with one lemon meringue and one raspberry cake.

Among all the pastries, both of us agreed that the ice-cream and the lemon meringue stands out the most! The ice-cream is soft and creamy while the lemon meringue has a nice balance between the sour lemon taste and the sweet tart. I would definitely recommend these!

I really enjoyed myself in the cafe. Maybe its because of the warm atmosphere? The delicious pastries? The fact that I just got a new camera? Or just maybe, with a slight possibility... It's because I have a good company, Miss Vanessa Fwah. Hahas!

Trip up to Montserrat.

2 November 2014

A day-trip to the highly acclaimed Montserrat!

We were invited by a few ESADE students to join the Montserrat Daytrip for Erasmus students and we accepted it!

So, along with many other foreign exchange students, we gathered at Palau Reial at 8.30am. Thankfully, our apartment is just two stops away from that metro station or else we will have to wake up really early. I have some friends who stayed in Sant Cugat and have to wake up at 6am in the morning… O.M.G. Given that I’ve been sleeping really little for the past few days, I’m very thankful that the meeting area is nearby.

We board on to a private bus and headed off straight to Montserrat. By the time I woke up, we were already at our destination.

Following the group we walked down to the information center and went for a guided audiovisual tour. Truthfully speaking, I didn’t manage to learn much from the tour because of the strong accent of my guide. Nevertheless, I did learn the importance of the Montserrat Monastery, the Virgin of Montserrat, the Library of Montserrat and the Escolania (Montserrat’s boys’ choir).

And knowing all these information is useful because our next location is the Montserrat Monastery, also known as the Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey.

It took us some time to get into the Basilica of the Monastery because there was a mass going on when we reached. Everyone is eager to look at the Benedictine Abbots, including me. But when I managed to squeeze myself into the crowd, the beauty of the Basilica astonished me. “Wow” was the first word I said when I enter into the Basilica.

I especially love the lanterns hanging at the sides. Each of them has a different design giving the whole Basilica a touch of uniqueness.

At 12pm, the Escolania sang the song “Salve and Virolai”. According to the audiovisual guide, they are one of the World’s famous choirs. Also, Montserrat takes pride in music. There are statues that represents music around the area.

We had a lunch break at a cafeteria nearby. It is pretty pricey; a few of my friends bought the main dish alone for 9 euros. Ouch! The rest of us did brought along our own packed lunch though. We packed them up because we were told that it was going to be a picnic lunch. Oh well, I managed to save my lunch money.

Guess what, I cooked “mifen” the night before as my packed lunch and everyone praised it even though it’s cold! Masterchef Jolene in the making! Hahas!

Our after lunch activity is trekking up the mountain.

First stop: Creu de Sant Miquel. And believe me, the view is mindblowing!

We took so many photos there till the other foreign students were laughing at us. Once again, we are the weird Asians.

After admiring the scenery for a short moment, we went further up into the mountains.

What stopped us again was this amazing view!

The sunrays can be seen so clearly, that whole area just feels so divine. Honestly, I love this view the most.

We climbed further up and walked by a dirt path to another area with scenic view.

The trip concludes at 5pm as we gathered at the coach terminal and headed back to Palau Reial in Barcelona.

I was quite upset that we didn’t get to see both the sunrise and the sunset, which Montserrat is famous for. If there’s a chance (which is negligible), I would love to go back for the sunrise one day.