October has passed and with it, my first Halloween away from home. I can't tell how missing this holiday will compare to missing Thanksgiving (they're my two favorites), but despite my wonderful surroundings I was sad to miss the holiday. They do celebrate here in Spain, it's just a little half-baked. For example, a lot of people dress up, but for the most part they limit themselves to "scary costumes." This eliminates a lot of the creativity since almost everyone is a witch, zombie, or (like) a vampire. And then if you're not something scary, you and all of your friends wear the exact same costume, like the gang of teenagers I saw all wearing the same mask of Woody from Toy Story. Ironically, the latter costume is far more terrifying. I had fun, though, and the best part was that November 1st is Día de los Santos; it was nice to have a day to *ahem* rest after the Halloween festivities.
The perfect distraction from the Halloween parties back home was Barcelona. By the afternoon of the first day I was already in love with the city. I think what really captured my heart is that Barcelona is a city of artists. All of the metros play short films created all over the world, the street performers are incredibly talented and dedicated to their uniqu
e performances, statues of all varieties can be found in every plaza, and best of all the architecture cannot be found anywhere else in the world. The most famous architect of Barcelona was Antoni Gaudí, an artist with an incredibly creativ
e mind, but very little motivation to actually finish his projects. Our first morning their we visited his cathedral La Sagrada Familia (or The Sacred Family)
The picture on the left is what La Sagrada Familia looks
like now (it's impossible to get a full picture if you're not in a helicopter.) The design is incredibly intricate and detailed, after all Gaudí is how we got the word "gaudy." They expect the entire project to be finished sometime in the next 25 years. Keep in mind that constructed began in 1882. The picture on the right is what the cathedral is expected to look like upon completion and Jenn, Parker, Jessica and I already made a pact to return when we're all in our fifties to see the final result.
Between Barcelona and the little bit of Halloween I got here, I'd have to say that October went out with a bang. Next weekend I'm seeing Explosions in the Sky (an American instrumental band) in Madrid and the weekend after that is Santander with a possible day trip to Bilbao! I'll let you know more once they plans are all in action!
Great pictures!
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