To do or not to do... when going out in Barcelona. That is the question.

Crazy story about Tapas, jumping over construction fences, loittering in parks, and partying until dawn in Barcelona.


Monday night CIEE took us out to a traditional tapas dinner in the Old Town. Marc, one of our "Guardian Angels" aka a student studying at ELISAVA who's job it is to show us a good time, took us to this kitsch restaurant. I say that with great admiration for the place because the food was fantastic! We had a budget of 180euros, and Marc asked the owner to cut us off at 160. Unfortunately, somewhere in the process of ordering tapas and pitchers of Sangria (which tasted so deliciously good!) the bill came out to be 242euros. Marc got annoyed and told the owner it was his fault and started arguing with him, in Spanish of course. Marc then tells us it was our role to play the (dumb) American card and that we just arrived today and have no money. Well, it took some time, but we left the restaurant and only paid the 180euros CIEE gave us for dinner. We can never go back there now unfortunately.
Do: go out to dinner with your friends
Do: pretend to be ignorant when necessary

Since it was midnight, half the people decided to break from the group and head home before the Metro closed. The rest of us ended up heading on a journey to a secluded place to drink in the city. Marc suggested this park on top on Montjuic, a mountain bordering the Old Town. Unfortunately, the pathways were underconstruction, yet we thought it was still be a good idea to jump over the fence and go up there anyway. Instead, we found ourselves walking in mud because it was drizzling all night. Not the brightest idea...
Do: drink responsibly without being seen by los mossos de esqueda
Don't: climb over construction barriers; they are there for a reason... :/

After meeting up with Marc's friends, who were all pretty cool, we headed to Apolo for some Nasty Monday clubbin.' (Side note/funny annecdote: While waiting in line to get in, Rachael and I had to use the bathroom, but the cafe across the street said the bathroom was for clients only, so we bought a shot in order to pee.) Going out to clubs is not the same as in the States. No one grinds, no one's creepy. People just enjoy themselves and dance and drink and smoke their cigarrettes. However, it gets hot and sweaty really fast as if you're doing a 4 hour work out. It was really fun to stay up all night dancing and wishing life was like this everyday... And then we took the Metro home at 5:30.
Do: have fun and dance the night away
Do: check your coat and large bags/purses at the door
Don't: forget your cellphone at the bar (lol Rachael)
Don't: forget that you have still have class tomorrow