The City Outside My Window

Our apartment sits a few blocks from Barcelona's main pedestrian thoroughfare, La Rambla (hence the title of this blog), and the location really couldn’t be any better. Situated just seconds from the beach, seaport, and ancient gothic area, so much of the city unfolds right in our front yard. The hot days of summer require us to keep our windows open, which is amazing until I try to go to sleep at nights, but surprisingly, after only a week, I have gotten fairly good at blocking out the barking dogs, squealing mopeds, and energetic shouts. While often noisy, they are a lively element to Barcelona’s vibrancy. In celebration of getting through our first full week, some friends and I are actually heading to the beach right now. Don’t be too jealous though; since this particular beach was developed for the 92 Olympics, rumor has held that the sand must have been mostly powdered concrete! No matter, it is still quite relaxing and will make the trips farther north to the nicer beaches all the more meaningful!