Un Desfile de Caramelos!

It's almost my bedtime but I wanted to squeeze in this post otherwise I might fall behind! Well, today was unexpectedly eventful. I began the day by exploring more of my neighborhood, determined to find a Chinese supermarket and our neighborhood public library. I didn't find them right away and I got quite lost, but I'm glad I did because I discovered so many interesting places along the way!

The first thing I discovered was that a certain street in my neighborhood (Carrer Ali Bei) is basically all Chinese! It seems that no matter where you go in the world, you are bound to find Chinese people. We immigrate everywhere :p. It's like in How to Lose a Guy in 10 days when Matthew McConaughey says, "You mean a lot like 7... or like the Chinese?". Hahaha.



This is the Chinese supermarket I'll be going to from now on to get Asian food :D.






This was another Chinese supermarket I found, but it was more expensive so I don't think I'll be coming back here again any time soon!








I feel kind of silly for posting pictures of Chinese signs in Barcelona, but once I started, I couldn't stop!

Next I discovered a charming indoor market... It was kind of neat how I found it. It was like in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, when he opens the little door and everything is revealed to you all at once. I was just walking along a quiet street and I saw these glass doors:

I thought it was just a little cafe or something at first...

And then I walked in and saw an entire market!

After I walked through the market, I went back onto the street and I saw this logo, which looked really familiar but I couldn't place it for some reason. I thought maybe it was a church but I wasn't sure so I walked around to the front of the building and lo and behold what I discovered:

It was Residencia Onix! Brown's study-abroad-in-Spain dorm! I had looked into staying here during my housing search... I can't believe it's so close to where I live. I have a Brown friend from my Catalan class who is staying here right now! What a coincidence yah? It's like Brown is right here... :p.

Then I found a ballet school :). Maybe I can take dance classes here...

I randomly discovered a soccer stadium...

Little Santas are climbing over the balcony and into the window! Maybe that's how Santa gets into people's houses here? I've been noticing lots of Christmas decorations here with Santas hanging on windows or ladders...

I discovered a design bookstore right around the corner from Residencia Onix

I found the library! It was on the other side of the market. The library was really nice and modern. Kindra told me I could get a library card for free and then be able to use all of Barcelona's public libraries. But they said I couldn't get a card since I wasn't a resident :(. I'm going to try again after I get my student ID...

Another Santa creeping up a balcony haha!

Then I went home to make myself some lunch! Is it bad that I'm eating Chinese food instead of Spanish food? I can't help it... I've been craving Chinese foood!

My prized vinegar. This is the brand I like. I bought three different bottles of vinegar in Providence but none of them were the right brand. Who knew I'd find it in Barcelona? :D

So then I talked with my family a bit on Skype and thought my day was pretty much winding down... but then Viviane asked if I wanted to go out with her brother and sister-in-law. So I went! I met Viviane's younger brother Estevo and his wife Sylvia, who were both super nice. First we went to buy a shower curtain because our's broke and we've been showering without one :s. It is SO COLD showering without a shower curtain!

Then we killed some time in Starbucks while we waited for the Dia de los Reyes parade to begin. Turns out tomorrow is El Dia de los Reyes!

From Wikipedia: El Día de los Reyes (The Day of the Kings), is the day when a group of Kings or Magi, as related in the second chapter of the gospel of Matthew, arrived to worship and bring three gifts to the baby Jesus after following a star in the heavens. In Spanish tradition, on the day of January 6, three of the Kings: Melchor, Gaspar, and Balthazar, representing Europe, Arabia, and Africa, arrived on horse, camel and elephant, bringing respectively gold, frankincense and myrrh to the baby Jesus.

There were tons of kids at this parade. They all had letters with gift requests which they gave to the parade people. It was so cute! And then the parade people threw tons of candy, or "caramelos" in Spanish, out into the crowd. I got myself a pocket full of caramelos :D. I also got whacked in the face by the raining caramelos...





This represents the star that led the Magi














Here's the king that arrived on an elephant. I didn't catch the camels (real ones!) unfortunately because my camera ran out of batteries :(.

After the parade, we went to a churreria near our place and I tried chocolate con churros for the first time. Delicious... very chocolatey... very fattening :D.