Barca Boys Bonanza!

Barcelona is one of the world’s most beautiful cities and I am so thankful that I got to experience it with a group of my closest mates! The boys simply tore it up in Barcelona, we were on the go constantly, we saw the sights, sampled the delicacies and most of all created the memories! Barcelona is a city which has an unbelievably lively street culture, and I am loved living a simple 5 minute walk from La Rambla, a promenade which never fails to disappoint with an array of street performers, annoying Indian men attempting to sell you an annoying voice changing device as well as some nice restaurants and shops. The architecture is absolutely out of this world, some of it needs to be seen to be believed, notably the Sagrada Familia which is without doubt the most impressive piece of human architectural construction to which I have ever bore witness. As well as enjoying great times with mates in a wonderful city, I also managed to learn something and feel as though I have come out of my time in Barcelona with an increased knowledge of its social, cultural, economic and political climate.

Arriving in Barcelona in the middle of the world cup is usually something special…. However with Spain’s dismal group stage exit we were privy to only showings of German and Argentian national pride in Catalyunya’s capital. We often headed to various bars to watch the games, and were continually shocked by the results as well as the ability of football to spark a conversation and bring people together. At one point we headed to El Raval (a neaby suburb) with our football to have a kick around and soon found ourselves engaged in a match with some local kids, it is simply amazing what a ball can do!

As a 19 year old in Barcelona I felt an obligation to head out and sample the nightlife, and boy did it not disappoint! I managed to get to Europe’s second biggest club, known as Razmatazz, twice and saw performances by Pendulum and Lil’ Jon both which yielded nights which I will remember for a long time. I also sampled a club known as shoko, a name which harked me back to my favourite Israeli drink. In addition to this, we spent an awesome night in a bar which specialised in various interesting shots, some of which were delicious, some strong and some downright ridiculous. It was one of the most memorable nights I have had since my departure from Australia!

We simply went to too many sights in Barca for me to mention all of them in depth, so I will endeavour to pick a few in order to prevent this blog post from hitting multiple pages. We had one particularly spontaneous and memorable day spent in a country club with a membership fee of 2000 euro which we gained entry to by simply waltzing through the front gate with confidence. It truly was a gapyear triumph, we used the gym, the pool, the football pitch and dined at their magnificent restaurant. It will be a tale written in gapyear folklore forever. We took the cable car up to Montjuic and took in its remarkable views of the rest of the city, the same can be said of the summit of Parc Guell. Guy and myself visited the stunning Palau Guell, another Gaudi masterpiece which yielded even further opportunity to utilise my new camera/phone. We visited the food markets on the Rambla on numerous occasions, with Sam managing to find a new love - one euro fruit juice.

We undertook two different walking tours, the regular introduction to the Gothic Quarter as well as the alternate tour through El Raval which showcased the plethora of street art which can be found all over the city, both were hugely educational and entertaining. I headed out on a Tapas Tour with Aviv girls Lucy and Sarah where we sampled the three different ways tapas is prepared in various parts of Spain. We visited Blai Street twice, the home of our favourite pinchos establishment. There is simply not enough room to document everything we did during our time in Spain’s most famous city.

I wish to apologise to myself as well as anyone who follows my blog closely about the lack of posts as of late but I am simply too flat out! I no longer have the time to blog frequently, but I promise to do everything in my power to keep up my blogging regularity during my time in Europe!

Barcelona was amazing, and I now head to Mykonos via Vienna!

49 days till I return to Sydney!

Thanks for reading,

Jake 

Aviv Days 22 + 23!

As Aviv group one awoke to kibbutz Yechiam on day 22 of their whirlwind adventure through Israel a feeling of togetherness, comfort and routine was evident. As we arose to yet another less than awe inspiring breakfast, we were all eager to complete our one or two lessons of Ulpan for the day in order to move onto more relaxing and social activities. The Hebrew lessons of the day included some rather useful vocabulary and questions for our time in Israel such as “where is the bathroom?” “How much for that?” and more popular among the girls, “do you have skim milk?” or in Emma’s case “do you have soy milk….” Following our lessons we were able to indulge in more relaxation time prior to lunch in which we were again faced with some shape of chicken alongside some less than appetising sides. However, it is looking up for the vegetarians of the group as vegetable patties are now being offered as a somewhat viable meal alternative, of course now that they have purchased their own food.

Post-meal we were privileged to participate in our first participant-led program of Aviv. Run by our very own fitness committee consisting of Jenna, Toby, Harry, Daena, Lucy and Robbie, who put everyone through their paces with a fitness circuit and a largely contested soccer match. Following the necessary refreshments such as showers dinner was next up on the agenda. After we refuelled following a gruelling workout we were treated to a ‘café dilemma’ of sorts by the Judaism Committee comprising of Zoe, Adi and Jared Engelman. We were split into groups and were challenged to debate scenarios in which moral and ethical decisions would force us to question our core values. It was a rather intriguing program, enjoyed by all owing largely to its questioning content as well as the supplied foodstuffs which we all have trouble turning down. As per usual, movie and chill time was next and finally followed by eventual bedtime for all.

The next morning we woke up less than energised, with the knowledge that a hike awaited us. However it wasn’t one of Oded’s usual ‘hikes’ which generally consist of a leisurely stroll but rather one which actually challenged us to scale rocks and confront what is actually widely define by many as a hike. Following our survival from this treacherous hike we returned to clean up our rooms for our impending inspection by one of Yechiam’s staff. Needless to say, we all passed with flying colours. Following this we were escorted to the kibbutz’s winery and brewery where we were able to purchase alcoholic beverages made on the kibbutz itself. Some drank more than others, however all were appeased when Tracy and Oded bot happily indulged in a drink with us. It was an unbelievably entertaining afternoon….

Next was free time which most used to prepare their clothes for Shabbat, as one girl changed out of gym clothes so did each and every other, each in a more disgruntled fashion than the last, until all were ready for a kabbalat Shabbat to begin. As Rabbi Engelman marshalled us up to a nice spot with a view of the sunset, he began a service which made all just a little home sick whilst reminding us of the unbelievable land which we were currently standing in.

Dinner followed, consisting of chicken drumsticks, potatoes and baby carrots, an all-round edible meal, ruined only by the lack of challah and a decent grape juice. Following this, all were gathered in the moadon and for our weekly Shabbat check in. We were split into two groups and asked to pick our highlights and lowlights from another hectic week, not an easy task, especially for a week in which we resided in no less than three cities of Israel. As we all headed back to our rooms some headed out for a little bit of fun whilst others settled for a night in with a good movie.

Another awesome couple of days down, 127 days to look forward to!

Jake