01.10.21 - 31.10.21
02.10.21: Àlex´s nephew stayed with us for the weekend. I got to play with him while Àlex´s mother got her nails done. Later on we went to the city center with the nephew, Àlex´s mother and stepfather. We visited some stores and then went to see Àlex at work. Later in the evening I met up with a friend of mine from uni. He´s been in Spain for few weeks and we had the chance to meet up finally😊 I met him and his coworkers in a bar, but it was so crowded so we decided to leave after one drink. The coworkers went back to their hostel, and we walked around La Rambla and visited The Botero´s Gat. It was huge and a bit creepy😂 Àlex finished work at the same time so we met up with him at Plaza Catalunya and went home.
03.10.21: I met up with my friend and his coworkers again. We visited MNAC together and after that the girls decided to find something to eat. My friend and I weren´t hungry yet, so we continued our sightseeing tour😃 Next stop was Telefónica tower, after that we visited Montjuic castle and Museu de Frederic Marés. We walked around the whole day, so when I finally got back to the house, my phone showed me the step count of 20 000💪
At Museu Frederic Marés
04.10.21: Decided to change up my nails a bit😜😎 Tried new colors and even tips.
07.10.21: My box from home arrived!! 😌😌 My parents sent me all of the stuff that didn´t fit the first time, the winter clothes and some sweets I love.
My sweets and spices
08.10.21: In Gran de Gràcia street there is this lovely little bakery where I´ve been wanting to go since I first saw it in June🙈😻 The place is called Boldu and they offer the cutest donuts in the starfish shape called Bolduman.
09.10.21: A friend of mine invited me to her last minute mini party. She moved recently and lives now quite close to me. I arrived 21-ish I think, but spent 10 minutes outside looking for the door😂 It was totally hidden in a corner and behind a huge bush. I met some new people, played beer bong and talked most of the night with another friend of mine. Àlex joined us after work, we played another game - similar to Picolo - and went home. I had a lot of fun and enjoyed talking with others for a change😃 I´m not a people´s person really, but sometimes even I like to change things up and surprise myself😈
10.10.21: I was a bit hangover when I got up the next morning😵😬 I managed to soften the blow by drinking a lot of water the night before and also the next morning, but didn´t feel great nevertheless. I got better by 15PM and had to go dancing with this Estonian girl who contacted me on FB, but she couldn´t make it in the end. I decided to go anyway and got to see a really cool show by the park where the event was supposed to take place👍 I checked out the real event too and went back home.
12.10.21: The morning started with breakfast at Macxipa, it´s a bakery close by our house and they offer different kinds of bread, sweet and salty pastries, cakes etc😋 You can get the goods to go or enjoy them in front of the bakery or inside while watching the workers create more delicious pastries. We decided to eat inside at the back of the bakery, I got a pumpkin cronut and Àlex got a cream pastry.
Besides that we bought some panellets, which are these little round sweets mainly made of marzipan. There are different tastes like coconut, strawberries, raisins etc. But the classical one is covered in pine nuts. Locals eat them during Castanyada which is like a Halloween here in Catalunya, but you can buy the panellets throughout the month of October.
I really like them, but they´re very high in calories and sugar🙈🙉
After breakfast we took the metro to Plaza Catalunya and another one from there to Arc de Triomf.
We walked around for a while, took some photos with a transformer and continued our path to Parc de la Ciutadella.
The park was beautiful, but awfully crowded since it was a national holiday for Spaniards. We checked out the fountain, took some more photos and had a boat ride on the lake😍
Later on we visited a sushi restaurant close by the park and after that Àlex had to go to work. I went back home and started working on all the photos we had taken earlier. I even managed to make my first Instagram reel😆💪 It was easier than I imagined, so I probably will be making more of those.
13.10.21: Àlex was working late so I decided to prepare dinner for him😁 I haven´t been cooking/baking anything special lately😳 Àlex just does it so much quicker so I don´t even bother sometimes, but this time I felt like cooking. I made some potatoes in the oven and meat as a side. I got to use my favourite spice from home, so I was very psyched😆😋 I loved the outcome and it was refreshing to cook something for a change.
16.10.21: The last time I visited Bunkers del Carmel was in early 2020 right before the whole world started closing borders. So I decided it´s been a while and I wanna visit it again😁 It´s such a magnificent place, might be my favourite spot in Barcelona actually. The climb to the top might make you pant, but it´s 100% worth it.
After that Àlex and I walked around in the city, trying to look for a present for his brother and something for his nephew since we´re visiting them the day after.
Pastries in a bakery we saw when walking around
While walking we stumbled upon a cat cafe😯😍 There were like 5-6 cats sleeping by the window and on a closer look we found out that you can actually visit the place and play with the cats!! It was just closed when we walked by, but we´re definitely going there😁😁
Cat cafe
Later in the evening we had a quick gym/padel session and had to rush back home for a night out with Àlex´s friends. We were supposed to go to this billiard/cocktail bar, but it was full and since no one had´nt made a reservation before we had to find another place😒 We ended up in an Irish pub, it was filled with tourists, but felt somehow cozy for me😄 Everyone was a foreigner like me so I fitted in perfectly. I ended up having a lot of fun even though I wasn´t very happy at first to leave the house. We got back after 2AM, but even that felt too late😂 I think I´m getting old😬😂😂
17.10.21: Àlex´s brother had his birthday earlier this week, so we had a little get-together at their place. The whole family was there, we had some paella and cake and played with the kids. I felt a little off at the table when everyone was talking and enjoying the company of family😕 Àlex´s family´s been really welcoming and nice with me, but it´s not the same as your own.. I´m not the one to get homesick usually, but events like this make me miss my friends and family😞
18.10.21: For some reason I didn´t sleep very well at night and woke up like 5 times😫 Later on I was feeling really sleepy during the Spanish class and even worse after. When Àlex came home for his break, I was sleeping and didn´t even have the strength to say hi. I felt dizzy, my heart was racing and for some reason I was feeling very anxious😬 I was hungry, but didn´t want to eat anything at the same time. Eventually I caved in on the hunger and ate something, I felt a bit better later on, so maybe I was just dehydrated or had low blood sugar etc
19.10.21: It´s been 4 months since my arrival to Barcelona😳🙊 I feel almost comfortable already, but there are still some things that annoy me😑 For now I think I´ll never learn to normalise these things, but who knows.. as they say - never say never. I will make an extra post about some of the weird things for me here. These are mostly to do with cultural differences, but still, sometimes I wish things were a bit more "Estonian" here.
21.10.21: The Spanish class today was quite difficult and made me feel hopeless for a minute😫 We started with another past tense called Pretérito indefinido, and what I thought was gonna be easy like the last one, turned out to be a nightmare for me😬 Basically there are a lot of irregular verbs and loads of rules, and rest of the class have already learned it, but I know only present officially. 90% that I know to speak has been learned by listening to the natives. I know the basics thanks to the courses during high school and uni, but I never actually learned the past or future tenses. I did complete some worksheets when I was in Spain in 2019 to finish the class, but I got some help from the locals since I wasn´t able to attend the class in the end. So yeah, and there´s more to come..I´m starting to feel a bit worried about the exam in January, but there´s still time to learn everything👍
Later in the evening I had an online Instagram masterclass by Valerie. It was quite interesting and I learned some new things, but she mainly did promo for her Instagram Academy course, which is totally fine. I just wish she´d spent a little less time talking about her past and more on the topic. After the class I decided that my manicure needs to be updated and gave myself new bright purple nails💜💅 I even got to use the glitter that I bought a few weeks ago😌
22.10.21: Last week when Àlex and I were walking down a street close by the Fontana metro station, we saw a little cafe, and in the window you could see 5 cats sleeping😻 It was a cat cafe where you´d come, get a coffee or something else and could hang out with the cats. Sadly it was closed that time, but I knew we´re gonna visit it. So I looked up the Espai de Gats online, but there weren´t any spots left for Friday😕 But Àlex found another place called Gatuari👍 We went there and got to play with the cats for an hour. I had so much fun and loved the company of these beautiful creatures🙈😻 I´ve always wanted to get a cat, but I´m allergic, so I get to enjoy their company in small amounts. I made sure not to have an allergic reaction at the Gatuari, so I took an allergy pill 20 minutes earlier.
They had 10 cats there, I think, and there´s also a possibility to adopt the cats. If that seems to much, then they offer jobs as volunteers to take care of the cats and play with them😊 I really liked a cat named Candy, she had kind blue eyes and fur like a cotton ball. She was very calm and lovely. Àlex preferred an older and calmer cat, who was laying on its bed and let everyone pet them.
Both cat cafes cost 4-5€ and you get to spend an hour there usually. The money helps to take care of the cats and I think it´s very reasonably priced. The only rules are that you can´t be more than 15 minutes late or your reservation will be cancelled, you can´t pick up the cats, you aren´t allowed to feed them with your own food or rub them under the belly. Other than those I think they didn´t have any special rules. Soon I´m gonna visit the other cafe too!
After cats we decided to get some food. I was craving chinese, so we found really fun wok place. They offer wok, sushi and different spring rolls. You´ll order food to go and can eat it outside by the park or at home. When entering you have to fill out a sheet with your order-just tick chosen dishes and fill out your name. The wait time is like 10 minutes, prices are totally reasonable and food absolutely delicious! YUM😋😋🍲
23.10.21: The morning started very sweetly and unhealthily - we had a French breakfast😜🥐 Àlex had ordered bunch of pastries from a bakery close by. We had croissants, angel hair pastry but with cream, baguette with ham and others. It was delicious and finger liking good😋👌
Àlex told be about this place called Carretera de les Aigües a week or two ago so we had a plan to visit it. I wasn´t sure at first what is it, but a quick search online showed me a walking trail in the mountains with views of the city.
At Carretera de les Aigües
We drove 10 minutes by car and parked just by the walking trail. The route itself is 9km oneway and is accompanied by panoramic views of Barcelona😍 It´s a great place for runners, cyclists and others looking for some time away from the city noise. There´s a very little rise at first but other than that the road is flat and easily manageable👍 The weather was fantastic that day, at first I thought it will be a bit cold for me, but when I got to the other side of the mountain, the sun was already waiting for me and warmed me up quickly.
Views from the trail
There are some chairs by the road to sit on and check out the view and just enjoy your time in the nature. I saw a lot of butterflies, wild doves and even a rabbit when walking! The change of the scenery was very needed, I get tired of the big city life quite often so a bit of nature is very welcomed😊😇
24.10.21: It was the birthday of my longtime best friend. For the first time I wasn´t able to celebrate it with her. It made awfully sad, but at least if everything goes well, I get to see her soon🤞
28.10.21: The autumn is officially arriving in Barcelona🍁 Average daily temperature keeps lowering. Till now it´s been between 15-25, but it doesn´t feel as warm as before. So it´s finally time to find my autumn boots and prepare the jackets for some possible rain 🥾☔
In the afternoon Àlex took me to Avinguda Diagonal.
#matching
We walked around, I took a lot of photos like a decent tourist and we had Starbucks.
Union Suiza jewellery store
Avinguda Diagonal
After that Àlex showed me L´illa Diagonal shopping centre, we bought some sweets, did some window shopping and got on our way🍬
At the shopping centre
We walked around in different parks, I got to see a fancier part of the town with beautiful restaurants, hotels and stores. I absolutely loved a store called Ze, where they had the most beautiful dresses 😍 But the prices started from 1400€😳
The red dress cost 1400€ and the blue one 1900€
After all that walking we were finally ready for some food! Àlex had made a reservation earlier for our favourite sushi place Kyoka😋😌🍣 We were very hungry, but ended up ordering with our eyes not with our head😂
YUM😋😋
We managed to finish everything..or at least Àlex made sure so😅 The food was as delicious as ever and I got to try some octopus. I think I´ve tried it once before when Àlex was working in a golf restaurant in Estonia. Anyway it was quite good, not sure if it´s gonna be my go to thing, but an option for sure👍
29.10.21: Another morning with ham and baguette - Àlex and I went to a bar close to the house where we ordered some breakfast. After that we went to the gym, Àlex played padel till 15 and I waited him at home.
In the afternoon we left for the city, visited some stores and went to the other cat cafe!! 🐈😻 This time it was the one where we wanted to go from the beginning. The kitties were soooo cutee and playful😍 Some were sleeping, some played with us and some didn´t bother at all. I think my favourite was a cat called Christie, she seemed quite young and had A LOT of energy. And I really liked another cat, who had all black fur. She was very fond of a black silky string and loved running after it. I loved my hour with the kitties, and I´ll be returning for sure!😁😍
Afer the cat cafe we bought some chestnuts from a plaza close by🌰 I´d never tried chestnuts before, so I was a bit scared and interested at the same time.
They turned out to be rather okay, but not something I´d crave. The flavour reminded me of dates and almonds.
Later in the evening we went to the screening of the new Venom movie. Just before leaving the house, it started to rain heavily 🌧 I was very glad we´d gotten my boots from the storage room earlier this week. They definitely came in handy! I put on my raincoat and off we went. Àlex had an umbrella, but it didn´t help much☔ It was totally pouring outside. My feet were dry, but pants totally soaked😬 I was looking like a wet rat when we arrived at the cinema. It was really difficult to enjoy the movie, because my pants were wet and I was cold. I spent the last 20 minutes of the movie trembling😭 Other than that later on we discovered that there wasn´t any electricity back at the house because of the rain. Some part of the switchboard was flooded if I understood correctly. So we went to sleep in pitch black.
Hasta la próxima! 😊
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