Citrus

When my parents came to Barcelona they mentioned that they would like to take my roommates and I out to dinner. Of course my roommates had no problem with that so I started asking other friends here where they had gone to dinner when their parents came to visit. What I kept hearing from friends was a restaurant called Citrus as nobody had anything bad to say about it. Citrus is located 44 Passeig de Gracia and is located on the second floor of the building. I called ahead to make a reservation and it is a good thing I did as the wait would have been close to forty five minutes. We were very lucky and were seated at a table directly next to the glass walls which overlooked Passeig de Gracia. It was a great environment for dining and everyone there truly enjoyed it. I remember having the salmon which was great and everyone else truly enjoyed their meals. In the end I was happy that we chose this place because for the great meal and evening we had it was a relatively cheap dinner for seven people, so in the end I felt good that my parents did not have to spend a lot of money on the meal. The entire staff at the restaurant was extremely friendly and all knew English constantly coming over to our table and joining in on our conversation no matter what the topic, making the entire night one to remember. For anyone trying to have a good meal for a cheaper price I would definitely recommend Citrus.

Carpe Diem Lounge Club

One of our favorite restaurants that my friend and I have now been to three times is Carpe Diem Lounge Club, which is right along the beach off the Port Olympico stop. Carpe Diem Lounge Club is also referred to as CDLC as late at night it also turns into a smaller club scene. It is located right next to Shoko and Opium and has seating inside and outside on the edge of the beach. One of the cooler experiences I’ve ever had while dining is the option to have beds to lay on with whoever you go with to enjoy the meal laying down.
While eating there you have the option to get a massage for free although the girls work for tips. At CDLC they have a Catalan mix on most of the dishes they serve. Although they offer many Catalan type dishes, each time I’ve been there I always end up ordering the sushi as it is the freshest sushi I’ve found in Barcelona to date. Sushi is up there as one of my favorite foods and for the first month and a half living here, after not eating any of it I made it a mission to find a good restaurant for it. I truly enjoy the ability to eat right along the beach as it’s a great atmosphere as my parents and I went there while they visited Barcelona, and I remember a great time with friends as we decided to eat there after a long day of hanging out on the beach. Although at many times it takes awhile to get a table for a decent sized group, it’s not too bad to leave a name and walk around the beach or just to enjoy and check out the area. I’ve found myself several times walking around the area in between Port Olympico and Barceloneta with friends and have truly come to love that area. It was interesting to learn in class that this area was made into what it is just prior to the 1992 Summer Olympics as they wanted to make it easier for people to get to the city if coming by water. In conclusion, I would recommend Carpe Diem Lounge Club to any resident or visitor to Barcelona.

UGARIT

The number one restaurant spot that my friends and I eat at most here in Barcelona is called Ugarit, as there are three locations on our street. We live on Bruniquer in Gracia and Ugarit is a group of Syrian restaurants that stand out from most of the Arab restaurants as their products are always fresh. The same three people work there everyday and every time we eat there they always provide us with either a free shot for everyone at the table or pastries for everyone to share. I’ve made it a point to take everyone who has visited me here in Barcelona to Ugarit including my friends from school, friends from home, my girlfriend from home and my parents. Everyone who has experienced it loves it there and I’ve never heard anyone say anything negative about the place. If we didn’t live on a street with Ugarit on it, chances are we never would know about the wonderful place it is. The three workers who work there have helped us learn a little Spanish and in return we’ve helped them with some simple English phrases. When we’ve had guests stay at our place there was a time period of two and a half days that we did not have electricity, and the people of Ugarit allowed us to use their outlets when needing to charge a phone, or simply letting a female friend use their bathroom so she’d have light to do her makeup. We like to consider the people at our local Ugarit to be our second family here. My favorite dish there is a platter of Shwarma Ugarit which contains shwarma, lettuce, fried onions, tomatoes, and pita bread to make little sandwiches with. The platters go for around 8 euro and you can evenget a bocadillo size for a cheap price of 3.50 euros.

Congress Passes New Law Against Money Laundering

In the April 22nd, 2010 edition of el Periodico, in the Politics section an article was written titled” Congress passes a new law against money laundering. The article emphasizes that according to the PSOE the new law will help eliminate sources of financing for terrorist groups. Congress unanimously approved the law designed to ensure that the proceeds of criminal activities are incorporated into the legal financial system. The law that was passed incorporates the European directive on money laundering, and the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force in order to unify the prevention criteria against the money laundering. According to the Socialists, Gloria Gomez Santamaria spoke of how the law contains “significant progress” as it extends the existing law of prevention of money laundering to terrorist financing. The MEP stressed that cutting the flow is “vitally important” to counterterrorism. Deputy Buadillo Tome stressed the unanimity shown by all political groups, also indicating that the new law allows lightened tax burdens and a strengthened legal security. Also stressed is the emphasis in the need for Spain to continue the fight against tax havens worldwide, whereas some criticize how it’s now easier for investors residing in other countries to buy Spanish public debt.

US and China Back To Formal Negotiations for Human Rights

In the April 22nd, 2010 edition of el Periodico in the World section, there was an article written titled “U.S. and China begin formal negotiations on Human Rights”. The article states that the White House has confirmed that delegates from both countries will meet on May 13th and 14th. The governments of both countries will resume formal negotiations a spokesman for Hillary Clinton announced. It has been two years since the U.S. and China had addressed the issue as there was considered to be a lot of tension in China. An American diplomat spokesman, Phillip Crowley, expressed confidence that both countries have maintained “open dialogue” on issues such as religious freedom. Another hot topic being discussed is over internet access, as pointed out by Crowley is the freedom of internet use and the right to information for Chinese citizens. Two points on which Washington and Beijing strongly disagree on is that the Chinese authorities filter all information circulating on the internet in order to control access to sensitive topics like the Tiananmen demonstrations in 1989, or prohibiting the Falungong spiritual group. In January, Google announced it would no longer censor the results of the search engine in China. The delegations will be led by Michael Posner, assistant secretary of state for democracy and human rights, and Chen Xu, head of the international organizations of Chinese Foreign Ministry.

New Law Concerning Pickpockets in Barcelona

In the April 21st, 2010 edition of el Periodico, and article named “Pickpockets will be sentenced to jail time on weekends” was writing in the Barcelona section of the paper. Before coming to Barcelona, I had been warned by not only friends who had studied in Barcelona, but family and friends of my family who had been to Barcelona told me to always be careful of pickpockets and they were right. The article’s two main points address that the future law will try to focus on the “criminal groups” to achieve convictions of gangs of pickpockets. For multiple incidents the new law will require that it is put on that individuals record. Years of appeals have been taking place in Barcelona in search of possible tools to help lessen the amount of pickpockets in Barcelona and this article believes that the new penalty will be the answer. Each case is to be tried individually as the Judiciary Committee has to factor in whether this pickpocket is a professional collecting dozens at a time, or is a first time offender. Under the new law the “group criminal” for the organized gangs of pickpockets could be sentenced from three months to one year in prison. The new law could be implemented in six months. This is good news as in my time here I’ve heard many horror stories when it comes to pickpockets. One of my good friends parents were completely set up by professionals robbing my friends dad of both his parents passports, and his fathers wallet which contained a good amount of cash, credit cards and traveler checks.

Transit Lines to Grow

On April 19th, 2009 in the Barcelona section of el Periodico, an article was written titled “Barcelona area planning 360 new miles of track by 2018”. The article explains that the planned infrastructure includes the tram along the Diagonal and the tunnel toward the Valles Horta. The total investment, which includes the construction and implementation of the plan in 2001, is a staggering 25.242 million euros. Between 2009 and 2018 the rail transit lines in the metropolitan area should grow at 260 miles between subway lines, the railways of the Generalitat, tram and expansion of Roalies. Secretary of the Department d’Mobilitat Public Works, Manel Nadad, has said how the tram will better the future for passengers as the government made the clear choice which has allowed the future number of passengers to double. Included in the new PDI plan is the linking of the railways from Generalitat and Universtat Autonoma Poblenou. One concern about the plan is that it does not constitute an obligation for the investment, that’s where the administrative process gets a little tricky. Also stressed is the extension of the L-3. Also mentioned in the article is the future metro line that will take passengers directly to the airport. Living in Gracia in my time here has taught me how important the metro system is to all people of Barcelona and this plan looks like it will better the lives of all habitants of Barcelona. Taking the metro everyday to different locations all over the city has already showed me how well run the metro system is run here when compared to similar metro systems back in the United States.

FC Barca becomes futbol paradigm

On April 12th, 2010 in the Opinion section of el Periodico, an article titled “The paradigm of Barca” was written. The article was written a day after El Clasico between FC Barca and Real Madrid in Madrid’s home stadium. The win by FC Barca all but clinched up La Liga and the article looks into how each team has been built so differently. The writer states that “Bara is the depositary of a new paradigm football which is insufficeient to pull the checkbook and improvise a galaxy”. The way that this current Barca team has been built is completely unlike that of Real Madrid’s whose reputation is to open up the checkbook and spend what they need to so they can bring in the top players of the world. Yet this current Barca team led by possibly the best futbol player in the Lionel Messi, has grown up together. Messi and many of the other current Barca players started playing together at a young age and went through the Barca growing up phase together. The way this team is built gives hope to other clubs to prove that in order to win you don’t always need to go out and spend the most money. Yes, Barca does have one of the highest payrolls of any team in any sport in the world, but the simple paradigm of getting this players at a younger age and grooming them together has proved to be a success as FC Barca is coming off the first six championship season in the history of futbol.

Raval Field Trip

Our last and most recent field trip took us through the area called Raval. By living and studying here the past few months I’ve learned constantly how much the 1992 Summer Olympic Games helped change the entire landscape, and outside view of Barcelona. We started on the street parallel to Las Ramblas and worked our way into an area that used to be full of drugs and prostitutes, yet prior to the 1992 Summer Olympics, they turned the entire area around. Now a place where skateboarders hang out, and an outdoor bar where a lot of college students hang out, it is no longer the bad part of town that many once knew it as. It was also nice to see the area where many different types of people all ages, nationalities live close to the skateboard area. Also seeing how many of the residents in that area being fed up with the bars in that area being loud at late hours and hanging their words of resentment over their balconies all around that area. It was my first time in this area and I had already been living here for three months. It would have been nicer to have seen this area before as I, along with a few of my other friends spoke about how it would have been nice to hang out in that area more often. But I’ve also realized that there are so many different areas in the city of Barcelona that it is impossible to discover them all, let alone know what restaurants, bars, and hang out spots to go to. Although the area was mostly cleaned up, on our walk back to class there were still a few areas that weren’t as redone as the main areas.

Field Trip to Medieval Barcelona

For our field trip to Medieval Barcelona, in particular El Born, it was my first time in that area of the city. The part that I found most interesting was the Jewish area as I am Jewish. In most of my classes the base of the material is always speaking about the Franco era and its long last affects on the rest of Spain, in particular the area we are in, Catalonia. During Franco’s time we all know how there was no religious freedom and Spain was a Catholic country. During this field trip it was the first time that I had actually learned that Jewish people lived in Barcelona dating back to the times of medieval Barcelona. Seeing the Jewish synagogue and the several street signs in Hebrew gave me a better understanding of how my ancestors lived hundreds and hundreds of years ago in the city that I have been living in the past few months. Seeing all of the older architecture also was interesting as its hard to believe how well the structures built back in those times with the lack of technology they had. Also it was obvious to see the few buildings that have partly ruined the overall aura of the area. It was also cool to stand in the same area that many of prisoners and traders of the past had lost their heads and to see where those heads were hung to remind the people of Barcelona the consequences of such actions. Finally, it was nice to have a good understanding of the area as when my parents visited they were interested in viewing the Jewish area of Barcelona as well. Having this field trip and prior knowledge allowed me to relay that information to them, and for that they were truly grateful.

FC Barcelona vs. Getafe Feb. 6th 2010

Growing up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the four sports teams we support and follow are the Eagles for American football, the Phillies for baseball, the 76ers for basketball, and the Flyers for Hockey. Futbol, or soccer as we all call it in the US just isn’t very popular in America for the most part, but not only living in Europe, but living in Barcelona where we have FC Barcelona, you can’t help but get caught up in the hype for the futbol team. Coming here and having them come off winning six championships in the past year as the buzz on the team very high throughout the city as the team not only plays for its fans, but for Catalonia. On Feb. 6th, 2010 I went to Camp Nou to watch FC Barcelona play against Getafe. The stadium was packed as it was near capacity, and to look around and see everyone in every seat watching every second of play truly showed the passion that these fans have for their team. When Messi scored the first goal the crowd erupted and it was cool to get caught up in all the commotion with the crowd. It was also interesting to see that the crowd all sang the same type of song after the goal and where I come from we have a fight song that people sing after the Philadelphia Eagles score a touchdown, so it was interesting to see the similarities between the sports and cultures. It was a cold night but none of us cared as it was a great game as I was with my four friends who I live with here in Barcelona. FC Barcelona ended up winning 2-1 over Getafe as Getafe earned their goal on a late penalty kick. Being a big sports fan my entire life I truly had a great time at the futbol game and seeing how the people of this city love FC Barcelona as we love our own sport teams at home in the US.

Carnival in Sitges

Carnival was one of the top five nights of my life. Having friends who studied abroad before and experienced carnival I thought I had a feeling of what it would be like, yet I was blown away. People of all ages, from babies to the elderly were all dressed up in costumes, including my friends and I. It was the first time in my time here in Spain where people didn’t look at those from different countries and make judgments. Everybody was talking to each other, or attempting to talk to each other as the language barrier was tough at times. At Carnival in Sitges there were several floats, including one of a huge elephant that had important people who helped plan this years Carnival. The bus ride there was wild as everyone was drinking and the music was blasting. We all met a lot of different people from CEA who we hadn’t even seen before. Once we were off the bus everyone was having a great time as the alcohol was flowing as I wouldn’t have rather been anywhere else in the world at that present time. Another thing that I enjoyed about the experience was that although I live with four of my good friends from school here in Barcelona, two girls I have grown up with along with my one good guy friend are also studying here in Barcelona. It was a real cool experience to experience Carnival, this wild once in a lifetime experience for myself, with some of my best friends. Only those who were with me that night will be able to understand that experience. Our night in Sitges for Carnival was the first new cultural type experience I’ve had here I can say that there is nothing like Carnival in the United States. Maybe some could say Halloween is something like Carnival, but I’d strongly disagree as Carnival is more of a celebration of life.

Roman Barcino Field Trip

Our trip to Roman Barcino and the Museo D’historia was quite interesting to me in many ways. First, before I came to Barcelona I truly did not know anything about the history of the city other than it hosted the Olympics in 1992 and was home to FC Barcelona. To find out that Barcelona was once under Roman control was very interesting to me. After meeting up with the rest of our class outside of the Jaume metro stop we started to walk over to the museum. The walk to the museum really gave you a feel of what it was like to live in the city during those times as our walk took place in the narrow alleyways that made up some of the old Roman Barcino. While inside the museum we entered a walkway that held man sculptures that have been preserved from many centuries ago. After viewing the few sculptures we watched a brief video on the history of Barcelona we went into an elevator which had a clock that went back the thousands of years as we descended into the area of the Roman home. Back in those times, with truly close to none of the modern technology that we use, it’s remarkable to see how the people lived, and how efficient and effective their methods were. In the area of the Roman home we saw the massive pool area where the people that lived in the area would use to wash their clothes. The history of wine in Barcelona dates all the way back to the Roman times as they had their own methods of making mine. To see the games that the kids played, including tic-tac-toe, which I remember playing when I was younger fascinated me; the games I played as a kid was played back in the Roman times.  If not for this field trip I probably never would have ever visited this Roman area so I am fortunate that we did make this field trip.