Settling in

Yeah hard life im living at the moment.

 To settle into my new apartment my two housemates and i had a sushi dinner. Oh and it was splendid the sushi was a great success! In this photo is Benedetta my Italian flatmate.

For the past week i have been settling into my new 'barrio'. One afternoon as i was sitting in the sun on my bedroom balcony i acknowledged my feeling of contentness. Barcelona is home now!

I have gone for run/walks to explore the area and help sweat out the alcohol. these running routes are definitely not boring there are many interesting things i have to dodge - abstract sculptures, art installations, bums, pond fountains. I mean this is much better than the window i look out at SAF (Uni gym) while on the tredmill. the first few times i found myself stopping to inspect the bizzare buildings or installations. for example....In Ciutadella park there is a huge glass box in the middle of nowhere with water streaming down the sides of it and hanging inside is a livingroom table and  bookshelf with bedsheets twisted around it saying something..i haven't really stopped to read it

We all know Barcelona is known for its gaudi artichecture but as i run along the foreshore it seems to me as if  all the modern architects are trying to match the unique factor of gaudi .. but let me tell you it is all the glass, wood, concrete, mirrors, steel and whatever the hell else they use ... it looks weird... you don't stare in awe you stare wandering what the hell this designer was thinking.

In the process of settling into my new home.. i realised it was time that i got off my arse and bought myself some sheets for my bed.. one cannot claim to be settled in without even having bed sheets!!! This task proved a lot harder than expected... firstly there are no linen shops in Spain so where the hell was i going to go.. ahhh el cort ingles ahhh no EXPENSIVE 60 euro for sheets.. pft get real. i want the el cheapo version. IKEA.
I don't think i have been so frustrated my a shop in my life.. while all shop assistants in spain are quite unpleasant but the IKEA shop itself is a whole other level of unpleasantness (if thats a word). I walk in the shop or warehouse whatever.. and i spent 10mins trying to get into the part where the products were.. i was trapped on the other side of the cash machines.. i asked people where the hell the entrance was and they just kept pointing in all directions.. stupid people they are meant help the poor lost girl.
Well after walking back and forth i found people and decided to follow them... success! well thats what i initially thought... i was let in a bloody maze through furniture, bed mattresses, tables, all i wanted where friggin sabanas!!!!!  (sheets) and every one has whopper trollies with tonnes of stuff in them.. grrr
finally 'textiles' i find the sheet section... oh and the experience just got interesting.. sheets are sold seperately and there are no descriptions of what kind of sheets they are.. top sheet, bottom sheet, and insead of single, double, queen, king... i had to guess what measurements my bed are.

 So finally after getting through the maze, finding some sheets i had to line up behind lines of people with whopper trollies full of crap.. all i had were sheets come on people..