Barcelona is for Llovers

Today is the day that I tackle this blog. I have been feeling really anti-my blog lately, but I think it is passing. I guess since a month ago when I posted a cop out post about venereal disease, I have actually been pretty busy. For one, if you all didn't know, Steve Dahl read a portion of my blog on his show. It was horrifying and awesome at the same time. The highlight his commentary was when he said, "Hey Jenny, I got your Icelandic hot dog right over by here." I've been trying for awhile to embed this soundbite onto my site so you all can hear it, but, well, I don't know the first thing about that sort programming so it hasn't worked out so well. Maybe one day it will happen, but until then, use your imagination.

Way more exciting was my trip to Spain. Spain Spain Spain. I love Spain. I went to Barcelona and Salamanca with Tina (who kept a way better weblog of our trip on her site). It all began when Tina decided to run the marathon there and I took the opportunity to both cheer her on and return to Spain. Most of the time we were in Barcelona, which, next to Chicago, might be my favorite city in the world. Everything was sleek and stylish and hip and tasty and beautiful. The architecture there is directly from the freaky side of your imagination. It's Gothic meets Dali meets melting ice cream on a hot day meets fantasy. We stayed in the El Raval neighborhood which is hip and young and by the museum of contemporary art. I don't even know if I could begin to describe the restaurants. Sensual maybe. The food was out of this world good and the decor and atmosphere in the bars and dining establishments made you want to hunker down and live there for the next millennium. Everything was fantastic.

After Barcelona we went to Salamanca and a touch of Madrid. Salamanca was great and just how I remembered if from my study abroad experience. I saw my old roommate, Vanessa, who lives and studies there, as well as the Senora I stayed with. It was pretty funny seeing her, as she hadn't changed much and reminded me of this when she said, "You look so good. You look much skinnier and better than when you were last here. You hair looks so much better. You were fatter then." Thanks Pepa. It was great seeing Vanessa because she is one of my ultimate laughing partners. Being in Salamanca reminded me that I had forgotten the smell of the city. It is so distinct, and I hadn't smelled it since I left in 2001. It is a beautiful mixture jamon and pan (ham and bread). If I could bottle that smell and sell it, well, I probably wouldn't make any money, but I would be pretty happy.

Madrid stinks. Literally and figuratively. If you are going to Madrid, this is what you should see. The Reina Sofia, the Prado, the Palacio Real, the Plaza del Sol and that is it. The people aren't as nice, the food is not as good and it is more expensive and the ambiance sucks. Plus, someone cut the back of my purse and stole my passport, so that really sucked. I had to spend half a day at the embassy getting an emergency passport so I could get home. The good that came out of this, you may ask? I got a new passport picture to replace my old one where I had been compared to a butch, Canadian ice hockey player. I don't know if there is a more unflattering comparison possible. Overall, the trip was incredible, made even more so by the fact that I got to spend 10 days with my hetero-life mate, Tina. Laughing with her is one of my favorite activities and I got to do a lot of it on this trip.

In other news, well, there isn't much. I saw David Sedaris with my mom and friend, Stacey, on Easter. I love his essays. I had tears rolling down my eyes from laughter and my mom was wheezing, so that was a good sign. My brother was also in town this past week, along with another old friend from Spain, Jordan, along with her man. It was good having everyone visit. However, I am seriously behind on my Tivo and me and my couch have some alone time we need to spend with each other. I've been neglectful and I need to make up for it.