BarceLOCA

After our trip to Park Guell we were starving. The Dartmouth kids studying here have decided that their favorite bar is, appropriately, an Irish pub named Ryan’s. We decided to try it. We had nachos, veggie burgers and cheese fries while we waited for the Championship game for FC Barcelona to start. We watched one half with the locals, saw two goals scored, and learned the song they all sing at every goal.

We were exhausted from such a long day of walking so we went back to the hostel for a quick siesta. We woke to millions of horns honking, Spaniards chanting and fireworks going off on all the streets. Apparently the futbol team won. We’ve never seen this level of excitement about anything in all our lives. La Rambla was jam packed with people celebrating from anywhere they could find room. People drove down the streets, doors open beating on drums and dangled from light posts hooting. At Plaça de Catalunya there was a huge stage that had been erected for the occasion and a jumbo screen played footage of the match, eliciting the same number of cheers as though it had just happened. When we saw that the sea of people continued all the way down La Rambla, and the fireworks were getting a little too loud for our taste, we went back to the hostel’s bar and hung out with our room mates.



The 5 British doctors as we came to know them were eager to learn all about American culture, especially fraternity and sorority life. Their favorite television show is MTV’s “My Super Sweet 16” so we were asked many questions regarding Ne-yo, new cars “bought by daddy” and “the best party of the year!!!!”


We also decided to teach them a few games from Dartmouth and they purchased sangria and beer. We decided it was an even trade. They also taught us several songs from the UK like the Scottish national anthem.

We ended the night with a brief stint at the Portuguese club Roxy, where Ray saw a famous Brazillian futbol player, Ronaldiño.