November 30, 2005
Hola Gracia
In all honesty I never made it to the museums. As I say lots to do! And there's still loads I haven't done or seen. I am coming back it's worthwhile. I've been based around the Gracia neighbourhood. It's sprawling and if you can be bothered to get out and just walk, there is so much to look at. Especially for a long weekend. Don't get me wrong there are some very special places in Barcelona. The public transportation has been fantastic. Much like any city really, you can choose from the undergound, buses, trams and loads of taxis. The trains are pretty good too.
I would recommend catching the bus direct from the airport to the city. They go every 10 minutes and it's really cheap and drops off at all the major plazas. The train is a little more tricky from the airport as it stops at the city limit and then you have to transfer to the underground. But it's still cheap and easy.
All public transport can be paid for using a universal transport ticket. You can get them from the underground stations. Don't know what the new prices are but I paid leass than 10Eur for and 10 trip ticket.
Taxis are set to tariff's based on the time. Although they are better than taxis in Amsterdam. You can still get stung sometimes. My recommendation, just be firm and clear and don't get out of the cab until all has been finalised. It worked for me, but then lady luck always shines.
There are some people who could be described as doggy lovers. I am not. I like dogs, I even love dogs, but the dogs I like and love are normal sized dogs. I'm also a firm believer that if you live in the space of a shoe-box on a major city road. Then it's not the best place to keep doggys.
Holland is a place famous for dog poop on the street. But I've never seen the authorities here resort to paying for actual anti-dog poop adverts. These are not small. No, they're slapped on the length of the buses. It's clearly so much of a problem even the officials are prepared to admit it.
Learn Spanish! I can't stress this enough. Not everyone speaks or wants to speak English. It can't help to know some basics and at least look to be making an effort.
Posted by connie at 03:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 21, 2005
TESOL
I am studying a TESOL certificate. It´s an intense course lasting approximately 30 days and theres a variety of locations to choose from. I chose Barcelona, nice!
But you can go to Seville, Prague, Florence, London and Madrid. The certificate is Trinity approved. Fingers crossed I pass the exam.
http://www.eurotefl.com/
Posted by connie at 09:12 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 05, 2005
The Autograph Man
A: Zadie Smith
ISBN: 037550186X
2002
The story of Alex Li Tandem and his struggle to survive friendships, family, life and love. Some say he has an obsession with Kitty Alexandra...other refer to him as an avid collector who never made it big.
I actuall liked him as a character because like everyone else he is boring and rude and selfish. There is nothng special about him, he just lives life as he sees fit. He has no desires or passion except for the pursuit of Kitty's autograph.
He reminds me of everyone else's mundane life. We get up do our thing and go to work and come home and if we re exceptionally social we drink, get drunk and go home to our tiny flats and go to bed. Next day we repeat the same thing.
If you don't have a plan for your life journey, don't relish marrying and having 3.5 children. You don't have a need to believe in anything or an omnitipent body. then there's nothing really disappointing with this portrail. In fact it's rather bloomin refreshing to not have superman or Americans save the day. It's great not reading about how she loves him and if she could get her man it would all be ok. NO life is boring and dull. We sometimes can't make up our minds and someimes we just can't be bothered to interact with others the way they feel you have to.
I did find it odd to read about his childhood in short and then suddenly be thrust into NOW - I sometimes wondered about the point... Was it the morality of life, the place of religion in modern life, family and friends conquer all?
I could go on, believe in yourself, don't mind everyone else they can take care of themselves. OR we must all conform and eventually we do!
It was incredibly difficult to get into the book. I didn't find myself reading from cover to cover. Indeed, it took a couple of months just trying to get into the character. Much was dedicated to his everyday thoughts and doings, not very inticing overall. I found some of the other characters much more interesting.
Fave character: Kitty Alexandra
Posted by connie at 02:39 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack