so i am working on a presentation that i have to give in class wednesday about the region of Castilla y Leon in Spain and it is not going very well. there is not much information on it and i don't even know what i'm going to say! but the teacher said she doesn't really care much about the information, just the way we express it and present it. sounds like fun!!!!

this class is over thursday and then i start my real classes on sept. 28 so i have a little time off. there's this place i heard about that i absolutely have to check out. actually, two places. one is called Montjuic and it's supposed to have the most spectacular views of the city on this big hill and it has a huge fountain where at night they light it up and do shows in front of it. there's also a castle and some really famous artwork by Joan Miro all around plus some from other artists, and the art is the best here! it sounds like a fairytale.

the other place is called Barri Gotic, which is actually a whole area, and all the architecture and art is gothic and really ornate. they have some cathedrals there too and it should be a good time!

over the weekend i went around to check out the shops and see what kind of styles they have over here, and it's all so different. i noticed they have very little "chain" stores. on las ramblas if you go down the side streets there are so many little secret shops and restaurants that you come across and in the stores everything is home-made. not one dress looks like another. and they are all so bright! i love it, no one will make fun of me for wearing all my colors here =) there's also a lot of florals and silks here.

another thing i noticed is most all of their food is natural and organic. at the store they barely have any snacks, no crackers or anything! but a lot of the food is organic and that's just how it is, they don't charge you extra and have the processed stuff next to it on the shelves. good for me i guess. one weird thing? the milk comes in boxes. and it's not refrigerated. they have a whole aisle with milks and there's like 3209 kinds and i guess since it is organic and not processed and i don't know what they do to it, you can leave it out of the refrigerator for months and it won't go bad. only when you open it does it start. i guess a lot of places in europe have their milk like that. it's pretty convenient if you think about it, but i just don't understand it.