Sant Joan

It is said the night of the 23rd June is the shortest of the year. Do you believe it? Even if it's true or not, that night was one of the most special nights in a long long time! As I explained in my last post, Sant Joan is one of the most famous festivities in Catalonia (also in Spain), when people plays with firecrackers and watches the fireworks with friends and/or family. As for me, my friends and I went to Lisa's apparment in Calafell, a village next to the sea near from Barcelona (1h by train). We all met on Saturday to take the train together. We were super excited ^_^

My friend Àngel and I listening to Ayumi Hamasaki ^-^

The view from the apparment

After dinner we all went for a walk along the seaside promenade, we bought crepes and we nommed em at home ^-^

My bestie <3 

 me (creepy ace lol), Esther, Angel and Lisa

Sand figures :)

 I'm gonna get a 10 scoop-ice cream someday... I PROMISE! X_X

Our beloved creperie <3

Nomnom 

The next day we went to the  beach in the morning. The sun was shining and the weather was (fairly) warm. And I said fairly because we're having a pretty weird summer so far x_x This was the coldest Sant Joan in 20 years!

Selfie time with Arnau <3 Sigh, I love him c: HANDS IN ACA-BITCHES! 

Later in the afternoon Lisa, Esther and Àngel went to the beach again, and Arnau Oscar and I went to walk around the village.

Bad boyz lol 

Oscar <3 

Wise words... 

I wrote my baby's name in snow last year, now I wrote it in sand... What's next? ;) 

We had spaghetti for dinner and... We went out to enjoy Sant Joan's night! ^_^ The seaside promenade was full of kids and groups of people playing with fireworks, and the "boom"s and "bam"s were constant and very loud (that's what a legit Sant Joan consists in! XD).

There were bonfires too, many students  have the tradition of burning their notes (since they've just finished exams lol). 

The reflaction of the moon in the sea was beautiful that night :)

The six of us together ^_^ Lisa, Esther, Me, Angel, Arnau and Oscar!

I tried to write Peter's name with a sparkler lol... >_< If you turn it over you can actually tell it says "Peter"!

You see c:

It was a great (but short!) weekend. I really enjoyed this time with my friends, now that Àngel and I are leaving abroad soon >_< We both talked about our fears and our paperwork stuff we still have to do. We can't deny it's frightening, but we're excited. We'll meet very soon, Peter is coming over in 8 days, and I want my friends to get to know my boyfriend (although Esther and Raquel know him already XD) ^_^ So all I'm doing right now is waiting for my loved one to come over! I'll be spamming about it so much recently, so get ready!

PS. I'll write a snail mail update very soon! I'm trying to cut off with snail mail as August comes, so they'll be not that often from now on >_< Sorry about that! But as I said, I'll retake it once I'm settled in Seoul.

Have a lovely July you all ^^

Love,

CL

A normal Friday afternoon

Last Friday I got my baby Nikon back! Well I should remark /ahem/ the repair center gave me the body of the camera two weeks ago but obviously, how do they want me to take pictures without the camera lens? (duh -_-). The warranty finally covered the 318€ I had to pay at first, but the reparation of the lens right wasn't free. Well, after 2 more weeks of patience and the urge of taking them to court (lol) I finally got my camera back (both pieces)! Once I left the store I was dying to take pictures again (trust me, it can be an obsession lol!), so I brought it everywhere I went that day :) 

I don't have more classes of course, so my day basically consisted in visiting my two grannys and helping them out with housework :) At 2pm I left home to go to my mom's mother's place for lunch. My place is sorrounded by plane trees, so the floor was full of bright yellow bloom.

Granny made "tortilla de patatas" that day, one of the most famous Spanish dishes! :)

Later I went to my other granny's place, since she needed help for going to the market and the groceries. While she was getting ready I went upstairs and took some pictures of my favourite spot in the house: The roof.

This has been my special place since I was a kid. Whenever I needed time to think, play or just relax, I used to go upstairs and spend some time watching tha plants, whatering them or whatever. The light looked great that day too! <3

Later granny and I went to the market and the groceries store. First though, she had to order some "cocas" for Sant Joan. Sant Joan (or San Juan in Spanish) our traditional festival of bonfires, firecrackers and fireworks, when we celebrate the beginning of summer. Also we eat a special cake with candied fruit and pinenuts, the "Coca de Sant Joan". There are many different kinds of coca :)

This has custard and candied cherries :)

And this has pinenuts too, but it's plain and filled with chocolate.

Once we finished we went back home and I helped her with some more housework. She's been kind of stressed recently, so now that I have time I try to spend as much time with her as I can! She needs some company too! We walked home and I kept taking shots of the beautiful buildings around me:

Aaaaaaaaand back home again! :)

 In the next post I'm going to talk about my Sant Joan's day (and the weekend itself). Till then!~ ^-^

CL

Done with my 3rd year of university + mail mail....!

HALLELLUJAAAAAAH! I'm so happy I finally finished my exams! This has been the worst semester ever in my 3 years of university. I'm relieved and I feel free at the same time, but this week hasn't been a bed of roses for me at all... My best friend just moved to Anaheim (CA), he's gonna start community college and then he'll go to university. I'm so happy for him, but I can't deny it's been a tough week for me. It's gonna be difficult not to text him saying "Hey, shall we meet in 30 minutes?"

I can't be this selfish though, he's gonna have a great time there, and even though I'm gonna miss him I know he'll be more than fine ;> Hope he gets used to his new life out of Europe! <3 Love you, Luke <3

Also Raquel went back to her hometown in Galicia, so we threw a farewell party on Monday with our group of friends ^_^ 

The six of us <3 

 We call ourselves 2NE1, haha <3

Then we went partying the night before. It was a sad night as well but we tried to have as much fun as we could :) I'll miss you too sweetheart <3

Now it's time for this past week's incoming! Due to personal reasons I've been way too busy to update this on time, hope you don't mind! >_<

Taipa Island, Macau. Thank you Kuan Long :)

Two postcards from China: Cute map card from and a "Happy Children's Day" postcard from Zhizhi~ 

Adorable package and letter from Viola in Hong Kong. She has her university entrance exam very soon! I wish her the best on it >_< Good luck deary! 

Rachel from Singapore sent me this adorable flag postcard *0* There are no words to express how excited I am! She knows how much I like her country, haha!

Aiko from Yokohama, Japan (Postcrossing) sent me this Daibutsu postcard (aka the Big Buddha from Kamakura). I was so glad to get this card, since we've studied this statue in Asian Art&Culture class and I'm so in love with it! <3 Hope I can see it in person someday :)

I also received Jenne's letter from DC! <3 She sent me a US Capitol bookmark (I'm so happy, because when I visited I didn't buy anything for me, haha) and an Instax photo from Baltimore <3 She's a lovely girl to talk to, I'm so happy to be her snail mail pal! 

Last but not east... I finally received Anna's package~~ *0* I can't describe how happy she makes me when I get her stuff <3 Again, she sent me Polaroid postcards from Chronicle Books <3 I have 13 already! I'm gonna take them to Korea and make a garland with them to decorate my new room. Aren't they adorable? This time she sent me Reeses (unf, it seems all my American friends have clear what I like e_e)... They're super expensive over here, but delicious! I'm going to Paris in a month exactly (Wow, time flies!) so I'm gonna buy her some fancy stuff I find there ^_^ Hope she likes it!

*Sigh* People come, people go... But I stay (for now)! Now it's time to dedicate some time to myself, catch up with all the series I've left behind during my school year, meet my friends, write to my dear penpals... Until Peter's here :D Can't wait for the 5th July to come already!

Love,

CL