Family lunch at Pepe's and the big game!

Game Day.  Barcelona is in the championship for the Spanish Futbol Cup.  Needless to say, the town is getting pretty rowdy.  We had so much going on today.  Not only was the entire city of Barcelona uniting and gearing up for the big game, but Pepe invited us to Sunday lunch at his family’s place.  It’s very common for people to get together with family and relatives on Sunday for lunch.  I was so stoked that we were invited!  How rare is it to attend a Spanish family’s home-cooked lunch in Barcelona???  Somebody pinch me.  I’m not gonna lie though, I was absolutely exhausted from going out 2 nights in a row with no sleep.  John and I woke up especially early too because we had to go look at another apartment that would be for the rest of May and located near Sagrada Familia.  I was a zombie, but I tried to talk myself out of my tiredness and get it together.  I also think that all of the cigarette smoke is taking a huge toll on my eyes/ears/nose/throat.  Every morning I wake up I feel like I’m borderline sick and somebody stuck a fork down my throat and scraped it to death.  Anyhoo.  We go to look at the apartment and I’m not extremely impressed.  It’s bottom level, has a funny smell, and the woman looks like a cracked out drug dealer.  Oh, p.s., she doesn’t speak a lick of English either—sweet life.  We spend about 5 minutes looking at the place and head back to Pepe’s because we needed to leave by 2.  I was hoping that I would have some time to make myself look a bit more presentable for the fam, but Pepe asked us to please leave.  I guess he’s become quite familiar with our inability to show up to things on time.  I slap on some mascara and sprint out the door.  It’s about a 20-30 minute walk and I’m sweating out boos and smoke.  We finally get there and it’s a beautiful high rise apartment on about the 10^th floor.  We go inside and I’m absolutely amazed—it looks just like an American apartment in New York or something.  Dark wood and forest green colors…almost like a Scottish feeling in the Hamptons or something.  We get introduced to Pepe’s Dad-Jose Maria, Mother-Geni, and Brother-Nacho.  Pepe’s mom knows very little English, but his Dad is multilingual and can manage his own.  Nacho went to Marquette in the states for a little bit, so he’s practically fluent.  We sit in the den and snack on Hors D'oeuvres while we wait for Pepe’s sister, Christina, to arrive with her 2 sons.  The Hors D’oeuvres are great.  Jamon-kind of like ham jerkey, Parmesan Cheese, Olives, and this awesome tomato/bread bruschetta thing..oh yah..and wine.  Can’t forget the wine.  After Christina and her adorable children arrive, we head into the dining room to start the meal.  Pepe’s mom is so sweet.  She reminds me of a housewife from the Northeast in the way she dresses, but with the personality and warmness of a house wife from the South.  Preppy black dress, black tights, black slip-on ballet flats.  I don’t think she was wearing pearls, but it wouldn’t have surprised me if she had been.  The first course was awesome.  It was pasta with ground beef, tomatoes, and some kind of cheese.  Second course was even more amazing—steak with French fries and salad.  Then for dessert we had this apple torte with fresh cherries.  Conversation was great.  Lots of talk about the U.S. and our life stories, as well as Catalunya history and soccer jabber.  It was an amazing meal, but it definitely didn’t help my tiredness  go away.  In fact, I could have passed out on their couch at the drop of a hat I was so relaxed.  After lunch we moved into their living room where we had coffee and talked a bit more before Pepe had to head off.  His parents are members of the FC Barcelona club, so they always have tickets to the game.  Pepe of course was not going to miss it.  We were just going to hang out with his, no wait, our friends while he was gone.  We couldn’t leave his parents without a picture on their balcony first though.  I will never forget that experience.  I surely thought I was going to have time to go back to Pepe’s and take a nap, but before we knew it, it was 5pm and the game started at 7!  We needed to get to the stadium somehow because that’s where we were meeting the rest of the gang.  We planned to visit a bar next to the stadium to watch.  Pepe’s dad graciously drove us there in his brand new MERCEDES and we arrived just in time for some pregame beers.  The scene outside of the stadium was unreal.  95% men, all jumping, screaming, singing Barcelona fight songs and setting off bombs to add emphasis to their pure adrenalin and excitement.  I felt like I was in a war zone and it took me about 10 bombs before I stopped flinching.  We grab a few beers, wait until about 20 minutes before the game is to start, then we head to a bar to set up camp.  The only problem was that it was so overly crowded that we couldn’t find a table!  Alberto was having a near panic attack and it was essential that we hurry to find a spot.  We eventually do.  Not the best of places though, and the tv was like a 25 inch flat screen.  It didn’t matter though; Barca was playing, and as long as we could watch we were happy.  We had to stand for a while, but we end up getting some beer crates from the bar owner that we turn on their sides and sit down on.  I felt like a little kid, but it gave my tootsies a rest so I was okay.  The game was intense!  Barca was favored to win, and that’s exactly what they did.  4-0…they destroyed them!  Alberto couldn’t have been happier.  All of the fans were on pins and needles until they scored goal #3, then the celebration started to erupt.  After the game was over we headed to the centre where everyone congregates to celebrate the great victory of their team.  The great thing is that every person living in Barcelona is a Barca fan.  They don’t follow any other team, and they all unite in a friendly celebration.  It was an absolutely MAD CRAZY scene in the centre.  I’ve never seen so many crazed fans in all of my life.  People were climbing light posts, setting off bombs, lighting fireworks…CRAZY.  We had to meet up with Pepe and Jordi somehow, but with the amount of people they would need to maze through to find us, it was near impossible.  We didn’t know what to do but just stand there and observe.  At first it was entertaining and a cool sight, but then it just got out of control and the more drunk people got, the more stupid and out of control they got.  It was when someone set a mini bomb off about 3 feet next to me that sent a bottle rocketing into my foot, that we decided it was time to go.  We headed back to Gracia. Sigh…relief….a place that’s familiar and not crazyland!  We went to one of our friends’ favorite meeting places, “No Sweat” where I sat and talked to the girls most of the night while John played pool with the guys.  I guess it’s not very common for girls to join in with the guys in Spain when they do sporty kind of stuff.  It was difficult for me to sit back and not join in—I really have had to control my competitive instincts since I’ve been here—so you know how easy that’s been for me.  After a couple of hours of hanging out, and ending with a game of darts where John destroyed everyone (No fair….pitcher…), we call it a night and head back to Pepe’s.  It was a super long day for me, so I was A. O. K. with us hitting the sheets.  It was an unbelievably memorable day for me, and again, it’s so rare that we were able to experience everything that we did that day.  I love Barcelona.

Hospital San Pau-near our first apartment in Barcelona!

Pepe's family for Sunday lunch!

Pepe's parent's beautiful apartment!

The living room where I could have easily passed out from tiredness.

The crazy Barcelona mob outside of the stadium!

The stadium!

The gang.

The tiny t.v. we found to watch the game.

Go Barca!

The aftermath!  People climbing light poles...normal, right?

John almost getting set on fire by a bomb..

At "No Sweat" for post-game celebration.

Uri and Karen..so cute!