Spanish Scarves.

Although today was an uneventful day here in Barcelona, I thought I would still share some of my first purchases (besides food). These scarves were €2 and I found them in front of the Magic Fountain. They were so unique and I just had to get some.

I instantly thought about how my sister would love one, so I bought two - the last two. And then Kristine bought me the green one as a birthday present.

These scarves can instantly make an outfit. Some jeans, a white v-neck and some flats would look so cute!! Urgh, if only I had brought a white v-neck. Oh well, I'll work something out and I am quite sure you will be seeing it in a post very shortly since it has been kind of chilly here lately.

This is my favorite one!

This one reminds me of Morocco or India.

Magical Fountain, Magical Night.

Tonight was probably the most fun I have had since I've been here. Tonight, is what Barcelona is about - good food, good friends and great scenery. I started off marveling at the Magic Fountain. The show featured hundreds of fountains shooting at different heights. Pictures do not do this justice. It reminded me of Disney - especially since one of the songs at one point was "The Circle of Life".

After taking tons of photos, I ran into other people from the program. We bought some scarves and decided to celebrate a birthday by eating tapas (spanish appetizers) at the Born District. Although it was pricey, it was delicious and I had such a great time! These people in the program are so nice and ready to explore just as much as I am. We may even take a trip to Italy. We'll see how my budget works out.

When we got out of the restaurant, we asked a man to take a photo of all of us. He then bought us all roses. Spanish men do know how to make a girl happy!

Enjoy the pics :)

My favorite treat.

I swear, I cannot believe I took this photo. I am getting better and better with my fancy camera. Anyway the star of this post is Mr. Chocolate Croissant. He makes me happy and I thought I would share :)

P.S. Those are my little bite marks lol. As I was eating it I was like, "Oh crap! I gotta put this on my blog! Stop eating!!!" HAHA!!

Meet Pau - The Golden Wind Man.

This is Pau (It means "peace" in Catalan). He is the Golden Wind Man who "performs" part-time in Parc Guell. He took a photo with us and later explained that his full time job consists of teaching hip hop dance in three different schools. In his words, he "teaches how to pop and lock". He was great. He even danced salsa with me for a bit! Won my heart then and there. He also told me the trick to not getting hot with lots of paint on - gold paint is the only paint that helps reflect light.

The performers at this park are just amazing. They range from dog hipnotizers to three amigos performing a tune.

The park was beautiful but I know I will go back. We weren't able to see it all and we want to come back when we are wearing cute sundresses. We thought we had to hike so we wore work out clothes - which is not ideal for photos.

Until then, here is a photo of Kristine and I in Las Ramblas a couple days ago.

This is a view from Parc Guell

Look at how the people desperately climbed ANYWHERE just to see the final game against Barca and Manchester at the Arc de Triumph!!! After the win, the city went crazzzyyyyyy!! Its still crazy and it is 1:30 in the morning! I cant wait until the parade!

Kristine took this small video just when Barcelona scored! It was literally insane out there!

Slowly turning into a Barcelonian

Word of the day: Rape - Stingray

Apparently in Spain, eating stingrays is a delicacy! Um, for me, no thank you. Anyways we met the guys that worked in the supermarket. One was a meat guy and the other was a stock boy. Both were willing to take a picture with their delicacy. At first was disappointed about being in an apartment away from the center of the city, but as I wander around Eixample, is realize how I love it here. The people are extremely friendly and the food is very reasonable. People here are willing to explain their culture with us and I absolutely love that about our town.

At night, we went out with our roommate Johnny to Las Ramblas. We tried homemade sangria and tapas (Spanish appetizers). I feel like such a Barcelonian!!

This sangria was amazing. It wasn't strong, just sweet. Which means - ME GUSTO MUCHO!!!

To the left is our roommate, Johnny and these are his friends from Brazil and Spain.

The restaurant located in Las Ramblas

Although this photo is bad, I still wanted to share it with you all. Many Spaniards a protesting against their government. They are protesting due to high unemployment rates, government corruption and economic decline. Well today, at the plaza de Catalunya protestors were booted out by policeman. Spaniards responded by going out to their balconies and banging on pots. Looks like America isn't the only country with economic problems.

Just getting here.

Today I felt like a real Barcelonian - I didn't get lost!

Rewinding back to last night, we had a lovely roommate night. Johnny, our Brazilian roommate who has been here for 8 months, took us out for ice cream near the Sagrada Familia. It is beautiful at night and the detail is breathtaking. It has been under construction for years and some Spaniards believe it will never be finished.

Today we went to the Arco de Triunfo and I took a a lot of pictures of the Parc de la Ciutadella. Then we went on a tour to the "most beautiful city in Spain" - Born. The tours were fun considering I was with the group and got to meet new people. It is so interesting to here where others are interning and how others who have been here longer are adjusting. The most common statement I heard from 4 week interns was: "I don't wanna leave, I love it here". And I am here thinking, "Sweet I just got here!!" But I bet I will be feeling like that pretty soon.

Spanish Gelato YUMMM!!

Word of the day: Maduixa - Catalan word for "Strawberry"

Got this a couple blocks away from my job today with a fellow intern. It was delicious and so refreshing!

Bienvenidos a Barca.

Word of the day: Vale - "okay"

This word is used so much! I compare it to how much we use "like" in the States.

Today I went to formally present myself to my supervisor at IMS Consulting. First, let me say that I WAS SOOOO SCARED!! I made Kristine get up with me (as my birthday present) and go to the Panaderia (bakery). I got a magdalena (muffin) and then we worked our way to the Metro. We got lost on the way to the metro, but we eventually found it and bought metro cards.

So I got on the train and four stops later I was at the Hospital Clinic stop where I was to meet my advisor (there are A LOT of hospitals here). I was there early so I ended up waiting a while before she found me. Two kisses to greet by the way. The director came and he gave us some paper work.

When I arrived at my internship in the center of the bustling city of Barcelona, I was pleasantly surprised. The office is so chic, the supervisor is beyond friendly and their publications in Elle Magazine and Harper's Bazaar blow me away!!

The people here are so nice. If they see that you are lost, they will help you. If they see that you have trouble understanding they say, "You speak to me in English, and I speak to you in Spanish - that way we both get practice."

My apartment is also surprisingly cute. Kristine and I are sharing a room and I am so grateful that it has a washing machine!! Take a look at the keys the landlord gave us - they look like ancient keys. Dare I compare them to Tiffany key necklaces??? NAHHH. :)

Featuring my new Black Shatter OPI Nail Polish from my sister for my birthday.

Will be blogging some more later today to tell you about my lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. :)

Spain Bound!

Just thought I would write a quick post. Today. Is the day! After so much work, so much waiting and preparation, we are finally on our way ton Spain. As I sit in my room at 4:51 in the morning I can only think how blessed I am and how grateful I am. Today at 7:30, we go to new York, hang with my family for a couple hours, then catch a 11 pm flight to London then to Barcelona. We should be there by 6:30 pm their time.

Thank you to all who have asked, helped and been there for me on this journey to get to Spain. This journey is just the beginning and I will keep you posted the ENTIRE way :) Promise.

My Birthday Present.

After waiting for three weeks, I proudly present to you my new iPad! Thank you Tio <3

Yes, I plan on taking it with me to Spain. I will be downloading some Harry Potter books, Words with Friends and Skype. Skype will be a life saver while I am in Barcelona. When school starts back up I will definitely take advantage of E-Books. Oh, and just to let you know I am typing this blog post on my iPad and it is surprisingly easy!

Naturally, I got the Smart Cover in Pink.

MY OFFICIAL INTERNSHIP IN BARCELONA!!!

I got an email yesterday (FINALLY) about my internship in Spain. I had been told what company I would be working for last week, but it was not an official offer. Instead of re-typing the email I just copied it so you can see. I am so excited. I think it is a perfect start to a career in public relations.

Hola Stephanie, from Barcelona!

We’re excited to inform you about your internship placement for this this summer in Barcelona. You will form part of a team working at IMS-Consulting, a tourism consulting company specializing in marketing and sales solutions for luxury hotels in Spain and Portugal.

The following are the details of your internship:

Placement: Public relations, marketing and sales consulting are what IMS specializes in. At the moment they focus on the tourism industry and providing marketing services to luxury hotels.

First Day: We will accompany you on your first day of work when you will meet your supervisor, see the work space, and learn about your projects for the summer. Your first day will most likely be May 25, 2011.

Schedule: Your schedule will most likely be from Monday-Thursday from 10am-4pm but it may vary slightly from week to week.

Tasks: The following will be some of the tasks you will be working on:

1. PR & Communications:

Preparing press releases

Speaking with journalists

Working with travel magazines to promote IMS press releases

Working with communiqués to both clients and the press

Event planning

Data entry

Additional clerical tasks

2. Sales & Marketing:

Receiving incoming phone calls

Customer Service

Researching prospective hotels for www.slowtravelling.es

Researching competitor companies

Company Website: http://www.ims-consulting.net/web/es/contact.html

Dress Code: Business casual

Language Classes: Your intensive language classes will take place WHILE YOU ARE WORKING. This is a very intensive and demanding week but the goal is to give you a big boost in your language skills earlier on while continuing your primary goal in Barcelona, which is to get work experience.

Please, let us know if you have any doubts or concerns. We look forward to seeing you in Barcelona soon!

Samples are my best friends.

Today I went shopping with a long lost amiga of mine. Despite our lack of success in swimsuits and cotton white shirts, we did come out of there like fat rats. We took advantage of SAMPLES!

We were in Macy’s and got foundation samples from Estee Lauder and perfume samples from Gucci. Let me tell you, this cured our lack of success. I will be testing these out this week to see if I would consider purchasing full sizes.

Oh, and I also picked up my free birthday gift from Sephora – Philosophy Happy Birthday Beautiful Shampoo/Shower Gel/Bubble Bath! Smells like vanilla.

Also found a new obsession: Jessica Simpson’s Fancy Love Perfume. Definitely on my wish list.

Button earings I also got today:

Best way to have chocolate: On your face?

I am a YouTube junkie. I mainly watch, ha, surprisingly makeup tutorialists (not sure if that’s a word) and vloggers. I am subscribed to SWalkerMakeup, a British YouTuber, and she was doing a video on her April Favorites. One of the items was Bourjois’ Chocolate Bronzer.

Now, this bronzer is not real chocolate although it smells of it. Michelle Phan (one of the most famous gurus whom I actually saw at USF’s December graduation and freaked out) did a video on using hot chocolate powder as bronzer. That is something I would never do personally. However, I do want to try the Bourjois one. In America this bronzer is $32 and in Europe… €6.99. That’s roughly $10!!! Needless to say, I am getting it while I am in Spain :)

Another brand I intend on exploring while in Spain is Sleek. It is a European brand often compared with NYX here in the States.

[Photo Credit: P.S. It's Vida]

My "Not-So-Grown-Up" Briefcase.

This is not your average briefcase. I found it at Marshall's and as soon as I saw it I thought about how well it would look with some of my outfits in Spain. Needless to say I will be taking it with me :)

I am violating some PETA laws with this one. It is leather crocodile print with snake-skin buckles and gold hardware. The buckles purposely don't match, but neither do I sometimes so I don't care.

Review: MAC Pro Long-wear Foundation!!

I love how I blame Spain for all of my recent shopping sprees ;)

A couple of weeks ago, I purchased MAC’s Prolongwear foundation. It retails for $29.50. Pricey, I know, but the quality is amazing! It claims that it lasts for 10 – 12 hours without smudging or wearing off. I only tried it for two days since I honestly do want to save it for Spain. Those two days were the best my face had ever felt with foundation on. I set it with a light powder and it really did stay on all day. It was humid outside and I was barely oily. Best of all, it’s light-wear.

This foundation does have SPF 10 in it though. SPF in foundation is the reason why women look like they are wearing a white mask on their faces in photographs. It causes light to reflect off of the face making it look like you chose a foundation three shades lighter than your skin color. But SPF 10 is a safe amount, I already tested it. Anything above 15 would be something I would worry about.

Overall, I am very impressed and cannot wait to wear it in Barcelona this summer.

Check out the new watch I bought at Nordstrom. It raps around twice and has a chain which I debating whether I should take off. Some days I like it, other days I don't. Today, I love it!

SHOES, SHOES, SHOES!!!!!

I'm a late bloomer. I started wearing contacts at 17, I am still barely 5 feet tall and I have been a size 6 shoe since the seventh grade. Shoes are something that I always hated to shop for when I was young. So many colors to choose from, so much pain to bear, why are women faced with such hard decisions?

Besides award ceremonies or violin recitals, there was no need for me to buy heels. My sister… she always rocked them. She had her heels living like thieves in her closet shelves nicely stacked in their original boxes.

But there comes a time when every woman falls in love with a pair shoes. And it starts with just one dangerous pair. It can come to her when she walks in the store and sees the heels of her dreams on a high and prestigious shelf. It can unexpectedly take her by surprise when another woman confidently walks by in gorgeous platform pumps. For my sister, it happened when she tried on my mother’s red leather pumps at 2 years old. For me, it happened when I needed to buy work shoes for Spain. It started with one pair and then I saw a couple more on sale. And then I realized my mom had a coupon and another pair just fell into my hands.

So I went a little crazy this weekend and now I have a haul of shoes to share with you.

Take a look at some of the shoes I will be taking with me to Spain:

Nine West "Nuncio" - I was reliably informed that these shoes are the most comfortable for work. Once I tried them on, I understood why. The kitten heel and pointed toe create a "flat" effect making it feel like you are not in dress heels.

Libby Edelman "Alice" Flats - Absolutely the most comfortable flats I have ever owned. The groves on the sole prevent the notorious feeling of walking on the floor while wearing typical flats. They are so light almost like a leather jeweled Croc but trust me, in a good way.

Michael Kohrs Cone Stretch Sandal - These babies are about a year old. My aunt bought them for me for my birthday. They are really easy to walk it and they are the edgiest sandals I own.

Mossimo "Vivien" Sandals - I got these on Easter weekend with my sister. She loved them too so she bought a pair as well. They've gotta be good if the queen of shoes buys them right?

Mossimo "Pearce" Pumps - I lied. This is where it started. With these babies. When I bought these nude pumps in the fall I realized that comfortable heels existed outside of Payless. Sorry Payless ;)

Carlos Santana "I Believe 2" Heels - The award winners for beauty. Just got these last week. They compliment my warm undertone beautifully. LOVE LOVE!!