Merce!

Last night I ate a quick dinner at 9 and ran out in my new jean dress which marked my first fashion purchase in Barcelona. It was a big night, the first night of the fiesta of Merce!

I met up with Hannah and Michael on the Metro and we left together to see the parade of giants. There was a huge parade of giant people figures. Groups of people got together and over the past few months constructed these giant figures that ran anywhere from 15 to 20 feet tall. Then a man climbed underneath the giant and carries it in the parade through the streets. The other people in the group dress up to match their figure and paraded down the street with flutes and giant bags of confetti.



Hannah and I stood clapping and cheering and dancing with everyone else and got consistently doused with confetti throughout the whole parade. I woke up this morning to find I still had confetti in my hair, in my bed, on the floor, and in the bathroom.

After the parade we headed across the street to the concert we were seeing that night. It was a big open air pavilion and the night was full of people, excitement, dancing, and street beer! Men, with plastic grocery bags full of six packs, wandered around asking you if you wanted to buy cold beer. We decided to make a game out of who could get the cheapest beer and haggle the best. Well, I won. I bought two beers for $1.30. We decided it was a success.



The concert was fabulous and we danced until it was over right in front with the woman with huge dreads and unshaved armpits. I didn't get back till two, which is still early by Barcelona standards.

When I woke up this morning to my alarm clock I was exhausted but there was no time to sleep! It is fiesta week. I quickly got dressed, wolfed down cereal, and took the metro to meet Hannah at Plaza Catalunya. It was the famous stacking of the people, Castelleres!