Settling in

I'm happy to report that I've secured an apartment. It's located in the Eixample barrio.

"Eixample is famous for being home to the majority of Barcelona’s art nouveau masterpieces, and a high-class residential and shopping area. The right side of the Eixample is the older and therefore has more of the impressive architecture, but really there is not a huge difference between the two sides.Passeig de Gracia is the heart of Eixample and the line that cuts the area into two form "Eixample left" and "Eixample right". Here you will find most of Barcelona’s international designer shops such as Chanel and MaxMara. Also along this road is La Pedrera and Casa Batllo, two of Gaudi´s characteristically dreamlike buildings. There are many interesting art galleries in the area and if art appeals then be sure to have a look in Fundacion Antoni Tapies which is just off Psg de Gracia and has a permanent collection of this Catalan artist’s work. Eixample is a safe and residential part of the city but there is also a vibrant nightlife and a thriving café culture. Eixample is a beautiful barrio to wander round, take in the glorious architecture and people-watch one of the many terrace cafes.
It is in Eixample that you will find some of the best, and most expensive, restaurants in town. This combined with some internationally known bars such as Dry Martini makes the area a very pleasant place to spend an evening. Transportation to and from the area is good. Eixample is serviced by several metro stops, as well as the FRG train. However the area is very central and most other parts of the city are within walking distance"

It's a great apartment in a great barrio and I could not be happier. I'm living with 3 other people. One from London one from Mexico and one from Ibiza. One is a soccer marketing director for a local team, one is starting his MBA at the University of Barcelona and the other is an undergad student. They're all very nice and we'll get along great. Two of the three speak fluent Spanish and English and they're happy to help to help me learn Spanish. I´ll take photos and post them soon.

Here is a map of the city showing my apartment in relation to the entire city. You can zoom in and out on the upper left side of the page.

I'm becoming more familar with the city every day. It's an unbelievably cosmopolitian city. I feel a lot more comfortable knowing that apartment hunting is behind me and I look forward to exploring the city and enjoying everything it has to offer.

Side note: the grocery stores are amazing. I'm going to take photos and post them soon. Amazing food is very very inexpensive at grocery stores. One could be come an obease alcholic with how inexpensive food, beer and wine is (don´t worry, I won´t). 12 bottles of high quality beer is only 4 euro. Wine that would cost 25 dollars in Milwaukee costs 4 or 5 euro. That is about 6 dollars. Cheeses that would cost 15 dollars per lb are 2 or 3 euros. I'll be eating and drinking very well.