In honor of returning to People Lounge for the first time since I was there with Miguel last September, I had my first cosmopolitan since arriving in Europe. Sadly, it wasn't very good, and made me long for those fabulous $6 Ketel One Cosmos at Therapy on monday nights.
While I was in Barcelona, I popped down to the beach at Sitges for a daytrip. Here I am wearing a characteristically subtle outfit, with the Mediterranean behind me.
Me in Sitges with the church and LaPunta stairs behind me.
Then it was back to Barcelona for my visit to ESADE. ESADE was the only other European MBA program that really appealed to me as I was applying to HEC (where I have now committed to attend starting this fall). But given the fact that I speak a a little bit of French but no Spanish, I thought France would probably be the more logical choice. I was really torn about the decision, however, and after sending in my tuition deposit to HEC, I started percolating on the possibility of pursuing either an exchange or dual degree between the two schools. So I decided to embark on a little reconnaissance mission and check the school out. I visited the campus and met with representatives from the admissions office, and was very impressed and got a very good vibe of the place. The school's reputation and curriculum both sound great to me, and the facilities and location and views from the school are all pretty fab. And of course Barcelona is extremely appealing in its own right. So there you have it. I'm definitely strongly considering the possibility of a dual degree or exchange between HEC & ESADE, but fortunately it doesn't look like I would need to do anything concrete until the very end of the year in terms of applying, so I have some time to mull it over. (One rather intimidating aspect of such an undertaking is that it would probably require becoming proficient in not only French, but Spanish as well...)
One thing Barcelona has in spades is innovative architecture, and ESADE is no exception. Here's the entrance hall to the MBA building. (It was even more George Lucasy in person...)
After my ESADE visit, I did a little sightseeing around Barcelona, riding in my very first topless bus:
Here's the topless bus I took to tour around Montjuic.
View to the Mediterranean from Montjuic.
Here's a shot of me taken at Castell de Montjuïc, with the city of Barcelona in the background. The views from up there, overlooking the city and the sea, were incredible. Of course it was also pushing 100 degrees and I was -- as usual -- dressed inappropriated in black jeans.
One of the odd things about Barcelona was that there were a number of splendiferous fountains -- such as this one -- in the large central plazas. What's odd about them is that they appear to be filled with urine. (Maybe it's to discourage someone, such as myself, who might be jonesing for a quick cooldown in the intense heat. )
The only eventful part of my trip back to Montpellier was that our train broke down in La Franqui, a tiny village 1.5 hours west of Montpellier. It was mid-day, well into the 90's, not a cloud in the sky, and for all of these reasons, unbearably hot. We were all forced to get out of the train, cross the bridge to the other platform, stand in the sun for an hour and change, then cross back to the other side, stand in the sun for a while, then cross back, wait a bit, then cross back again. Everyone tried to huddle under whatever little shade there was, but there just wasn't enough, and in the end we waited about 3 hours before a train finally arrived to bring us the rest of the way to Montpellier. Kind of a pain in the tuchus, but given other folks' reactions, it clearly was not that much of an anomoly.
Stranded in La Franqui.
Next up, a visit to Salon-de-Provence and final weeks in Montpellier!
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