Dont rain on my parade!

Barbara Streisands lyrics have never rung so true. And the parade went on. Saturday night a storm came in entirely out of the blue (oh cliches how applicable you are). After dancing all night long (song reference) Friday and Saturday it was kind of nice to have a break.
Let me begin at the beginning of the weekend
Friday day I went to Cinc Sentis the coffee shop that Alberto works at located in Sant Andreu. The cafe was beautiful, simple and warm. I walked in and Alberto saw me..."Heyyyy!" he said smiling. I asked him if he got off soon as I had tried to make it to the cafe the past two days but couldn't wake up early enough to give me time. He had mentioned before he got off generally at noon. We talked intermittently while he helped people and he gave me some cold mint green sweet tea his sister had made the night before. He also invited me to his yoga class on Saturday but I had a feeling I wouldn't make it be it it started at 8am on the beach and we were going out that night. So after saying goodbye and exchanging info I walked around the neighborhood and sat in the plaza with some plums eating and delighting in how lovely life was. I adore plazas and the slower paced ease of life here just how much people just enjoy being outside and interacting with others.

I made my way back to Fontana and had lunch and hung with Minna and Haley her friend who is taking over her room when she's gone. She actually came in the room this morning and I was topless which was kind of awkward. ;/ but it was so hot the night before I couldn't help myself. After hanging with them I headed out again to meet with Juanjo and his choir friend Marta for an outdoor concert at the beach. Classic Cuban and Spanish music, the warm summer air and the sound of the ocean. The music really felt like you we're on a ship the way it swayed and was performed in such a sing song way. They served coffee infused rum, traditional sausages and a sardines on toast combination that Barcelonians seem to be all about. I tried the rum which was really good and listened to the music. Marta was so energetic and delightful she sang along to all the songs and I just adored seeing her interaction with Juanjo.
Martina came to meet us and we sat and talked and laughed and enjoyed the night. It started to get
late and we needed to meet up with Minna and Haley cus the plan was to go to this girl dance party for Pride activities. Martina really wanted to swim in the ocean first so we said goodbye to Marta and Juanjo and went to the shore. Suddenly out of nowhere as we were walking to the shore a fireworks show broke out. It was awesome it may have well been fourth of July. I didn't know why they had such an elaborate show but it was quite the sight watching Martina and other people swimming in the ocean and really completed the atmosphere with the music and summer air. I sat there and marveled at the atmosphere once again. When Martina was done swimming she changed quickly and then in noticing the time was like ok well we can get there faster if you ride on my bike with me. Um...okay! Why not! So I had to sit on the seat without bracing my legs while she stood and petaled. It was so uncomfortable but also fun be it I had to hold onto her like it was a motorcycle ride trying to brace my own weight on my tailbone... eek! We got back to Gracia and I changed my shirt and waited for Martina to pick me back up in the bike after she got ready. The girl party at this point was over but we were determined to dance so we met Minna at a series of gay clubs all located on the same block and owned by the same people called Arenas. We danced around for about ten minutes when Minna pulled (a uk term for hooking up) so she started making out with this girl from boston who was a few minutes before hitting on Martina. Awkward. :/ Haha. I found it all amusing and was more interested in dancing with gay men. Martina was so upset about it more in a protective way and was watching them make out. It was hilarious watching her face, her wide eyes of dissaproval burning into their backs. I had to keep telling her to give then privacy, and she just said she was watching out for Minna, which I found sweet even if she looked like a raging jealous dragon. There is nothing more awkward than when one of your friends hooks up with someone in front of you if you are the only person with them so I was thankful Martina was there as I would be a little annoyed to keep track and play babysitter if Minna and I hadnt made some kind of agreement. So yeah we let her do her thing and dance and eventually decided to go to another club. Megan or liplocked hussy as id like to call her ;P lol just kidding, ended up being with a group of friends aka students on this ship cruise study abroad program. One of the guys was really cool and we only spoke Spanish to eachother even though we were both native english speakers, which made me really happy. One of the girls in a red jersey who was friends with megan was a total ladies magnet. While we were dancing three random girls just came up to her and started making out with her! It was really funny to watch. Meanwhile I think every straight man attempted to dance with me, which was met with Martina coming my way and pretending we were together so they would lay off. Do men actually think they have a chance at clubs like that? Weird.
We had so much fun dancing, crammed on a stage, singing lyrics loudly to strangers, moving from room to room with different music. By the time we left it was 6am and light out, it was so disorienting but felt strangely gratifying, like we had taken down the night. I am always impressed at my energy level when these things happen, as when it comes to dancing I can be dead tired but keep going so long as there is music and the collective energy for the event.
After recovering the whole day Martina went to pick up her girlfriend Marina who she calls Sope after her last name, and we all went back to Arenas again!!! omg! This time I met an amazing gay man named Taylor. He was from the North of Spain nearer to France. He talked with me in spanish and shared his water as we danced together to pink and kelly clarkson, singing what doesnt kill you makes you stronger,nodding our heads about and jumping up and down. He was so sweet I felt really grateful for our meaningful 20 minute interaction, and when a few songs had passed he thanked me, we bisoued and he was on his way.

Walking back to Gracia I had a lot of amazing conversation with Sope, she is super talented on guitar, and very sweet. It was fun dancing with her watching her facial reactions (she is very expressive like Martina in this way) young at only 21 but very mature and wise. She spoke in english and I spoke in spanish and Martina interjected at different moments to play translator. Then we parted ways, I went to Minnas and her and I slept woke up again on very little sleep and got ready for the Pride parade.
So now up to date... Pride was looking really good. The storm that came through as we were asleep seemed to settle and the sky was clearing. Then when we got to the plaza clouds started to form and just as the parade started it began to rain! Oh no!!!! We walked along a bit until it really came down and we had to duck under an onning so that we could see the parade without getting drenched. We watched it pass through as people were still spirited and wanting to celebrate, but left soon after when Juanjo came to meet with us. We got coffee and chatted which was so nice, especially because I was able to introduce Juanjo to Minna. It is the best experience to introduce quality people to eachother. They are both so beautiful, it is wonderful to make those connections and share them. <3