Pia: Getting Jamón stolen in the kitchen BY A BIRD??

This week has been one of the most exciting since I arrived in Barcelona.

But the most unforgettable moment of the week came on Thursday.

I had just bought some Jamón Serrano and was enjoying it on the kitchen island in our student residence. Suddenly, I noticed something flutter past. I turned toward the window and to my surprise, a magpie landed on the windowsill. Before I could react, it flew straight into the kitchen, landed near the trash bags, and then after poking one of the trashbags, it jumped onto the table and started eating MY JAMÓN.

I was completely stunned. I wanted to save my jamón because it wasn’t cheap but I didn’t know how to do it. Then it froze and just stared at me. I was scared for my life. It just started flying towards me and I ran out of the kitchen. Two of our roommates then came home and I told them there was a bird in the kitchen. They then joined Lukas and me in silently watching this unexpected visitor. The magpie had sharp claws and a strong beak, and we were all a bit too intimidated to make a move.

As if the jamón wasn’t enough, the it WENT FOR OUR BREAD and even started poking holes in our garbage bags. Then I had enough. I grabbed a chair to try and scare it away. The magpie didn’t really panic like I imagined but flapped its wings, and eventually flew out the window with ANOTHER a piece of jamón.

IT LITERALLY ATE HALF OF MY JAMÓN.

Since then I do not eat my food with the window open…

One day, we visited Tibidabo, the iconic amusement park perched on a mountain overlooking the city. From up there, we had an incredible view of Barcelona, including the stunning Sagrat Cor Basilica standing proudly at the summit. It was absolutely breathtaking.

Later in the week, something totally unexpected happened. Instead of going to work as usual, our supervisor surprised us with a trip to a local market. After exploring the stalls and enjoying some classic jamón and olives, we picked up fresh ingredients for a paella. Rather than heading back to the office, we ended up in his kitchen, cooking a traditional Spanish paella together. It turned out incredibly delicious and made for a great team experience.