Let's Explore: BARCELONA

A weekend in Barcelona (which was basically Chicago mixed with Miami) with Kelly, Sara, Rachael, Maaren, Troy, and Zach!

The weekend started off with Kelly and I heading to the bus station dark and early at 4:50AM. On the corner right before the bus station we were approached by a woman who was asking us for a Euro for the bus. In a normal daytime situation I would have probably given her a Euro. but, the fact that no one was out, it was 5AM and she was being really persistent and then rude made me nervous. She was probably a gypsy that was going to steal something once we reached into our purses. So, we headed over to the bus stop, where we saw the bus which was actually LEAVING.. gahh. So Kelly and I grabbed a taxi and headed over to the airport.

I again forgot about the juice box going through security, so I chugged that down real quick. For some special reason I was placed in priority seating in the first row. Usually I'm in one of the last few rows but that day I was living the good life.

Upon arriving to Barcelona, I really did feel like I was in a different country. Signs were not in Spanish, but Catalan. Catalan is a mixture of Spanish and French, I could probably figure out the signs but when people spoke to me I struggled to understand what they were saying. Barcelona is a part of a region called Catalunya. It's VERY independent from Spain..or at least it's trying to be! There is a catalunya flag that many people hang from their balconies to show that they want to become a country independent from Spain. Also, we got to see a candle lighting thing in Plaza Catalunya where they were making some sort of design out of candles to protest and show they wanted their independence. Super interesting!

Anyways, we got to to our hostel fairly easily and settled there before heading out to explore (aka find FOOD.) I had a recommendation from a friend to try a great place called Brunch and Cake and it did not disappoint. There was a bit of a wait but while waiting outside the adorable hostess brought a blanket and placed it on Kelly. hahahaha. After having to wait about 30 minutes to be seated (delayed gratification) I had amazing french toast and then we tried a few different types of cake, I usually don't like cake but this was an exception! We also met up with one of our friends, Dzak, who is studying abroad in Barca. After brunch he showed us around the city. We walked down Las Ramblas, a famous pedestrian only shopping street (and location of one of the Cheetah Girls scenes from their movie). We walked over to the port and then headed back up las ramblas to the market. FRESH FRUIT AND VEGGIES AND FRUIT JUICE FOR DAYSSSS. and meat and fish which I tried to stay away form. I got so many fresh fruits and veggies and saved them for dinner so I could make an amazing fruit salad!

We then went a grabbed some other food for dinner at the grocery store and then put everything in the fridge at the hostel. Then we were off to see the Magic Fountain at Montjuc! It really was MAGICAL. There were so many fountains, there was a huge one lighting up with different colors, the water was going in different directions, music was playing... it was great! And there was a beautiful building and a great view of the city. Really cool thing to see!

We then went back to the hostel where I feasted on my fruit salad and amazzzinggg avocado. Our hostel organizes a nightly pub crawl so we all went out with everyone from the hostel and had a great night! We even met a Badger alumni-- such a small world!

Saturday morning we got up and went to Parque Guell. We met up with one of our friends from Madison, Jen, who was studying abroad in Rome with Kelly and also visiting Barcelona! The park was awesome and designed by Gaudi and it looked like something Dr. Seuss would have created in Whoville. I loved all the mosaic tiles and gorgeous architecture. (Also pretty cool that the Cheetah Girls were filmed there along with a photo shoot from Americas Next Top Model).

After the park the group split off a bit. Kelly and I went to get Mexican food (as I had been dying for some guacamole) at this cute restaurant that had great reviews! After a bit of a wait (delayed gratification) we feasted on some damn good chips and guac and I had some quesadillas with guac inside! We then went to La Sagrada Familia. A huge church designed by Gaudi (Yes, he basically designed the whole city.) It was under construction, has been for a long time and will be forever-- it represents Barcelona's modernism and the city's constant change to become more modern. (or at least that's what I learned in Madison). We went inside and let me tell you this has been my favorite church so far--and since being in Europe I have visited a TON! The stained glass and architecture was breathtaking. So unique and different from anything I had seen in Europe-- Gaudi was so ahead of his time.

We then met back up with the group at our hostel and headed over to a spa for a little self pampering. But this was not your ordinary Spa. Sara found this place online before coming to Barca and she really wanted to try it out. It was a fish pedicure--yes, you read that right, FISH! And if you know me, you know I hate fish so I really had to conquer my fears for this. You put your feet in a tub of water and little fishies eat away at the dead skin on your feet. For about the first 2 minutes I kept laughing because it tickled so much! But after that I was fine and it was actually kind of relaxing!

After that we wandered around and that is where we saw the candle lighting for the independence of Catalunya.

We then went to the supermarket to grab some food for dinner, I again went to town on the fruits and veggies. After dinner we joined the hostel crew for another fun night out!

Sunday everyone had an early flight except for me, Sara and Rachel (our flight was at 10PM). So, we took a day trip to Montserrat, a town on a mountain about an hour away from Bareclona. It was so cool! We took a cable car up to the town and then went in and saw the church--since it was Sunday there was an actual mass going on so that was pretty cool to see! When we walked out of the church we saw a bunch of teens playing some game that involved running and rock paper scissors, I was of course intrigued and stood there trying to understand the game. We then went up to the kids and asked them what they were doing/ who they were (because there was a huge group of them!) They explained to us that they were a part of an after-school program, they were all around 17 yrs old and they WALKED from Barcelona to Montserrat. Remember when I said we took an hour train? Well these kids walked for 32 hours straight after their class. CRAZYNESS. And to top it all off now they are playing this intense running version of rock paper scissors, which they explained to us and then had us join in for a round! It was fun!! (and my team won :) )

We then decided to do a little hiking. We took the tram a little farther up the mountain to where the trails were. Once up there we chilled on a cliff side for a little and then climbed to the top (or at least the "top" for people wearing TOMS and cheap shoes from H&M..aka us.) So we walked as high as we could and then it started to SNOW.. yes SNOW! It was so cool! I guess we brought some snow with us from the midwest!

We then hiked down because we wanted to have enough time to catch our train! and boy did we cut it close. We got to the tram..had to wait toooo long. Got off the tram and Sprinted to the cable car where we had to wait a little more and the man was nice enough to try to speed along the process. Then once we got off the cable car we sprinted to the train where we literally jumped on and the doors closed! Barely made it!

Once back in Barca we went to eat at Bo De B where I got an awesome veggie sandwich for only 3 Euro! We then got some awesome gelato! After that we headed back to the hostel, then to the airport and back to Sevilla! NOTE: We used 7 different types of transportation that day: Walking, Sprinting, Cable Cars, Trams, Buses, a Train, and a Plane.

Overall, I really liked Barcelona! I think I enjoyed the city and it's modernity! So different from any other city in Europe. I think I really liked it because I have learned so much about it in my Spanish culture and history classes back in Madison. Gaudi's work was super interesting and cool and one of my favorite sites so far! Also, something interesting about the city is the intersections. The building corners are all flat, so this creates room for extra parking, but it also creates longer walks for pedestrians. Oh well, it was so beautiful I didn't mind the longer walk!

Barcelona was was success!

Sending Smiles From Sevilla,

Rebecca

Fruit at the market!