10 3 / 2010
Barcelona, Spain
Where do I even begin? I don’t play favorites, but Barcelona was hands down the most memorable trip I have taken thus far. Spending the weekend there made me even more excited about my upcoming spring break trip to Italy and Greece. Since it was one of the top places on my list to visit in Europe, I am thrilled I had the opportunity to spend time there. Practicing my Spanish also turned out to be pretty fun.
We left London relatively early on Friday morning to catch our flight. After a long day of flying and bus-ing, we finally arrived in BCN around 7 in the evening. Right in time for Spanish dinner! It was great seeing Elena again. Twice in one semester, who would’ve thought I’d be so lucky? ;D The hostel we stayed at was right in the centre of Barcelona on Passeig De Gracia, literally a block away from the Gaudi apartments.
That night, the Cordoba ladies made us a delicious dinner with some homemade sangria (!) which could give Salvador and Amanda a run for their money. We explored a bit of the area and got ready for bed in anticipation of our busy Saturday.
On Saturday morning, we went straight to La Sagrada Familia, one of the most famous architectural sites BCN. After taking some touristy pictures, we headed to Parc Guell. Parc Guell was probably my favorite part of BCN, as the views were amazing, the plaza was beautiful, and it was free. Free is always good. We went to Museo de Casa de Gaudi (I think that’s what it’s called) and saw some more interesting architecture. The weather was definitely on our side that day - warm and sunny. Win win!
Later that day we went for a yummy Spanish lunch (early dinner according to the rest of us) at a restaurant near the hostel. Afterwards, we picked up ingredients for dinner from an outdoor market. Fruit in Spain is delicious and surprisingly cheap. A few of us headed to Las Ramblas post-shopping to check out the market and street performers, and walk towards the shore. I bought a cute bracelet for 3 euro, great bargain! By the time we reached the shore it was dusk and the sky was a gorgeous shade of periwinkle blue - great for pictures. After all that walking and sightseeing, we were exhausted and ready for a siesta.
That night after a quick dinner and some botellon-ing (pregaming en espanol) we headed to 2 clubs. One was on the beachside (!) and the other was closer to our hostel. The clubs were fun, but fairly standard. It was nice to meet some of the Spaniards from Cordoba, though. They certainly know how to party, given we didn’t return to our hostel until 6:30 that morning, whoops.
Phew. Sunday morning after less than 2 hours of sleep, we headed to Museo de Chocolat and explored a bit more of Barcelona. After spending some time near the fountains (can’t remember what they were called) and sitting on the beach, we wrapped up and made the long treck to Londontown. It feels good to be back, but Barcelona was absolutely incredible. If I can figure things out moneywise and timewise, I will definitely be paying Elena a visit in Cordoba.
