Barcelona, Spain!

 I have just returned from an amazing weekend in Barcelona, Spain. The weekend consisted of many things from visiting sites like Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell (both designed by Gaudi), the old city (El Gothic), Fira de Barcelona-Montjuic, Torre Agbar, the old Olympic stadium, eating tapas, getting to know many great people in our hostel, visiting the beach (and the clubs), and much more. It was a very busy weekend, and although the weather did not seem to agree with us, we all (Sheri my roomamte, Sara our friend, and myself) had an amazing time.

Us at El Gato Negro

The first day in Barcelona was pretty hectic seeing as we arrived on Friday after noon. We all had attended classes Friday morning and then rushed to the airport to catch our flight. The flight was quick although fairly stressful. I usually am pretty comfortable with flying, but something about this flight made me very nervous. I think it may have been that I was flying with Ryanair, a flying service that I had never really heard much about it terms of reliability. Before take off I read every emergency procedures product I could get my hands on and managed to tear my nails apart pretty badly. A bit of a bumpy take off made me really regret giving up my window seat (I prefer to watch the takeoff than just feel it). Once we had settled down, I read through a magazine that the flight attendant had given me and had some good conversation with a group of people that were from Barcelona. I asked them how they liked Budapest, and they gave me a long list of things to do while in Barcelona. 

My marshmallow drink at El Gato Negro

Upon arriving, we unpacked, grabbed some food at a local buffet and headed out to a bar called El Gato Negro (The Black Cat). There the environment was great. Many of the drinks consisted of fire tricks. For example, one that a nice guy bought for me (who also happened to be gluten intolerant) consisted of spraying the counter with alcohol, lighting it, us toasting marshmallows over the fire and then dipping them into our very sweet drinks and eating them along with the rest of the drink. It was unbelievably good. My friends and I then bought a litter of Sex on the Beach to share as we hung out with the guys some more. They were very sweet, but we left shortly after they did to head to bed to get sleep for the long day ahead.

What the finished Sagrada Familia
 should look like

The next day was much more exciting. It consisted of visiting Sagrada Familia and Park Guell. Sagrada Familia is a very large church that has been under construction for over 100 years now and it still has much more time until it will be finished. It consisted of four large towers (with the fifth largest under construction), many arches, images of people, war scenes, Christmas trees, and much more. It was not opened on the day that we visited to enter, but we did spend much time inside the shop. I bought multiple post cards (I have been collected them from everywhere I go) and a small Gaudi designed turtle. 

Torre AGBAR

We also visiting Torre AGBAR, which can only really be described as a large phallic object. We did not know at that point that the tower lit up and that we should have visited at night. We then went to Park Guell (and got lost along the way) which is a large park outside that was also designed by Gaudi. It took us over two hours to reach Park Guell because it is located in the outskirts of the city and we managed to get lost multiple times. Gaudi had lived in Park Guell when he was in his twenties. The park consisted of many outdoor paths and natural looking constructions. There were also many mosaic and metal pieces placed throughout the park. There was an amazing panoramic view of the city from the top of Park Guell. After visiting Park Guell, my friends and I went back to the hostel where we relaxed for a little while (I took a nap) and then we headed out once again to meet some other friend from BSM. We all met up at this great meat restaurant where you could order many different types of meats and cheeses for fairly inexpensive prices. I got a plate of sausage, some cheese, and a very good glass of wine (wine is starting to grow on me here) for only 7 euros (about 11 USD). We then walked with them through a little shop area and sat with our vegetarian friend while she ate a pizza from a nearby restaurant. We then split as my group went to go see the clubs by the ocean and the other group went to check out some more bars. 

Me at Park Guell

One of Gaudi's most recognized pieces

Upon arriving at the club area we realized that we were there far too early so we went and walked along the ocean and talked some. We then went to search for any clubs that may be starting early. There were none. The area was completely deserted. Even though we knew that if we stayed longer that we'd be lost without a way home besides taking a cab, we decided to stay and wait things out. An hour passed before anything started to start up a bit, but even then all of the parties were private preparties that we were not allowed to enter. So, we sat out in the rain for another hour or so until things started to get going more (it was about 12:30 at this point). We bounced between some bars but no one was dancing and most were completely empty. Finally we found a place to dance, but after a while we realized that the music was not very good and that most of the people there were left over from the preparties. We all felt a bit out of place (or at least I did) and decided to leave. After trying desperately to find any other open bars, we finally decided to cut our loses and head home early. It was rather disappointing to not be able to experience that Barcelona night life, but honestly it probably would have cost too much and required us to stay out far too late for it to have been worth it.

The next morning we all slept in a little and then headed out to Fira de Barcelona-Montjuic. This was an area with many interesting pieces of architecture. There were two towers that looked like they may have at one time formed a gate, multiple fountains, a row of four white columns, and finally the castle which has now been converted into an art museum. We walked around for a long time taking pictures and admiring the wonderful view from the top of the castle. The weather was perfect. We then decided to continue up the stairs where we found a botanical garden and the old buildings from the 1992 Olympics. There was a small festival going on for little kids, so we walked around some and then headed down and back home. We rested a little and then headed back out for a walking tour of the old city. It was free, and surprisingly it ended up only being my friends and I who attended. The tour guide was very friendly and knowledgeable. We visited many churches and learned much about the Catalonia region and the history of Barcelona in their fight for independence.

Catalonia is a region older than Spain that has fought for its independence from many different rulers (Muslims, French, Roman, Spanish, and many others) for many years. They have not, however, really ever been successful. Currently Catalonia is fighting for its independence from Spain because it is one of the richer areas and because Spain is currently in a very tough economic time much of Catalonia is supporting the rest of the city. This area even speaks its own language, Catalan, and has its own flag. The history of Catalonia is very interesting and I highly recommend looking into it.

For dinner we all went to get tapas (a requirement while visiting Spain). My friends both got the six tapas sampler and I got three different tapas- patatas bravas, a chorizo and potato dish, and a chickpea and baby shrimp fritter. All of it was unbelievably delicious, but I must admit that the shrimp fritter was my favorite (a surprise seeing as I am not normally a shrimp fan- another thing that must be growing on me). The waitress was very sweet and I had multiple conversations with her in Spanish. After finishing we had intended to go see two light shows, one that the tourguide had suggested and then the Torre AGBAR lit up, but that turned out to not be what the night had intended for us.

Then a very interesting story began. We all headed towards the metro, but then we entered the wrong side of the station and had to switch over. Because we had already swiped our cards, the machines would not let us enter so I called a security guard over to help us. I was talking to him and upon turning around I noticed a man trying standing behind my friend Sara and her bag was open. Within a few seconds I recognized what he had been trying to do and well... I went into defensive mode. I said a loud “Uh!” and stepped towards him forcefully with a very sharp look on my face. Sara's face went white in fear as she did not realize what was happening. The man immediately froze and held out his book bag to me saying in Spanish that he didn't take anything. The security guard rushed over and began to check his bag asking my friend in Spanish “Tienes todo?” (Do you have everything?) which she did not understand. She did not realize what was happening and for what felt like a minute she fumbled with her bag saying “Yeah, I think so” as I prompted her to keep checking. Finally she agreed that she had everything as the metro pulled up. I told the guard that she had everything and to please let us through. He did and we rushed to catch the metro. It was very stressful and I scolded Sara because Sheri and I had been telling her all weekend to carry her purse in front of her yet she kept failing to do so. It really does amaze me how unaware some people can be of their environments. She really got lucky to have not lost anything, and I'm glad that I know how to handle myself in that sort of situation (thanks dad <3 ).

Church during the tour of the Old City

We left the metro and within a few minutes it began to pour rain. We ran to the nearest covering and stayed there to decide what we were going to do. The light shows were now out of the picture, so we decided to rush back to the metro and head back to our hostel. We rushed through the rain and, luckily, did not have any other incidents while entering the metro. We arrived home and the rain had stopped. We waited for a short time to dry off and gather our umbrellas and then we headed out to find Sara a crepe and Sheri and I maybe some ice cream. I found this little shop that had both and actually also had gluten free cones. I ordered my first ice cream cone in probably three years now with two scoops- dulce de leche and a cinnamon meringue. It was absolutely delicious and was an amazing way to end the trip.

Another church during our tour

Even though everything did not work out perfectly for this trip, I still have a great time in Barcelona. Visiting the city really opened up my mind to maybe living in Europe in the future. I love that I got to practice my Spanish because, for me, speaking Spanish is one of the greatest thrills. I got so many compliments and had some amazing conversations. Every day I get better and better. I feel like a bit of a different person when I speak Spanish. I feel much more mature and happier. I would love to return to Barcelona some day, maybe when its a bit warmer so that we can visit the beach. If the economy picks up there maybe I could even consider it for more than just a visit but as a future home.

I hope that you enjoyed this blog on my trip to Spain. There will be another math post tomorrow. Pictures will be posted on my Facebook account that you should all be able to see. If we are not friends, then we should change that. <3