Barcelona

This was the absolute perfect weekend. I couldn't have asked for anything better!

Wednesday night Tara and I left for the airport. We flew ryanair so we wanted to allowed enough time, because they don't have the best reputation. We had no problems, which was great! Ryanair is super cheap. Round trip to Barcelona was only €50, but the plane ride is filled with advertisements. Every few minutes they made an announcement about buying something. When we landed they played an applause sound track with cheering and everything. It was a little strange, but we made it. It was about 10:30 when we got off the plane and so we went directly to the hostel. We checked in and went to find some food. We eneded up at this little restaurant right down the street. They had all these little sandwiches along the counter. They were so pretty, but we didn't know what to do. The guy there explained you take whatever you want and then pay at the end with however many toothpicks you have. I got two different ones- a crab meat one and a blueberry cheese one. They were both very delicious and hit the spot.

Delicious Tapas

Thursday was an amazing day. We got up and had breakfast at the hostel. They had apples, oranges, toast, cereal, muffins, and little biscuit crackers. I was surprised by how much they had. We ate a bunch and took quite a few snacks with us. At the table we met Sally and Wade, who are both from south Africa and are studying in Paris. Our hostel ordered free walking tours, so we decide to do that together. The tour guide came and brought us to one of the plazas and then disappeared. We ended up doing our own tour. I had my Rick Steves book so it was easy to tour the Gaudi works. (Wade nicknamed me Siri, because I led us around everywhere with my book for the weekend) It was us four,  and then we met Rachel and Kassie, who are from Wisconsin studying in England and another guy from Chicago studying in Germany. Here's a virtual tour of what I saw.

We started at Palau Guell. You could see a little bit of the sculptures on the roof, but not much else. It wasn't very exciting, so we continued on.

We walked down La Rambla, the most famous street in Barcelona.

La Rambla

We found this amazing market. There was everything in sit-up fruit, chocolate, seafood, skinnes animal heads with the eyes still in, really everything. We ended up getting smoothies from one place. I got a raspberry coconut one and it was delicious!

The Market

All of us with our smoothies

We headed further and went through plaza de cataluna. There is a big open square in the center and Tara decide she wanted to run through and chase all the pigions. So Tara, Sally and I did just that. A little bit further we reached the block of discord. There are three different buildings by modernist architects that are competing for attention. Of course Gaudi wins with Casa Batallo. His was all mosaic, with amazing lines and curves. It was a good taste of his style.

Casa Batallo 

Casa Batallo

Another few blocks.away we came to casa mila, another Gaudi work. We went up to the roof, which is filled with amazing sculptures. Then we went through the attic and the apartment. Did you know Gaudi designed chairs and doorknobs? Well he did and they are very ergonomic. I would love to have his doorknobs in my house! Also the molding of the doorways were also very Gaudi- curvy, detailed, and unique.

Casa Mila

The roof

Me with one of the sculptures

One of his chair designs

Doorknob

Molding

Then came the best thing of all. La sagrada familia. It it truly indescribable. Gaudi started it in the 1880s and it is still being built. He wanted to combine religion, nature, and classics to create this church. It is so different than any other church around. The stained glass in so beautiful, and the ceiling is so detailed and reminded me of a kaleidoscope. The tall columns branch off near the top, to give the feeling of trees and a forest. We also went up in the Nativity tower. We were able to see so much of the city from there, and it was so beautiful. We took the elevator up but had to walk down. It was a spiral staircase and it went on forever. This was my absolute favorite place in Barcelona!

From the front

Amazing stained glass

The staircases inside

Ceiling

Not even all the stained glass is done yet

Stained glass

From the back

Tara and I up in the towers

Next stop Park Guell. It's a park Gaudi designed filled with mosaics.

One of the houses in Park Guell

Mosaic benches

More mosaics

cave like walkway in the park

Me with the mosaic lizzard

Mosaic ceiling

Friday we started off the morning with a self guided tour of barrio gotico (the Gothic neighborhood). It was amazing to see the difference between the modern architecture we had seen the previous day to the very old part.

we found a chai house and had delicious chai lattes

Roman aquaduct

Picasso artwork on a building

roman towers

Fancy bridge

Then we made our way to la plays (the beach). It was a beautiful day out. Sunny and 60s so it was a great day to spend some time at the beach. The water was beatiful, and just a little chilly. I definitely got some sun from sitting there. Tara and I had been wanting seafood, so for lunch we went to a place by the beach. I got very yummy shrimp.

Tara and I then went off on out own to explore monjuïc. It's a mountain where some of the 1992 Olympic things are. We had an incredible view of the city from the top. We saw the main Olympic stadium and the surrounding area. It was right at sunset, so it was especially gorgeous.

View of the city

Barcelona 92

The stadium

Looking inside it

Olympic sculpture

sunset

Then we made our way to the magic fountain (thanks to my cousin Christian for telling me about it!). We were on the hill and there was a beautiful building Ed went around. Then suddenly the top fountain started up. Then everything started lighting up. We were on the top overlooking this area filled with water and lights. We walked down and it just got more spectacular. This magic fountain has shows on Friday and Saturday nights from 7-9. It is a huge fountain that is set to music, which every color of the rainbow and tons of ways the water can be spurted. It was magnificent. We sat on top of a column and were mesmerized.

Building at the top

The top waterfalls

 As we were leaving we found our friends and went out for drinks. I had sangria and patatas bravas. Afterward we went to another bar and met a bunch of people from Yorkshire. Even though we speak the same language it was actually difficult to understand what they were saying. And they liked our accents. Usually no one like American accents. Also fun fact. No one is British. They get offended by that. At one point in the night one guy bought three of us roses.

Patatas Bravas

Tara, Me, and Rachel with our roses

Saturday morning we walked to a nearby market. The building it was in was Gaudi inspired and had a cool wavy roof. Then we meandered through the streets nearby and popped into lots of little shops. We ended up down by the beach, and then it was time for Tara and I to head back to get to the airport. It was sad saying bye to our new friends. Even though we only knew them for a few days, it felt a lot longer. Here are some new phrases I learned from them. If you are walking into someone you are crab-walking. They sms and phone you, not text and call. They says let's bounce.

The market

It was an amazing trip, but it felt so good to be back home. Right after I opened the door, my sister came gave me the hugest hug. And it's nice to have homemade meals too! For dinner yesterday we had lemon chicken, which is so good. It's made by the lady who works for their aunt who lives downstairs. Then for lunch today we had fish in a tomato sauce. Now I have to think about maybe studying for midterms, since they're Wednesday and Thursday. But then next weekend I'm going to Portugal with my program for the weekend.