Such a fantastic weekend. After an exceedingly short week (only tuesday through thursday morning) spent at home, I got the royal send-off by the fam for my voyage to Barcelona. Thus marked birthday celebration #1: lunch with the family (risotto and tiramisu gelato, mmmmmm). Thursday afternoon I packed my backpack, space-bagged my clothes, padlocked my purse, and headed for the tiny Sevilla airport. It was weird going back - we hadn't been since we were picked up by our families on September 3! But without any kinks, we were soon up in the air and headed for Barcelona.
When we landed, our group of 5 realized that we had done an exceedingly bad job of planning the transportation to our hostel. We didn't know which bus to take, which stop to get off, or where the metro was at the other end. However, after wandering around, being directed by some nice Catalan traffic controllers, running into 2 American girls who were planning on sleeping on the beach that night (and instantly feeling better about our own situation), we found the bus. When we arrived at the Plaza de Catalunya, we found the metro and bought our tickets - however, by the time we reached the gate, it was 12:02. Little did we know that the metro closes at 12 (what kind of public transportation is that??). So once again, we had to piece together the little information we had regarding the bus system from the plaza to our hostel, but finally determined the line and got to the hostel.
Now, after that unnerving 2-hour process, and also due to the fact that it was now about 1:30 in the morning, I was ready to crash and relax. Our hostel was a 20-bunker, and I was full well aware of this. However, I was still thrown for a loop when I saw our new habitation area - it wasn't dirty by any means, but it was meager. There was no dorm-style bathroom, only a little room with a sink. The shower was in the same room as the beds, separated only by a circular curtain. Needless to say, I was sketched out. I slept with my glasses on that night because I was afraid that someone would steal them (this makes no sense now, I think I was just ABSURDLY tired). Also, as I learned, German is a really creepy language when whispered by two unknown men in the dark right below you.
However, in the morning everything was better. Everyone I spoke with was super nice, I realized how clean the place was, and it came to be very homey after staying 3 days there. So Friday morning we embarked on the Great Barcelona Adventure - an early start in the foggy and chilly city, which was such a nice change from the 90 degree weather we left at home. First we walked to the Sagrada Familia, which was only 10 min from the hostel. It is one of the most impressive buildings I have ever seen - we would later return to tour the inside. After a cursory view of the outside, we walked up the hill to Gaudi's Parque Guell. Remember when I said how trippy the Sevilla Contemporary Art park was? Nothing, compared to this. It was huge, and the plaza area that Gaudi designed, with the benches, tile work, columns, and wave tunnel, was absolutely incredible. It was easy to spend the entire morning there, plus we got a great view of Barcelona's skyline.
After we walked back down the hill we grabbed some lunch (I finally got to buy an entire bunch of grapes all for myself - Spanish grapes are AMAZING) and ate in a sunny park area. Then we headed toward Las Ramblas, the kiosk and street-performer-lined area of the city. It was so much fun - they were selling pets (including ferrets, chinchillas, and ducklings), jewelry, and everything imaginable. We made a pit stop at La Boqueria, Barcelona's famous farmer's market - they had everything, from meat and fish that was so fresh it was practically flopping, to vegetables and fruits, to beautiful chocolates, to....animal innards and goat skulls. We immediately went back to the chocolate.
We continued down Las Ramblas to the dock and beach area - las ramblas del mar. It was so beautiful - imagine the Sydney Harbor scene from Nemo, only bigger and more coastal (please excuse that horrible metaphor, but it was what I thought of in that moment). We sat on the dock and dangled our feet over the edge, watching the sun set and smelling the waffle kiosks (so great!) Then we walked over to a neighborhood called Montjuic, where we would meet our Northwestern friends studying abroad and see a fountain show. This is exactly as it sounds - lights, music, and water shooting out at various intervals in sync with the music. It was rather disneyland-esque, if I may say so, and from that point on I would have "Forever Young" stuck in my head for the rest of the night. :0) Afterwards, we all went out to a dinner of paella and sangria on the ramblas. PER-fection.
The next day, we woke up super early again to get in line to see Sagrada familia, took the inside tour, got in the elevator, and exited at the towers. There are cupolas built in to the church everywhere, and each tower has a winding staircase - it's really meant to be interactive architecture. Again saw some of the best views of Barcelona from up there - in the picture above, we were up where that tree sculpture is, where there's a little bridge that connects the two middle towers. ...I postponed my fear of heights for a couple minutes. After we wound our way back down the staircase, we toured the exhibit explaining all the geometry and calculus of Gaudi's works, as well as how the cathedral is meant to look like a forest ceiling. I was continually blown away - I think we spent 2 or 2.5 hours in there, but I easily could have done more.
After we finally pulled ourselves away, we walked down to the ritzy avenue of town. I would say what blew me away the most about Barcelona was its architecture - it's so clean and modern and different from Sevilla! The city as a whole is very European, not really Spanish, so I was just constantly marvelling at the luxurious highrises and grid layout of the city (which has now become a rarity). We walked the avenue, saw some familiar sights (Lacoste and Swarovski), and saw the other Gaudi houses - Casa Mila, or La Pedrera, and the reptilian Casa Batllo. Then we took a detour to the cathedral and the gothic stretch of town, which felt more familiar - windy, shady avenues with cellists playing on corners and flowerboxes in the windows. We stopped at the Picasso museum, which was so cool - it features all of his early works, and a lot of his unknown stuff too. Also, the best was a huge exhibition on his millions of renditions of Velazquez's Las Meninas. I took some illegal photos, but they were worth the reprimands by disapproving Catalunyan guards.
After we left, we walked the ramblas del mar again (this time pausing for a longer nap in the sun), and returned to the cathedral becauseeeee...apparently every Saturday and Sunday, a large crowd of Barcelonians gather to join hands and dance outside the church! There was an orchestra playing, and all the little old men and women formed circles and danced together. It is a very serious dance, passed down for generations, secretly kept alive under Franco...so it was really amazing to witness. We eventually became a part of the fun when some nice old men taught us the steps and brought us into the circle too! They told us that everyone puts their coats and purses in the middle of the circle to symbolize community and sharing. I have never in my life experienced anything so moving, and it was definitely my favorite moment of the trip.
That night we celebrated my birthday with some sangria, and the next morning we went out for croissants and coffee before leaving the amazing city. I seriously have never had such a whirlwind vacation in my life - we walked an average of 16 miles a day, saw practically the entire city, spoke and danced with Catalunyans, and lived out of backpacks for three days. It was so painful to leave, but I know that I will go back again for a more thorough and leisurely trip next time.
However, I did get to spend the other half of my birthday in Sevilla - Monday night my friends and I went out for tapas, and today we finally concluded the celebration with ANOTHER family lunch with seafood paella and cake. This has sufficiently been the BEST BIRTHDAY WEEK EVER, and I feel so spoiled and loved.
Sorry it's been so long since last time! Much love from your world traveler, I'll try and be more diligent <3
...soon to come: Granada and Galicia!
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