Barca

I'd like to start this blog post by apologizing for blogging as little as I do. It's hard to keep up with. BUT I am now officially done with classes for junior year and only have a weekend trip to Palma de Mallorca (an island off of Spain), one paper, three finals, and a visit from my parents to distract me until my return to the states on May 21st.

Now back to Barcelona... Where to begin?

Courtney and I arrived at the airport at about 9:50 p.m. and immediately hopped on the aerobus to get to the main city area.  We were surprised at how many places were open so we decided to wander the streets a bit to grab some food before heading to our hostel.  We wandered... and ended up empty-handed and at a metro station one stop further away from our hostel than we had began.  Courtney had printed out pretty easy instructions on how to get to the hostel but we somehow managed to get lost. 

"Ok, we're looking for a petrol station called Ubash."

"A what called what?"

"It's like a gas station... called Ubash... And it's by a big blue building."

"I don't see a blue building..."

So we stopped inside a hotel, used a little Spanglish to try to figure out if we were walking the correct direction. We were, so we walked further. When we finally saw a gas station, Court insisted it was the wrong one because it wasn't called Ubash. I agreed because the sign said something else and there was still no sign of the blue building. About half an hour later, we found our hostel. Turns out we only saw part of the sign. Woops! The blue building is still a mystery... 

We woke up the next morning feeling refreshed after a full night's sleep and were out exploring Barcelona by 9 or 10 a.m.  The combination of the beach, warm sun, palm trees, and the fact that we were wearing shorts and flip flops had me and Courtney sitting contently on Cloud 9.  We walked up and down the vendors that lined the famous street called Las Ramblas.  Jewelers, street performers, souvenir stands and tourists crowded the area.  In the middle of our walk, we discovered the Mercat de La Boqueria which might have been my favorite part of the city.  La Boqueria is a giant market filled with permanent stands that sell fresh fruit, fresh fruit smoothies, chocolate, candies, coffee, meats, fish, nuts, and more! Court and I each ordered smoothies the first morning we were there - I got strawberry coconut, she got strawberry pineapple - and were surprised when we were not only handed our smoothies, but a glass of pure strawberry juice! All for 1.50 euro!! YUM!

Walking down Las Ramblas

We also split something delicious from a little cafe at the front of the market.  I asked the guy what it was called but it's name escapes me... It was something like "chuchu" but it was spelled with x's. Whatever it was, it was heaven.  The pastry was light and flakey and covered in cinnamon sugar.  The inside had a little bit of cream but it was more hollow than full so the texture wasn't overwhelming like it is in a cream-filled donut.  Double yum. 

We spent the rest of the day enjoying the sunshine and getting our bearings of the area. That night, we followed my friend Erika's specific instructions to go to a supermercat, pick up a baguette, a wheel of brie and a box of sangria before going to see the fountain show at Parc de Montejuic.  I am so glad she recommended it because the evening was incredible.  It really goes to show that it's the little things in life that make it so great!

After the fountain show, Court and I met up with some girls we had met earlier in our hostel. Two of them were from Texas and studying abroad in Rome, the other was from Australia.  The night was spent bar hopping and learning about our new friends.  It's weird to think we'll probably never see them again because we had so much fun that night!

The next day, we switched to a hostel that was literally on the beach. We got lunch at Bo de B, which is kind of like a sandwich version of Chipotle, then shopped our way through Barcelona.

On our final day in Barca, we went to Parc Guell because the hippie behind the front desk of our hostel convinced us that Barcelona was three things "sex, drugs, and Parc Guell." We took his word for it, hopped on a metro, and began the trek to the top.  Already panting from the hike up, the view from the top is one that definitely takes your breath away. Not only could we see a majority of the city, but we had an astonishing view of the park's architecture by Antoni Gaudi.  We hiked back down to get a closer look at the unique buildings and took a quick Diet Coke break before heading to the airport.

A majority of our trip was spent wandering through the shops and eateries in Barcelona. Something about the palm trees and warm weather sparked a bit of homesickness for our lives in the West Coast, but the fun jewelry, fresh fruit, falafel, seafood dishes and the warm sun kept Courtney and I smiling! There were so many parts of the trip when I found myself wishing I could bottle up the moment and keep it forever.  The feeling of traveling and experiencing new things is one that is inexplainable.

Dinner on the harbor

Sangria in the sun