This past weekend we went to
Barcelona. We left early on Friday morning and came back late Saturday night,
so it was a short weekend but it ended up working out better that way. Friday
we had a 9:50 am flight but I woke up at 5 am to get ready and then catch the
metro because it was going to be on strike that day. The metro has been on
strike a lot lately because Madrid and Spain’s economy are so bad and our host
mom told us they drastically cut the pay of metro workers recently. The days
when the metro is on strike the metro either doesn’t run for certain hours of
the day (usually 6 to 10 am and 6 to 10 pm, the most necessary time to take the
metro to get to work and school, therefore making the best political statement)
or it runs very limitedly (every 30 minutes instead of every 5 minutes or
less).
Luckily for us, the metro was
running from 6 am to 8 am that day but only every 30 minutes. The metro opens
everyday at 6 am so I decided I didn’t want to push my luck and I got on the
first train of the day and it wasn’t anymore crowded than usual. I had to make
a connection at the same stop as my friend Samantha so we met at that station.
That next train was unbelievably packed. We were slammed in the train for 5
stops, which seemed like an eternity. Whenever the metro turned I was afraid someone
would fall over and then everyone would be down. I also saw a lady who looked
like she was going to hurl, maybe due to claustrophobia or the fact that it was
so hot and smelled like BO.
In any event I think we were very
relieved once we got to our destination of the airport and off the smelly,
crowded metro. Once we made it to the airport everything was easy. Security
took no time at all and none of us had any problems. It seemed a lot less
strict than security in the U.S.
Our flight was pretty short and
easy. It was my first experience with RyanAir, the super cheap airline, and it
was ok. They try and sell you things the entire flight and nothing is free.
They don’t give you complimentary drinks or anything but the flight was like 40
euros round-trip so I can’t complain.
Since we took RyanAir it flew into
GIRONA, not BARCELONA so we had to take a bus from Girona to Barcelona. It was
really easy but just slightly annoying to not have a direct flight. A lot of
low cost airlines don’t fly you into the right airport but since none of us had
ever traveled before we did not know that. Its all part of the experience I
guess.
Once we got to Barcelona we were
all slightly disappointed by the weather; it was overcast and drizzling. Little
did we know that would end up being the far better day of the two days we spent
there. We got kebabs at some place near the bus station and then found our
hostel. The group I went with was pretty big, I think there were 11 of us
total, which, in my opinion, ended up being too many people. This was my first
independent travel trip so I didn’t really know what I liked but after this I
think its just a lot easier to go in a smaller group.
I thought our hostel was very nice
for the price (only 16 euros a night!). They had free breakfast, free Internet
access, a terrace with a beautiful view of Barca, laundry (for a fee), a
swimming pool and workout room. It was also my first hostel experience and I
liked it. It was like being in a dorm and it seemed like everyone staying there
was college-aged. I met a lot of new people in the elevators and in the common
room.
View from our hostel terrace, the bullet shaped building was iridescent
More views from our hostel
Hostel terrace
After getting settled we were all a little restless to go do things since we were only staying in barca for such a short time. Syd and I, being art history buffs (We are also in art history together at SLU Madrid), decided we really wanted to go to La Sagrada Familia, this really awesome church in Barcelona. Everyone else in the group was not really keen on going because they were sick of seeing churches but we both were dying to go and we assured them that it would be worth their while.
When we got just to the outside of it everyone stopped complaining because they saw how magnificent it was. It was by far the most amazing thing I’ve seen since I’ve been here. It gave me shivers it was so beautiful and I’m quite confident there is no other church like it in the world. The detail work on the inside and out is amazing
Me outside la Sagrada Familia, its still being completed, it was started in the 1890's but due to Civil War within Spain, World Wars and Guadi's sudden death at an early age (he was run over by a bus) it is still be completed today
Tyler in awe
The way the building was designed it is sopposed to look like a forest
Stained Glass in La Sagrada Familia
The ceilings are even beautiful
Me and Samantha inside La Sagrada Familia
Altar piece
Art History Buffs
Some goregous carvings in the outside of the building, the entire outside of the building is this detailed.
After La Sagrada Famalia I really
wanted to see Park Guell, also designed by Gaudi and full of his sculptures. It
ended up being really far away and involving a crazy steep hill climb but we
made it. And it was beautiful too. Nothing compared to La Sagrada Familia but
still colorful and lovely. Some of Guadi’s houses were over there too.
Finally we all decided we wanted
dinner so we went to Las Rambas, the main street and shopping area of Barca and
got dinner. Everyone was pretty tired and our group kind of split up again
after that. I was pretty much maxed out on walking by that point, we had
probably walked at least 5 miles that day, and I wanted to just go back to the
hostel and rest.
Park Guell, Guadi's Park in Barcelona
view of Barcelona from Park Guell
Me on a Bench in Park Guell, it was rainy
The Whole Gang (Marshall, Tyler, Me, Samantha, Ahmed, Syd, Florian and Jenny)
More cool ceilings
That night me, Tyler and Samantha just stayed up late and chatted on the third floor were the terrace was. Everyone else went to bed early because they were tired or going on a early morning bike tour but we decided since we only had the one night in Barca we should make the most of it.
The next day in Barca it was pouring rain. It didn't stop once all day. I woke up exhausted but happy that I basically got to see everything I wanted to see the day before. The only thing I didn't see while I was in Barcelona that I really wanted to was Santa Maria del Mar, the cathedral of Barcelona. If it was sunny I would have liked to go to the beachs too but that just means il have to come back another time in my life.
Alot of people wanted to walk to the port and see the ocean but Tyler and I were tired and my foot hurt so we stayed closer to the hostel and decided we would meet them there later. It was a moonsoon all day and we were freezing so we found this little coffee shop that had coffee for .75 euros. It ended up being the best coffee I've had in spain and also the cheapest. It was great. After that we stumbled upon a market and saw some nasty things. I saw a pig's skin face and every variety of fish ever. The fish are so fresh in spain they look like they are still alive. Its freaky.
do you spy the pig face?
Christopher Columbus Statue
Rainy Day In Barca
Me and Tyler at the Port
We discovered that the port area
was very close to Las Ramblas so we decided to meet the rest of the group
there. Everyone was soaked and tired and they group that wasn’t with us all day
decided that they wanted to go back to Las Ramblas. Tyler and I didn’t because
we were just there and my foot was hurting really bad so we went back to the
hostel. Technically we were checked out but the front desk workers were really
chill and they didn’t care so we went up to the 3rd floor lounge
area and took and nap on the bean bags and dried off. The bed at that hostel
and that bean bag nap were the best sleep I’ve gotten since being in spain. It
was amazing. I felt so refreshed.
The rest of the trip was just a breeze. We got dinner at place close the bus station, got on the bus, got to the airport, waited there for a bit and then got home. We were all happy to be back in Madrid.
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