First and foremost, we arrived in Barcelona around 10:30 p.m, ate dinner around 11 p.m., navigated through the new and unfamiliar metro station all while not exactly knowing where we were going (I will get to our destination later), walked and walked and walked some more (you do a lot of walking in Spain!), and then finally got to where we were going around 2 a.m. Where to? Our humble abode for the weekend...a hostel. I may be acting a tad bit too dramatic, but I feel the over-emphasis is necessary for the means of this blog post...please forgive me :) When we got to the hostel, we were welcomed by bright green and orange walls, some people hanging out outside, and a very eccentric vibe. All 13 of us got situated into our respective places after some confusion arose with the room situation and we were ready to call it a day. Maddie and I ended up sharing a bunk bed the whole weekend, supporting the notion that we can't not be together while in Spain, haha just kidding. After a long night, it was time to get some sleep.
Saturday. A new day filled with new experiences. It was time for Barcelona to redeem itself in the minds of our group. Before I continue, I do have to admit that Barcelona did not do anything. It was us, not her. The series of events on Friday were simply a result of traveling to a big city in a foreign country.
Sidenote: Natives do not speak Spanish in Barcelona. The primary language in this region is "Catalan". Catalan shares similarities with the Spanish language, but the pronunciation and even the spelling of many words are very different. This made the foreign experience a little more foreign than usual.
Okay, continuing on with Saturday. We started the day off as a group and took the metro to La Sagrada Familia. I had never heard of this particular attraction before coming to Spain, but I was quickly informed that it is a must see while you are in the country. After seeing both the interior and exterior, I fully agree with the previous statement. La Sagrada Familia is a large Roman Catholic Church in Barcelona designed by world-renown architect Antoni Gaudí. The cathedral's architecture is a mixture of Gothic and Art Nouveau forms. Although Gaudí passed in 1926, his vision has continued to this day. The cathedral is still currently under construction with an estimated completion date between 2026 and 2028. Haylee, Anna, and I waited in line for about an hour together and had the pleasure of touring inside the cathedral for over an hour and a half. We payed a little extra to tour the church's tower which was definitely worth the five euros. It is truly amazing to see the vision, creativity, construction, and product of man's imagination. I mean, the details were impeccable. From the stained glass to stone carvings to images of Jesus, it was beautiful. I especially loved the thought and careful attention given to the Biblical significance behind the masterpiece. It was most definitely worth the time and money and I recommend the visit to anyone.
Our next stop for the day was La Rambla. La Rambla is a one-mile long street on the south side of the city with restaurants, street performers, little shops, a food market, and etc. Before we took a stroll down the Spanish "Rodeo Drive" (Barcelona is a lot like Hollywood and Madrid is like NYC), a few of us girls stopped at Hard Rock Cafe to eat lunch. Marking the halfway point of my study abroad experience this past weekend, I had grown a little weary of my lack of American culture. Let me tell you, Hard Rock did the trick. I ordered a vanilla milkshake along with a hamburger and fries for lunch and it was delicious. Better than that, it was my little taste of home that fueled me up and got me going for the next half of my time in Spain. I have not experienced incredible homesickness by any means, but a little meal to remind me of home was perfect. After lunch, we walked down La Rambla, met up with more of the group, and headed down to the Port Vell. Our time at the port was awesome. The weather was sunny with a high of 80 degrees Fahrenheit (still not super great at reading/calculating Celcius), a little breeze, and no clouds. We sat on the dock, watched fish swim in the Mediterranean water, and just relaxed. As the day progressed and night was approaching, we decided to walk to the beach to actually touch the Mediterranean Sea. The four amigas (Maddie, Anna, Haylee, and I) put our feet in the water and took some pictures for proof...it was too cool. We then made our way back to the hostel for the night and after a few metro line switches, a good bit of walking, misread directions on our map, and a quick taxi ride, we made it back! Day two was a success.
Sunday was somewhat a repeat of Saturday's activities. Some of us traveled back down to La Rambla and Port Vell for the late morning/early afternoon. We shopped and ate lunch together before we had to make our way back to the train station. We had a very relaxed day and left Barcelona at 6:25 p.m. The train ride was only two and a half hours which gave me time to read (I am reading 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker...thank you Victoria!), look out the window, and just meditate in thought and prayer. I really enjoy the train rides. Once we made it back to Madrid, we all commented to one another that we felt like we were home. It was a crazy realization. After only two weeks in this country, we have already developed a sense of home in Madrid and Alcalá. Continuing that thought, we took a train from the Atocha station back to Alcalá, ate dinner, and went home. Our weekend was complete.
In conclusion, my weekend in Barcelona was an adventure and a very good one at that. Despite the hiccups experienced on the front end of the trip, I enjoyed myself along with the various attractions I had the chance to see while I was there. Barcelona has a lot to offer and I know that if I had the time, I would have grown to enjoy it even more. The weather was very nice, the architecture was pretty, and there was an endless supply shops and restaurants. The weekend also made for a hilarious memory and a life lesson in regards to traveling. All of this (traveling abroad without parents) is new to me and calls for a continuous learning experience. I have learned some of the do's and dont's of traveling, as well as the completely unavoidable scenarios that just make you laugh and thankful for life at the end of the day. In fact, Maddie and I are still joking about some of the occurrences from the weekend. It was the most eventful and, in some ways, the most memorable trip thus far.
Like all of my other posts, I am going to close this one out with lots of pictures. May the pictures speak
for themselves...along with my captions ;) Disfruta (enjoy)!
Outside of La Sagrada Familia. It was massive and so fascinating!
Some statues at the entrance of the cathedral.
The center of the altar inside La Sagrada Familia.
Beautiful architecture and interior. We were in awe.
One of the many stained glass windows.
A little peek of the city from the tower!
Anna inside the tower. We were having a little too much fun ;)
Post-Sagrada Familia experience.
At Hard Rock Cafe with my vanilla milkshake...I am one happy girl right here.
My American treat for the trip. Gracias Hard Rock.
The girls at lunch.
Maddie posing with her lion. She is too cute.
Roomies at Port Vell.
Some boats at the port.
Sweet friends hanging out on the dock.
Fish 'n feet.
The pretty Mediterranean Sea.
We put our feet in the Mediterranean. I can check that one off my list!
My artsy beach pic.
Haylee, Maddie, and me.
Here is a picture of patatas bravas (one of my favorite Spanish dishes).
Haylee, me, Frank, and Maddie on La Rambla Sunday.
Well there it is: my Barcelona experience. I hope you enjoyed reading the post and looking at all the pictures! More importantly, I hope you got a good laugh from the craziness of the trip :) Next stop in my Spain journey: Madrid round three. Several of us are heading there tomorrow afternoon after school to enjoy some shopping, browsing, dining, and etc. A smaller group is also going to Granada this weekend and I am really looking forward to that trip. I have heard excellent things about this old, southern Spanish town, especially in regards to the Alhambra. I will most certainly keep y'all posted! And I will try to update my blog a bit more frequently as well...I only have a little less than two weeks left here in Spain, so crazy! Time really does fly.
Alright friends, I am calling it a night. Thank you for your consistent investment in my life, it is appreciated more than you know. Adios amigos.
And that's a wrap.
Bethany
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