To me, one of the best parts of studying abroad is not only living and experiencing one city in a 4-month period, but having a all the cities I’ve dreamt about visiting right at my fingertips. And what’s better is that I can leave on a whim. A random Tuesday night hanging out in the common room ended with a spontaneous plane ticket to Barcelona and excitement in anticipation of our first weekend excursion.
After landing and getting on our shuttle to the city, we found our hostel with a REAL LIVE MAP (Google Maps, eat your heart out). Our location was prime: minutes away from a handful of Metro stations and Las Ramblas, one of Barcelona’s most famous and consequently, tourist-laden streets. We had trouble adjusting to the 10pm dinnertime thing, so while most of the city was indulging in their last meal of the day, we were getting ready to paint the town red (as much as 6 girls after a day of traveling can do so, that is.) We headed to a a divey, skateboard-themed bar called Nevermind. The night consisted of the following: freaking out about how much cheaper everything is compared to London and making some cool new, Spanish pals. So all in all, a good first night.
I have a soft spot in my heart for dives but feel like I’m lacking in the being-cool department to actually frequent them.
The next morning, we woke up ready for big day of sight-seeing, starting with a hike up a mountain to the Castell de Montjuic. For those of you who know me, my most outdoorsy ever was a week at Girl’s Scout camp, so this was a pretty big deal. Fortunately for me, the views we got along the way and at the top negated any initial complaints of a day spent hiking.
Afterwards, our ultimate traveling win stumbling upon an amazing Spanish restaurant for lunch that was apparently rare for tourists to eat at. They say hunger is food’s best sauce, and I was ravenously hungry, but regardless, I had to have one of the best meals I’ve eaten in a long time.
The rest of day consisted of more sightseeing and getting hopelessly lost on our trek to the Sagrada Familia. I thought, after years of Spanish classes, I could reach into my oh so extensive bank of high school Spanish vocabulary and understand the signs and effectively ask someone for directions. Apparently, speaking Spanish isn’t at all like riding a bike and my stuttering Spanglish-speaking self couldn’t dig us out of the hole we were in. Bound and determined as I was to find it, it was getting late, we had been out all day and most importantly, tuve hambre. (Apparently the only Spanish phrase that stuck with me to this day), so we headed back.
After a night out of fun and mucha sangria with arguably the coolest hostel employee that has ever lived, we woke up early (for college kid standards) the next morning and headed on a tour of the historic part of the city, Barri Gòtic.
After that, we headed to Parc Guell, which had been recommended to me more times than I could count. It’s truly a something like I had never seen, largely because of Gaudi’s distinct architecture and designs. The designs of the park are intricate, colorful and busy (incredibly fitting with a name like Gaudi). They were fantastical and bizarre as well, I could only compare it to something out of a Dr. Seuss book.
After enjoying the twist and turns of Parc Guell, we ventured up to El Turo De Les Tres Cruces (Calvary of the Three Crosses) which couldn’t have been a more happy ending. It required MORE HIKING, however it was totally worth it. The panoramic view of the entire city and the Mediterranean with the sun setting in the back was unparalleled (as was the cheesiness of that sentence, sorry guys).
Happy me and beautiful Barcelona
With our last hours in Barcelona getting smaller and smaller, we made up for lost (literally) time and finally found the Sagrada Familia, to conclude our Gaudi-filled day. This picture doesn’t do it justice- I have never seen so much intricate detailing on a building which may explain why it’s not predicted to be completed until 2026.
We finally had a completely time-appropriate Spanish dinner (10:30pm, to be exact) and went out for tapas and desserts to celebrate our last night.
Following that was a night out that lasted as late as the time I used to wake up for high school swim meets (hint: 5 a.m.). Apparently none of us cared we had to be up at 8 a.m for our flight back to London, but that night we went out like Catalans do and put our worries on the back burner.
Yes, these are flaming shots. No, I promise I don’t have a death wish.
While the weekend unfortunately resulted in a lost iPhone, (RIP. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Cara Needs To Fund Her Apple Addiction Foundation) it was an incredible one of adventure, fun and beautiful sights. If I hadn’t been bit by the traveling bug before, I definitely am now.
Can’t wait for the adventures that await me in other parts of the world and right here in London.
Cheers,
Cara
Pint-sized Girl in the Big World 