Spring Break Destination 3 - Barcelona, Spain
We got to Barcelona a little after 11 and were able to get to our hostel without a problem. But when we arrived we encountered another problem. On one of the beds just hanging out was one bed bug. This may be the grossest and worst possible thing to ever find. We promptly went downstairs and told the clerk what we found and she played dumb like she had no clue what a bed bug was. We wouldn't let up and she changed our room for us. So after that near brush with death we thoroughly search the next room and found no traces of infestation. We went and ate since we were again starving and again found out we were in a very expensive part of Europe. The next morning we woke up and decided to bang out all of the architecturally relevant sites we wanted to see in one day. Our first stop after having brunch was the Casa Mila by Antoni Gaudi. It is an apartment complex that he designed in the early 1900s that has this really cool façade and courtyards. It is supposed to look like one of the mountains that surround Barcelona. It was awesome from the outside and we got some cool pictures from the gift shop of the courtyard. We didn't go in because there was no student discount and they wanted €13 just to go in. So we decided to walk to the next Gaudi work the Sagrada Familia. It was such a beautiful day we were all so happy to feel the sun and have airy and happy people around us. We were all sweating in the 60 degree weather while the Barcelonians were all bundled up. The Sagrada is a huge church started by Gaudi in 1892 and is still not finished. It is supposed to have 18 Spires. One for Jesus, one for Mary, 12 for the apostles, and 4 for the evangelical saints. Right now about 10 of the spires are completed. It is still incredible to look at. The whole façade tells the story of the nativity in stone relief carvings that run around the building. There is an awesome public oasis right next to it too. It was a little pond lined with trees and rocks and benches for people to sit. We could not have been happier to sit and look at this building while basking in the warmth of the sunlight. We then decided instead of seeing the last thing we wanted we'd walk down to the beach. THe beach was magnificent. The sand was a chocolate brown color and whole perimeter was lined with palm trees. Me and Casey ran down the water and plopped our feet into the Mediterranean Sea which was freezing cold. We sat on rock jetty just admiring the beach and again soaking up as much sun as possible. We had a beer on the beach and played in the jungle gym before going back to the hotel for siesta. We woke up and went to meet Kyle's friend who is studying there. We got dinner and then we were going to meet her and go out later on to a club on the beach. I unfortunately didn't make it anywhere. Apparently the tap water in Barcelona is not okay to drink because it is salty and I having had 2 water bottles full of tap water had the biggest headache in the entire world. I was in so much pain I blacked out and don't remember the guys leaving. Well after sleeping it off we all woke up the next morning and had to check out of the Hostel since Annie and Ashely were joining us for he last 2 days. So once the girls finally arrived we still couldn't check back in so we went over to the Park Guell, again by Gaudi is a massive public park with live music, vendors, and performers. The park was beautiful it was set well above the actual city and there was a point at the top that offered a view over all the trees in the park and allowed you to look back out over the city and up into the mountains west of Barcelona. Then after you walk down and around a path you come out into this public space were all of the vendor and performers were. They were selling Spanish glass necklaces, magnets, fans, and all other kinds of trinkets. The weather was still nice even though some clouds were starting to roll in we enjoyed a nice walk around the park.
Walking around Barcelona was amazing. Palm trees and beautiful skies but there was one problem. We still couldn't understand anything. The Barcelonians speak a very strange dialect of spanish called Catalan. It is a weird mix of Spanish and French and as I already covered we know just enough French to piss the French off. But fortunately they understand Spanish and will speak it back to you. So I was able to order food, ask for aspirin, and guide the cabby home at night.
So that night we went to a club on the beach next to the one the guys went to the night before when I was dying from drinking salt water the whole day. It was pretty beat. Weird atmosphere and a lot of old dudes. The music was pretty good so it was fun nonetheless. The next day no one wanted to get up and the maids started wailing on the door around noon time for us to get out. The weather was crappy so no one wanted to move. We finally got out and walked back toward the Sagrada Familia so the girls could see it. We also stopped at every single souvenir on the way to try and find shot glasses for Casey and Christmas Ornaments for me. We spent the whole day looking around for that until we finally caught up for drinks and dinner with Kyle's friend. €3.50 Margaritas and Mojitos at a restaurant that finally suited our budget. We enjoyed ourselves till about 12 then decided to pack in since our flight was at 10 and we'd have to be up and out early. I wish we had been able to go out that night because Afrojack, a favorite DJ of mine, was playing at the club Opium on the water. Some of the guys who were staying an extra night went and said it was awesome.
We departed Friday morning in gorgeous weather again toward our final destination, Geneva.
No comments:
Post a Comment