barcelona and the world's longest blog post...

so, this past weekend, i spent hours running around the beautiful and fabulous catalan city of barcelona! this was my first time in barcelona, but i certainly hope it isn't my last... so, here begins the world's longest blog post.

thursday night:

we left for barcelona thursday evening. getting to the airport was actually pretty easy: the city bus runs airport shuttles for $2.10--way cheaper than taking a taxi. rachel and i headed for the airport immediately after dance class thursday. in spain, it costs money to check bags on an airplane (boo!), so we carried everything that we needed for the weekend on our backs. the airport ride was simple, and we met up with sophie at one of the stops. we arrived at the sevilla airport about 1.5 hours early. we tried to check in at the gate, but were told that we had arrived too early! imagine that! so we were stuck waiting around the terminal for a while before we could check in. it's amazing to me how lax security feels here in europe. our check-in procedure took about 10 seconds (which is a stark difference from the u.s.). the security line also took about 10 seconds. it was so funny--the three of us went through security and removed EVERYTHING and began taking off our shoes before we looked around and realized that it wasn't necessary. strange... very strange. haven't they heard of the shoe bomber here in spain?

our flight left on time and we flew on a clickair jet--yes, clickair is, indeed, an airline. the plane was really nice, and i sat next to an english teacher. we talking for a while about teaching english (in spanish, of course) and then i asked for her advice about beautiful places to visit in barcelona. well, about an hour later, the plane landed and i had a HUGE list of must-see places and must-explore areas in hand. it was pretty great. the barcelona airport was easy to navigate, and we hopped on a shuttle headed for the center of town. barcelona is a huge city, and it took the shuttle about 45 minutes to arrive to plaza cataluna, our stop. the plaza was incredible--filled with beautiful fountains lit up for the night. people crowded the streets and giant department stores dominated every corner. after wandering around for a little while (more because we were lost than because we were actually wanting to wander around), sophie and i found the hostel. it was hidden away inside this building that housed a lawyer's office and a textile merchant, among other things. we took the very sketchy elevator to the fourth floor and checked in. our room and the hostel was fabulous! we had four little twin beds--one for each of us--complete with clean sheets, blankets, and towels (something not guaranteed in a hostel). we also had a private bathroom, small kitchen, and balcony. it was great!

after dropping off our stuff, sophie and i headed across the street and grabbed some groceries for dinner. we walked back across the street to the hostel and waited for rachel and hanna to arrive (they were on a later flight). once we were all in for the night, we cooked dinner (which was interesting, as i purchased a pizza without realizing that our mini-kitchen had no oven nor a microwave) and discussed our hopes for the trip. we made a lovely barcelona bucket list, complete with about twelve attractions we really hoped to visit. then, we went to bed, where we chatted until 3:00 am, just like a junior high slumber party!

our lovely room at the barcelona center plaza hotel--complete with fresh towels and clean sheets! i highly recommend it!

friday:

friday morning, we all woke up rather lazily, eating breakfast and taking turns using the bathroom and showering. finally, around 11:00 am, we headed out for our destination: the cathedral district. barcelona is divided into different neighborhoods and quarters, just like new york city. the cathedral district runs alongside the beautiful gothic quarter, and, after returning to plaza cataluna (a center from which we reached almost every destination--sort of like l'etoile in paris), we headed down a busy street towards the cathedral. the street was filled with a beautiful artisan market. the market had plenty of beautiful things, including very impressive and beautiful jewelry made of pressed flowers. i was tempted, but i didn't give in! we continued walking until we reached the cathedral--a huge building (though not as big as the cathedral in sevilla). we'd heard from all of our guidebooks that the cathedral really wasn't worth the entrance fee, so we stuck to the neighborhood, which had beautiful winding streets lined with fun shops and people chattering in catalan (a language i definitely can't understand... it really isn't very similar to spanish, unfortunately). we spied a couple of good restaurants for lunch, and worked our way to the picasso museum.

picasso spent many of his formative years in barcelona, studying art and painting scenes from the city. the picasso museum had a large collection of his earlier works, but very little selection from his cubist works (his most famous). either way, it was an enjoyable visit. it's so interesting to see how talented picasso was as a traditional, conventional artist (meaning one who followed the rules). i think people often write him (and several of his peers, like joan miro, another famous catalan artist) off as untalented men who tricked a world into believing that a mish-mash of lines and shapes count as art. on the contrary, picasso was a very talented conventional artist, and some of his sketches and works from this period show just how good he was. i was pretty impressed, and i'm normally not the hugest fan of picasso (i much prefer chagall). either way, our hours spent in the picasso museum was totally worth it. we saw a lot of interesting art, and art is very rarely (if ever) a waste of time.

after the art museum, we headed back up the street to a noodle restaurant called udon. we were all craving something a little bit different, and oriental noodles hit the spot! we all ordered a lunch special which came with an appetizer, main drink, and a dish. mine was a delicious vegetarian noodle stir-fry with a tasty vegetable skewer to start. we were all immensely pleased with the teriyaki flavors. oddly enough, though, the waitresses practically refused to speak spanish to us. they would ask us questions in english, we would respond in spanish, and they would continue on in english. i'm not sure if they seized the opportunity to practice their english, or if there is some issue involving pride or something like that. either way, the majority of our weekend was spent trying to speak spanish, but being responded to in english.

we immensely enjoyed our lunch and then decided to head out for barcelona's most wonderful museum--the chocolate museum! barcelona served as the port through which many of the new world's treasures passed, including chocolate. as such, barcelona was the first place in europe to see chocolate and taste the treasure (at least, that's according to the chocolate museum). we paid for our entrance to the museum and received our entrance ticket--a bar of dark chocolate! yay! the museum was full of tidbits about chocolate and its history (particularly its history in europe). i read a few of the blurbs, like how cocoa beans was used as an international currency, allowing easy trading across the european nations. the museum explained that a rabbit would cost 10 cocoa beans, a slave 100, and the "favors of a prostitute" 10! i can't imagine being a prostitute and receiving 10 measly beans for my "favors"! in addition to lots of interesting information, the museum is home to dozens of chocolate sculptures--wow! it's amazing what a talented chef can construct out of chocolate! there were scenes from don quijote (spain's most treasured literary work), a giant white chocolate gorilla, the tale of saint john slaying the dragon (barcelona's patron saint), and dozens more, including disney characters and famous athletes--even a sculpture honoring louis armstrong! that was definitely my favorite part, seeing all of the edible art! after we'd finished eying all the exhibits, we returned to the front shop and each treated ourselves to a little bit of artisan chocolate. i had a fabulous vanilla truffle that was absolutely wonderful! needless to say, the chocolate museum was a hit!

after the chocolate museum, we wandered around the gothic quarter for a bit, stopping to shop at the little boutiques and enjoy the atmosphere. the weather was great, so it was nice to just walk around and take everything in. finally, we reached a main road that ran parallel to the beach, and we made our way to the mirador de cristobal colon, which is a huge statue of christopher columbus marking the spot where the catholic rulers awaited the return of his boat. this statue also marks one endpoint of the fambous ramblas of barcelona. las ramblas is a bustling outdoor market of sorts comprised of five sections: an art section (with lots of street artists and people begging to draw your charicature), the fresh flowers section (very beautiful and bright), the street performer section (complete with the wildest and craziest assortment of living statues i have ever seen), the restaurant section (lots of outdoor tables and seating), and the pet section (with all sorts of small animals for sale... everything from turtles to ducklings to squirrels and chincillas). it was amazing! we walked up las ramblas and took in all the sights. i couldn´t believe how many people were crowded onto this small section of street. nor could i believe how much there was to see! the street performers were especially impressive. a michael jackson impersonator was teaching his audience how to do the moonwalk, while a living statue sat frozen on a toilet! totally crazy! some were definitely better than others, but i was so delighted to see what all these people came up with. they´re so creative! i have officially decided that, if nothing else in my life pans out, i´m moving to barcelona to become a living statue on las ramblas. i feel like that´s a good life decision! my other favorite of las ramblas was the pet section. there was such an assortment of beautiful birds and cute pets! it was all i could do to keep myself from buying a little ardilla (squirrel), and my friends had to practically drag me away from the ducklings (i LOVE ducks!). it was such an adventure, and i definitely recommend las ramblas to anyone traveling to barcelona.

on our way up las ramblas, we stopped at the giant food market (mercat boquat, i believe... at least, it´s something close to that). it was pretty impressive. they had the most gorgeous assortment of fresh fruit and vegetables i have ever seen, including some fruits that i have never seen in my entire life! we wandered around for a while, eying all the delicious goods before i finally broke down and bought some pomegranate seeds--tasty! then we wandered over to the butcher section, where i found some incredibly weird stuff, like goat´s heads and full rabbits, skinned, but still complete with their eyes and tongues hanging out of their mouths (that was kinda sad). they also had a HUGE assortment of fresh fish, including some fish so big that i´m sure i couldn´t possibly lift them if i tried! it was pretty incredible. i also saw buckets full of snails wriggling around (yes, they eat snails in spain) and other unidentifiable things. it was quite the experience. it reminded me of pike´s place market, only a little bit smaller and just food, no crafts or flowers. i was pretty impressed by all the different things there were to see and taste. some of the candy stands were unbelievable--too many delicious things to count! all in all, our foray into the market was a good choice. foreign markets (and markets in general) are always so much fun...

we finished walking up las ramblas and returned to our hostel around 8:00 pm--what a full day! we all kicked back for a while and ate dinner. then, rachel and hanna headed out for a night on the town. sophie and i were way too pooped, so we curled up in bed and hit the sack (i think we made the right decision... it felt so good to sleep after having been on our feet the whole day).

the view from our small patio at our hostel. it was off of plaza urquionoa (good luck pronouncing it!) and only three blocks away from plaza cataluna--great location!


hanging out in plaza cataluna!


me with one of the many fountains in plaza cataluna.


the cathedral district in downtown barcelona! the cathedral was beautiful and huge, and i appreciated it even though i didn´t go inside.


narrow, winding streets in the gothic neighborhood (right near the cathedral).


cute old man hanging out in the gothic neighborhood with his faithful companion (i was accused of being a creeper for taking this picture!).


eating noodles at the tasty restaurant (and obviously having a good time with the chopsticks!).


chocolate tickets for the chocolate museum--what a novel concept!


chocolate art--a white chocolate gorilla! yummm!


tasty truffles after our successful foray into the chocolate museum!


walking around the gothic neighborhood, headed towards las ramblas.


el mirador de cristobal colon. this statue commemorates his successful voyage and marks the spot where queen isabella and king ferdinand waiting for his boat to return.


having some fun with the lions at the base of the mirador.


las ramblas de barcelona--obviously a very crowded and popular spot in the city.


mercado público in barcelona.


awesome fresh fruit selection in the market--so good!


less awesome food choice in the market: goat´s head. yuck! there was a lot of weird stuff, like rabbit´s head and cow´s head (minus the skull). i can only imagine what they cook with these things!

saturday:

saturday morning came way too early, and none of us wanted to get up. we all lazily rolled out of bed and got ready for the day. we had decided on thursday that saturday would be our gaudí day--a day dedicated entirely to barcelona´s prize artist, antoni gaudí. antoni gaudí was an amazing architect and incredible artist who spent many of his years designing gorgeous buildings and parks in the heart of barcelona. his sites are among the top things to do in barcelona, so we all decided that he merited an entire day. after waking up and heading out from the hostel, we walked over to plaza cataluna and hopped on a bus to take to us to park güell, a park designed entirely by gaudí. the park is located at the far end of barcelona and up a pretty big hill. we were all happy that we had decided to take the bus up and walk down.

we arrived at the park and i immediately fell in love. gaudí was originally commissioned to design the park as an upscale residence for barcelona´s rich. it has a gorgeous entry gate, complete with a gate house that resembles something from a fairytale mixed together with a giant gingerbread house. he created this lush green place to be completely efficient and comfortable. he created an entire water system, collecting the rainfall from the park and using it to power the park´s many fountains. we spent hours wandering around the park and taking in the beautiful sights. it was so relaxing and incredible. i definitely could have spent all day there. at the top of gaudí´s extravagant entryway is a beautiful bench that is completely ergonomically correct (translation: it´s incredibly comfortable and built to foster good posture). all around this huge bench is a market of people selling ''authentic'' gaudí crafts. i cracked and bought some beautiful earrings, and i also made friends with a really cute cocker spaniel puppy! we climbed all over the park and finally made our way to the gaudí museum, which has a good collection of furniture designed by gaudí (again, all ergonomically correct and immensely comfortable). it also offered a glimpse into his genious, demonstrating how he gained inspiration for his beautiful designs from nature and his strong faith. all in all, park güell was amazing, and i definitely did not want to leave. instead of dedicating a huge amount of time to describing the sights, i´ve just included pictures (they tell the story so much better).

after hanging out in park güell for a significant part of the afternoon, we headed down the hill to the sagrada familia, gaudí (and barcelona´s) most famous monument. the walk was lovely, and the whole time we kept our eyes open for food. finally, we found the sagrada familia and i almost peed my pants with delight! it was so absolutely stunning! i couldn´t have imagined it to be more beautiful that it actually was--which was an absolute delight! we found a mcdonald´s at the corner of the sagrada familia (i know... how classy!) and we settled in for a quick (and cheap) lunch. eating mcdonald´s in a foreign country is always interesting, because they have totally different food. i was lame, though, and i ate a typical big mac (which is, actually, not very typical for me, as i haven´t eaten at mcdonald´s at all let alone a big mac for a long time)! either way, the lunch was satisfying and the view of the sagrada familia incredible! we headed across the street after lunch and went inside the sagrada familia. it was a lot more impressive from the outside, as the inside is still under construction. gaudí oversaw the construction of this fabulous modernist cathedral for 40 years before he died tragically (he was hit by a streetcar!). since that time, they have worked on the cathedral on and off for several decades. despite all their work, the cathedral isn´t projected to be finished for another 50 years (not until i´m old and gray...). either way, it was so beautiful, and i took a million pictures of its beautiful facades and melting images. it is something truly impressive and amazing.

after the sagrada familia, the walking continued, and we headed over to an apartment complex designed and built by gaudí called casa mila. it was a beautiful building with interesting rooms. the roof was incredible! from the top, we watched the sun set over the collection of beautiful chimneys (see the pictures). i ran around like a crazy person looking at every angle of the city and soaking it all in. it was stunning. i have no words. after this day, i definitely decided that gaudí is my favorite person ever (well... maybe not ever, but he´s definitely at the top of the list).

we finally made our way home to our hostel after visiting casa mila, and hung out for about an hour before dressing up for dinner. we went to the hard rock cafe located just off of plaza cataluna, but the wait was too long. instead, sophie and hanna found this cute little restaurant located off of las ramblas with really great spanish and french food. i had an amazing salad and omlette, and we were all really satisfied with our selections. we grabbed a taxi from the restaurant and headed down towards the water front. we had heard about this really great typical taverna with delicious cava (the spanish form of champagne). unfortunately, we arrived and it was closed! so, after wandering around in the taxi for a while, we ended up a night club called sunset, where the dancing was great! i had an excellent time just dancing and hanging out. rachel and i even braved the dance stage (thaaaat´s right), which was a pretty great experience. we ended up dancing until 2:00 am, when we were finally too exhausted to continue on. we caught a cab home and fell into bed. it was definitely an excellent day!

on the bus headed up to park güell!


me, taking in the scenery and the greenery in the park.


the gatekeeper´s house in park güell. it reminded me of something from hansel and gretel, or something mystical and fantastical like that.


the entrance to park güell, complete with an awesome staircase and lots of beautiful sculptures and fountains.


me and the fountains!


posing with the really famous gaudí lizard. he´s barcelona´s favorite icon to make souvenirs!


looking up at the awesome, really comfortable bench.

pillars and awesome cieling supporting the bench above. so incredibly beautiful! everything is made out of small pieces of ceramic (except the pilars, which are rock of some sort).


underneath one of gaudí´s viaducts to control the water system in the park.


relaxing on gaudí´s bench!


a look at the bench and the market from the hillside nearby.


me and my very cute puppy friend!


sagrada familia!!!


looking up at the four towers of the sagrada familia.


me at the entrance to the sagrada familia.

gothic cielings inside the sagrada familia.


the sagrada familia´s fabulous (but unfinished) melting facade.


one last look at the entry way for the sagrada familia. it´s so impressive!


entrance to casa mila, with a pretty fabulous gaudí doorway.


the cieling inside casa mila--the colors were absolutely stunning.


awesome chimneys atop casa mila.


hanging out on the rooftop, watching the sunset and playing in gaudí´s playground!


a glimpse across the roof at all the cool different chimneys.


across the street from casa mila is casa batlló, another gaudí house that we visited on sunday morning. continue reading!

sunday:

sunday morning rolled around and i was not feeling so good. my enitre body was exhausted from too much playing and walking around, but i decided to enjoy my last day in barcelona anyway. after getting ready, packing up, cleaning up our room, and checking, we hit the streets and walked over to casa batlló, another one of gaudí´s fabulous creations. this house was completely redesigned by gaudí and a very rich family lived there. the front facade of the house is designed to look like bones (if you look closely, you can see it). the top of the house is designed to look like the back of a cresting dragon. the whole house is supposed to evoke the image of st. george (barcelona´s patron saint), who slayed a terrible dragon. the house is the dragon! inside, the house was incredible. we traveled through a floor of the house decorated with beautiful colors and tile work. the view across the street was beautiful. the indoor courtyard surrounding the staircase was amazing! gaudí used different tiles in different shades of blue to reflect the sunlight perfectly (depending on where you are standing) and it feels like you are underwater in a beautiful castle. it´s pretty amazing. the roof contained a beautiful chimney or two, just like casa mila. the top floor boasts an incredible ventilation system way ahead of its time, so that every room in the house has access to natural light and fresh air. it was pretty incredible, and i´ve definitely decided that i want a gaudí house!

we hung around casa batlló for a while, exploring and enjoying the beautiful shapes and colors. afterwards, we went to the hard rock cafe for lunch, which was pretty tasty! i´ve missed american food so much, so it felt good to eat something american (like a barbeque pulled pork sandwich... tasty!). unfortunately, the service was pretty bad. either way, we all had a good time and ate way to much! afterwards, we headed for another walk down las ramblas, taking in the sights one last time. we made our way to the mirador de colon, and then headed eastward to montjüic, a beautiful hillside park on the barcelona skyline. after walking for a while, we found a funicular stop (which we mistook for a gondola stopped), and we ended up riding this ridiculous underground subway about 4 blocks to the park. fortunately, the park was worth the trip. it was incredibly lush and green, filled with smaller gardens and beautiful sculptures. montjüic was also the site of the 1992 olympics, so we stopped by the olympic stadium. it was open for some large event, and so we got to enter for free! it was a pretty impressive stadium, and the olympic torch is still burning 16 years later. after walking around the stadium and reading up on the 1992 olympics (i was only 6 then!), we headed back out into the park and explored for a little while longer. unfortunately, the afternoon drew to a close and we hopped on a bus back to the center, and then again on another bus to the airport. i was pretty sad waving good-bye to barcelona, as it was a fabulous city.

the very sketchy elevator in our hostel building... i definitely felt as though it were taking me to my death the two times i rode it.


chillin with a gaudí inspired lampost on passeig de gracia, the large, high-fashion street that casa mila and casa batlló call home.


bones on the facade of casa batlló!


beautiful stained glass inside casa batlló. gaudí designed the glass to change color and transparency based on your position in the room. that way, the light appears brighter to those farther from the windows and less harsh to those close to the windows, making everyone´s eyes feel a little more comfortable--genius!


beautiful tile work in the outdoor courtyard of casa batlló.


hanging out in the courtyard.


looking up the hall of lights. this is the hall with the wonderful blue tiles that change shape and color the closer you get to the top. seriously cool.


spiral staircase leading to the rooftop.


chimney, st. george´s cross, and the back of the dragon from the roof of casa batlló.


i´m touching the dragon!


a closer look at the architectural details.


hanging out with one of gaudí´s discoveries: the parabolic arch. it supports the immense weight of a building with minimal structure. pretty cool! he was inspired to create a rooftop of parabolic arches by examining the ribs of a whale.


gaudí tiles reflected in the glass...


chillin on a gaudí-inspired bench outside of casa batlló.


beautiful flowers and fountain in plaza cataluna.


1992 olympic stadium!


sophie and i cheering for an imaginary team! we look pretty excited...


a castle and a garden on montjüic.

thanks for taking the time to reach the end! i wish i could include more pictures, because barcelona is such a visual city! anyways, my life since sunday has been boring. i´ve been very sick with a super nasty cold, but i´m coming around now and just in time--early tomorrow morning, i´m headed off to italy! pray for safe travels and a good time and not too much gluttony (i am so excited for the pasta and gelatto)!

i miss everyone from home and can hardly believe that it´s only 24 days till my parents and kevin come to visit (yaaay!) and only 50 days until my entire trip is over. feels like time is slipping through my fingers...

anyways, miss you all! besos!