Once on the train to Newcastle, all I could think about was sunny Spain and all of the great art I was about to see (typical). My daydreams were crushed an hour later when the train stopped for over an hour in the Scottish countryside on a sheep farm where there was no cell phone reception. If everything had gone as planned, I would have had exactly two and a half hours to meet Stephanie at the Newcastle Airport, which seemed to be enough time weeks ago when we had made these plans. To make a long story short, I was stuck pacing a train car in the Scottish wilderness where the train personnel were about as helpful to me as the sheep outside. After several panicked calls to my parents at about 3 AM central time and much research on the fabulous ryanair.com, I decided I clearly wasn't going to make the flight. Once in Newcastle I decided I might as well go to the airport and talk to the Ryanair people to see what my options were. So after about four hours, two cab fairs, and two needless train rides (all while carrying a dufflebag with a week's worth of clothes), I was back in Edinburgh where I had begun this fantastic day.
Although that Saturday was definitely not one of my favorite experiences, it turned into a really good thing. I rearranged my trip plans so that instead of having only three full days in Spain visiting two cities and spending seven hours on a train, I had five full days in Barcelona. I flew in on Sunday night and went straight to the hostel, which was on the outskirts of the city. Even though it was pretty far from the city center, it was an easy metro ride away and felt like a hotel. I met my friend Stephanie and we watched a really cool fire dancer who performed in the yard of the hostel.
my room at the Barcelona Garden House Feetup Hostel, really nice
The next morning I finally got to see Barcelona in the daylight and was pleasantly surprised by the gorgeous weather (it was in the upper 70's and sunny every day). Steph and I took the metro to La Rambla, which is the main street in Barcelona leading to Barceloneta Beach. It is beautiful and lined with really nice stores, restaurants, and apartments as well as open-air flower shops and street performers.
entrance to Mercat de la Boqueria
flower shop on La Rambla
another really pretty flower shop
After walking around a little and getting acquainted with the city, we met up with my sorority sister Kathryn and had lunch at the Mercat de la Boqueria. This was definitely my favorite part of the city. It is a famous open-air market that is really exotic and colorful. They sell all sorts of things, mostly fruits, vegetables, and spices, but also fish, meat, and even gelato (my favorite). Steph and I had this really good battered fish and mango-coconut juice (definitely not something you would find in Scotland). It was definitely an experience and felt very exotic. It's really crowded with tourists and locals and felt very authentically Spanish.
fruits at the Mercat de la Boqueria
Mercat de la Boqueria
all the yummy juices lined up at the Mercat de la Boqueria
spices at the Mercat de la Boqueria
Mercat de la Boqueria
After lunch we sat on the pier near the Barceloneta Beach and chatted for a while, and Kathryn gave us some really good suggestions on what to do and where to go. I was really excited because this was my first time ever seeing the Mediterranean! It was gorgeous and so blue!
Mediterranean port
After we met up with Kathryn we did a little more walking along the beach and through the city. It is huge! Barcelona totally surprised me by its size. The map I carried around the entire time was definitely a necessity because of the size of the city and also because some of it is on a grid, while other parts (like the Gothic Quarter, which is much older) are much more winding. It was a lot like New York in that there were lots of different neighborhoods and tons of parks. The city is famous for its municipal parks, and I got to visit several of them. We also met up with Steph's friend from school and saw the Arc de Triumf and had a really nice tapas dinner.
view of the port
Barceloneta Beach
statue of Christopher Columbus
one of the many pretty alleyways we came across
typical colorful Barcelona street
another pretty alley
Steph and I by the Arc de Triumf
Tuesday morning was particularly nice, so Steph and I decided to spend it at the beach. It was so nice to get a little sun, something that Scotland definitely lacks. The big event of the day was our visit to Park Güell, which is famous because it was designed by Gaudí. It's a spectacular looking garden complex atop the hill del Carmen and Gaudí actually lived in one of the houses there for a while. Steph and I walked all the way up to the top of the hill, which felt more like a mountain to me, but was probably a breeze for her (she's a triathalon runner and is doing an Ironman next year, pretty impressive). I was really glad she convinced me to do it though because the view from the top was incredible. It was a full panoramic view of the city. Sadly my pictures don't do it justice because Barcelona has a major air pollution problem and is pretty hazy. After climbing the hill we went inside one of the houses, which looks just like a gingerbread house! We climbed to the top story, which gave us a great view of the whole park. The mosaics in the park were really impressive, and Gaudí's style is unique from anything I have ever seen before.
view of the city from Park Güell
Park Güell, I love how Gaudí's architecture blends in so well with its surroundings
top of the hill de Carmel
view from the top of the hill de Carmel, this really doesn't do it justice
Gaudí mosaics
Gaudí houses at Park Güell
the iconic mosaic lizard at Park Güell
Park Güell
Later that night I met Kathryn for a delicious Mexican dinner. It had been quite a while since I had Mexican food (salsa isn't really part of the Scottish vocabulary). It was so nice to catch up with her and I was so glad to have her throughout the week. I did almost get pickpocketed though! The guy practically had my whole purse in his hand and miraculously decided to let go. I was terrified because my whole life was in that bag (besides my passport, thankfully) and I realized how accustomed I have become to living in such a crime-free city. Being in Barcelona definitely put me back in New York-mode and made me appreciate how safe Edinburgh is.
The next morning Stephanie left for Alicante bright and early and I was left to my own devices. I decided to spend the morning at La Sagrada Familia, Gaudí's famous cathedral and the symbol of Barcelona. It was incredible to say the least. It absolutely towers over everything else in the city and the style is so unique from anything I have seen. The details are amazing and the amount of time and thought Gaudí put into its design is obvious. I decided to go for the whole shebang and did the audiotour and the lift up to the top. I spent quite a bit of time just standing in front and inside of it and there seemed to be endless details to be noticed.
It was so cool to witness it as an unfinished cathedral and it proved to me that it truly does take decades to construct something of this magnitude. Its construction began in 1882 and Gaudí left numerous plans for its continued work, knowing that he would not live to see it completed. It is considered to be a prime example of modernisme and art nuveau, making it totally unique from the cathedrals that are typical of Europe. The views from the top were incredible and gave me the chance to see the spires in even more detail. The idea behind the design was to symbolize Christ's life and the Holy Family in a way that blended with the natural surroundings. The spires looked like colorful fruits and it was obvious that Gaudí intended for Spain to be a integral part of the design.
La Sagrada Familia
inside of La Sagrada Familia
inside of La Sagrada Familia
La Sagrada Familia
the fruit-spires on the top of La Sagrada Familia
view from the top of La Sagrada Familia
top of La Sagrada Familia
My next plan of attack was to visit the Picasso Museum. I got a little lost on the way and stumbled upon Barcelona Cathedral and decided to go inside. It was also beautiful and I was so glad I accidentally found it because it is so overshadowed by La Sagrada Familia in terms of tourist destinations that I may not have even known about it. It was very medieval, but definitely distinct from Scottish medieval churches. There were lots of great alters and paintings inside which definitely marked it as a Catholic church, whereas many of the Scottish churches were whitewashed during the Reformation. Again, the view of the city from the top was beautiful and the spires could be viewed close up.
view from the top of Barcelona Cathedral
inside Barcelona Cathedral
Barcelona Cathedral
After visiting the cathedral, I found the Picasso Museum. It was laid out chronologically which was really interesting because you could see how Picasso progressed from being a realist painter into cubism. At the end there was a large exhibition on his studies for Las Meninas, which was one of my favorite parts. There was also a temporary exhibit which featured art from the Spanish Revolution. A lot of it was poster art and information about Spanish artists of the era. Sadly, I couldn't take any pictures inside, but I spent several hours there.
Picasso Museum
view from the Picasso Museum
On Thursday I took the metro down to Passeig de Gracia which is the high-end shopping district. It was really cool to see all the fashionable Spaniards, but I definitely felt out of place at some points in my very American shorts and t-shirt ensemble. I found out pretty quickly that Spaniards never wear shorts, not even in 80 degree weather, so I stood out quite a bit. I just accepted that I will never really look Spanish and wore my shorts proudly throughout the week (it was so hot!)
Near this street are three of the most famous Gaudí casas in the city. The first one I visited was Casa Vincens, which is different from the other two because it is much more colorful. It was covered in painted tiles and brick and was very Spanish-looking. Next, I went into Casa Mila, which is a stone apartment. I took the audio tour and went to the top. I would highly recommend this to anyone visiting Barcelona. The museum inside gave a lot of information about Gaudí's thought process and the design elements of all of his buildings in the city. This was definitely my favorite part of the trip. I walked up the stairs to the top where there were dozens of statues which couldn't be seen from the street level. It was so cool to be up there because it is so hidden, but so beautiful. This was yet another fantastic view of the city. After going to the top, I saw the apartments which include original furniture from the family that lived there. The interior design was gorgeous, I would definitley live there if given the chance. After Casa Mila I visited the third major Gaudí house, Casa Batlló. The facade is made almost entirely of mosaic and is really different from the other two houses.
Casa Vicens
Casa Vicens
Casa Mila exterior
statues atop Casa Mila
view from the top of Casa Mila
Casa Mila interior
courtyard of Casa Mila
Casa Batlló
My next stop was Montjuïc, which is a huge hill famous for its castle and being the sight of the 1992 summer olympics. This had by far the most spectacular view of the Mediterranean (I just sat soaked it all up for about a half hour). After a tram ride and a major climb to the very top of the hill I visited Montjuïc Castle. Visitors aren't allowed inside, but it's a really cool building to walk around. After exploring the castle I walked down to the Olympic Stadium, which was absolutely gigantic. I saw the olympic flame and practically walked the whole complex (completely lost of course). On the very long walk down the hill I walked by the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, which was pretty impressive piece of architecture. It was supposedly built around the time of the olympics as a way for Catalunya to show off its culture and national pride. It is enormous and has a really dramatic facade and colonnade. I wish I had been able to go inside, but was completely exhausted from the heat and being on my feet all day.
view of the Mediterranean from Montjuïc
Montjuïc Castle
anther amazing Mediterranean view
site of the 1992 summer olympics
olympic flame
Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
That night I met Kathryn for dinner and had made a request for good paella earlier that day. We ordered a seafood paella and sangria and had a typical Spanish meal (at about 9:30 at night of course). It was my first time trying paella and it definitely lived up to my expectations. I was so thankful that Kathryn was there and we had so much fun catching up and exchanging study abroad stories!
yummy seafood paella
awesome dinner with Kathryn
Friday was my last day in Spain and I had just enough time to spend my last morning on the beach before going back to vitamin D deprivation. I met all of Kathryn's friends from her program who were really friendly and fun to talk to. I got a little burnt, but I was willing to suffer for some much-needed sunshine. After a couple of hours with Kathryn and her friends, I had to say goodbye and had just enough time for one last lunch at the Boqueria. I had the Spanish version of fish'n'chips which was a fried whitefish and fried green and red peppers (so yummy!) I had to top it off with one last gelato because I have found that Scotland is very much lacking in the ice cream department, probably because the weather isn't as appropriate. Afterwards I grabbed my luggage at the hostel and shuttled to the airport. I even met a girl from Winnetka on the plane who was doing a full four years at St. Andrews! It's such a small world!
my last Spanish meal...
Kathryn and I reppin' Alpha Chi Omega at the beach in Barcelona!
Even with all the struggle of actually getting to Barcelona, it turned out to be a fantastic trip. I really enjoyed my time with Steph and Kathryn and the sunny days were a refreshing change. The art and architecture were everything I had hoped for and I was so glad to have the time to take it all in. I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to visit such a beautiful and unique city!
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