Sangria in Spain :)

After traveling on my own for a bit and with a huge group for the other bit, it was really nice to be back with only two other people. Our time in Barcelona was a lot of wandering around the city and taking in the sights, but we didn’t stick out like Choral would have. This is the way I like to travel.

We had 5 full days in Barcelona. We ended up with this because flights into and out of Spain were much cheaper in Barcelona than anywhere else, so both our flights were there. We had originally intended to maybe do a day trip to a nearby city or something, but Barcelona has so much to do that we just stayed there the whole time. It made for really well spaced sightseeing. We didn’t feel rushed to hike across the city two times a day. We conquered the city in sections and took it all in at our own pace.

Day 1 objectives: La Rambla, walking tour, Sangria.

Our first day, we aimed to La Rambla, the main walking street in Barcelona, and a free walking tour. The tour started at a bar off La Rambla at 11, 1, and 3 so we wandered up and down the street watching the artists and glancing in shops until making our way over at 1. But before we got there, we got distracted by the Boquera Market. This market is the oldest market in Barcelona and had the most wonderful food in it. We walked up and down the aisles, our eyes popping like kids in a candy store. The fruit looked so delicious and was all over the place. We all got some food and decided to wait for the 3:00 tour. The tour itself was a really good tour. It was a 2 and a half hour free tour. Which means that in order for the tour guide to get paid, he needed tips. So he turned out to be a really good guide and even us poor college kids tipped him well. The tour turned out to be very historical, and I’m really glad we started off with it. We learned about lots of the Medieval buildings still standing today, some history of the bombings and protests Barcelona is famous for, and also the Jewish quarter. We also got our bearings a little because we covered a big portion of the historical city centre of Barcelona. After the tour, we were famished so we went in search of the all-famous Tapas. Tapas are basically appetizers that come with most meals. At this restaurant, we got 2 tapas and paella for 7 or 8 euros, so we all tried different tapas and tasted each others’. While I liked the tapas and the paella was pretty good, I have to say that my favorite part of the cuisine in Spain was the Sangria. At this meal, we splurged for the mugs of fruity wine that is so well loved in Barcelona. And I see why. It was so delicious, and perfect for drinking outside with a meal.

Day 2 objectives: Cathedral and Antique market.

Our second day, we didn’t have a huge agenda. The main cathedral in the city centre was free to enter before 1 each day, so we wanted to get there before then. Our days in Barcelona tended to start a bit late because our hostel wasn’t actually in the city centre. When booking hostels, the ones in the city centre were about 10 euros more each night, so I picked this one. I had found a T10 pass for the metro that would get us in and out of the city for 5 days and we could get one more to split for our last day. This actually worked out really well, thankfully. This hostel also had free dinners instead of the normal free breakfast, so most mornings we went to a nearby café for cheap sandwiches to start our days. So we actually got to the cathedral around 11:30 and made it in for free, which was all according to plan. The cathedral was pretty cool, and it had the crypt of St. Eulalia in it. Our tour guide had told us the story of St. Eulalia, who is one of the patron saints of Barcelona. She was actually martyred on one of the streets we walked along. We stopped at the top of a hill and the tour guide stopped us and said to look down the hill. He proceeded to tell us that St. Eulalia had been martyred by being rolled down the hill in a barrel of broken glass and knives…ouch. After the cathedral, we looked around at the antique market out in front of the cathedral. Most stuff was out of our price range, but it was cool to look at all the old stuff. I did get a United Nations patch to add to my collection though J The rest of the day became a shopping day. I got the beautiful wrap around skirt and a gift for Emma, both of which I was very excited about. That night we returned early to the hostel and read in the hostel until the free communal dinner, where we met lots of other traveling students studying all over the world. It was quite the mix of travelers.

Day 3 objectives: Flea Market, Sagrada Familia, Bohemian shopping neighborhood.

Our third day took us to a different part of the city than the normal city centre. We were aiming for the neighborhood of the Sagrada Familia. First stop though, was a huge flea market. There was so. much. stuff. Anything you could think of, and it was probably being sold there. The most memorable part of the market was that Katie and Julia got leather jackets. In Barcelona, they speak Catalan, which is similar to Spanish, but different enough that we usually couldn’t understand. But most people in Barcelona spoke Catalan as well as either English or Spanish or both. The guy selling the jackets was speaking only Spanish to us, so Julia and I got to practice our Spanish skills. We both successfully haggled the jackets down from 30 to 20 euros in Spanish J I know we probably could have gotten them down more considering it was a flea market, but I was happy with our efforts.

After the flea market, we made our way over to the Sagrada Familia, said to be the next wonder of the world. This was my favorite sight of the whole trip. It was like nothing I had ever seen, and definitely unlike any church I’d been to. We got the audio tour, and I’m really glad we did. It was amazing to learn about how Gaudi planned it out and the factors that influenced his art. The building itself had two incredible facades of the front and back, depicting the nativity and the passion, in two totally different styles. The inside looked like a forest canopy and had incredible color and light. It was amazing to see how Gaudi looked at nature and somehow replicated it and rearranged it to fit into his vision of a church. We spent 2 hours working our way through the Sagrada Familia, just soaking in the incredible detail of a building that is still only half completed.

After Sagrada Familia, we decided to add the Gaudi park to our day. It turned out that the shops we were aiming for were all closed from 2:30 to 5 because of their weird lunch hours, so that didn’t ever happen. But the park was really cool. It was up this huge hill and overlooked all of Barcelona. The entrance was flanked by two buildings that looked like buildings from CandyLand. We walked up to the overlook point and relaxed there a bit, soaking in the sights of Barcelona. Miraculously, we watched a storm roll in over Barcelona but didn’t get hit by any rain on our way back to the hostel. When we got back we were greeted by our new roommate and her boyfriend, who stayed up in the bunk bed “napping” most of the night. Awkward hostel moments. Priceless.

Day 4 objectives: Beach J

On our fourth day, Julia was still feeling sick so she decided to stay in for the day, so Katie and I also ended up having a chill day. We went into the city and stopped at a grocery store for lunch supplies, aiming for the beach.  Unfortunately, the weather in Spain was not as warm as we would have liked and we were wearing pants and a sweater on the beach, but the sun was still warm and the ocean was beautiful. We followed our beach picnic with almost 2 hours of reading in a big park in the city. At one point, two guys came up trying to sell what we’re 95% sure were hash brownies. According to the tour guide, Marijuana is legal in Barcelona as long as it’s one plant per person. You can’t sell or buy but if a plant lands in your lap, you’re good to go :P We did not buy, but we got a kick out of the experience. After awhile, we exited through the Arc d’ Triomf, and worked our way back to the hostel. While sightseeing is awesome, I enjoyed our relaxation day a lot as well.

Day 5 objectives: Mass at Santa Maria Del Mar, Picasso Museum

Katie and I had decided on Santa Maria Del Mar for mass, and it was a good thing we left with plenty of time because we got a bit turned around. From the metro stop, we should have gotten there within 3 minutes, but we walked the total wrong direction coming out from the metro. So we walked in a big circle to find this church. But we made it with 5 minutes to spare, so it worked out. Mass itself was really interesting. I think that it was a mix of Spanish and Catalan, or else one priest had a really thick accent that I just couldn’t understand. Either way, I did understand bits and pieces of the mass, and I got almost the entire gospel about doubting Thomas. It probably helped that I knew what the story was about, but I really enjoyed that mass. After mass, we met up with Julia, who had been reading in the park Katie and I were at the day before. Our plan for the afternoon was to kill an hour or two and hit up the Picasso Museum at 3 because it’s free Sunday afternoons after 3. We didn’t really think this through because we got there at 3. We didn’t think about how all the other tourist in the area would probably have the same idea. The line was enormous. So we waited for about 15 minutes in line, but it didn’t move more than 5 feet the whole time. When it started raining in earnest we gave up and decided to go get our last dinner in Spain. I liked this dinner too, but still maintain that Italy was definitely my favorite food place and the thing to hold out for in Spain is the Sangria J

The next day we made our way to the airport and back to Cork. It was such an odd feeling; to be returning to Cork and have that feel like the normal place. That was our familiar place. Our weeks of travel were incredible. I saw things I’d never imagined and learned countless things, big and small. I formed lifetime memories and great friendships. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity that has been given me and I know these are experiences I’m going to remember the rest of my life.