Two Americans in Barcelona
The Trip
Now that I've finished writing this entry I'm quite surprised to see how much we saw in just two days. We left for the bus around 1:30pm on Saturday and got to the metro stop for our Hostel around 11pm. We were on the right road but weren't sure which way to go so I pointed to a map and said to a woman sweeping the sidewalk, "Quiero ir aqui." She pointed us in the wrong direction so we took a forty minute walk in northern Barcelona and then made it to the Hostel by midnight. We ate across the street at a delicious falafel and pita place and fell asleep around 1am. The Polish guys in our room were kind of loud and we didn't sleep well so around 7am we woke up and decided to go see the sunrise at the beach.
After that we went to La Sagrada Familia and took the elevator to the top and then meandered around some more Gaudi architecture before meeting up with Kevin at the end of La Rambla by the Christopher Columbus Monument. He took us through some of the many side streets and we had some tapas for lunch and checked out Kevin's place. We watched the sunset by the harbor and eventually met up with Brendan's friend, Marina, at the Arc de Triomf. Since they don't serve dinner until about 9pm (and have siestas in the afternoon), we strolled through the zoo park and had some nachos and Sangria at a little bar and then went out to dinner for some delicious seafood pailla and more Sangria by the beach. The alcohol in Barcelona is practically cheaper than the water! Brendan, Kevin, and I stopped by Kevin's friend, Becca's (RPI Grad student also studying abroad) place and met Kevin's friends before heading back to the hostel around midnight. It was certainly a long day!
The next day we got up around 9am and had some of the Hostel breakfast before heading out. My camera battery unfortunately died just after getting to the cross at Parc Guell so I couldn't take as many videos (or photos) as I'd hoped for my little video project. Anyways, we started out by taking a bus to the top of Parc Guell where we climbed to the top for a nice view and then went over to the cross hill top as well and then descending again to see the dragon fountain and wavy benches that also over look the city. If you have ever been there I think you'd know exactly what I'm talking about haha. Then we stopped in some souvenir shops before taking the metro to meet Kevin and then a bus to the top of Montjuic! Montjuic was probably my favorite part of the trip. At the top we climbed on top of a fortress with my favorite vista and quite a few canons and then stopped in the Olympic Stadium before going past the National Art Museum of Catlonia and then past the Magic Fountain which sadly was not running.
Across the street from there we saw an elevator that took us to the top of the old bull fighting arena which has since been gutted and turned into a shopping mall. Barcelona recently got rid of bull fighting. We had dinner at a little pita place again and then walked passed the Universitat Station and MACBA so that I could see some famous skate spots. After a few more souvenirs, mailing a few postcards, charging up my camera a bit at Kevin's, and one last stroll down La Rambla and a visit to La Boqueria for smoothies, Brendan and I headed for the airport and flew back to London where we arrived in our rooms around 1am.
Throughout the trip I also noticed how easy it was to pick up a language (at least one so similar to a language I already know--French). I loved it! I wouldn't say I could speak Spanish by any means now but the thirty or so phrases I memorized on the plane (along with the bits I already knew) certainly came in handy. The people were really friendly and always willing to help us out although if you don't speak Spanish I wouldn't fret about visiting--a lot of people there speak English too. What you may not know though is that the first language of Barcelona is actually Catalan!
"Oh my gosh, Katie, just get to the photos already..." Okay, okay... They're not in perfect chronological order or anything but you should get the idea... :)
The Mediterranean
I. Love. The Mediterranean. It's incredibly blue, has living fish, has great sailing (and sailboats), and its beaches have soft, fine sand.
Brendan and I couldn't sleep so we walked about a mile to the beach to see the sun rise around 8am. If only the clouds weren't on the horizon...
Wrote in the sand :)
Brendan's drawing!
Brendan touching the Mediterranean Sea for the first time.
Montjuic in the background with the industrial port and a sunset.
Living fish in clear blue water--not exactly the Potomac River.
Kevin!
Thought my dad might appreciate the boats. Montjuic in the back again at sunset.
same deal as above
I love this building! It's across the street from the Christopher Columbus Monument and right on the water. I think it's just the "Port de Barcelona". Also, the statue on the left is a skate spot :)
We were twenty minutes late to finding Kevin at the Christopher Columbus Monument since we got lost on the way there. Thanks for waiting Kevin!
Got some tapas with Kevin for lunch and Brendan tried a San Miguel beer. Then we went back to watch the sunset by the harbor.
Sunset over Montjuic
Christopher Columbus Monument at the end of La Rambla
Kevin's awesome sunset photo with the masts and Christopher Columbus Monument
Sunset at the base of Montjuic
Kevin with the sunset
La Rambla is the main street in Barcelona (especially for shopping, tourists, and pick-pocketers--Barcelona is the pick-pocketing capital of Europe). It was really cool--one of my favorite spots in the city was at the end of it at the Christopher Columbus Monument.
Christopher Columbus Monument at the end of La Rambla
In the middle of La Rambla!
According to Kevin this fountain is of significance for the FCB (Barcelona soccer team). Legend also has it that if you drink the water, you will return to Barcelona again.
It had touristy shops, pet stores, a market, you name it!
Street sign at the end of the street (the not Christopher Columbus end).
La Boqueria
La Boqueria is located just off of La Rambla and was unfortunately closed on Sunday and only partially open on Monday but we still got to see the majority of it. The only way to describe it is fresh! Fresh fruit, loads of fresh fish, fresh meat cuts (including lamb's head and cow tongue...). I've never seen anything quite like it. Brendan and I got smoothies--two for one euro. Gotta love the prices here.
 La Boqueria |
 Fruits! My camera died again before I could take a picture of the fish unfortunately. |
 Smoothies! |
Sunday Night
We met up with Brendan's friend from home, Marina and meandered through the streets and grabbed some delicious seafood pailla.
An interesting horse statue shadow.
Brendan and the seafood pailla!
Our first Sangria (that's Marina in the middle--she was cool!).
Walked through the park with the zoo at night with Brendan, Kevin, and Marina
Jumping photo... typical :)
Waiting for Marina at the Arc de Triumf
Skateboarding
In case you were unaware, Barcelona is the skateboarding capital of Europe. I didn't get to bring my board with me but we stopped by a lot of the spots--some I recognized from skate videos, others Brendan recognized from Tony Hawk's Underground 2 (the video game) haha.
Kevin walked up to a guy and asked him if I could try his skateboard. He said something like, "she skates? Is she good? Can she kickflip? She can kickflip?!" Haha. His trucks were really tight but it was so fun! Doing a nollie big spin in the photo on the right.
 MACBA is essentially the freedom plaza of Barcelona and quite possibly the most famous of the Barcelona spots. |
 MACBA Ledge |
 The cops had just stopped everyone from skating the ledges when we got there. They were still allowed to skate the flat though. |
 Kevin in front of a skate shop we found. |
 More famous ledges at the Universitat metro stop. |
Parc Guell
I suppose I was picturing London parks when Brendan said we had to go to Parc Guell but this is not your average park. It's built on a hill/mountain with a beautiful view of the city from the top.
This was to the right of me where I was standing when I took the below photo.
There was a really good blues guitar player behind that rock on the left singing in English.
 Maybe I'm the only one but I thought this was an interesting Porta-Potty. |
 I'm not sure what this is called but basically one of the "mountain peaks" had a cross. |
Brendan and I didn't get to go to that church but it's on the highest mountain top in Barcelona.
Some guys brought their dogs up to kick a soccer ball around with them.
This is what was behind me while I watched the dogs.
The walkway through the park.
Roman Ruins
I suppose Europeans might not get too excited about Roman ruins since they're everywhere in Europe and I might have seen them in France but I can't remember so I'm going to call this my first Roman ruin expedition! There was a museum that we were able to check out for free fortunately. As far as museums go, we also went to the Picasso Museum (also for free!) but didn't take any pictures there. It was quite interesting though!
It's not too far underground but this used to be a Roman building! Some of the structures date back to the B.C. era. So old, so cool.
Mosaic Tile Floor (I'm standing on an elevated glass walkway).
I can't remember what happened in each room but generally speaking this was a fish warehouse kind of place.
I think this was also apart of the fish warehouse. There was also a place for dyes and wine I believe.
This is the cold water pool!
Kevin and Brendan
Kevin's Place
Kevin in his room on the left of about 300 sqft. with 20 ft. ceilings. I couldn't believe it. And he's only about a ten minute walk from La Rambla! I love the picture on the right. For some reason it reminds me of a band photo.
This is the building Kevin and Brendan were staring at in that last photo. It's a music/theater venue.
Kevin and Brendan outside the church below.
The name eludes me...
Pigeons here have no fear.
Architecture
Barcelona is pretty well known for it's architecture. Among it's most famous architects is Gaudi who designed quite a few buildings in the city with his most famous being La Sagrada Familia.
Gaudi Architecture
A fountain on the way to the next Gaudi building
More Gaudi Architecture
A lot of streets have these huge medians lined with trees--really nice for biking.
La Sagrada Familia
The building is still under construction and has been for a long time.
The brown towers are the ones that have been built. There will be twelve for the disciples plus one for Mary and one for Jesus (the tallest one).
La Sagrada Familia had a crazy spiral staircase. I can't begin to explain how deep it was. Brendan peeked his head out for a photo.
The view from almost any spot atop the building was impressive.
Barcelona!
Our hostel was over by that building that looks like a bullet. Brendan and I called it the Gherkin since it was similar to the London building.
Brendan inside and one of the facades of La Sagrada Familia. I wouldn't want to draw this thing in CAD, that's for sure... I describe it as wet dribble-y sand.
The altar and the massive ceilings. Just when you think the ceiling should begin, the pillars split into multiple pillars.
Montjuic
Montjuic was my favorite place to visit of all the stops and had a fortress at the top, the Olympic stadium part way down, and then a museum with the magic fountain at the bottom. Unfortunately the magic fountain wasn't running. The views from the fortress were by far my favorite! My camera was out of batteries for this part (among others) so I have stolen a bunch of photos from Kevin and Brendan. :)
Barcelona vista (I think this one is actually from Parc Guell, not Montjuic but just go with it)
The view from Montjuic
The Olympic Stadium
The 1992 Olympic Torch which was lit by an archer with a flaming bow.
Kevin and a Cannon
Brendan and I with a cannon (on top of the fortress).
A different cannon photo but sadly Brendan's face is blocked.
Taking the bus to the top of Mountjuic!
The old bull fighting arena that has since been gutted and turned into a mall.
The Hostel
Our hostel was amazing! It was called Urbany Hostel and was about 12.50 euro per night per person in six-bed mixed rooms with free computers to access the internet, a lovely complimentary breakfast, and a bar/tv area to hang out and get something to eat or drink if you needed. Clean sheets, free lockers, and a lovely view. The location wasn't too bad either!
The view out our window and our room. You can see a patio for outdoor eating in the photo on the left.
Travel
If you ever go to Barcelona, definitely snag a T-10 pass. Brendan and I used one for five rides each on the metro and buses and it was perfect! The bus to and from Standsted (London) went well and the travel within Barcelona was fine but on the way back... Brendan and I got to our terminal in Barcelona about an hour and a half early and were not told until we were in line to board that we needed a RyanAir stamp on our ticket even though we went through security and the border patrol without it. We took off and sprinted about 3/4 of a mile, past border patrol, beyond security, essentially to the exit of the airport, and got a stamp on our boarding pass. Then we sprinted all the way back, went through security and boarder patrol and still made it onto the plane ahead of some people. Brendan almost puked and I could have used my inhaler but at least we made it on the plane.
Another funny story--when Brendan and I got on the metro after arriving to Barcelona, these two (maybe) fourteen year old kids walked up to us and said something in really fast Spanish. Despite his Spanish classes in high school, I knew Brendan had no idea what they said so I just started laughing and they stared at me. Then Brendan said "no hablo Espanol" as they walked away. I wonder what they were asking...
We landed in Barcelona and went on the tarmac! Novelty still hasn't worn off.
Video
My camera died half way through the trip so I didn't get to take as many video clips. They're basically just from the beach, La Sagrada Familia, the Roman ruin museum, and a bit of Parc Guell. I did what I could with them haha. Not the best really. The song is called Don Quixote by Coldplay and is actually about Latin America but that's okay...
Glad you guys made it to Barcelona! I spent 4 days in Madrid which was fantastic but I wish I could have made it to other cities. One of these days...
ReplyDeleteP.S. They have public toilets like that in Boston now! I thought it was a strictly European thing until the last conference I went to there.