I went to Barcelona this past weekend. It was the last trip that I would take in Spain. The last hurrah. The final frontier. The last time I'd have to fly on the tiny RyanAir planes that hurt my knees. The last time I'd check in to a hostel in Europe. The last time I'd have to use my travel-size shampoo bottle.
A little background on Barcelona - it's the biggest and most visited city in the country. Located on the northeastern coast of Spain, it has blown up as a tourist city since hosting the olympics in 1992, and is now the 4th most visited country in Europe behind London, Paris, and Rome. Although it is technically a part of Spain, it feels like a completely different country. They speak the language of Catalan, which is a weird mix of Spanish, French and Italian. The Catalan people are very proud of their culture, and will tell you that they are not Spanish, but Catalonian. Want to know more about the history? Ask me, I don't want to bore you too much...
To be honest, I'm feeling a little tired right now, so this entry is going to be quick. The highlights of the trip...
The Beach.
In the 3 days that we were in Barcelona (we got in late Thursday and left Sunday night), I managed to make it to the beach in Barcelona every day. It was a lovely beach and provided sun and relaxation, but the thing I'll remember most about the beach were all of the people trying to sell me something. People would walk around offering all sorts of things - Asian women were wanting to give you a massage, Arabian men wanting to sell you scarves and beer, other men wanted you to buy their sunglasses, while even more begged you to buy their jewelry.
At first, dealing with these vendors was kind of a fun joke. Most of them only knew how to speak minimal English, so when they asked us to buy a beer I would joke and tell them things like "I only do the hard stuff". When ladies would come around asking to give us a massage I would act confused and wonder if they wanted me to give them a massage, and then I'd explain to them that I had a girlfriend and that I wanted to be faithful to them. My friends ate it up, but eventually I got tired of all the taglines. I wanted to politely acknowledge them, smiling and telling them "no thank you" which translated into them trying to hard sell me even more. Ladies would start rubbing my shoulders, temple, calves, etc. before finally giving up and pursuing someone else. The joke with my friends was that by the end of the day I had received a few free massages.
The Sagrada Familia.
Barcelona's most famous architect is a man named Antoni Gaudi. Gaudi was known for his very distinct and original architecture style in which he appealed to the surreal point of view (think Franklin Lloyd Right for Catalonians). His most famous work is the Sagrada Familia basilica. It began construction in the late 1800's, and is still only 50% finished. We got to tour the basilica and go up near the top of one of the towers. The architecture and detail was completely amazing and very original. To think that it's only half way finished blows my mind.
The Bike Tour.
My friend, Brad, and I decided to go on the Fat Tire Bike tour one day. Fat Tire is the same bike company that I rode with in London, and we got to see some incredible sites and learn all about the history of Barcelona. We saw where Columbus came and presented the Queen with his discovery of the new world, an incredible music hall, the Sagrada Familia again, and much more. If you're ever in Barcelona, London, Berlin or Paris, I strongly recommend taking a tour with Fat Tire.
The Shots Bar.
Okay, so if you know me, you know that I'm a responsible person and don't like to rip shots. However, when in Barcelona, we had to go check out this shots bar that was all the rage. We got there and saw that they offered over 500 different shots, each of them original. I made sure to be moderate about it all, but took a few shots. One of them was called the "Boy Scout", in which they lit the shot on fire and gave you a marshmallow on a stick to roast. You had to eat the marshmallow and then quickly drink the shot. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't tasty.
The Best Sandwich I've Had In A While.
Barcelona is super expensive. The hostels that we stayed in were in great (but very touristy) locations. We were just 7 study abroad students at the end of our reign who were hungry and out of money.
Enter in Bo De B's, a small sandwich restaurant located a few streets off the ocean in Barcelona. It was the cheapest and most delicious meal that we had eaten in a long time. So cheap and delicious, in fact, that we ended up going there 3 times before the trip was all said and done. The process of it all...
- Get in line - the ordering process takes a while, so there's always at least a 10 to 15 person line out the door.
- Choose your meat - once in the door, choose what type of meat you'd like. The employees don't start cooking it until after it's ordered by you, so you know it's completely fresh. The raw meat was reminiscent of a fondue dinner for my sister's birthday. I chose ternera (steak) every time, and it was absolutely delicious.
- Choose your condiments - boasting a Chipotle-esque selection menu, I got 4 different types of sauces and nearly every condiment possible, including corn, lettuce, tomato, peppers, raddishes, and lentils.
- Pay - the best part of it all? A delicious footlong sandwich with all the toppings you can imagine was only 3.50 euros in one of the most expensive cities in Europe. Not bad, not bad at all...
The Magic Fountain
We had heard that there was a fountain show in Barcelona, and we were determined to see it. Having pride being from Kansas City, the City of Fountains, I was expecting a lot, and the show definitely didn't disappoint! The fountains were absolutely gorgeous, and their colors were synchronizing beautifully with the fountains and music that would accompany them.
The Park
Gaudi's architecture is not only present at the Sagrada Familia, but all over the city. We went and checked out his architecture at Park Guell, where you can see the two houses that he built and the incredible plazas that he designed as well. I definitely fell in love with Gaudi in Barcelona.
The Market
Right next to our hostel was the Saint Joseph Market. It was a huge outdoor market with hundreds of different stands to browse and peruse at our leisure. My favorite thing that I got there was the natural fruit juices that they offered for a euro. Before the weekend was done, I bought strawberry-coconut, raspberry-banana, and raspberry juices. Too good to be true.
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Overall, my time in Barcelona was great. I loved the city and all of the things I did there. All of that being said, the true beauty of Spain lies within the south, and I was very content coming home to the heart of the Spanish culture in Sevilla.
Brad.
