This weekend, I took my first real trip without adult guidance and went, with a group of 3 other girls, to Barcelona. As many of you know, I only have classes Monday-Thursday every week, giving me Friday to travel. Furthermore, today is a national holiday (thanks, Christopher Columbus!), so that gave me a 4 day weekend. Made for vacation? Yes, absolutely.
So here's how it went. On Thursday, in the late afternoon, we caught the bus which goes from the Granada city center to the airport. I really REALLY wish that Houston had a similar bus (I know, there's one that goes to Bush, but it costs wayyy more than this one does), but I know it's pretty much impossible because Houston does not have a "city center". This bus has several stops along the major thoroughfares of Granada, and at the main bus station here, and it only took about 40 minutes to get to the airport--all for 3 euro. It was awesome! Anyways, got to the airport and caught our RyanAir flight to Girona, a town about an hour outside of Barcelona. From there, we got on a bus for an hour-long journey to Barcelona, then caught a cab to our hostel. I was a little nervous about staying in a hostel, but it worked out really well. We booked a little too late to have a private room for the four of us, so Audra and I stayed in a room with 4 other people (all really nice--it was kind of like a sleepover most nights), while Caroline and Madeline stayed in a room with 8 other people. They provided sheets and breakfast, and since they were a "non-partying" hostel, it was always pretty quiet.
Barcelona is a much bigger city than Granada (I'm sure everyone already knew that). Upside? A METRO SYSTEM that goes everywhere. Downside? Much more confusing once you're on the street. More on that later. The first morning, we cheerily made our way to the nearest Metro station and disembarked at Sagrada Familia, Gaudí's ultimate architectural masterpiece that has been under construction since the 1830s. That's right--it's still not finished (and will not be finished until 2030-ish). But have a look at a picture and you will immediately understand why it's not finished:
To say that it is a complicated design is a HUGE understatement. This place was ridiculous! So many intricate details...when it is finished, it will have a tower for each of the Apostles, one for Mary and a GINORMOUS (but as of yet unconstructed) tower for Jesus, of course. I could go on and on forever about how amazing this place was and how awestruck I was by it, but instead I'll just put up a picture of the epic stained glass windows and tell you to get yourself to Barcelona ASAP so that you can see this. I'll be going back in 2030, if anyone wants to reserve a seat on that trip preemptively ;)
We decided to also knock out the other major Gaudí landmark of Barcelona, Parc Güell. Originally, it was designed by Gaudí for a friend who wanted to make the area into a residential neighborhood. But, that idea was never completed (thank goodness), so it's just a huge, quirky park filled with all sorts of interesting architecture and landscaping. Here's a spot ANTM fans might recognize:
Ring a bell? No? Well then try and imagine Caridee and Melrose running through it in wedding dresses. That's right people: Tyra Banks was here. So was the ANTM finale fashion show. It was hard to imagine lots of people sitting around in this area for that sort of thing, but it was cool nonetheless. We also saw the world's longest continuous bench (too big to take a picture, sorry), houses that looked like they were from Hansel & Gretel, and obnoxious British schoolchildren. After all that, we were very tired, so we went back to the hostel and had a siesta.
And then...we meant to go out and have a night on the town, but I messed up. The guy at the hostel gave us directions, but they weren't very clear. Once we got off the Metro, I got myself oriented in the completely wrong direction...and after discovering a correct crosstreet, led my group valiently in this direction for about 40 minutes. Then we had to go back to starting position, and walk further to the recommended restaurant. After that, and a brief visit to a shot bar (where they set LOTS of shots on fire), we were exhausted. We returned to the hostel and slept.
The next morning, Audra and I got up and took the Funicular (best word ever) de Montjüic to the Fundació Juan Miró. I'm usually not one for abstract art, but my Mom loves Miró, and I've gotten pretty fond of him over the years, so I had to go check it out. It was an awesome museum--really nicely designed with a great variety of his works. Well, that was to be expected considering that it is THE Miró museum (he made works especially for it, like a really big tapestry). Though I wasn't the biggest fan of some of his pieces, I enjoyed the temporary exhibit, which focused on his friendship with the poet Jacques Dupin. Dupin would write a poem, print it on canvas, and then Miró would illustrate it. I wish I could have been able to understand the poems (they were all in French), but the concept behind the art was really cool nonetheless.
Then, we went to La Rambla, Barcelona's biggest (and most touristy) street to meet the other two girls. I had happily discovered Barcelona's Little India (suprisingly, there are A LOT of Indian people living in Barcelona) the night before, so I bought some samosas and devoured them. It was nice having spices in my food for once. Anyways, we went to a restaurant because not everyone was satisfied with the prospect of Indian street food, and promptly got ripped off. The waiter made us all order drinks--which turned out to be about half a liter each. We then found out (due to the horrified exclamation from an American family nearby) that these drinks were going to cost us 11 euro. Most expensive Coke of my life, but whatever, you live and learn. We went shopping on another nearby street, which featured another house designed by Gaudí (seriously, Gaudí is the man). I got pajama pants that have illustrations from The Little Prince on them! But after shopping for several hours, we were all exhausted. Again, we made an attempt to go out, but ended up watching Slumdog Millionaire in the hostel lounge. We met some fellow travellers though, so that was cool.
Sunday, Audra and I got up a little early and went walking to the beach. It was gorgeous, and I wish I had been able to spend lots of time (i.e. a full day) there, but unfortunately we had other places to go so I could only take some pictures:
After this, we decided to go the Gothic Quarter, which was a really gorgeous old neighborhood. It had a cathedral AND a castle, but it took a really long time to walk there from the beach. By the time we got there, we had only enough time to dash around quickly and look at a few things before almost running back to the hostel. Our flight was at 6, but again we had to catch the bus to Girona, so we had to leave Barcelona at 3:30. I really wish we had had more time (like 2 days), but we definitely packed a lot into a short time so I have no regrets.
In general, I just think I'm not a fan of big cities. They have their benefits (better variety of stores, more stuff to do, easier mass transit system, etc.) but also their downsides (more touristy, way more expensive, harder to navigate). I was really glad to get back to Granada! We were rewarded on the tarmac by a gorgeous sunset:
I'm pretty proud of myself. I've never travelled with absolutely zero adult guidance, and it definitely made me feel very grown up to do so. Walking around a foreign city with no one telling you what to do or where to go is quite liberating. I'm definitely looking forward to my Madrid trip in a couple of weeks!
Actually, there's a lot I'm looking forward to. I'm going to Morocco with my program in 2 weeks, followed by Madrid, followed by KRISTINA coming to visit me (!!!), followed by 2 nights in Cádiz with IES. I am going to be dead by November, but that's OK, because travelling is an important part of the study abroad experience (or at least, that's how I'm justifying it to myself). I still haven't been to the Alhambra, but hopefully that's going to happen soon!
I'll update again soon. Hasta luego!
P.S. If you're reading this, Happy Birthday Kelsey!
P.P.S Also, if you're wondering why the title isn't in Spanish, it's because they speak Catalán, a weird mixture of Spanish and French, in Barcelona (and all of it's surrounding province, Cataluña). I didn't learn any, but that's just one more reason why Barcelona is super cool.
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