BARCELONA

I just got home on Sunday from my weekend trip to Barcelona and am leaving again tomorrow! On this trip, in addition to realizing just how exhausting travel can be, we've also realized that there is a possibility that we bring bad weather with us wherever we go. Barcelona is supposed to be nice and sunny and we're now in April so we thought we were in the clear and that the rain was over...but it followed us all the way there. However, we still managed to make the best of it and took on this big city.

We flew out of Florence on Thursday night. Our flight was at 8pm and we landed around 9:45pm. It was so nice to just fly directly from Florence into Barcelona. We took a cab straight to our hostel, the Urbany hostel, which seemed sketchy at first but it really was fine. We were in 2 bunk beds and it was perfectly fine. Then we gathered up our energy and got ready to go out. There are a lot of Cornell people studying abroad in Barcelona so we were able to meet up with some of them at their apartments before going out. But let me explain something about the going out culture in Barcelona: a pregame typically lasts from midnight until 2am and then around 2:30am you head over to the club. Well by the time the pregame was over, I was already exhausted! We went to a club called Opium, which is right on the beach, it was so cool you could literally walk outside the back of the club and be standing on the sand. I think we got home that night around 4:30am and then got up the next day around 9:30am because we didn’t want to miss out on our day!


Day 2, Friday: It rained most of the day and was pretty cold but we still managed to do some sightseeing. Our first stop was to go to the La Sagrada Familia which is this massive church right in the city center. It was built and constructed by Gaudi but was never finished. We waited in line for nearly an hour to get in, but while we waited Colleen and Mikey went to find us some StarbucksJ Suddenly, the line didn’t seem nearly as long! The inside is so breathtakingly beautiful and you can tell it was created by the hands and mind of a genius. We got the audio guide with our ticket so that we could get some of the history while we walked through it. Here are some pictures:

Inside Sagrada Familia

Another view

Outdoor view of the nativity

So, after La Sagrada Familia we were starving so we decided to head over to La Boqueria which is a huge market on Las Ramblas, a pretty busy street in Barcelona. We even figured out the metro there and nothing sketchy happened, it wasn’t too scary at all! At the market, they had the biggest selection of fruit and vegetables I have ever seen. We got these amazing fruit juices that you could find in literally any flavor. I got a banana orange juice that was so delicious! Then for lunch we got paella and falafel. They were very good but had way too many toppings on them we were so overwhelmed! We could all only eat like half of our plates. After La Boqueria we were exhausted from the combination of very little sleep and our flight the night before. So we went back to our hostel for a little siesta….that lasted until 8pm! Woops! That night, our Cornell friends weren’t going out so instead we met up with my friend Alex who happened to be in Barcelona the same weekend! I got to see her two weekends in a rowJ So we got dinner at this really cute tapas place and a pitcher of sangria. I got cod croquettes(so good!) and a sesame chicken skewer. Then we met up with Al and her friends at their apartment and headed over to this bar called Bosc de le Fades on Las Ramblas. The only way I can describe this bar is like the Rainforest café at the Mall of America. There were vines and fake trees everywhere it felt like you were outside! And there were even nymph figurines around the bar and seating area that were really creepy. The sangria here was actually so delicious as well! I guess Barca is the place to get great sangria. After the bar, my roommates wanted to go home so I went out with Al and her friends. We went to a different club but also went to Opium as well. Another great night out in Barca…but I was already getting exhausted!

La Boqueria

Some Seafood on display

Too much paella... 

Me Alex and Danielle at Opium

Me showing off my pick-pocket proof bag!!

 Day 3, Saturday: We slept in till around 11. The weather was much better today! I even wore a dress and flats….but I think I was a little over ambitious with my outfit choice. We got ready and took the metro to the area where Park Guell was. Park Guell is basically a really pretty public park that overlooks the city and has cool mosaic art all around it. It was fun to just sit and take in the views and enjoy the sunshine while it lasted….We walked around for awhile until we started to get hungry. So we went back to La Boqueria, determined to get a better meal this time. Mikey and Colleen found a Dunkin’ Donuts on the way so they were happy. I got another fruit juice at the market and then also tried an empanada that was stuffed with olives, tomatoes, and cheese..so good! Colleen got guacamole, Mikey got some overpriced chocolate, and Dana got some cones of Spanish ham and manchego cheese. We were all much happier campers this time around. As we were leaving La Boqueria and heading towards the port, it started to rain and got so windy. By now, I was really regretting my dress and flats idea. It turns out that right across the bridge by the port is a huge mall so we took shelter in there and I bought a pair of leggings at H&M to put on so I was much warmer on our walk home.

Park Guell

Pretty trees in the sunshine!!

And the rain begins
again at the port..

View of the city from Barcelona 

When we got back to the hostel, we took another siesta and then went to dinner at another bar for some tapas and beer. We realized that Barcelona’s food just really doesn’t compare to Italy’s though, so we were thankful this was our last dinner. And after dinner we headed to this bar called Chupito’s where they are famous for having like 500 different types of shots. You literally just tell the bartender what flavor you like and he makes you one. I told him I liked peach so he made me this fruity one that had a Peach-O gummy candy at the bottom…so good! And they are famous for their use of fire with their shots. We had two rather creepy, but nice enough Russian men buy us these shots of Sambuca where you dip your thumb in the Sambuca and then the bartender lights your thumb on fire and then you put it out by sticking it in your mouth and then you drink the shot! It was so scary but so fun! After chupitos, we were pretty tired and we had to fly home in the morning so we took a cab home and called it a night.

We got back to Florence around 1pm and the sun was shining! We were never so happy to be back! We were happy to have visited Barcelona but realized that there isn’t much to do in that city except go out at night…and after three nights of it, it all starts to feel the same. Needless to say, we are so happy we made the choice to study in Florence where a great meal is just around the corner and there is so much to do during the day time as well as at night! Hopefully our bad luck with weather won’t follow us this weekend when we head to the Amalfi Coast. We are going to Capri, Sorrento, and Pompeii and we want some beach time!! Keep your fingers crossed!!

Xoxo,

Alli