The Last Hurrah: Barcelona

Yesterday I got back from my last big European adventure. I went to Barcelona for four days, and it was one of my favorite and least favorite trips at the same time. It was one of my favorites because it was relaxing and Barcelona is beautiful, but one of my least favorites because it rained three out of the four days we were there, which made our plans of laying on the beach all day virtually impossible.

SO MUCH PAELLA

We checked into our hostel on Saturday afternoon, and immediately upon our arrival we decided to immerse ourselves in the Spanish culture by taking a little siesta. Every afternoon we took a nap, and it was so nice to do this! For the first time, I felt truly relaxed on a trip that I took, and it never seemed like we were rushing anywhere, which was a welcome change. That night for dinner we wandered around side streets near our hostel and found a place with some delicious chicken and vegetable paella and sangria. As in most other places I've been to, the food in Spain was amazing! Most of the time I wasn't sure exactly what I was eating since I don't speak Spanish and couldn't understand the menus. I didn't care though because the tapas, paella, and fresh fruits and vegetables were all great and very different from what I normally eat.

On Sunday it was pouring rain, but we were still determined to go to the beach. So, we made our way down to the water, and after about 15 miserable minutes, we left and took a gondola ride that went between two mountains and gave us an incredible view of Barcelona and the Mediterranean Sea. We then ambled along Las Ramblas, which is the main street in Barcelona and stretches between the Gothic District and El Raval. Las Ramblas is lined with trees, and there are numerous side streets off the main road that are full of cute shops, and of course, great places to eat.

View from the gondola ride - imagine how much better it would have been without rain! 

Like Sunday, Monday was very rainy. In the morning we walked along Las Ramblas again, but this time we stopped at La Marcat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria, which is the biggest and coolest market I've seen in Europe so far. Everything from fruits and vegetables to entire pigs' heads are sold there, and all of it was locally grown. We got fresh fruit cups, but my favorite thing about La Boqueria was the crepe stand. My friends and I kept talking about how much we had been craving crepes ever since coming back from Paris, and the crepes we had here were even better than the crepes in France. I got my favorite, Nutella and banana, and it was indescribably delicious. The Nutella to banana ration was spot on, and the crepe itself had a slightly cinnamon-y flavor. It was also folded into a rectangle instead of a triangle like all of the dessert crepes I had in Paris, and it came in a long, rectangular box that you had to hold parallel to the ground while eating in order to prevent all of the filling from falling out. I'm not sure exactly what it was that made this crepe so awesome, but it far surpassed all of the crepes I ate in Paris, which I didn't think was possible.

After the La Boqueria, we walked away from Las Ramblas and to Parc de la Ciutadella, which is home to a zoo, a lake, some museums, and the prettiest fountain I've seen in Europe. I had never heard of this fountain before, and I think it's way cooler than the Trevi Fountain. With its golden horse statues, palm trees, stairs, and lush, green, surroundings, the fountain at Parc de la Ciutadella seems almost majestic. It also wasn't crowded at all when we went there, so we got to take our time and enjoy being in the park for as long as we wanted to.

All of the girls I went with and I have several friends who have been to Barcelona, and all of them have told us that the nightlife there is awesome. Fortunately, like me, the friends I went with aren't really into staying out at clubs until 6:00 am, but we did go to a few bars that were really fun and different from the Irish pubs we've become accustomed to. One bar we went to was called Dow Jones, and all of the drink prices there change based on what drinks are popular and which ones aren't. Every hour or so, there's a "stock market crash," and the drink prices go way down for two minutes. Another bar we went to was called Chupitos, which has probably over 100 types of shots, each with a crazy name, and many involving candy and/or fire. On our last night, we went to an 80's themed bar called Polaroid, which was also really cool and way less tourist-y than the other two bars. Comic books and other 80's memorabilia cover the walls, and all of the drinks are named after things from 80's movies, like the Delorean. Going out in Barcelona was fun, but I still much prefer the more laid-back atmosphere of the pubs in Ireland.

Ceiling of Sagrada Familia

Tuesday was our last day in Barcelona, and we were lucky enough to have great weather. In the morning, we went straight to Sagrada Familia, which was absolutely beautiful! (Special thanks to Auntie Ann for encouraging me to go inside!) I've seen plenty of churches since being abroad, and after a while, they all kind of start to blend together. Sagrada Familia, though, is in a league of its own. Construction began in 1882, and is still going on. The anticipated finish date is 2026, which is the 100 year anniversary of Antoni Gaudi's, its architect's, death. When it's done, the outside will have three sets of four pillars; each set of three representing either Jesus' birth, death, or resurrection, and the twelve pillars in total representing the twelve apostles. There will be six additional pillars, four representing the Evangelists, one representing Mary, and the tallest representing Jesus. All of the symbolism and thought behind the outside of Sagrada Familia fascinates me, and I hope I get to go back to Barcelona when it's done to see the finished product. The inside of Sagrada Familia is also incredible, and nothing like any church I've ever seen. All of the walls and pillars are white, which makes the stained glass windows look exceptional when the light shines through them. The ceiling looks like it's covered in giant, white, mosaic stars. To me, Sagrada Familia felt nothing like a church but simultaneously more holy than any other church I've been to.

After Sagrada Familia, we went to Parc Guell, which was also designed by Gaudi. Parc Guell is one of the largest parks in Europe, and is definitely the coolest park I've ever been to (so far Spain is winning for best fountain, best church, and best park). There's a giant hill leading up to it, and once you get there, there are some winding trails that lead you to  beautiful gardens and mosaic structures. There's an incredible view of Barcelona from the top, and we finally got perfect weather for enjoying it all. Parc Guell was probably one of my favorite parts about Barcelona because it's a beautiful mix of natural and man-made beauty.

Palm trees in the park

Mosaic benches in Parc Guell

When we were finished walking through the park, we went down to the Marina area for lunch at an outdoor cafe, followed by a siesta on the beach and a glass of sangria at another outdoor cafe. The things we did on Tuesday were exactly how I expected Barcelona would be, and I wish we could have had weather like that the entire time. I think the rain on the other three days made me appreciate Tuesday so much more though, and I can honestly say that Tuesday was one of the best days of my semester abroad. I really didn't want to leave Barcelona, but on Wednesday we boarded our last Ryanair flight of the semester back to Dublin. We almost didn't make it though, because the bus from Barcelona city center to the airport was on a different schedule since May 1st is apparently a Spanish holiday. Our flight was at 11:45, and we got to the airport at 11:16, as our plane was boarding. You know how in movies people run through the airport, cut security lines, and sprint onto the plane just as it's about to take off? That was us. Since I normally like to get to the airport obscenely early, I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Fortunately, we made it!  Now I'm safely back in Dublin, away from the blissful days of Barcelona, and in the midst of final exams, thinking that maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if we had missed our flight after all.