Hey Kids, I'm still alive!
I know I haven't written for ages; everything is fine...nothing to worry about. I have had minimal internet access the past week. No need for concern, folks, I still love you.
I was in Barcelona for 6 nights and loved every moment of it. My one complaint about Barcelona, however, is that it doesn't really feel like a Spanish city; it feels like a metropolitan city, whose residents happen to speak Spanish. Barcelona was a really fun city, but it was much more hustle and bustle than any other Spanish city. I'm not saying this is necessarily the worst thing in the world, it's just that it took me by surprise given the countless amazing testimonials I had heard. Don't get me wrong, it was a lot of fun...
Brandon was only with me for one day so we tried to make the most of it. After returning the car and taking care of some last minute crap, we made our way towards the FC Barcelona Stadium (Camp Nou). The self-guided tour included being able to walk to the edge of the field, check out the visitors' locker room, walk inside the press box and admire the clubs 4321 (this is an estimate) trophies. The craziest part of the tour was stumbling upon a church INSIDE the stadium. That's not a typo - in Spain, they pray to God during the games. That's cool.
Next, we headed towards the Picasso Museum. I'm far from an art connoisseur, but I definitely enjoy art museums. As a friend and I later remarked, this museum was like a Beginner's Guide to Pablo Picasso. It offered many more of his early works and each room was replete with paintings in chronological order. Each of the 20 or so rooms contained paintings and a wall full of text explaining the context of the work. It was like Pablo Picasso's Wikipedia page.
I know I haven't written for ages; everything is fine...nothing to worry about. I have had minimal internet access the past week. No need for concern, folks, I still love you.
I was in Barcelona for 6 nights and loved every moment of it. My one complaint about Barcelona, however, is that it doesn't really feel like a Spanish city; it feels like a metropolitan city, whose residents happen to speak Spanish. Barcelona was a really fun city, but it was much more hustle and bustle than any other Spanish city. I'm not saying this is necessarily the worst thing in the world, it's just that it took me by surprise given the countless amazing testimonials I had heard. Don't get me wrong, it was a lot of fun...
Brandon was only with me for one day so we tried to make the most of it. After returning the car and taking care of some last minute crap, we made our way towards the FC Barcelona Stadium (Camp Nou). The self-guided tour included being able to walk to the edge of the field, check out the visitors' locker room, walk inside the press box and admire the clubs 4321 (this is an estimate) trophies. The craziest part of the tour was stumbling upon a church INSIDE the stadium. That's not a typo - in Spain, they pray to God during the games. That's cool.
Next, we headed towards the Picasso Museum. I'm far from an art connoisseur, but I definitely enjoy art museums. As a friend and I later remarked, this museum was like a Beginner's Guide to Pablo Picasso. It offered many more of his early works and each room was replete with paintings in chronological order. Each of the 20 or so rooms contained paintings and a wall full of text explaining the context of the work. It was like Pablo Picasso's Wikipedia page.
I never realized that Picasso changed his style of painting so many times. Did you know that when he was younger he was actually sane? The museum was interesting, insightful and most importantly, easy to navigate.
Later that night, the hostel in which we were staying (Mambo Tango - Ari recommends) led a walk through the Montujuic Mountains. The 2 hour long hike was really cool because I was given a chance to meet a whole bunch of people with whom I would be living for the next few days. I met a couple girls from USD who were studying abroad in Italy and were on Spring Break in Barcelona. As it turned out, we had a couple mutual friends in common. Magic Man, I'm talking to you.
At the top of the mountain, we had a gorgegous view of the Barcelona night. Everyone was in awe, and don't get me wrong, I thought it was pretty, but when I admired the scenery, I remarked, "it looks like Coronado...without the pretty bridge." I was partially kidding, but this trip has definitely made me appreciate the San Diego and Northern California landscape much more than I used to. The views and the scenery have been gorgeous in Europe, but San Diego has so much to offer in such a small place. It's pretty funny that I needed to travel across the world to truly appreciate what my hometown has to offer.
Later that night, the hostel in which we were staying (Mambo Tango - Ari recommends) led a walk through the Montujuic Mountains. The 2 hour long hike was really cool because I was given a chance to meet a whole bunch of people with whom I would be living for the next few days. I met a couple girls from USD who were studying abroad in Italy and were on Spring Break in Barcelona. As it turned out, we had a couple mutual friends in common. Magic Man, I'm talking to you.
At the top of the mountain, we had a gorgegous view of the Barcelona night. Everyone was in awe, and don't get me wrong, I thought it was pretty, but when I admired the scenery, I remarked, "it looks like Coronado...without the pretty bridge." I was partially kidding, but this trip has definitely made me appreciate the San Diego and Northern California landscape much more than I used to. The views and the scenery have been gorgeous in Europe, but San Diego has so much to offer in such a small place. It's pretty funny that I needed to travel across the world to truly appreciate what my hometown has to offer.
The next morning was my first in Spain without my companions from home. Fortunately, I had met plenty of people the night before so I never flew solo for the rest of my stay in Barcelona. After having breakfast at the hostel, we decided to immerse ourselves in the historically-rich culture of the city by heading to...the Chocolate Museum. The museum was fun, but it soon became apparent it was intended mainly for kids. The walls in the various rooms were littered with writings of the history of chocolate and the process of how to make it. The highlight of the museum was that they had numerous Barcelona landmarks and historical scenes in the form of chocolate sculptures. The lowlight of the museum came at the end, when we all learned there would be no free chocolate-tasting.
We then made our way to have lunch at the Arc de Triumph, a gorgeous site in the middle of the city. The arc is located at the end of a long, narrow road and pours into Parc de Ciutadella. We grabbed quick takeout ("para llevar") of Duram and sat in the grass and took in the early afternoon sun. After about an hour of relaxation, we decided to tax ourselves by heading to a cafe for my first Cafe con Leche (sorry Justin, I am not going to translate this one).
My German friend Andrea was insistent on making dinner for everyone at the hostel, which to once again quote Red, "was fine by me." While he cooked, I sat around and drank with people at the hostel. Half an hour later, he served us Chili con Carne. (Alright Justin, I'll give you this one. It means "Chili with Meat".) After dinner, I got my first taste of the Barcelona nightlife, which even after having gotten lost looking for a particular club, failed to disappoint.
The next day we went to La Pedrera, one of the Antoni Gaudi houses. This was my favorite touristy site in Barcelona. Museum admission included an audio-guided tour, which went into great detail of the intricacies of Gaudi's work. Once the tour concluded, we went to the rooftop, which HAS to be the most modern roof in the history of time. I had heard the roof failed to possess a single straight line, but I was skeptical. I was on that roof for about an hour, and am not ashamed to say I found exactly zero straight lines. Kudos, Gaudi, kudos.
Another great aspect of the rooftop is that the building is much taller tha most in the city, which yielded a great view of the midday Barcelona businessday. Come to think of it, even the "great views" of Barcelona did not offer that many that aerial shots, so La Pedrera really was a treat.
For lunch, I killed 3 birds with one stone. I had yet to try a "Menu del Dia", or 3 course meal, which are very popular in Barcelona restaurants. Check.
I had yet to try restaurant-quality Paella in Spain. Check.
I had yet to try Tortilla de Espanola. Check.
Tortillas de Espanola, believe it or not, are a Spanish specialty. Imagine a quiche, whose inside is filled with a blend of potato, egg and onion. Go ahead, imagine it. Good, right? Overall, the restaurant was a great find. Both dishes were delicious and the meal (which also included a dessert and drink) came at a very reasonable price of 11 euro.
After lunch, we walked to La Sagrada Familia ("Holy Family"). I'm not an English major, so I won't even try to explain how impressive this Gaudi church is. Consruction of the monstrosity began in 1882 and still continutes today. No, that was not a misprint. The church is not due for completion until 2026, but I personally think even this estimate is overly optimistic. It is so breath-taking, that when I went to buy a postcard, I couldn't find a single one that did the structure justice, so I passed on all of them.
After lunch, we walked to La Sagrada Familia ("Holy Family"). I'm not an English major, so I won't even try to explain how impressive this Gaudi church is. Consruction of the monstrosity began in 1882 and still continutes today. No, that was not a misprint. The church is not due for completion until 2026, but I personally think even this estimate is overly optimistic. It is so breath-taking, that when I went to buy a postcard, I couldn't find a single one that did the structure justice, so I passed on all of them.
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