Final Trip...Barcelona!

Lauren and I went on our final trip of the semester to Barcelona. We still have 3 weeks left but my parents, sister and brother-in-law are coming to visit this upcoming week and then we have just 2 weeks of school left so this was our last free weekend. It was a phenomenal way to end our semester of traveling!

We got in Thursday afternoon and checked into our hostel. It was nice because we got a private room and it ended up being a full apartment for 4 people and we had it all to ourselves. The only downside was that it wasn’t centrally heated and it was freezing at night. It was raining on our way to the hostel but when we left to start sightseeing, it had cleared up so it worked out great! We went to the Rambla and first saw the Boqueria Market, which was a market of fresh fruits, juices, smoothies and other foods. It was incredibly inexpensive…I got a large tub of fresh kiwi and strawberries for only 1 euro. On the right is a picture of me there. Then we went to see Palau Guell (one of Gaudi’s creations), Placa Reial and the cathedral. We didn’t enter any of them but just walked around and took pictures. Then we went to Park Guell, which we had to take a ton of escalators to get to and it was an incredible view of the city! When Lauren and I first saw the view, we were like, “Ah. That’s Sagrada Familia!” We really enjoyed our time in the park and got lots of pictures (two below). Then we went to the Plaza de España to meet Sammy and her boyfriend Dan for dinner on the top of the old bullfighting stadium. He had gotten in that day and they are traveling Europe for a month together because Sammy just finished school. We were a little early so we ended up going shopping, of course! And since they outlawed bullfighting in Barcelona, they turned the stadium into a shopping mall so it worked out perfectly! We went into Mango to look at dresses for Lauren for Feria and I ended up finding a romper! Finally! I’ve wanted one for so long :) After, we met up with Sammy and Dan and went to this authentic Catalan restaurant. It was so great to see them and catch up! Sammy helped us plan our whole next day and it was extremely helpful!

On Friday, Lauren and I checked out of our hostel by 11AM and were ready for a full day of sightseeing. We first went to Casa Batlló and paid to go in. We spent about an hour and a half there because we got a free audio guide and it was really cool to see and hear about Gaudi and his inspirations. On the left is a picture of us outside on the balcony. Then we went and saw Sagrada Familia (below left). The inside of the church was absolutely incredible and we saw Gaudi’s tomb and museum. We also took a lift up to the top and got another gorgeous view of the city (below right). They are still building the Sagrada Familia so it was cool to see the top that wasn’t finished. There were so many masterpieces up there that you wouldn’t see unless you went up. 

After that we went to a restaurant Sammy recommended for the “menu of the day”. This means you get 2 courses, a drink and dessert all for a set price and ours was 9.5 Euros. Lauren and I split a salad, pasta, chicken and steak. It was a ton of food and very good! Then we went to the beach and saw the Mediterranean Sea. We were getting pretty tired and it wasn’t warm enough to lay out so we went to a coffee shop on the beach for a little while. Then we climbed on a giant ropes structure on the beach. After that we went to the Parc de la Ciutadella and saw the Arc de Triumph. Our feet were hurting so badly at this point so we headed back to the hostel and changed and got ready for the night. Our plane left at 5:55AM because we accidently booked it wrong so we didn’t even get a hostel that night because we had to be at the airport by 4AM. We just locked our stuff up in the hostel from the previous night and then headed out to dinner by the beach and got vegetable paella. Then we went to a bar and beach club to stay warm until taking a taxi to the airport. We met a guy in the airport from the U.S. named Drew and Lauren and I talked to him for a while...it helped pass the time! Lauren and I were so tired when we got home Saturday morning at 9AM. We finally were able to go to bed and slept until lunch :)

My parents are coming in tomorrow and Sarah and Matt are coming in on Thursday. I am extremely excited to show them around Sevilla and spend one of my last weeks here with them.