Barcelona and Paris... well just Barcelona for now..

Again, I know this is UBER lengthy...

Barcelona, Night 1
The first thing I did in Barcelona was find my hostel. The metros were very easy to read and efficient, it was a great start. Then I found my hostel and met a guy from London and then he introduced me to some Kiwis that he had met and we got a few drinks at the bar in the hostel and went out for some Tapas after. The place was called Egipte, amazing tapas and Sangria for 15 euros total. Oh and I got a free thing of champagne also, for some reason, but not going to complain. I had to think about it for a second because after traveling, I realized NOTHING is free, but I guess I lucked out. Then we headed back and saw that there was a vending machine that sold San Miguel beer cans for 1.20 Euros so we got a few of those and just talked for a while and headed to bed.

Barcelona, Day 2
Woke up early around 9ish and went to Park Guel and saw the Gaudi Park. Wow is all I could say. It was amazing. One of his houses looked like a life sized gingerbread house. It was just so surreal actually being there. Then I was starving so went to Citutad Condal for tapas. Amazingggg. 15 euros for amazing tapas and beer. Then I went to La Boqueria and found a candy vender. I was sooo happy. There are no good candies in Rome, or junk food in general. So I got sour straws and a bunch of gummies. Those sour straws were the best I’ve had in my life, soooo good. Great Indoor/Outdoor open air market. I got deep fried bacalao on a stick and was delicious and only 1.50 euro! Food is so cheap here if you know where to go in Barcelona. Then I went to the Picasso Museum, and really enjoyed it. There was a really interesting exhibition on Picasso’s Version of Diego Velazques’s Las Meninas. Then went to a local bar with a friend from my program that just happened to be in the same hostel. We got hearty simple tapas and beers for 5 euro and was really good and filling. Went back and the rest of my friends were goin to Razzmatazz, but I wanted to stay in because I was uber tired. I ended up meeting someone from Connecticut and just talking and getting to know her all night. It was great just meeting someone new and kicking back on a few beers.

Barcelona, Day 3
I woke up early and went to Sagrada Familia. Right after leaving the metro, it was right there. It was like a slap in the face. So amazing. His work is so organic and makes it look like the building is a living and has a soul to it. I ended up spending 3 hours there and headed to another church. I ended up at the Catedral and it was free because it was Sunday so that was nice. A great Medieval/Gothic church. Then I got lost in the Gotic area and got a pretty bomb Kebab. Then I headed over to the Joan Miro Park. It only had one really cool monument, but worth the metro ride there. Then I went back to the Hostel and met up my friend and we headed up to Montjuic and got to go in the Fort and saw the turrets and the amazing view from the edge of the castle. Even thought it was raining a little bit, it was still beautiful. The area is known not to be a great place to be at night. So once the sun went down we headed back. But on our way down, we heard gunshots so we started to walk a lot faster and headed back. Then we went back to that local bar and found an amazing deal that they had. A giant thing of Paella a side, and a giant chicken leg, or sausage for 4 euro, and of course the 1 euro beer, amazing deal.

Barcelona, Day 4
Went to Macba with one of my other buddies, and it was very interesting. There were a lot of weird paintings, but lots of really cool photographs. Then went back to La Boqueria and got some street food. Then ended up at Citudale Park to see Gaudi’s Fountain and it was so monumental. I just happened to bump into my other buddy there and walked around the park. Then I went back and went to meet a random girl in Barcelona for a cup of coffee through couch surfing. She was from Mexico, but studying abroad in Barcelona. It was really fun talking to her about photography and just about the city and anything really. Then I went back to the hostel and met up my buddies again and went to Salamanca, a Paella place, and had amazing seafood Paella. I went back to the hostel and slept early.

Barcelona, Day 5
Woke up at around 6:30 and went to the beach to catch the sunrise. It was beautiful. Finally some clear skies began to peak through the hazy clouds. As I walked along the beach side, I saw some really cool sand castles and molds. When I left the weather got gloomy again and I started to rush over to Casa Batlo. It was still a little gloomy and I was quite sad, but even with the clouds, plenty of sunlight was shining through all the windows and into the rooms. The apartments were so cool and modern. I fell in love with his work. Then when I went to the roof top, it was getting a little sunnier so I rushed down and went to Gaudi’s other apartment, Casa Pedrera. It was a lot smaller and was amazing. The rooftop was like a designer’s playground. So many undulating surfaces, including the banisters. Then I got my last meal at the local bar again and had 3 beers in an hour. I made it to the airport with plenty of time. So I ended up taking a nap just outside of the boarding area, and by doing so almost missed my flight to Paris. But a loud, “Last Call to Paris” woke my ass up and I ran to the gate and was one of the last ones there. What an amazing, yet uber exhausting trip. And off to Paris… To be continued…