Barcelona

Three other girls and I decided to spend this past three-day weekend in Barcelona, Spain´s second largest city and a cultural hotspot of Europe. After visting Madrid, Valencia, and Barcelona, I have come up with this analogy: Madrid is oatmeal, Valencia is an orange, cranberry muffin, and Barcelona is mocha with whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles. Madrid was fine, but from what we saw of the city, it was very typical of most European cities. There wasn´t a whole lot of pizazz. Valencia is sweet and tangy with lots of interesting things to do. And Barcelona is a big, bustling city with a little edgier feel. The rainbow sprinkles represent the colorful surprises along the way such as the Gaudi architecture. Do remember, however, that these conclusions come from my brief experiences and personal observations, and obviously this affects my decisions. I do not mean to offend anyone who believes Madrid is creamed eggs on toast.

1. A Rocky Start
2. Gaudi
3. Flamenco
4. Just Keep Walking, Just Keep Walking, Just Keep Walking, Walking, Walking
5. A Day in the Park

A Rocky Start
After a lovely three-hour train ride up the coast of the Mediterranean and a jostle through the Barcelona metro system, Katy Fetterman, Sarah Nelson, and I arrived at our hostel, The Alternative Creative Youth Home Hostel. It was very nice, and Al, the owner, was incredibly helpful with giving us recommendations and maps. We then decided to hit up one of the tapas bars that Al had recommended before trying to meet up with Becca, another girl from ISU who was arriving on a later train. Unfortunately, there was a lot of confusion trying to meet up and she was having problems with her phone. It was also a little stressful because we were trying to meet her near Las Ramblas which is a very crowded, touristy street with people constantly trying to sell items or get people to come to their bars or clubs. I think I heard more English, Russian, French, German, etc. than Spanish. Eventually we found Becca and went back to the hostel where we got ready for bed.

Our room did not have a door and the Texans staying in the room beside us were friendly but a little frustrating. Every night they came back drunk and woke us up around 4 am. Anyway, on Friday morning, I woke up with a lot of pain in my stomach. We went out to a little cafe for breakfast and were about to go see some of the sights, but I decided it would be best for everyone if I went back to the hostel and tried to rest. The three girls came back at noon to check on me, and by that time, I felt a lot better and was eager to explore. I think it was due to stress and a lack of sleep.

2. Gaudi
That afternoon, we checked out a lot of the Gaudi architecture such as the Casa Batlló, Casa Mila, and the Sagrada Familia. They were all so beautiful, and we decided to pay for a tour of th Casa Batlló. I would highly recommend this. It was built with a sea theme with lots of glass, wavy lines, colored tile. . . it is hard to descibe, and as soon as I can, I will post pictures. One thing I love about Gaudi is the fact that his works were very creative and unique, but also funcional. The house contained structures that represented the gills of a fish but also functioned as a vents that could be opened to cool the house. He received a lot of his inspiration and practicality from nature.

3. Flamenco
For the rest of the day, we walked around parts of the old city and the market with another guy from the hostel and saw the Colón monument and port. That evening, we followed another recommendation from Al and went to this tiny, local place with flamenco dancing. The neighborhood looked a little sketchy at first, and none of us cared much for the singer or the stifling cigarette smoke, but the guitarist and the dancer were great and I am really glad we were not deterred.

4. Just keep walking, just keep walking, just keep walking, walking, walking After Becca met up with her brother who´s cruise was stopping in Barcelona for the day, Katy, Sarah, and I walked around the old part of Barcelona. We went inside the beautiful cathedral, saw part of the inside of the Palau de Musica, and browsed through little shops.

We then walked up around the hilly Montjuic which was probably my favorite area. There are tons of gardens, the Olympic stadiums and facilities from 1992, museums, and much more. It wasn´t nearly as crowded as las Ramblas, and we were able to see the city from such great heights (did you catch my reference to the song?) After our little picnic of bread, cheese, and fruit, we went to the Poble Español. It is a little village of shops and restaurants displaying the various architecture and crafts from the different regions of Spain. There are also some demonstrations of these crafts, but most of them had already closed by the time we arrived. We did get to watch the class blowing demonstration which was interesting. If you have been to the Amana Colonies in Iowa, it was something kind of similar. I was interested to see what it had to offer, but I thought it was a little expensive to pay 6 euro to window shop.

Next was a museum of archeology which was fun. We learned more about the history of Spain, and viewed an exhibition about mummification. Then we walked around some nice little neighborhoods before watching the evening Magic Fountain Show near the art museum. It was so great! Tons of people lined the steps and the lawns to watch as the fountains and lights dance around as music played. The first show was a medley of Disney songs (in Spanish) while the next was a medley of 80s music. We would have stayed later, but we were getting hungry and decided to walk over to a tapas bar that we had seen ealier. Unfortunately, once we arrive, we found out that the 3 tapas and sangria for 5 euro was only available for seats at the bar which was already full. So we kept walking and eventually found another place with reasonable prices where I enjoyed a large salad (yay veggies) and anchoives in vinager. I also tried some of Katy´s mushrooms and Sarah´s peppers. I have to say that was the latest I have ever eaten dinner. We received our food a quarter after 11 pm.

With sore feet and cameras full of pictures, we dragged ourselves back to the hostel and got ready for bed as the Texans prepared to hit the discotecas and bars.

5. A day in the Park
On Sunday, we checked out of the hostel, took a free tour of the beautiful Barcelona City Hall with a room we called ´´The Hogwarts Hall´´ and visited a Roman ruins museum. Then we treked to the top of the Park Guell where we saw more Gaudi designs and enjoyed a day in the park before catching our train back to Valencia.

It was a nice visit, and Katy, Sarah, and I made a great team. We had an agenda, but we also enjoyed ourselves.