Barcelona, Barcelona, Barcelona! So many mixed feelings about this city. I had almost three full days here which was great because there is so much you can do. I was visiting my friend Amanda who is studying in Barcelona for the semester, and it was so fun to catch up with her and nice to also have someone to show me around the city!
My trip to Barcelona definitely got better as time went along. It started out a little unsteady when someone tried to steal my luggage (I had a full carry on suitcase with me since I was heading to Italy right after) as I was getting off of the metro. Whenever I told someone that I was planning a trip to Barcelona, they warned me about the pick-pocketing there and told me I had to be super careful and always know where my phone, credit card, etc. was. Right off the bat, I had my guard up but I was not expecting someone to attempt stealing my entire suitcase…..?!!??!?! I was riding the escalator up from the underground metro with many other people when the escalator suddenly stopped moving and nobody knew why. A Spanish guy standing in front of me on the escalator tried picked up my luggage from the bottom where the wheels are even though I was holding onto the suitcase’s handle the whole time. He motioned for me to walk up the escalator with me as he was still holding my suitcase (and so was I) … it was the weirdest thing ever and I wasn’t really sure what was going on. I didn’t move because I was afraid he would grab my suitcase and run when we got to the top of the escalator. I also had a bag on my back with my laptop in it and I was worried that the Spanish guys behind me were associated with the dude in front of me and they were going to try to steal that bag, too. Basically, I was stuck on this escalator that wasn’t moving and I was scared to walk up or down. These dudes could tell I was a tourist and by myself and so they were going to take advantage of that. All of a sudden, this lady in front of the guy in front of me (if that makes sense) started b*tching at the guy standing in front of me and although I couldn’t understand what she was saying (they speak Catalan, a variation of Spanish) I knew that she was telling him to leave me alone. He started yelling back but eventually dropped the wheels of my suitcase and the lady waved me on to follow her up the escalator which still wasn’t moving. I did, and when we got to the top, I’m pretty sure she tried telling me to be careful even though I couldn’t understand exactly. Bless her soul! So I made it out alright, but it was the worst way to start my trip to Barcelona and put me on a pretty high alert of everyone around me for the rest of my time in this city. I soon met up with my friend Amanda and one of her friends also studying in Barcelona, Jenny, which was honestly so relieving.
After getting settled in and locking up my luggage (whew!), I did a little exploring of the city by myself before I met up with Amanda and her friend Jenny. I wondered the streets, popped in a few stores, and admired a handful of beautiful Spanish buildings. I met Amanda and Jenny downtown and together we walked to the beach to watch the sunset and catch dinner. It was a gorgeous sunset over the water and so nice chatting with Amanda and Jenny on the shore about our study abroad experiences! There were numerous sand volleyball courts along the beach filled with players having fun. After the sun went down, we found a place for dinner nearby called Makamaka Beach Burger Cafe. They had a wall filled with wooden spoons for people to write where they were visiting from, so of course we left our mark. And since we were in Spain, we had to order sangria to drink! By the time we finished eating and talking, it was pretty late so we called it a night and headed home. Amanda and Jenny had school the next morning, but I was able to do some exploring by myself while they were in class.
My first stop the following morning was at Casa Milà (also known as La Pedrera), one of Antonio Gaudí’s works. Barcelona really is Gaudí’s city; you see his art everywhere and every piece has something unique about it. My favorite part about Casa Milà was the rooftop terrace that gave you a 360 view of Barcelona. Every part of the terrace represents a different part of nature: fire, air, earth, and water. This was a common theme in Gaudí’s work. On the way down from the roof, you were able to walk through the rooms below which was also pretty neat, although I liked the rooftop terrace more.
I then headed to Park Güell, another one of Gaudí’s masterpieces! I didn’t pay to go inside the park since I just paid to go inside Casa Mila, but without buying an admission ticket you were still able to walk all of the way around the park and get a glimpse of Gaudí’s art here. Park Güell is one of the largest green spaces in Barcelona and I saw and heard tons of kids running around playing tag and screaming throughout the park.
By this time, Amanda was done with class and so we met at La Sagrada Familia… any guesses who this architect was?! No other than Gaudí himself! La Sagrada Familia has been under construction since 1882 but is supposed to be finished by the year 2026! It should measure 172.5 meters tall when finished. There’s both an old side and a new side, both with intricate designs and breathtaking details. We walked all of the way around the building and I was so impressed before we even went inside. When we finally did enter La Sagrada Familia, I had goosebumps. This was one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever been inside of and there aren’t words that can really do this place justice (but the pictures help!). We had audio guides to learn about the different sections of the inside and you could spend hours in there learning about the building’s design, significance, and constant construction and taking it all in. This was my favorite stop from Barcelona and definitely high up there on my favorite buildings in all of Europe.
When we were finally done staring at Gaudí’s most impressive work, it was around 5 pm and we were searching for a place to get dinner before heading up to the bunker to watch the sunset. I was told I had to try the paella in Spain, so we were hunting for a good paella restaurant! We found one a few blocks away and first ordered sangria and patatas bravas. The patatas bravas might be the best potatoes I’ve ever had and anyone in Spain must try these before leaving!!! Unfortunately, when we went to order paella, our waiter told us that the cook wasn’t at the restaurant at the moment so they could not make the dish for us. In Spain, they sleep in, eat a big lunch in the mid afternoon, and then a big dinner before bed late at night. It was 5:30 pm at this point, halfway between their lunch and dinner time. Our waiter told us that our cook wouldn’t be into work until 7 pm that evening, which was disappointing to hear but not that surprising. We completely spaced the Spanish meal times when trying to order food at 5:30! We settled for some paninis instead. They were mediocre, but the patatas bravas and sangria made up for it.
Once our dinner was over, we went to a grocery store to grab wine before heading up to the bunker. It started to rain and Amanda told me that it never rains in Spain and she has only seen rain maybe two or three times during her time there (which has been since the start of January!). She said that when it rains, Spaniards automatically assume that everything is cancelled for the rest of the day. Of course, it rained during one of my three days in Barcelona! We decided to go up to the bunker anyway, even if we wouldn’t get a good sunset over the city since it was my only chance to go and you could still see a nice panorama of the city with the sea in the background. We made our way up to the top and even though it was drizzling on and off, it was still a beautiful view of the city. I can only imagine how pretty it must be when it’s cloudless and you’ve got a beautiful sunset! We stayed up there for a good hour until the sun was fully down, and we had originally planned to go to clubs later that night but the bad weather dampened those plans. Oh well, you can’t have it all I guess.
My last day, I spent some time in shops in the morning before heading to La Rambla. La Rambla is a huge street market and so picturesque. I heard that this area was especially prone to pick pocketers targeting tourists, so I was basically holding onto my crossover purse the whole time. After walking through La Rambla, I met up with Amanda for an afternoon lunch of paella! We went to Bo De Garcia, and I tried the seafood paella. We also ordered some patatos bravos as an appetizer, I needed them once more before leaving Spain. 😉 Again, they were very tasty and so was the paella! It was everything that I had expected it to be. After a long lunch, I had to say goodbye to Amanda since she had class in the afternoon. I then headed to the Gothic Quarter, Barcelona Cathedral, and Arc de Triompf for to check off a few more sites on my list before I had to leave.
All over Barcelona but especially in the Gothic Quarter area, I noticed these yellow ribbons hanging from buildings, on doors, bumper stickers on cars, etc. They symbolize Barcelona fighting for their independence from the rest of Spain so the Catalunia region can become its own country. The calatunia region brings in over 90% of Spain’s wealth, and many of its residents want to form their own tiny, rich country. It was pretty interesting being in Barcelona during such a pivotal time. Who knows, someday if I go back, they could be their own independent country!
Another thing I observed about Barcelona was just how different the people were from anywhere else in Europe I had been. Generally, Europeans are very well put together, always dressed nice, and pretty slim. You never see people wearing sweatpants in public or dealing with extreme obesity like you do in the states! However, I noticed that this wasn’t the case in Barcelona. A couple times, I even thought twice if I was still in Europe — the people were that different.
I passed the Cathedral of Barcelona on my way to the Arc de Triomf and at first, I didn’t even know what it was. I just happened to run into a big square with lots of tourists and this massive building, but after looking at a map I figured out it was the Cathedral of Barcelona. I snapped a few pics and was on my way to the Arc de Triomf, what I was actually looking for. After a few more minutes I made it to the arc and the entire area was beautiful. Streets lined with palm trees, locals sitting in the grass reading books, and a really good street performer playing guitar by the arc. I just sat there for some time to take it all in; it was one of those moments where you’re perfectly content with life, ya know? After some time, I had to leave to catch my evening flight to Italy but before I left, I made sure to tip the guitarist for making my experience at the arc so pleasant 🙂
Barcelona has so much to offer–a beautiful beach, Spanish architecture, good food, and allegedly the best night clubs in Europe (a little disappointed we didn’t make it there). If you can get past the pick pocketing and crime on the streets, this city would be tough to beat. I unfortunately was one of the tourists targeted by locals when they tried stealing my luggage, which was just kind of a turn off for the whole trip and made me think twice about Barcelona. But, I’d love to give this city another chance someday 🙂
Words From Abroad 