With our trip coming to an end, comes a lot of work with it. In one week I had 4 exams and 3 papers to write. My life now consists of traveling, returning to Sevilla, doing a lot of work, and then traveling again. If I don't write this blog before I leave for Italy, I will regret it MUCHO!
Barcelona: Jordyn's 21st. The trip started off on the right foot at the airport when Jordyn whipped out some funky glasses, streamers, and noise makers that her parents had sent from home. We waited on a very long line to get on the plane looking absolutely ridiculous, but we looked great in my book.
We checked in to our hostel, Hostel One, the same type of hostel as the one we stayed at in Madrid with crazy lady praying heavily in the corner... remember that story? Further hostel stories to come later on.... But continuing on, we dropped off our bags and headed towards a park that is attached to the Arc de Triumf.... yes, another. Of course we hadn't been in Barcelona for more than 10 minutes and we ran into some friends from our class in the park. Two goons sprinting across a park...of course we knew them. We walked our friend to her hostel down by the beach because she was staying with our other friend. We touched the sand, felt our stomachs rumble and headed for dinner at Bo de B's. I've heard good things, great things, and was very excited for some Mediterranean food. Jordyn's friend said the line is outrageous usually and when we got there, not only was there no line, but we found ourselves a table inside (there were only 4).
Sandwich or platter... sandwich or platter.... tough decision. Well, when the outrageously large China man sitting next to us had this unbelievable Mediterranean feast sitting in front of him, we knew we had to get that. He said we weren't going to finish it. Clearly, he doesn't know us. The plate consisted of chicken/beef, tomatoes, lentils, rice, corn, cucumbers, peppers, red cabbage, feta, olives, 3 different sauces on the side and when we asked for a side of avocado, we received half of one each. Oh was I happy let me tell you.
Our friends were coming on a later flight so we decided not to do anything crazy and just grab a drink at a random bar and head back to the hostel for bed.
In the morning, I whipped out my map and lead the gang over to Sagrada Familia. It is one of the most unique cathedrals in the world. There was a massive amount of construction going on so we couldn't see the entire outside, but decided to pay the few bucks to go inside (It will be completed in 2026). It's extremely modern and different looking. Gaudi's architecture is twisted, playful, and colorful. I really could have sat there for hours, but my neck was breaking looking up and we had places to go and beaches to see.
We headed up a mountain via escalator (outside, realy cool) to Park Guell. Again, another design by Gaudi. Halfway up we stopped into a little cafe and had fresh sandwiches made for us. For once I did not feel like going the Spanish route. We had grilled chicken sandwiches with LETTUCE AND TOMATO!!! Go figure, we never get that on our bocadillos. While I was at lettuce and tomato I asked if there was mayo. Yes, there was. It tasted like America in my mouth. I was thrilled.
So we continued up, found some shade, ate our bocadillos and headed to the main part of the park. The designs are really exquisite and it looks like Candy Land everywhere you turn. The colors were magnificent. I've seen so much art whie traveling and not particularly art I love. I'm a landscape type of girl. I love color. So this, this was right up my ally. Lots of color and intrigue. Kate and I, sun lovers, sat down for a while, enjoyed the heat, and took it all in. Oh and there's this cave thing where America's Next Top Model had a photo shoot. Pretty cool, eh? We took some super model pics (not) and headed back. Martyna needed a bathing suit and I needed to return my shoes. In Spanish I managed to explain that my shoe broke the first time I wore it. The store, Blanco, took it back immediately and put it right onto my credit card. I then walked into H&M and found a similar pair that was about 100 times more comfortable and only 5 Euro more. Could life get any easier? New shoes just like that.
For dinner, Jordyn's birthday dinner, we went to a restaurant Attic. Every item had a picture. My mother used to always tell me not to look at the pictures in diner menus because it never looks like the picture, but this time, it was a legitimate picture. Kate and I decided to do a meat and a fish. We picked the cod, which was truly delicious. The portions were small, too small. Somehow we ended up paying 2 Euros for each roll we had. It happens every time. Dinner is great, lots of laughs and good food, and then the bill comes and it's always frustrating trying to split it up. And then when we have added up our own share 5 times and still haven't figured out why we are short money, we realize there's tax. Damn you, tax!
We went to this bar that's extremely popular to any tourist called Chupitos. Chupitos means 'shots' in Spanish. A shot bar. I already had some wine and knew I wasn't going to get much at this bar, but it was an interesting experience let me tell you. Some shots are more interactive, graphic, and crazy than others, but they also have shots where you toast marshmellows on the bar because they let it on fire for you. My hair would go up in a second so I made sure to keep my distance. The bar was really poorly constructed. About 2 1/2 bodies can fit through heading from the front to the back so if you are right at the bar, you're fine. If you are one person behind the person at the bar, you're getting slammed into by all the other people trying to get through. Who designed this shit? Thousands of people walk through their doors and spend butt loads of cash there yet they couldn't hire someone who understood how the flow of people work. At least I'm thinking about my hospitality classes. I dominated HRIM 350 somehow, and clearly it made an impact somewhere in this crazy head of mine.
So after chupitos we went to a club. It looked like a huge Bar Mitzvah, I swear. There was some random party that had to have been going on right before all of these people got there. All the guys were in suits, and none looked Spanish. I ran into my friend Mike, go figure. I knew he was studying in Barcelona, but I hadn't been in contact with him telling him I was coming. Such a small world. Jew to Jew I said it looked like a big Bar Mitzvah. He told me he agreed and how the clubs are so Americanized. When I told him I was studying in Sevilla he said that Sevilla was the only place he loved more than Barcelona. God do I love when people tell me that! He said Sevilla is so..... Spanish. And yeah, he's right. I wasn't used to being around so many Americans at a club. But we had a good time. Some guy was getting a tattoo smack in the middle of the dance floor. I'm not even going to comment on that....
Next morning, we grabbed some breakfast. This little cafe had some spinach tortillla... in America, a spinach omelette. We have to take advantage of these rare times. Eggs... for breakfast!? LOVE IT. Ha, that was a flash back to one of my first blogs.
We went to Casa Batllo, one of the few houses Gaudi designed. It was a little pricey, but one of my favorite things I've seen in my travels. He designed the house, and even the furniture inside. The entire outside and inside is supposed to represent an under water feeling. Just like the park, the mosaics and details were out of this world. We had a free audio tour that explained literally every nook and cranny about the house. It was several floors, with dozens of rooms. Even the door knobs were extremely detailed. Truly a must-see..
When in Barcelona... go to the beach. So that was our next stop. The weather was nice, but not really, really warm. I wound up putting on my sweatshirt and passing out. Surprise, surprise. Afterwards we walked around Las Ramblas which is a long street with vendors, food, pet shops, street performers, and the famous Boqueria which is a market. Meats, fish, fruits, veggies, fresh smoothies, nuts... it reminded me of the huge market in Jerusalem. Everything looked and smelled delicious. Okay, maybe not the fish stands, but everything else looked and smelled great.
We hopped onto the metro and went to see a light show which was really more of a fountain show. Hundreds of people come to watch. Paired to music, it really was exciting! I remember when I was in Vegas and only had a disposable camera. I took 11 photos of the fountains. Eleven. Really Sara, it's WATER! Well now I'm a big girl with a digital camera, but didn't go too crazy taking pictures. I did mom dance though, and let me tell you, that was my biggest audience yet. I had a few hollers and some weird looks but hey, anything for the mom dance. I also ran into my other friend studying in Barcelona. This city is huge, it's like NYC and I ran into both people I know studying there. HOW CRAZY IS THAT!? Every city we travel to we have seen at least 1 person we know. Such a small world.
That night we bought some bottles and drank at our hostel. We know how to save money. We went to the club called Catwalk. We literally had just stepped out of our taxi and some guy asked us if we wanted to get in for free. Uh sure? Sign us up. So we cut the whole line and stepped right in. We danced, did our thing, got into VIP, got kicked out of VIP, and went to bed.
In the morning, we went back to Las Ramblas to buy some gifts and to see some art. We had kebabs and falafel at 11 AM. That shows a true kebab lover. As we sat in the resturant, I looked up to see a few quotes on the wall. Here is the first one I read: "No hay amor mas sincero que el amor a la comida..." which means "There is no love more sincere than the love of food." Was I more touched that I knew every word in that sentence or the meaing behind it? I don't know, but it made me smile so big. Then I looked underneath that one, and it said "With cheese..." Uh yeah, with cheese. This wall, this wall just knew me.
We had some time to kill before our flight so we went back to the beach. What was the first thing we saw on the almost barren beach due to clouds... a butt naked man, standing proud, with his hands on his hips. Everyone was staring. Guys, girls, everyone. I fell asleep and woke up to him putting on his work clothes, shaking his friends hand, and then heading out. How did that conversation go? "Hey man, I have some time before work. Want to get naked?" Who knows. Anyway, I was sleeping happily until I kept getting woken up by Asian women asking if we want a massage. One of my friends actually gave in. Also on this interesting beach day, a man tried selling my friends drugs. We hear that happens all the time.
Welp, that was Barcelona in a nut shell. I liked it, it was a cool city, but again, doesn't even compare to my precious city. We were all happy to get back to Sevilla for a fun filled week of work. WAHOO!!! Portugal is next... adios kids!
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