Friday morning, October 19th, Meg, Jacqueline, and I headed to the Nice airport and boarded the plane to Barcelona. This week throughout France schools are on break for the Vacances de la Toussaint so we were able to spend 5 days in Barcelona.
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| On the plane to Barcelona! |
After we got to the airport we took a bus to the center of Barcelona to get to our hostel. While waiting in line for the bus I ran into a kid, Scott, who goes to Kenyon who has been in my French class for the last two years. Scott is studying in Granada this semester and was in Barcelona just for the weekend. I was so shocked to see someone from Kenyon, let alone one of the 15 from my french class!
After some searching we finally found our hostel, Kabul. The night before we left Meg and I were showing Sylvie, my host mom, where we were staying in Barcelona. She had asked us earlier if our parents were worried about us traveling due to the various strikes and terrorist threats in France. We both told her that they weren't too concerned. When we told her that we were staying at Kabul, she told us that maybe our parents should be worried because Kabul is the capital of Afghanistan. After hearing this news Meg and I were slightly concerned about the state and location of our hostel. But, when we got there we were happy to see that we weren't in Afghanistan and that the hostel didn't look that bad.
For our room we stayed in a 10 person mixed dorm. At the time, when we booked our tickets in August, it seemed like the most economically friendly choice, but looking back a private room would have been the better choice. Everyday the room acquired a different, unpleasant smell and we were constantly woken up at all hours of the night by people going in and out. It was not the most pleasant experience, but it was better than sleeping on the street.
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| Meg with Robot Man on Las Ramblas |
After getting settled in the hostel we decided to explore Barcelona a little. Our hostel was located just off one of the main touristy roads in Barcelona, Las Ramblas. The street was lined with street performers, venders, and lots of people. The most annoying part about the street was the hoards of people and the venders who sold little gadgets that made bird and other high pitch animal noises. To escape the chaos of Las Ramblas we ventured into various stores and did some light shopping. Hungry from shopping and walking we headed back to the hostel and went out to dinner.
I had heard, before coming to Barcelona, that the nightlife is much different there than anywhere else but I don't think I was quite prepared for what was install. Most of the nightclub discotheques didn't open or start filling up until after 1 AM and people don't leave until after 4 AM. And the way most clubs are set up is there are multiple rooms with dance floors and each room plays different music. This was nice because if you didn't like the song that was playing in one room you just move on to the next. We all had a really fun time going out Friday night but we definitely ready for bed after we left the club.
Saturday morning, or afternoon rather, we woke up and decided to take a guided bike tour of Barcelona. The brochure made it seem like an enjoyable three hour ride through Barcelona where we would stop at various monuments, take pictures, and ride along the beach.
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| Before the tour |
In reality what we experienced was much different. Starting out we wound our way through tiny alley ways packed with people as we desperately rang our bells to avoid collisions with innocent bystanders. The tour guide, who had apparently trained for many years with Lance Armstrong, rode as fast as she could and as soon as we stopped to see a monument and the whole group caught up she would zoom off again. To us it seemed less like a leisurely bike tour and more like an endless game of catchup. On the tour we did get to see some beautiful parts of Barcelona that we probably would never have discovered on our own, as well as the Sagrada Familia, and the boardwalk along the beach.
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| Sagrada Familia |
The Sagrada Familia was started by Antoni Guadi and has been under construction since 1882. Guadi was unable to finish the church because he was hit and killed by a train in 1962. It was supposed to be complete in 2006 but now is estimated to be done in 2026.
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| Along the beach |
Four hours later, after madly pedaling all over Barcelona between people and cars we finally returned tired and sore. That night we went out for dinner and then headed back to the hostel for some much needed sleep.
Sunday we walked to the beach and around the port. On the way we stopped at the market that is held every weekend on Las Ramblas. The market had tons of handmade jewelry so naturally we all had to buy some. After the market we went to the beach and were happy to finally at a sandy beach!
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| At the beach! |
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| The port |
Later that night I met up with one of my friends, Rachel, who is studying in Copenhagen this semester and was touring Spain for her fall break.
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| Vegan food! |
Monday we explored more of Barcelona. While walking down a small side street we came across the Cat Bar which is a vegan restaurant. Jacqueline, who is vegan, was so excited to have found a vegan restaurant as she has been living off of pasta and marinara sauce for the last two months. We were all happy to find that they had really good veggie burgers and hummus and we made sure to make many stops there before we left!
Monday night we went to IceBarcelona. It's a bar made completely of ice and the temperature of the bar is kept at -8 degrees celsius. To insure your comfort and warmth they equip you with down coats and gloves. As expected it was very cold so we only stayed a little but we were very amused by the fact that everything was made out of ice - even the cups!
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| IceBarcelona |
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| Sagrada Familia ice sculpture |
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| Going up to Parc Guell |
Tuesday we took the metro to Parc Guell, which was designed and built by Gaudi between 1900 and 1914. In the park there is a cave that was used during one of the seasons of America's Next Top Model as the final runway, as well as various mosaics and buildings by Guadi. We spent the majority of the day walking around the park and then headed back into the city.
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| Parc Guell |
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| Parc Guell |
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| Parc Guell/America's Next Top Model Runway |
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Parc Guell
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Wednesday morning we got back on the plane and headed home to Nice!
Naturally, after visiting churches we went to the Guinness Storehouse where they produce over 3 million tons of Guinness a day. There we took a tour and went through seven stories of the factory where they outline the process of what makes Guinness so "good." I would have to say good is highly subjective in this case. At the very end of the tour you receive a free pint of Guiness which we tried to enjoy at the Gravity Bar which overlooks the city of Dublin. 
