Saturday morning Emily and I got ready and walked out the door around 9:00 a.m. so we could start our super touristy day. (Special shout out to Emily who after already visiting all the touristic spots took the time to take me). We started off by going to Las Ramblas, which is a huge street where people sell all sorts of different things. Conveniently right next to Las Ramblas, is a huge market which was impressive in itself. HOWEVER, I was extremely shocked (to the point of being nauseous), that inside the market, they sell entire chickens…like head/neck, feet, everything…and the same goes for rabbits and practically any other animal that you can think of. It was an experience to see haha.
We left the market and headed into the Old City (aka the Gothic Quarter) because we wanted to visit the Cathedral of Barcelona. We were aware that there was a dress code, so we both wore appropriate clothing, ONLY to be rejected in the front door, because my shorts didn't cover my knees. SO, we went to the side door, where I covered my legs with a cardigan that Emily let me borrow and we were able to walk right in. The Cathedral was beautiful. In the middle of it, there’s an altar downstairs, with a tomb, of a girl who was murdered by the Romans because she professed her faith. They shaved her head, then rolled her down a hill covered in glass…since that didn't kill her, they crucified her. Afterwords, the people of the city kept her body, buried it, and now her tomb is located inside the cathedral. We then took the elevator up to the roof-top of the church, where we had the most amazing views of Barcelona. We had our mini-photo shoot (of course), enjoyed the scenic views, then went back down to finish the tour of the Cathedral.
We left the market and headed into the Old City (aka the Gothic Quarter) because we wanted to visit the Cathedral of Barcelona. We were aware that there was a dress code, so we both wore appropriate clothing, ONLY to be rejected in the front door, because my shorts didn't cover my knees. SO, we went to the side door, where I covered my legs with a cardigan that Emily let me borrow and we were able to walk right in. The Cathedral was beautiful. In the middle of it, there’s an altar downstairs, with a tomb, of a girl who was murdered by the Romans because she professed her faith. They shaved her head, then rolled her down a hill covered in glass…since that didn't kill her, they crucified her. Afterwords, the people of the city kept her body, buried it, and now her tomb is located inside the cathedral. We then took the elevator up to the roof-top of the church, where we had the most amazing views of Barcelona. We had our mini-photo shoot (of course), enjoyed the scenic views, then went back down to finish the tour of the Cathedral.
Emily and I continued on our route and our next stop was the Plaça de Catalunya. It wasn't really anything special, but I did find this huge book that I absolutely loved. It reminded me of one of my favorite quotes, “The world is a book, and this who do not travel, read only one page.”
So anyways, we ran in to a sandwich shop to grab a bite to eat on the go, and then we headed in the direction of the Sagrada Familia for our tour inside of the church. On the way, we saw more beautiful work by Gaudi, which again, I loved. We ate our sandwiches while we waited on the metro, and made it to Sagrada Familia with 5 minutes to spare before our allowed entrance time. Once we walked in, I was convinced that I was NOT a fan of this church, as it was too modern for my taste. I did, however, stop to watch a video about how/why Gaudi designed the church the way he did. All the details that I learned about from watching the short film, made me grow a bit fonder of the church. For example, the very tops of the towers outside of the church had fruit, because it symbolized the fruit of heaven. There were white pillars inside the church, which symbolized the pillars of life. The windows that were EVERYWHERE in the church, were to symbolize that God was the light of the world. It was really really neat to learn about the details that made the church what it was. Once we existed the church, we went to the Plaça de Gaudi, where I bought some art (again, for the house I don’t have yet), and Emily and I re-lived our childhood by playing with massive bubbles that a man was blowing up.
Our last stop of the day was the Museo de los Artes de Catalunya, where we had the most incredible view of Barcelona and of course, the gorgeous fountains.
So anyways, we ran in to a sandwich shop to grab a bite to eat on the go, and then we headed in the direction of the Sagrada Familia for our tour inside of the church. On the way, we saw more beautiful work by Gaudi, which again, I loved. We ate our sandwiches while we waited on the metro, and made it to Sagrada Familia with 5 minutes to spare before our allowed entrance time. Once we walked in, I was convinced that I was NOT a fan of this church, as it was too modern for my taste. I did, however, stop to watch a video about how/why Gaudi designed the church the way he did. All the details that I learned about from watching the short film, made me grow a bit fonder of the church. For example, the very tops of the towers outside of the church had fruit, because it symbolized the fruit of heaven. There were white pillars inside the church, which symbolized the pillars of life. The windows that were EVERYWHERE in the church, were to symbolize that God was the light of the world. It was really really neat to learn about the details that made the church what it was. Once we existed the church, we went to the Plaça de Gaudi, where I bought some art (again, for the house I don’t have yet), and Emily and I re-lived our childhood by playing with massive bubbles that a man was blowing up.
Our last stop of the day was the Museo de los Artes de Catalunya, where we had the most incredible view of Barcelona and of course, the gorgeous fountains.
We headed back to the apartment, took showers, and I went with Levi and Emily to go grocery shopping. Once they unpacked the groceries, we all took short naps because we had plans to go out later that night. Of course, I didn't pack clothes for going out, so Emily was gracious enough to let me borrow a top. We got ready, and then Nora and another friend of Levi’s came to the apartment, where we played a few card games before going out to a bar called Pipperment. Now, this bar was particularly famous for two things. One, the smallest drink they offered was in a 2L glass, and the second thing, is that that is where ALL of the players from the Barça football team go and have a few drinks.Naturally, there were millions of pictures of Messi and signed jerseys, which made the place look really neat. The rest of the group was wanting to go out to a discotheque afterwords, but, you know me (Grandma Ana)…between being sick and quite exhausted from the day, Emily and I went back to the apartment instead. We stopped to buy some ice-cream before heading up and putting our pajamas on and relaxed the rest of the night.
My last full day in Barcelona was Sunday. We slept in a bit before seeing the last few things on our schedule. Emily took me to the Plaça de España, which was filled with street performers, and led straight to the Parc de la Ciutadella. Let me tell you, I’ve seen a lot of pretty parks, but this one in particular, was absolutely GORGEOUS. I mean, it was incredible. Plus, we had really nice weather that day, so that made it shine and glimmer even more. I think it would be a really neat place to host some sort of outdoor party, but that’s totally going to happen, right? Maybe in a few years once I’m the CEO of a company…we’ll see.
When we were leaving the park, we ran straight in to the Barcelona Zoo. Once we saw that they had kangaroos and penguins, it was a total no brainer that we were going in. This was our little kid part 2 experience. We were SO excited and gawked over all of the animals. My favorite, of course, were the penguins. There was this little tunnel you could go under and watch the penguins swim, which was absolutely adorable…all of the little kids were down there, putting their hands on the glass and talking to the penguins, who were oh so playful and went along with it. I figured it was a long-shot, but, I decided I was going to try and take a selfie with a penguin. As soon as I got ready for the picture, I KID YOU NOT, a penguin LITERALLY POSED FOR MY PICTURE. Everyone was clapping and smiling and I think my heart almost burst of excitement. Talk about life MADE. All that’s left on my bucket list is to hug a penguin (any takers?)…so that was super exciting. After the penguins, we went over to the bear section. WOW, they were adorable. I looked over the brick wall, and the cutest, brown bear walked over right in front of me, plopped down (with it’s huge paws), and just stared at me. Obviously I talked to it (like an insane person, I know) and it just sat there, and kept turning it’s head different ways to look at me. If bears couldn't eat you alive, I would totally opt to have one as a bet…but we know that’s never gonna happen…SO…moving on. We finished our visit at the zoo which was absolutely worth the money and headed to Parc Güell, also a product of Gaudi, which was beautiful and tranquil.
When we were leaving the park, we ran straight in to the Barcelona Zoo. Once we saw that they had kangaroos and penguins, it was a total no brainer that we were going in. This was our little kid part 2 experience. We were SO excited and gawked over all of the animals. My favorite, of course, were the penguins. There was this little tunnel you could go under and watch the penguins swim, which was absolutely adorable…all of the little kids were down there, putting their hands on the glass and talking to the penguins, who were oh so playful and went along with it. I figured it was a long-shot, but, I decided I was going to try and take a selfie with a penguin. As soon as I got ready for the picture, I KID YOU NOT, a penguin LITERALLY POSED FOR MY PICTURE. Everyone was clapping and smiling and I think my heart almost burst of excitement. Talk about life MADE. All that’s left on my bucket list is to hug a penguin (any takers?)…so that was super exciting. After the penguins, we went over to the bear section. WOW, they were adorable. I looked over the brick wall, and the cutest, brown bear walked over right in front of me, plopped down (with it’s huge paws), and just stared at me. Obviously I talked to it (like an insane person, I know) and it just sat there, and kept turning it’s head different ways to look at me. If bears couldn't eat you alive, I would totally opt to have one as a bet…but we know that’s never gonna happen…SO…moving on. We finished our visit at the zoo which was absolutely worth the money and headed to Parc Güell, also a product of Gaudi, which was beautiful and tranquil.
Our long walk through the park made us quite hungry, so we headed back to Plaça de Catalunya and had dinner at a place called Los 100 Montaditos. This place had incredible food and even better it was super cheap! Just what every college kids loves, right? After dinner, Emily came with me to do some quick souvenir shopping, and we went back to the apartment before the rain caught us.
My trip to Barcelona was absolutely incredible. I loved being back in a country whee my native language was spoken. The people were phenomenal and the company I had was great! A huge thanks to Emily for hosting me in her apartment and taking me around Barça. It’s a city worth seeing and spending time in…so if you ever get the chance to go, DO IT. You won’t regret it, I promise. In summary….VIVA ESPAÑA!
XOXO,
Ana
My trip to Barcelona was absolutely incredible. I loved being back in a country whee my native language was spoken. The people were phenomenal and the company I had was great! A huge thanks to Emily for hosting me in her apartment and taking me around Barça. It’s a city worth seeing and spending time in…so if you ever get the chance to go, DO IT. You won’t regret it, I promise. In summary….VIVA ESPAÑA!
XOXO,
Ana