Barcelona

Este fin de semana fue increíble. Translation: this weekend was amazing! I'm still partially thinking in Spainish so let's see if I can get this all out in English. Thursday night me and five other HWS/Union jet-setters hopped on a plane to Barcelona for a weekend in the warm Spanish sun. Our first night was a little less than fantastico. A bus from the airport dropped me, Kai, and Caroline off at Placa de Catalunya, which we now know was about a two minute walk from our hostel. After several wrong turns, (pretty sure we past the hostel at least three times without realizing it) we determined we were definitely lost. It was approaching 2am so we decided the safest choice was to take a cab. One small problem: we don't speak Spanish. Despite the cab driver's giggling, my rusty high school Spanish skills managed to get us to our hostel, the St. Christopher's Inn. After a few short hours of sleep, the three of us met up with Janine and Emily who were staying about 20 minutes away. We spent the day exploring Las Ramblas, Port Vell, La Boqueria, and the Gothic Quarter. Las Ramblas is a long street at the heart of the area of the city we were in. It has tons of restaurants, shops, and street performers which leads all the way out to Port Vell. 

At the end of Las Ramblas (Caroline, Emily, Kai, Janine, and me)

Caroline and I at Port Vell

Kai, Caroline, Janine, and I at Port Vell

Port Vell

We went to the La Boqueria for lunch: a huge market of meats, cheeses, chocolates, fruits, and every other kind of food you could think of. We successfully ate our way through the whole place, eating little bits of everything. 

La Boqueria

Chocolates

Fresh fruit

Empanadas

Devouring our empanadas

We spent the afternoon exploring the Gothic Quarter. The architecture in Barcelona is incredible everywhere you look, a vibrant combination of modern and ancient Roman inspired buildings, cathedrals, and streets. 

Emily, Caroline, and me

The Gothic Quarter consists of huge blocks of narrow pedestrian streets weaving in and out of corridors filled with fountains, cathedrals, and other large architectural masses. Walking through it felt like a different world. 

Group pic in the Gothic Quarter

Mid-afternoon we met up with my brother, Kevin, who came in from Murcia, Spain for the weekend. We explored the Gothic Quarter some more before I brought him back to La Boqueria. We all took what the Spanish call a siesta (nap) and then regrouped for dinner. Dinner in Spain takes place after my bedtime so that was a struggle for me. We went to Sensi Tapas for dinner (Janine is an expert Yelper). The food. Wow. We ate several platters of tapas, sipped sangria, and were beyond content.

Great food, even better company

Patatas bravas aka my new obsession. I'm already craving them

Salmon burgers

Sangria toast the Spanish way (salud!)

Saturday was another full day with A LOT of walking (I'm still sore and Caroline's toe might be broken). We started off taking the metro to Park Guell. The park, like much of Barcelona, is full of architecture and sculptures designed by Antoni Gaudi. Each level of the park we walked up had a better view than the last. It was unlike any park I'd ever been to, a definite must-see for anyone traveling to Barcelona. 

Kai, Caroline, and me 

The view

After another meal of tapas, we headed to La Sagrada Familia, another architectural masterpiece of Gaudi. Unfortunately there was only one tour left that day that interfered with our plans for the rest of the afternoon. Just looking at it from outside was impressive. Though under construction, the detail and extensions of the building are exotic and visually appealing. It is huge in size and character. Kevin got to go inside on Sunday and his pictures looked really amazing. I guess now I'll have to start making a list of things to do next time I'm in Barcelona!

La Sagrada Familia

We concluded the afternoon with a trip to Montjuic, a small mountain along the harbor of the city. We took a chairlift type thing up to the top where there was a fortress and some walking trails. From inside the chairlift, as well as from the top of the mountain, we could see all of Barcelona. I didn't realize what a massive city I had been in until I saw it from up there. We could spot La Sagrada Familia and a few other landmarks that we'd seen during the weekend. I'd say we covered a lot of the city, hitting a lot of important sites in just the few days we had. 

The girls

We finished off the trip with one last authentic Spanish meal of paella and sangria. After saying goodbye to Kevin, the girls and I hit the beach for a little late night girl talk and of course, some chocolate. We intended to go to a club called Opium that sits on the water and even got on the guest list for free entry. However, since our feet were hurting so badly from all the walking we'd been doing, we all wore flip flops that night which, note to anyone going to Barcelona: flip flops are not allowed in clubs. That was a bummer but it certainly didn't sour our weekend in Spain. We flew home Sunday morning and were back in Galway around dinnertime.  

Traditional seafood paella (yum!) 

Dipping our toes in the water

It was so great to see Kevin in Barcelona. I had a ton of fun and it was like having a little bit of home while still being abroad. It's crazy to be so far away from home but lucky that we're both discovering Europe at the same time and got the chance to do some of that discovering together. He was also our lifesaver this weekend. Without his navigation and translation skills we would have been quite literally lost. The few times we had to attempt these things on our own didn't go so well, hence the first night. Just a few more months until I see him again in London!

It was an amazing weekend/trip to say the least. The five of us girls had so much fun together and it was a good size group to travel with. There were several times that I had to pinch myself because I couldn't fathom actually being in Barcelona. It sucked to leave such an incredible city after only a weekend but when I heard Irish accents for the first time in three days waiting at the airport, it felt like home. My first academic assignment was due yesterday (cross your fingers for me) and we are off on another group excursion to Kerry this weekend. Salud!