The weekend was full of ups and downs... I got a ring stuck to my finger for three days, I had the best paella I've ever eaten, a pen exploded all over my bag, I took an unbelievable amount of shots that were on fire, I experienced the worst tour/guide I've had yet, and I saw the most surreal architecture I've ever seen among mannnyy other things, but when it all comes down to it, I loved Barcelona and I need to get back there as soon as possible.
Right off the bat, I knew this trip was going to be different from what I expected. But different isn't always bad and that was definitely the case for here. I guess for starters, Barcelona didn't look a whole lot like what I was expecting. I actually have no idea what I was expecting, but what I saw wasn't it. I think I was thinking of something more like Florence or Amsterdam or just something with an authentic feel, and at first glance Barcelona could have been anywhere in the US. But when I looked closer I saw the subtle flair that became more apparent day by day. By the end of the trip the architecture was my favorite part about the city, and it was all unique to good old Barca. The language also threw me for a loop. I knew that they spoke Catalan there, but I didn't know that it was so different from spanish or that it would dominate all of the signs in the city. Catalan is the most confusing language and I don't understand why or how it came to be. It kind of sounds like a mix between english and german, but I honestly have no idea what it is, all I understand is that it requires a lisp.
We got to experience the famous Las Ramblas which is a longg street that goes through the city with a ton of little stands, shops, restaurants and pick pocketers. The pick pockets are out of control. There's signs and announcements everywhere warning you about them, and everyone is clutching onto their bags. But neither me nor Emma got anything stolen, so I guess we were careful enough.. We spent a lot of time walking around the city, and of course went to the Sagrada Familia Chapel. This place is mind blowing, and once you see this chapel you understand how incredibly innovative, creative and brilliant Gaudi (the Architect) was. Not only did he think this place up, he built it. It's absolutely massive unlike anything else I've ever seen. It looks like it belongs in a slightly twisted fairy tale. We gawked at it for a while but unfortunately didn't get to go in since the price was high and the line was long.. Gaudi's architecture is all over the city, though, so we got to experience a lot of his work.
But I know that a lot of you are wondering about the nightlife since Barcelona is known for it's crazy clubs and legendary nights.. To be honest, nothing too crazy happened. I still had a lot of fun, but I don't think I was even on the Barcelona scale which is one of the reasons I need to get back there ASAP... so we went to one of the chupitos (shot) bars on friday night. All the shots are two euros, so you can imagine how our night went. The first shot we tried was suggested by Becky and Amanda - the Georgia. We asked for it and the bartender goes "Do you know what that entails?" NOPE, but we wanted it! So the bartender pours out five shots and just as I went to grab mine, he tells us to wait and watch him... he procedes to dip his thumb into his shot, take it out, LIGHT HIS THUMB ON FIRE, put it in his mouth and then take the shot.... for those of you who know me really well, you might have caught on that I'm a little bit of a pyromaniac, so I pretended to be a little scared but in reality I was pretty excited and volunteered to go first. After that the shots kept coming.. most of them involving fire or sucking in alcoholic fumes from the fire and shots.. BUT there was one shot that I will never forget and that I could have at anytime of the day... For those of you who know me at all, you probably know that I have a minor obsession with pop rocks. If I see them, I buy them, if someone has them I want them. Well this bar had a pop rocks shot and somehow the bartender must have known that we would love it. All it entails is eating a handful of pop rocks with a shot and holding it in your mouth till the popping stops but I loved it. I'm going to start including pop rocks in all my drinking endeavors and you're all more than welcome to join me. So that was my Chupitos experience, and the next night we got to experience the club scene. This was almost a complete failure since our tour guides sucked and we ended up having to pay 15 euro to get into a club called Catwalk when we were supposed to get in for free. 15 euros down the drain meant I had next to no money to spend on drinks, which meant I was in a grimy club virtually sober.... But thanks to an amazing DJ and a floor completely dedicated to hip hop music, the night turned around and Emma and I spent the night dancing and signing to the best possible music until 5 am. All in all it was an interesting experience, but definitely something I want to do again.
Easter Sunday was spent on the beach... sorry mom, dad & Jesus. It wasn't all that hot but we did not care and we still managed to get a tan/burn. The beaches in Barcelona are filled with sand, sun and Asians offering massages. I kid you not. Hundreds of little asian women walk around the beach "5 euro massageyy... only 5 euro... very nice... you like" That was probably the weirdest thing you could buy on the beach, but it was by no means the only thing. There were guys walking around selling beer, water, soda, mojitos, sarongs, hats, sunglasses, coconut, empanadas... am I missing anything Emma? It was crazy and extremely annoying, but they left us alone for the most part as long as we pretended that we were sleeping.
So I guess that just about wraps up Barcelona. Here's some pictures for you guys! I'm off to Sicily in a few hours and then I get a few weeks to enjoy Florence before I head home exactly one month from today. weird. Miss everyone back home though, and I can't wait to see you all!
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| Paella |
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| Gaudi's Architecture in the middle |
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| more Gaudi |
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| Sagrada Familia Chapel |
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| More Gaudi |
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| Beach! |
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