I'm back from my first ever solo self-planned trip, and it was a big success!!! I was in Barcelona from Friday mid morning until noon today (Sunday). It was my first time flying completely alone, first time staying in a youth hostel, and first time being in Barcelona- I think I pulled it off pretty well. I learned a lot about dos and don'ts of traveling: what is cheap an what is not, which type of maps and transportation to use, and what types of attractions I prefer.
Barcelona is a beautiful city full of art and culture. The streets are lined by architecture in a wild conglomeration of Gothic, art nuvo, and modernist styles. There are so many more bright colors there than in Madrid. However, the subways seemed to be much more dirty and dark, and I think there was more air pollution because of the haze, but all in all it was really beautiful.
So, I flew to Barcelona on Friday, and met up with a few other girls from St. Louis U. to check in at our hostel. We then immediately headed for the beach! My first time on theMediterranean coast was great! The weather was perfect, the water was cool, and the surf was really strong. We sunned ourselves, swam out to one of the wave break points, and played in the waves. Then we walked down to olympic pier and took a look at the boats and fun architecture. My friend Yanan and I ended the day by going to the Picasso museum and the church of Santa Maria Del Mar where we were surprised to find a black tie wedding in process. We sat in for a while and I told Yanan (who is Chinese) about western wedding traditions. It was really fun. On our way back to the hostel we got caught up in a big parade of fire-breathing dragons and Samba drum corps jamming along the Rambla, it was pretty amazing.
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Saturday Yanan and I got up nice and early and began by exploring the Boqueria, the largest open air market in europe. It was full of fantastically fresh fruits, butcheries with every animal part possible, and seafood stands where lots of things were still attempting to crawl away. We then walked up the Rambla to the Paissage de Gracia where many of the famous architect Antoni Gaudi's works sit enthroned. We saw his Casa Batlló and Casa Míla (or La Pedera), going inside the latter to observe the ingenious attic and wacky rooftop. We then hiked out to Gaudí's cathedral La Sagrada Familia, wich I found eclectic, strange and cool. Next was the famous Parc Güell that Gaudí Designed to be an artists' colony and general haven of crazy art people, however only two buildings were ever completed on the grounds. The park is home to many grotto-like walkways, cool mosaic designs on everything, and the longest park bench in the world (a winding horseshoe shaped monstrosity). I then rounded out the Gaudí marathon with his Palau Güell, downtown on the Rambla, but this was sort of a dud as it was mostly under renovation and I could only go into the basement.
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The still-living at la Boqueria--- Me at the Casa Batlló de Gaudí
Most of my late afternoon and evening were spent wandering the galleries of the Palau Nacional de Arte Catalan, which houses a HUGE collection of Roman art along with Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and modern sections. I was especially fascinated by the modern sculptures and paintings(mostly from the 1800s to 1900s) that focused on women. It was intriguing to me to see how each artist interpreted the female figure and to imagine who the woman was and what she meant to the person sculpting or painting her. I spent about 4 hours here, so I really think I got my 5.5oE worth out of that.
I then met up with a few other girls to eat dinner and then to go thee the Font Magic, a huge fountain that does light and music shows all weekend long. It was really beautiful, and me and the girls had fun experimenting with taking pictures of it. (Jamie also had a nikon DSL camera so we compared notes on shutter speed and other dorky things.) We had a lot of fun posing as silhouettes against the background of the fountain. As we went back into the center of town the Mercé festival was still in full swing, and we saw many street performers and free concerts in progress. Why don't we have cool stuff like that in the U.S. of A.?
Me at the Font Mágic!
Here's the quote from Wikipedia about Mercé (I'm too lazy to write it out):
La Mercè is the "most important festival" of Barcelona(Catalonia, Spain). It has been an official city holiday since 1871, when the local government first organized a program of special activities to observe the Roman Catholic feast day of Our Lady of Mercy. (In Catalan, La Mare de Déu de la Mercè -- The Merciful Mother of God; in Spanish, La Virgen de la Merced -- The Virgin of Mercy.) Although the actual date of the holiday is September 24th, the festivities begin a few days before.
Finally, on Sunday, I had a little extra time (since I didn't have to catch the bus to the airport until noon) so I went walking through the Barrí Gótic (Gothic area). I saw the main cathedral of Barcelona: Catedral de Santa Creu, which happened to have ducks in its courtyard, for some reason. It also had a little chapel dedicated to Santa Lucia, who happens to be the patron saint for the day I was born... Made a mental note to google her. I also took pictures of the Palau de Musica Catalan, a famous concert hall with great fun architecture. As a whirlwind way to end my trip I did a fast as I could search through Parc Montjuic, looking for the 1992 Olympic stadium. I found it just in time to snatch a picture or two and hurry back by metro to the Hostel to check out.
All in all, I got to see everything I wanted to and more. I spent money, but not inordinate amounts. And I count myself successful as a whole. I made a list of the top 10 things i learned in Barcelona while waiting for the plane to Madrid, here they are:
- Hostels are places with more amenities than camping, but many many less than a dorm room.
- Speaking your language in a place where you feel intelligent, articulate, and well-understood is a very big luxury.
- During 120lb girl vs. Mediterranean sea- The Mediterranean always wins.
- When you trip, stop and see why it was that you fell so that you don't do it 2 more times and skin your knees like a 5-year-old!
- Ignoring your tired feet and keeping on going is always the right decision (when traveling)
- Where (>) means better than, cleaner, nicer, and generally greater: Madrid Metro > Barcelona Metro
- Fish sellers look at you funny if you take pictures of their still-wriggling wares.
- My level of irritability is directly proportional to how hungry I am (more than any other factor)
- Apparently, if you get married in a UNESCO world heritage site church, random tourists can sit in on your black-tie wedding. (I did.)
- If you wait long enough people will always get out of your photo frame! :)
I Love and miss you all! I wish you all could have been there with me!
<3
A
That was a long post- but fascinating!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on what sounds like a very successful trip!