estoy enfadado con Barcelona!

Okay, so this is definitely my favorite European city so far… we had a blast!!! I went with some of the girls from my program who know people studying in Barcelona this semester- we got a pseudo local taste of the place which was wonderful!
Barcelona is located in Catalonia (on the Mediterranean) where they speak catalán (a mix between French and Castilian Spanish). It’s the same deal as the el país vasco where they speak eurskara (where I live in Spain). Gaudí had a huge influence on the architecture, and the buildings show it… check out my pictures on facebook to see exactly what I mean. We stayed at Centric Point hostel near Plaça Catalunya and Las Ramblas (the famous street!) and Passeig de Gràcia. The place was nice (for a hostel), cheap, and in a perfect location! Plaça Catalunya is in the heart of Barcelona.
WHERE WE WENT…

DAY 1
We arrived late Thursday night and went to bed almost as soon as we got there. The next day we ate breakfast at our hostel (I love it when b’fast is included!), got a map, and headed out. We ventured down Las Ramblas first. Las Ramblas is the most famous street in the city. There are all kinds of crazy street vendors and performers and shops. They sell pigeons (why you would want one is beyond me…), rabbits, touristy stuff, etc. along the street. The place is crazy but wonderful! The street leads to Plaça Portal de la Pau, where the Christopher Columbus monument is located. We stopped and hung out by the Mediterranean, which is a gorgeous blue right now! We visited the Gothic Quarter and Catedral de Barcelona, which was started in the 13th century and finished in the 15th century. The church was under construction when we were there. We saw the outside, and it’s gorgeous. The Gothic Quarter is very “old Europe” with narrow streets and tall buildings. The rest of the day was spent wandering aimlessly around Barcelona (Barceloneta, The Eixample, etc. ) and hitting up every market we saw. I love European markets- you can find all kinds of stuff in them and really get a sense of the local culture. On Friday night, we ate a Citric, a really great restaurant that serves all kinds of stuff. We met up with some of the girls’ friends and went to several really neat places along Las Ramblas, etc. The only bad part of the night was the rain, and we got drenched. My jeans were not dry by the next day.
DAY 2
After breakfast, we were on a mission to find “The Bagel Shop”. Yes, that’s the real name of the place and it exists off Las Ramblas in Barcelona. We found the Bagel Shop only to hear some terrible news- they didn’t have any bagels, but if we came back in an hour or so, they would. We headed back to the Mercat St. Joseph for some fresh fruit! We bought some fruit salad and headed back to Plaça Portal de la Pau to enjoy our fruit and the incredible weather. After we finished our fruit, we headed back to the Bagel Shop and purchased our bagels. We took them to Parc Güell, a beautiful park designed by Gaudí. The place resembles something out of a Dr. Suess book. It’s crazy fun! We ate our wonderful bagels and 3 or 4 hours just hanging out at this place- like I said, the weather was perfect! We met up with another one of the girls’ friends and he took us to Olympic Stadium, where we got in for free- some sort of children’s festival was going on there.
We also went to Montjuïc (the main sight for the ’92 Olympic games) at Plaça d’Espanya to watch the light show- the fountains light up to music and it’s really cool! I sound like a little kid, but it was awesome! I was freezing though because I was in shorts- my jeans were still wet from the night before and I only brought one pair. That night, we went to the beaches at Vila Olímpica and met up with some more college kids on a quest to find the 3rd World Series game. We found the game at an Irish Pub and had a blast watching the Red Sox win again- and former Ole Miss player Seth Smith get a hit for the Rockies.

DAY 3
We missed the free breakfast, so we hit up Dunkin Donuts for a taste of the states. We took our time on Sunday. Many shopes are closed, even in touristy Barcelona so we strolled through the city and it was wonderful. We visited the Sagrada Família, Gaudí’s masterpiece. We headed to Vila Olímpica, well actually we meant to go to the Olympic Village, but ended up at Vila Olímpica, a mistake but not a bad one. The beaches are gorgeous and I found plenty of sea glass- something I can’t find on my beloved Emerald Coast beaches. We ate tapas/real food at a local place, and it was good and very cheap. We headed to the Barcelona soccer stadium, hoping to catch that night’s game. Turns out, we bought tickets for the “B” team game. Oh well, we had fun anyway. I finally found churros- I love them. They’re wonderful, and I’ll tell that to anyone- despite what my friends might say. haha. We ate dinner at a Pita Inn, and the food was excellent. I really like pitas- they take me back to my time spent in the San Juan mountains, eating hobo packs. Yum!!! We headed back to the hostel, and I went to sleep while everyone else headed back to the Irish Pub to watch the Sox win it all!

OVERALL-
I love Barcelona, a lot. I’ll go back in a heartbeat, so if any of you decide to plan a trip their, let me know because I want to go with you! We had a blast and I got back just in time for class on Monday morning. The weather was great- a nice change from the rainy grossness of the Basque country. Anyway, I’m headed to Cinqueterra, Italy, this weekend and I’m stoked. Next weekend, I’ll be in Pamplona and maybe Burgos? Who knows. Anyway, I love all of you! Robbie- congrats on that TD pass and the MA High School Heismann nomination- I’m proud of you, little brother!