Hola!

This past weekend I was in Barcelona, Spain! I was looking forward to spending the weekend in a warm climate, whit lots of sun and enjoying my last trip of the semester. Well, when we first got there we met up with 3 other girls from school who were staying in our hostel. We get on the metro to get to the hostel, only to discover that it closed in 5 minutes, so we had to get off. We got off at what we thought was our stop (as indicated on the directions from the hostel) and discovered that it was actually about a 20 minute walk from where we were. It was about 1:00 am, so we were trying to hurry, as it’s never a good idea to be out late, and a group of 9 American girls is like a moving target. So, we get directions from two nice ladies who happened to be walking by and make our way down the street. As we are crossing the street we hear one of the girls screaming. I turn around she is being dragged down the street by a Vespa. She falls face first into the street and the guy speeds away. So, we all run over to her and try to process what has just happened. I thought the Vespa had hit her, but apparently he had tried to grab her purse off of her arm and she didn’t let go so he was dragging her. She gets up and her face is bruised and scraped up as well as her arms and feet. She is shaking terribly, and is obviously shaken up, as all of us are, but we are now trying to figure out what to do. No cabs would stop for us, and we were still 15 minutes away from the hostel, so I tried to clean her up, a few girls grabbed her stuff and we continued walking. I have never been so scared in my life. Every Vespa or motorcycle that would drive back, I would just hold my breath and tremble. Its one thing to hear of these types of things happening, but you never think it will happen to you (or someone you know) and then when it does, it is the biggest reality check. We were all silent walking to the hostel, I think because we were all scared and no one knew what to say. It was horrible and one of the worst things I have seen happen to a friend. I hope it never happens again, and serves as a reminder that there are bad people out there and to hold your belongings close, because around every corner someone is there to rob you and take advantage of you. I was so glad that she had held onto her purse, because her life was in there. I am glad that she is ok for what happened, but if he would’ve gotten her purse she would’ve lost her passport, credit cards, cash, etc…all in a foreign country and when the embassies are all closed. She would’ve been screwed. So, on one hand her face would’ve been saved if she would’ve just let go, but at what cost? Anyway, we finally got cabs, and we finally got to the hostel. Everyone was afraid to leave the hostel because of what just happened, but we decided that at this point we could all use a drink, so we went next door to an Irish pub. It was nice to be crammed in, and feel safe actually. The rest of the girls went home, and Tracy and I stayed out for a little bit and blew off some steam. It was an interesting day to say the least.

Friday, we got a late start because of our really late bedtime the previous night, but we got some lunch and went to Starbucks and all was ok. We decided to head to the beach, even though it was chilly, we still wanted to walk in the sand. By the time we figured out where the beach was it was pouring. It was a little windy when we left the hostel, and it kept getting darker, but we figured it would hold off. It did not. It was so windy and cold and rainy—absolutely miserable. Where we were, there was not much to do inside, so we braved the rain (with my now broken umbrella) and hit the shops on La Rambla. The shopping there was amazing! The style was so different than anything I have ever seen. The colors and prints were crazy, anything went. I thought this was only in one store, and as we kept walking around I found this was not the case. I didn’t really buy anything crazy, but the other girls did and let me tell you, it is nothing you would ever find in the States. It was very inspiring to be around all of this, I loved it. After shopping we figured we should go back to the hostel and get ready for the night. We went to a Spanish restaurant for dinner, where we had a ton of Sangria. I also got typical Spanish food; it was pretty good, actually. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I liked it a lot. After dinner we went to a club that was supposed to be “the best club in Spain!” It was definitely not. There were about 5 people there and the drinks were ridiculously expensive. However, like always, we made friends with the managers and bartenders, so we did not have to pay. But, this fact did not make this club any less lame, and on top of that, Spain still allows smoking inside, so it reeked of smoke and it was everywhere. Ugh. We decided to leave after a few hours and this club was in the middle of nowhere, so getting a cab was next to impossible. When we finally got one, we realized we had 5 people (cabs only allow 4) and had to beg the driver to take us. He finally did after much convincing and we made it home safe and sound.

Saturday also started relatively late (the bars stay open until 5am) but once we did get up we wanted to walk around and see the architecture. Some of the other girls went on a bus tour, but I wanted to walk so Tracy and I and 2 other girls did our own tour. By the time we finished with lunch, it was raining again. So, we had to waste time somehow in the shops. I can only look at the same clothes for so long, so this was getting old, but I bought a few souvenirs and we finally made our way outside to the Casa Batillò, which is the famous Gaudi building. Gaudi is an architect (and artist, I guess…) from the early 1900s whose style was very modernistic and crazy for the time period. I personally love his style and would live in any house he designed in an instant. He liked to derive inspiration from all things “nature” and used them quite literally, but more on that later. Anyway, so we are walking and taking our time and taking photos of everything and checking out shops. We then realize that it’s almost 8pm and the house is probably going to be closed. So we hurry to the house, and it had just closed, so we vow to get up early the next day (we had to anyway to check out) and go inside. So, we decided to walk around some more and go back to the hostel to get ready for the evening’s festivities. We go to dinner at this tiny little restaurant/pub on this little side street. I wasn’t really that hungry, but I ordered something “meat in the oven” whatever that means. Well it comes out and it’s like a big slab of “meat” I don’t know what it was, but it was disgusting. I am pretty open to trying new food, but I couldn’t eat it. Luckily it came with mashed potatoes, so I ate those. The server comes to clear the table and looks at my untouched plate and says “you don’t like?” and I say apologetically, “no, I am sorry…it’s ok though” and she gives me the dirtiest look ever. Whatever, I didn’t mean to offend her, but I just couldn’t eat it. Anyway, to smooth things over (plus I was hungry at that point still) I ordered a chocolate tart and cleaned my plate. After dinner we went to a tiny little salsa bar, and I mean tiny. There were 10 of us and we barely fit. After sitting at a cramped table for an hour, we decided to change locations. We went to this little place where there was a great dj and a lot of interesting people. It ended up being really fun and a great way to end our night out in Barcelona. We went back early because we wanted to be able to get up early the next day.

Sunday morning came pretty early, as we had to be up and checked out by 10am. So after that, we went to the Gaudi house, Casa Batillò. We went in this time and it was amazing. I have never in my life seen anything like it. The inside was made to represent the inside of a whale. The staircase looked as if it had a spine attached made of beautiful polished wood. The windows were supposed to be like the teeth and they had beautiful stained glass inserts like bubbles. There were so many interesting things in this house, it is almost impossible to remember them all! Just the way things were designed was so amazing and thinking of the time period in which all of this was created is even more impressive. For instance, the doors had a ventilation system, where you could open however many to create air circulation within the rooms, and the handles on the windows were designed to fit perfectly into your hand. The staircase railing was the same way, the wood was so soft and it fit smoothly into my hand. In the center of the house there was a courtyard referred to as the “courtyard of light.” It was tiled in blue tiles that at the bottom were light and as you went up the stairs, you noticed that they became a more cobalt blue. This was done to create a brightening effect at the bottom. This courtyard was covered by glass to let the light in and it was the entire height of the house. Once we got to the top, there was a rooftop terrace. It was so cool! The front of the house has a shape that is reminiscent of a dragon’s back and is tile in mosaics accordingly. There are also little stairs that go to secret places all over the house, even on the roof. The chimney covers were made to resemble a castle, and are mosaic tiled as well. It was perfectly reminiscent of Barcelona with its bright colors and interesting design. This was my favorite thing that we did, only because it was so unique and I really enjoy unique architecture and design. After the Casa Batillo, we walked around more and saw the things we kept missing. We got one last lunch of tapas and other Spanish food (I got paella…a rice dish, so good!) and headed back to the hostel to pack up our luggage and get to the airport.

Overall, this trip was great. Even though it started horribly and it rained most of the time, it was still enjoyable and I loved it. Barcelona is a very unique and beautiful place, which I would recommend to anyone. The architecture alone is worth the trip. There were so many other Gaudi buildings that we didn’t get to see, but the Casa Batillo was the crown jewel for sure. Unfortunately that was my last trip to another country (unless I plan something on a whim…) but I will spend the remainder of my trip in Italy. This weekend I was hoping to get back to Amsterdam with some girls from class, but I waited way too long to book a flight and they are now ridiculously expensive, so maybe later. I would like to take a trip by myself, but I am not sure if I will and where I would go. This weekend, I will stay in Florence and probably do some Christmas shopping for people and visit museums. My roommate, Tracy will be out of town with her parents, and my other roommate has a friend coming, so I am hoping to be alone all weekend and will enjoy every second of it. I need the rest and especially the alone time, as spending 24 hours a day with the same people, can be taxing. I will write again soon.

Ciao