Barcelovin It! The Adventures of Barcelona February 15, 2009

Michelle and I embarked on our first big trip to Barcelona, Spain! Little did we know what a journey we would be in for! It all started at the Maastricht train station. Our train left 15 minutes late because of the drug police searching all of the cars for potential pot smuggling into Belgium. Add a crazy dude that didn't have a ticket that finally got off the train when a fellow passenger yelled at him, and you have 2 girls who are going to miss their flight to sunny Barcelona. One expensive cab ride to the Charleroi Airport, a flight to Girona, Spain, a shuttle to Barcelona, and a cab to our hostel….we arrived! I was so excited to see Alex and Sarah from home, that I pretty much put the traveling woes behind me.

The next morning we woke up to 50 degree weather, a beautiful sunny beach, and Nesquik on the hostel breakfast bar. What more could a girl ask for??!! Sarah, Alex, Michelle, and I began wandering the beautiful harbors of Barcelona. We took one of those sky lift things up to a hill and drank delicious sangria. It was amazing! We then headed toward the Sagrada Familia, one of the most beautiful churches in Europe designed by the famous architect Antoni Gaudi. When we asked a local how long it would take to walk, he said 30 minutes. I don't which way he wanted us to go, but 2 hours later we had arrived (after a kebab stop).

The Sagrada Familia is amazing! We met one of Sarah and I's fellow AOII pledge sister Lauren who is studying in Barcelona for the spring, and she explained to us the controversy of this amazing church. First off, it is still not finished. Gaudi became a recluse and moved into the church during its construction and died not long after that. The city then commissioned another archtitect to finish the opposite side of the church. You can clearly tell that the new architect scrapped Gaudi's vision and did his own thing. Although still beautiful, it is interesting to see the obvious differences in the architectural style. We did not go inside the church because 13 euro to see construction didn't sound too enticing.

Lauren, the best tour guide ever, then took us up to the Park Guell. Initially built to house Barcelona's elite families, the Park Guell was not completed due to lack of funding. The only buildings Gaudi completed were the two watch houses in the front of the park and the house he built for himself. The park is full of mosaic tiled benches and animals and natural arches. America's Next Top Model tapped one of its final runway shows here! The park was amazing and my favorite part of Barcelona!

On our way home, we stopped and had paella for dinner (a traditional Spanish meal). We met back up with Lauren and headed out to the bars. We had a few beers and called it a night because we were all exhausted after walking like 17 miles that day!

We woke up on Saturday morning and headed to the Los Ramblas market where they sell everything! We had delicious all-natural mango smoothies, Sarah had some Starbucks, and we experienced Spanish culture! We walked back to our hostel and Michelle and I hung out on the beach until we had to walk to our shuttle. The beach is beautiful and one thing we don't have in Maastricht! I was sad to leave my friends, the warmth, and the sunshine.

I loved Barcelona and am so glad that I visited! Next week is Carnivale and Milan/Florence so keep checking for more posts! Love and Happy Valentines Day!

Tot Ziens, Betsy