BARCELONA: SANGRIA, GAUDI AND SHOPPING

for some reason spain wasn't top on my list of places to visit during my exchange. after i visited barcelona, i couldn't believe i had ever thought that. barcelona is definitely one of my top destinations ever.

ellen, ira, paige and i travelled there during our break in april. we didn't have a lot planned which is an unusual way to travel for me, but in the end, i think it altered the way i want to travel indefinitely. we really took our time in barcelona. we walked where we felt like, we ate when we wished, we stopped whenever we felt the need. it was absolutely perfect.

there is so much to see in the big city of barcelona. gaudi's architecutral masterpieces are everywhere!! we spent most of an entire day walking through parc guell looking at the mosaics and buildings which look like something out of a children's fairytale book. we also walked around la sagrada familia, one of his most famous buildings which has been in construction since 1882...and it still unfinished. it's obvious that barcelona is heavily affected by gaudi and his work.

one of my favourite places in barcelona was a market called las ramblas. anyone who knows me knows i love markets. browsing among the various pieces of artwork, articles of clothing and morsels of food is heaven to me. it's like i zone out and enter my own little world of amazement and intrigue only to look up and find everyone else has passed further long ago. fortunately i was not lost in barcelona, but the market was one of the best i've ever been to.

food is definitely one of the must do things whenever i'm in another country. a large part of a country's identity is centred on food and spain did not disappoint. our first stop upon arrival was a tapas bar where we ordered ten dishes or so and taste tested our way to satiation. we spent another evening over jugs of sangria chatting and laughing over stories from our exchange semester. one morning our stomachs craved a spanish breakfast of churros and chocolate delicious!! it ended up raining, hailing actually, so we spent the afternoon there as well playing cards and eating tapas and paella, another spanish food.

we spent an afternoon atop the montuic castle gazing over the mediterranean on one side and on the other side of us, the city of barcelona. we spent a few hours sipping sangria, lying on top of the castle in the sun and taking many pictures. up here they also had the olympic stadium from the 1992 summer olympics where we were able to take pictures of the stadium as well as the feet prints of olympians in the cement.

our last day was spent shopping due to the rain...and the fact that it was spain ;). a few of us actually bought our exchange final gala dresses in this city.

barcelona is incredibly imprinted on my memory. we only touched what the city had to offer and i was already entranced by it. the language, the scenery, the food...i want to do all of it over again.