Ok. SO I just spent the last four days in Barcelona. This city was amazing! I wish I could have taken you all with me and we could have experienced it together but for now here is a play by play of my time in the beautiful Barcelona, Spain.

Day #1 (June 27th): Upon arriving in Spain I woke up and had breakfast out on the deck before we could get off (there is this whole passport etc procedure that the boat does once we dock). Then I had an FDP (which is just a fancy name for a field trip) for one of my classes at 12:30 so instead of getting off the ship at 9 and then having to turn right back around to get back to meet for my trip I ended up going back to bed and napping then getting ready to go. My FDP was a bus tour of Barcelona and a flamenco performance. The bus tour took us to four places. The first place was the old Gothic Quarter of Barcelona. This village had beautiful old buildings and churches and gorgeous little side walking streets. In fact that was one of my favorite things about Barcelona was the cute little side walking streets. All of them had great street lights and were cobble stone and simply picturesque. After the Gothic Quarter the bus took us to La Sagrada Familia. WOW. This church designed by Gaudi was just astonishing. I was so shocked at the sheer size of the thing. Later in the tour we went to a outlook point and this church was what looked something like 4 stories higher than the rest of the town, and the highest towers aren't even built yet. Then once you get over the size of the thing you focus on the immense detail of the building. The sides have four facades, only 2 of which were finished I think. The back one looked almost as though it was melting and the front one depicted Jesus' rise from the cross to heaven. Unfortunately we were on a schedule and we couldn't go inside but I heard it is equally as gorgeous inside, simpler but still beautiful. Once we got back on the bus we headed to El Poble, which is a park with replicas of buildings from all over Spain. It was very touristy but still kinda fun. The highlight of this section of the trip was the flamenco performance. It is really hard for me to describe the impact this performance had on me but it is safe to say that it moved me to tears. The dancing was so passionate and the music was so moving and amazing. I can't put into words the performance but it was utterly life changing and my favorite part of Barcelona. After that I was speechless on our way to the top of a mountain to see the whole city. This city is seriously the densest thing I have ever seen but the amazing thing is it only really feels that way from above. I got some fabulous pictures up there (ask me to see them when I get back). After the viewpoint we headed back to the ship. Siesta time! (ps culturally mandatory naps should be a worldwide movement) Then it was time to go out! My friends and I (Lyndsi, Katie, and Erica) went out with another group of people for tapas (appetizers) and cava (champagne) then we went to a club called Apolo. The club was PACKED! But it was so much fun. We drank a little bit more and danced the night away. I lost an earring (which is a funny story) but other than that the night was amazing! We ended up back at the ship around 4 and went to bed around 5 or 6 (this became a routine bedtime).

Day #2 (June 28th): Today was a sightseeing day! We began by going to Parc Guell which is this beautiful park with a bunch of Gaudi work in it. Not much to report besides its utter beauty. There were flower gardens, interesting buildings, beautiful mosaics and wonderful street musicians. Afterwards Erica, Katie, and Katie's roommate Melina wanted to go to see La Sagrada Familia because they didn't see it the day before. We decided to save money on the taxi and just try and walk. Long story short we got lost in the side streets. But it was all ok because getting lost in the city was awesome. We wandered around looking at the cute apartments and shops. It was just beautiful. Afterward we headed to Las Ramblas which is the shopping area of Barelona. We did a little bit of shopping, I bought a bracelet and some earrings, and then we headed back to the ship for siesta before going out. Once again we went out got tapas and wine then made our way to a club called BLVD. This one we got into for free! Wooo! And danced the night away getting home once again around 4.

Day #3 (June 29th): I didn't really start out this day with any plans hence I didn't leave the ship until around 1. I decided to wander around the city with my friend Rob but once we got on the shuttle bus from the ship to the city we ran into some girls that we knew and ended up spending the day with them. First we took the cable car which was basically an air ride over the city from the beach to the top of one of the mountains. Then we got onto one of those double-decker buses and went sightseeing for the rest of the day. We went all over the city saw the futbol stadium, bull fighting arena…after the long bus tour we were so exhausted but it was time for KASKADE! So Rob and I got cleaned up and went to a quick dinner and drink then off to the club where the DJ was playing. Needless to say the DJ was awesome! All of SAS was there or at least it seemed like everyone was there. Everywhere we turned there were SAS people. It was awesome to hang out and dance and party with everyone on the last night staying in Barcelona!

Day #4 (June 30th): Today was supposed to be the day of catching up on emails and doing a bit of touristy shopping, but that changed real fast. We went out to the Parc Guell again and went to the top of the mountain this time. The view was amazing! After hiking back down the mountain we took the metro back to Las Ramblas. We spent the rest of the day wandering around Las Ramblas. I bought some of the touristy things and I also bought a beautiful painting of a flamenco dancer which I cannot wait to have in my room/apartment.

Overall Barcelona was absolutely amazing. I loved every minute of the city day or night. I cannot wait to go back…and I WILL go back! Who's coming with me?