Weekend Trip #3: Barcelona

Well hey there everyone (or all three of you)-

Sorry about my little hiatus from the blogging world, but I've had a few busy weeks and haven't been great about keeping this thing going.  I'm trying to get my blogging life together though, so I'll try to put up a few posts this week.

Anyway, last time we spoke I had gone to Oktoberfest in Munich.  That was the weekend of September 23rd.  So--as you can imagine--this may take a while...

First stop: Barcelona

Day 1:

We arrived in Barcelona very late Thursday night, so we decided to wait until Friday morning to check out the city.  On Friday, we immediately got in touch with the Spanish culture by starting our day with some Starbucks.  Once we recovered from temporary nostalgia, we headed off to some Gaudi sites; we saw Casa Batllo, Casa Mila, and La Sagrada Familia.  We got tickets to go inside and to the top of both Casa Mila and La Sagrada Familia.  The architecture of the Gaudi buildings is incredibly strange, but somehow, it works.  La Sagrada Familia was definitely one of the most interesting buildings I've ever seen, with its nature-inspired elements, "sand-castle" exterior, and beautiful stained glass windows.  It feels nothing like a church, and is almost a little eery, but even with all the people it was a very serene place (despite the fact I almost vomited while descending the spiral staircase from one of its towers).  Then we met up with some Trinity students from the Trinity-in-Barcelona program, and they showed us around the area.  We went to the markets at Las Ramblas, walked through the side streets and plazas nearby, and then saw Santa Maria del Mar, a Gothic Catalan church.  The markets were filled with fresh meats, fish, and produce and crowded with locals and tourists.

Later on we had a great dinner of tapas, a variety of Spanish appetizers.  We ordered two types of chopitos (calamari), chorizo, croquetas (fried rolls of mashed potatoes and God knows what else...some type(s) of minced meat, fish, or whatever they want to put in it...in any case, it's super rich but pretty good), patatas something or other (with some type of aioli--very good), tortilla de patatas (omelette with potatoes and onion--one of my favorites!), garlic chicken, and pan de tomate (THE BEST and a Catalan specialty--bread with tomato, olive oil, and salt).  That said, it was a very light dinner.  We also had sangria (I mean we had to), which is a little too sweet for my liking but I toughed it out.  Mom, you would've loved it, and sorry, it beats the sangria you tried to make at home :)

But enough about food..later in the day we also saw the Agbar Tower, which is a huge building lit red and blue in the night.  Then we headed to a beach-side club called Opium, which was a blast but unfortunately did not have any opium.  A little misleading.

Casa Batllo

A green near our hostel

Inside the courtyard of Casa Mila

Haley and I at the top of Casa Mila

Emma and I in front of La Sagrada Familia

The interior of La Sagrada Familia

Stained glass windows within the church

Taking a break in a plaza

A plaza by Las Ramblas

The produce market at Las Ramblas

Hanging out by the beach before heading into the nightclub

Opium with Jynette, Brian, and Emma

Day 2:

On Saturday, we stopped at an awesome bakery for breakfast and then headed to visited Park Guell, another Gaudi creation.  Getting to the park was a little confusing and quite the hike, but it was totally worth it.  The park has beautiful mosaics, buildings, and views of the city.  Park Guell took up a good amount of the day, so afterward we took it easy and did a little shopping.  Then we went to the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and St. Eulalia (aka Barcelona Cathedral), which has numerous chapels with gilded decorations and figures.  And (of course) we took siesta.  Then we met up with the Trinity-in-Barcelona crew again for a slightly fancier dinner.  I ordered Catalan sausage with white beans (which was delicious), while the others had fish and paella.  Later, we went to L'Ovella Negra (The Black Sheep), a warehouse-turned-bar, which one of my friends likened to the mead hall in Beowulf (I prefer the great hall in Harry Potter, but I guess the grungy atmosphere of L'Ovella Negra was a little more Beowulf than Potter).  Then we went out to a nightclub called Razzmatazz, known for its multiple floors, each of which plays a different genre of music.

Strolling through the streets of Barcelona

A view of the city from a peak by Park Guell

Pretending to like Haley at Park Guell

Chapel inside Barcelona Cathedral

Courtyard within Barcelona Cathedral

12 Things I Learned in Barcelona

1. Maybe I’m a little slow, but I had always just assumed that the Spanish you hear in America is the Spanish that you’d hear in Spain.  Well, you know what happens when you assume! (I’ve always been applauded for my innovative humor).  Spanish Spanish—not to be confused with American Spanish (I made up these terms myself. Impressed?)—doesn’t believe in the English “s” sound, which I quickly learned when I checked into my hostel (Can I pleath thee your pathport?).  Don’t worry, I got it when she repeated it for the third time…and after a gentle nudge and whisper from my friend.  But honestly, I thought the owner of the hostel had a cute little lisp until I listened closely to the other locals and realized I was a big moron.  It turns out she doesn’t mean to speak like a post-braces teenager all retainered-up for bed, the /s/ we’re familiar with just doesn’t have a place in the Spanish Spanish language.  And since I have a soft spot for speech impediments, as I once had a slight lisp of my own (It’s not that cool in America), I found this aspect of the Spanish Spanish language quite endearing.  Please excuse all the s’s.
2. There is a huge "grunge" scene in Barcelona.  Ripped jeans, black vintage t-shirts, and dread-mullets (yes, you heard me correctly) are quite the rage in the city.  As my group consisted of five New Englanders who attend a small liberal arts school in New England, you can only imagine how much we fit into this scene.  Nonetheless, we had a lot of fun people watching, and I saw more dread-mullets than I think I'll ever see in my life.  And if you don't know what I mean by "dread-mullet," just google it.  You'll understand.
3. In Catalonia (Catalunya), Barcelona there are more Catalan flags than Spanish flags.  The Catalan people speak their own language and have intense loyalty to Catalonia, which they hope to make a sovereign nation.
4. I once thought Spaniards were a bit too lazy (and incredibly smart) for taking siesta in the afternoon.  But after a long weekend in Barcelona, I’ve learned it’s okay to take siesta, especially in “the city that never sleeps."

   

   A view of the crowd on the first floor of Razzmatazz

5. I learned that the title “the city that never sleeps” not only applies to NYC but to Barcelona as well.  I learned this by Wikipedia-ing “the city that never sleeps.”  Tel Aviv also shares this title.  Tel Aviv is in Israel.  I learned that too.
6. It’s okay to stay up late, but don’t get too ambitious and go to bed at 5 am when you have to get up at eight to catch your flight.  You will refuse to wake up early enough to bathe in the morning, and consequently, you will look like hell.   You will fall asleep on the train back from the airport, and your “friends” will take unflattering videos and pictures of you.  They will then post these gems on social networking sites, and—through the perversion of modern technology—“enhance” the photos to their liking.  I understand this is quite a specific incident, but take it from me. It will happen, and you will almost regret it. 

   

   Exhibit A

   

   Exhibit B (one of many "enhanced" photos)

7. I’m still afraid of heights and I think I’ll always be.  There is a one-way lift up to the top of La Sagrada Familia, which means once you go up, you have to walk down.  After my trek down the steep spiral staircase, my legs were shaky for at least an hour and I was quite light-headed.  I even feel a little light-headed just thinking about it now.  Or maybe I’m just hungry?  They don’t snack every minute here like they do in the States. 

   

   Names and messages by the lift to the top of La Sagrada Familia...our names are somewhere...

   
   

   
   

   

   Haley ruining my shot of the nausea-inducing staircase

8. Dinner in Barcelona is way past my bedtime, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the senior citizens of Barcelona ate dinner while I’m safely tucked away in bed.  We ate dinner no earlier than 10 every night, and it’s not weird to stay out to dinner till 12 am.  If I’m ever up that late, it’s just so I can eat my second dinner.  But don’t fret, I didn’t go hungry; to counteract this horrible tradition, I grazed heavily throughout the day while the locals stayed skinny. 



Enjoying a gourmet cupcake at midday (but it's carrot cake, so it's healthy)

9. In Spain, a “tortilla” is actually a “potato-based omelette” (Wikipedia).  It is also one of the greatest comfort foods of all time, and therefore will put your cholesterol through the roof.  Sign me up.
10. Bunk beds are just as fun as I remember.  I nabbed the bottom bunk below my dear friend Haley, and we chatted like preteens into the wee hours of the night.  Well this happened just one night, but I want you to believe that I have some good friends here.  Anyway, we were incredibly successful at annoying everyone else, all of whom were bunkmate-less.  (I think they were just jealous.)  But Haley won over the crowd with a bedtime story from Cosmo, as we all are lovers of sophisticated literature.  You can always count on a Cosmo bedtime story to bring people together.

    

    Our hostel!
    

    
    

11. Spanish bread is better than Italian bread. I know what you’re thinking: You’ve got to be kidding me!  Oh no, I am not.  In fact, Italian bread is not what you’d imagine, and Spanish bread is from God’s hand to man’s mouth (and that perfectly salty and soggy mess from Catalunya is so much better than it looks).

    

    Making pan con tomate--a Catalan specialty (and my new favorite thing)
    

    
    

12. I thought Amelia was just a crazy Jew from San Francisco, but now I know that she’s a crazy Jew from San Francisco with relatives in Barcelona:

Street performers we ran into on our walk back from the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia

Bottom line, Barcelona is FUN--perhaps a little too fun.  I don't think I have the energy or endurance to survive the the work hard, play hard lifestyle of Barcelona, but I really enjoyed the weekend and hope to visit the city again (we joked that we'd return in 2030, the estimated date of La Sagrada Familia's complete restoration).  Although it was very different from Rome in its modernity, I loved the character of the city.  It had some of the charms of New York (immense buildings, great nightlife, lively atmosphere), but I didn't feel overwhelmed by the concrete or crowds like I often do in the City.  I also loved all the trees that lined the streets and the small greens that broke up the gray of the city.  Gaudi's works were incredible as well, which were not only modern in his time but also modern today.  Plus, it didn't hurt that we were blessed with gorgeous weather and had friends from Trinity to show us around the city.  Overall, a completely different experience--completely unlike Rome, Capri, Naples, and Munich--but amazing nonetheless. See you in 2030, Barcelona!