Blogs from Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, Europe
May 10th 2012
We were a little late setting off due to my suitcase being 3k overweight and there was nothing I could take out. Eventually I put some stuff in Neil's case and off we went. Everything went amazingly like clockwork despite nearly missing the plane and very soon we were in Barcelona. I don't know why I don't come here more often - its just down the road. There's a strange yellow thing in the sky which is an unusual brilliant blue colour. Our hotel The Royal Ramblas is right on Las Ramblas which must be one of Europe's most vibrant streets. We checked in then went off for a long walk, stopping for a beer in a lovely spot on the harbour. Neil began to start thinking about food so we went off without delay in ... read more
May 8th 2012
Apparently I was wrong with my timing, so any times listed in my previous post add an hour. The time here is 7 hours ahead, not 6. We went inside the Sagrada Família church this morning. It was neat but the experience lasted far too long for my taste, I think some of the churches I went into on my last Eurotrip were more interesting than this one. The Picasso museum and tour was painfully boring and apparently I'm the only one that feels that way, it lasted for about 3 hours - 178 minutes too long. I cannot remember a time where I have been in such painfully boring misery before today. I care not about art and now I officially hate Picasso simply for being the topic of such boredom. The only interesting part ... read more
Barcelona And Santa Susanna Dom's 30th Birthday :o)
Published: May 6th 2012Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona » Barcelona
May 5th 2012
Day 1 Dave took us to the train station. Got the train and shuttle to the airport Flight at 18.50 arriving at 21.50 local time then Shuttle from Barcelona to Santa susanna, costing £20pp each, return - coach journey took just over an hour, but seemed to take forever, we also had to wait for people who hadn't made it to the bus in time. Arrived at the hotel (Santa Susanna Resort) at midnight, just missed the all inclusive last orders, hotel was rammed with drunken Brits!! Wheeeey!! Got the keys to our room and got our head down. Day 2 Got up early, weather looked a bit dull, but by the time we had finished breakfast (fry up) it had all cleared up. Plenty of choice at breakfast, continental as well as British classics ... read more
May 3rd 2012
First time in Spain and I can’t even completely use my Spanish since we are in Catalonia and the language of choice for most people is Catalan. That being said, most people also speak Spanish and Catalan is kind of a combination of French and Spanish so we got by just fine. My Spanish, however, is the definition of rusty. 4 months in Switzerland definitely improved my French, but it did the opposite for my Spanish. Hopefully it will make a quick recovery… I traveled to Barcelona with Kavya, a girl from my program. We were there for four days and we literally walked our legs off. By the end we were both ready to just sit down and not move, but we saw all the main things in the city and some of the smaller ... read more
Semana Catorce- Mis Cosas Favoritas
Published: May 1st 2012Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona » Barcelona
April 30th 2012
Hola familia y amigos! Trip and adventure-less this weekend (very relaxing!!) I have been walking the city and decided to write about a few of my favorite things about Barcelona, Spain, and Europe in general! There are so many aspects of the life here that I love and admire and can't wait to take back with me, the ones that I can at least. I can't put them in order and some have pictures along with them, but others wont, and of course most pictures truly do not give the places and things I love enough credit. Graffiti- Here, especially so in Barcelona, graffiti is it's own art. Every shop-gate door, delivery truck and even the ground itself has messages artistically designed in spraypaint. English, Spanish Catalan and just pictures tells stories of the thoughts behind ... read more
"To build a future you have to know the past"
Published: April 29th 2012Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona » Barcelona
April 29th 2012
The last 2 cities we went to were Barcelona and Amsterdam. After being cold in Paris, Barcelona was a much needed vacation. It was sunny with palm trees. There were people walking around the busy plaza with sun dresses and shorts. The farther south we got in Europe, I could see a major cultural shift.Things seemed so much more relaxed in Barcelona. The architecture was very unique. The streets were close together and the buildings were so close I could not see where we were going. In the old part of town it felt like a maze that one afternoon I just wandered through for a few hours. I went to the La Sagrada Familia, which is the longest building still under construction currently. The construction of La Sagrada Família had began in 1882. How ... read more
April 9th 2012
Hola! As many of you know, and have celebrated, it is Holy Week! I know that it isn't celebrated very intensely, except for Easter Sunday with egg hunts, candy baskets and a nice ham back home but here it's an entire week-end of celebration! Each day has it's own sort of festival and special dinner. Good friday, we ate catfish with hard boiled eggs artichoke and red peppers, yum-o! Usually the meals here are up to 3 seperate plates, but this was so big and had all the nutrients we needed in one. Later in the afternoon there is a Procession "The way of the cross" down on Ramblas, and through the Gothic Quarter. It is with the priests and other religious folk of St. Jaume church dressed in robes. Following them is two decorated floats ... read more
April 6th 2012
April 6,2012-We slept well on our last night in Barcelona and we were ready to start our day. A quick breakfast and then we were out the door. We started with the Block of Discord. This is a wonderful city block filled with sumptuous mansions. Each of the home owners wanted to show up or out do their neighbors so they hired architects to go all out. Each house is more elaborate than the next but the most outrageous by far is the one designed by Gaudi. He created something that looks like it is out of The Nightmare Before Christmas. It was amazing to see the amount of thought and consideration that the architects put into each house. A quick subway ride took us to a tram to make the climb up to Mountjuic. When ... read more
April 5th 2012
April 5, 2012- Our first day in Barcelona started with breakfast in the hotel. After some delicious pastries, we headed for the Barcelona Cathedral. The Cathedral was gorgeous. It was set up very different from a lot of other cathedrals we have seen in Europe. The Choir was smack dab in the middle of the church, and there was a crypt with stairs under the main altar. This really limits the number of seats in this church. Off the church was a cloister with a courtyard. The courtyard had geese, which Amy tried to make friends with. The geese did not want to be friends, and started a large vocal rebellion in this quiet sanctuary. After a trip to the roof with a view of the harbor, we headed back to the hotel to pick up ... read more
March 24th 2012
Been a while since our last update, mainly because we haven’t been parked near anywhere that we can steal free wifi from! But anyway, while we were in Pompeii we had a bit of a dilemma. just a few hours after I wrote the last blog I (Sam) locked the keys inside the van! After trying to pick the locks myself I seeked assistance from a local community support man who then herded about 6 other Italians who also tried picking the locks and pretended to shoot them with the police mans gun. This was unsuccessful so in the end it was either wait till the morning and pay a dodgy looking man to get in, or smash the window and claim off the insurance. BUT I gave the insurance company a ring and luckily they ... read more
