Update & Viaje Barcelona

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Last weekend I decided against traveling but this weekend we decided to go to Barcelona. For Valentine’s Day, Chris sent me pink roses and mi familia gave me a little wooden jewelry box! Katie-Rose also visited this week and we had a great time going to the market and eating lots of candy. For the past two Fridays my art class has taken excursions to the Prado Museum to see the works of El Greco, Velazquez, and Goya, as well as the many other painters that we are not studying. I have had two phone interviews in the past two weeks for summer internships, one with Pulte Homes and the other with Echostar Communications, hopefully I can get a great job!
Anyway, now for this weekend’s happenings: so after our second tour of the Prado, Kristen, Shannon, and I met up with Mallory and Ethan to go get our overnight bus to Barcelona. Since the original station didn’t have our tickets we had to go to another one, but in transit we decided to stop off at Puerta del Sol to get a bite. We were window-eating, so to speak and who of all people do I see munching on churros and sipping chocolate? YES, my roommate Afiya! We caught up for a bit and exchanged numbers for her stay in Spain…boy now I realize how much I miss my Badin buds. Anyway, it was really ironic seeing her and hopefully I can spend some time with her and John Lowe while they’re here on their break from their London study program.
After a quick bite, we got to the bus station, and arrived in Barcelona at 7am Saturday morning. The weather was beautiful, so after finding our hostel, which was located off the infamous Las Ramblas, we took a trip to the Mercado where we were pleasantly surprised to find the most delicious fruit, chocolate, cheese, and chirzo, which we dined on all weekend. Shannon, Ethan and Kristen were interested in seeing a futbol game, so they went off to get tickets while Mal and I set our sights on the ocean (and went shopping! 😉 Unfortunately, the tickets for the soccer game were sold out so we ending up watching it at an Aussie Pub later that night. So anyway, we met up and took the Gaudy walking tour recommended by Shannon’s Let’s Go book. We saw four or five of the houses he designed from the outside and ended up at La Sagrada Familia. Considering this was the purpose for my trip I thoroughly loved the not-so-finished church. It was bittersweet, to see all the work that had been accomplished and the beauty of the structure was amazing but the fact that 127 years have gone by and the sacrament still is not present was a little disappointing. After taking a look inside and out, we decided to climb the hundreds of steps to the top. The sun was shining brightly and I couldn’t resist taking tons of pictures, despite the fierce wind. Once we got back down we decided to go back to the beach.
We met Michael, who was also excited and had his swim suit on all day. The wind was whistling but I was drawn to the water, however I still had on my shoes. After getting my shoes, socks and pants wet I decided that slipping off the shoes and wading in the Mediterranean wouldn’t be a problem. The water was freezing but man I love the water. Since my shoes were wet I decided to keep my eye out for some new shoes, which I was planning on getting anyway, luckily I found some (2 pairs actually) for a mere €35. I got all dressed up in anticipation for an outrageous nightlife, but after dinner and the pub everyone was tired and we just returned to the hostel for some quality R&R.
Sunday morning we woke up to go to mass, which was in Catalan (the language of Barcelona). Then we picnicked in the Gaudy park and saw his house, the lizard, and snake bench. After that we just walked around some more and when 11pm came around we were ready to take the bus back. We got into Madrid at 6:30am and then took the high speed train (200km/h) back to Toledo. We made it back in time for class and a quick shower. Next week I have midterms already so I’m planning on hanging out here and studying!! I can’t wait! But make sure and check out the

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