48 hours in Barcelona

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Hello! Or, shall i say Hola...

Speaking of Hola, the first language in Spain is not Spanish as I thought prior to my visit there. The first langauge is Catalan in Spain, and Barcelona is the capital of Catalunya. Catalunya is the It did seem that most people we talked to spoke Spanish as well, so I was able to use the minimal Spanish speaking I have in the back of my mind from middle and high school. It came in handy with some people at the hostel and people at shops and markets. I can speak more Spanish than Italian, so maybe I seemed less like a tourist in Barcelona.... ; ) I also think most people spoke English or Spanish because we were in the tourist area of Barcelona. We arrived in Barcelona about 930 PM on Thursday night. The flight from Turin to Barcelona was quick....almost like flying from MSP to Chicago Ohare airport. Our first adventure of the weekend travels began when Jennie and I took the shuttle bus from the Turin train station into the Turin Airport.....we first got on the wrong bus and than almost got off at the wrong stops a few times. It was clear we were confused so the locals helped us out. Glad we found out the shuttle bus to the airpot, it is a super easy ride from where we live in Turin into the airport. Now we know for next time we fly within Europe...! The airport security was super simple....and quick. There was also no stamp given on my passport for arrival or depature in Barcelona. I am thinking because Spain is within the Schengan area, and travel within the Schengan area is more simple than going outside the Schengan area. That is only my assumption...anyone else have thoughts!?

Upon arrival in Barcelona, we had to find the shuttle into the city. Luckily there was 4 of us in this travel together....4 lost and loud Americans. We read in our directions online that the hostel was located next to a KFC, so that was our go to point of interest....the KFC! So 4 Americans roaming the streets of Barcelona with all of our luggage, and asking the locals where the KFC was.....all natural tourist moments. It only took about 25 minutes to find our hostel so that was not too bad considering it was also dark! On the walk to our hostel we were alredy being bombarded with the locals selling cervezca (beer) on the streets. True signs of Barcelona. Our hostel, Kabul Hostel had a prime location in the center of the city which made it perfect for walking everywhere. The hostel was by all means a party hostel. We walked in and one of the first announcemtns I heard from behind the bar was 'If you are not drunk yet, you are not doing your job!' Definelty a hostel to go to if you want to party and count on minimal sleep. I felt like we had entered a fraternity house mixed with dorm rooms. Jennie and I were in a 8 bedroom mixed dorm room...our hostel mates were from a variety of countries including Brazil, France, and Algeria. The hostel smelt like body odor and it was real hot in the rooms....that is the luxary hostel life! No bed bugs were found at this hostel that we knew of...so hey, a 5 star hostel!

We explored the city of Barecelona on Thursday night, and discovered that there were a handful of Irish pubs down some questiobale alleys. I ate my first donor kebab which was incredibly delicious and especially for the prices....4 euros! Barcelona is full of touristy overpriced places to eat but we went down the side streets and found more local cheap places to eat which offered larger dishes for cheaper. The donor kebab was fabulous and I was able to get my fix of spicy flavor...total sucess! There was 5 of us together for the nigh...it was refreshing to see other Teachers from our program who we have not seen since the first day. Hearing the different experiences people are having between teaching and host family life ranges greatly in dynamics and makes for interesting conversation.

Friday we made plans to go on a bike tour of the city. A Group of 7 of us went on the Fat Tire Bike tour through Barecelona and we all had an awesome time. Highly recommend Fat Tire company if you are ever traveling through Europe...they do tours in 4 countries! Thanks to Jennie for suggesting the tour 😊 The bike tour was a total of 4 hours long and we went to many of the main sites in Barcelona and our tour guide gave us a background on each of the sites we stopped at including Plaza Sant Jaume, Plaza Del Rei, La Catedral, Paula de la Musica Catalana, The Barcelona waterfront, and La Sagrada Familia....this one is one of the most famous sites in Barecelona and it began work in 1882 and is still in construction today. Our tour guide told us the construction is estimated to last at least 12 more years. There is extreme detail on EVERY part of the Church and to enter into the Church it costs 20 euros (we did not go in.) There are also 40 architects working on the construction of this building...Each one having a specific role. The bike tour ended with lunch at the waterfront. For lunch I had a squid sandwich...it was tasty but not as fried and crispy like I am used to having my squid. The tour lasted until close to 3 pm so we were wiped out and came back to the hostel for some of us to have a siesta (nap).

While most people were taking siestas, I went to the local market which was full of everything you can imagine! In all my travels markets are alaways a favorite for me, I enter the market and can roam for hours meditating on all the fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, smelling all the fresh seafood cooking and listening the locals speak...all while sipping on some delicioso coconut juice for only 1 euro!

In Honor of Halloween on Friday night we got dressed up and went out in style with the Hostels Pub Crawl. Prior to the pub crawl we got some local grub at an awesome, cheap taco shop. Total cost for 2 tacos, guacamole and chips, and a beer was 7 euros...tasty deal! Another fun outing with a large group of teachers to discuss all of our experiences! Soooo time for drinking.....it was my first Pub Crawl ever and I was mostly satisfied with it. We were all let down by one of the pubs which gave us shots of orange juice with the smallets splash of vodka in it. The Pub Crawl was enjoyable and a great way to meet all the people staying at the hostel.....one of the bars gave us shots that they set into flames first....I may not be up to date with my world of drinking so this was impressive for me 😊 I would say we celebrated Halloween properly in Barcelona between drinks, dancing, and taxi rides.

Saturday was a day to sightsee and roam through the streets of Barecelona. We looked at some shops and walked to the waterfront, and enjoyed lunch at an Turkish reastaunt. I got another kebab and also some turkish style pizza...which is basically flatbread with seasonings on it. Another great tasting cheap meal. At first we were going to eat on the main strip with outdoor reastaunts, until we realzied a small sized plate of food was close to 30 euros. We headed for the side streets again! Jennie and I had to catch our plane back to Turin at 7 PM so we headed to the airport around 4 and got back into Turin around 9. Overall I enjoyed the city of Barcelona and am happy I went for a shorter amount of time....the area we stayed in was ofcouse very touristy so I would chose to stay in a different area next time I go back! I did find that I was more comfortable biking and walking the streets of Barecelona than I am in Turin....I felt like I was not going to be run over every second of walking across the streets.

Now back in Torino for some Italian eating! It is nice to come back into Torino and have it feel like 'home'...seeing streets and places we recognize and knowing how to naviagate the mains areas of the city to an extent....a very small extent for me 😊

Now a look into our bike ride.....Ciao!

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