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Published: March 11th 2009
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My train to Barcelona left last Thursday morning, and I returned to Alicante late afternoon Sunday after three full days of sight-seeing and fun with eight other girls from my group - seven from Mizzou and one from Erskine.
I was on the same train as two friends, and when we got to Barcelona we decided to attempt to find our hostel without taking the metro. It took us almost an hour, but after a lot of turning in circles with maps in our hands and skipping across streets to read street signs (which are tiny and are posted on buildings instead of by the streets in Spain) we found it. The hostel was called Kabul, and it was located just off La Rambla (Barcelona’s main street) in Plaza Real.
After unpacking and figuring out the lay of the city, we took a short walk down La Rambla to El Monument a Colom, the very well-known, very tall monument of Christopher Columbus located next to the Barcelona port. On the way there and back it was hard to miss the differences between Alicante and Barcelona. The buildings in Barcelona are much older and more historic (forming what I
think of as truly Spanish streets), and sight-seeing tourists are everywhere. It was nice to not stand out as much as we normally do as foreign students for once. When we finished seeing the port, we just walked around a bit, stopping in shops and exploring the Barri Gòtic (Gothic area) where our hostel was located. The rest of our group took an evening train from Alicante because of Thursday classes, so they arrived at the hostel around midnight. We played quite a few games of cards waiting for them (Lacey and Nicole both know how to play Oh Nuts!) and just hung out in the common room of the hostel. It was a busy place with music, a bar, and lots of international travelers.
Friday was our biggest day of sight-seeing. We started early and headed to La Sagrada Familia first - the place I’d been looking forward to seeing the most. I’ve seen it on posters and in books in Spanish classes for the last six years, and I was excited to see it in person. It is a church designed by the famous Antoni Gaudi, who died in the 1920s before it could be completed. I
knew it was still a work in progress as construction continues today, but I had no idea just how much construction was still ongoing. The cranes and machinery surrounded most of the church, contrasting sharply with the incredible gothic style of the building itself. We didn’t go inside, having heard from Armando that it wasn’t anything particularly special, but after talking to a few others when we got back that had gone inside on prior visits, I regretted that decision. We did stay outside for a while though and attempted to take quite a few pictures. It’s hard with buildings that tall though, when you’re just across the street 😊
After seeing La Sagrada Familia, we walked to the Park Güell, a park that Gaudi designed and actually lived in for a while. It’s very large and contains three small houses, one in which Gaudi lived for twenty years and two others that look like they could have housed Hansel and Gretel in a fairy tale. The park was elevated from the rest of the city and had a beautiful view of the buildings and Mediterranean below.
Next we took our time getting back to our hostel by
eating lunch along the way, looking in some small, unique shops, and of course getting ice cream 😊 After that we decided to deviate from the traditional Barcelona sight-seeing to tour the Museu de l’Eròtica. It was a little whole-in-the-wall place full of sculptures and art with sexual content. A museum for sure unlike any I’ve ever seen before, but a fun experience with the group none-the-less.
Friday night (or morning, I guess --> 2am), a large group of travelers from our hostel headed to a discoteca called Catwalk together to check out the Spanish night life. It was a fun evening with others from all over Europe and North America.
Saturday was more of a relaxed day. We slept in a bit and then headed out for lunch and a bit more sight-seeing around the Barri Gòtic. After lunch, we spent the afternoon at the Museu Picasso. It is a museum dedicated entirely to Picasso, showing how his art progressed throughout his life - starting with his first sketches and ending with his surrealist (impressionist?) paintings. I really enjoyed reading the information about each stage of his life but also realized in the process that there is a lot
I don’t know about art and would like to learn some day.
On Saturday night, we all headed out to eat for supper. We went to a little restaurant called Margarita Blue that served food with a Mexican flare (yes, in Spain…). It was delicious! I ordered fried green tomatoes with feta cheese and guacamole on a bed of lettuce --> yum 😊 I also discovered a new drink there. It’s called clara, and it’s beer mixed with lemon Fanta. Sounds like an odd combination but it’s good, especially for people who aren’t big fans of beer - a.k.a. me.
Our train left the city Sunday at noon, so we were back in Alicante around 5:30pm. It was a good weekend in Barcelona, and I’m glad I finally got to see the city. It felt good to be back “home” too though. I like traveling, but it also wears me out. I’ve got two full weeks of rest now before traveling again though, so that’s good. I’ll be heading to Las Fallas in Valencia next Thursday and meeting Mom and Dad in London next Saturday to travel with them for a week. I’m so excited to see family!! But also,
the more I think about seeing them, the more homesick I’m getting all of a sudden. I haven’t really been homesick at all yet, but I’m feeling it a bit lately. While showing Puri pictures of Steamboat and the river back home the other day, it hit me how much I miss relaxing there with the beautiful setting and family and friends. I love the Mediterranean and the beauty of Spain, but I think it all makes me appreciate the different kinds of beauty back in the states too. The warm weather here lately makes me think of walking through campus on sunshiny spring days and running on the Grindstone trail - which makes me think of college friends I haven’t seen since December. I went on a long walk with Puri today, and walking along the highway made me miss my car. It’s cool that we all use public transportation here or walk wherever we need to go, but I miss the long drives home through the country, singing along with the radio, and anticipating a long weekend at home. I do not miss driving in Columbia though... The temperatures and smells of spring here also make me want to go golfing. I’d love to take a couple of hours to play in the free time I have here, but it’s not really feasible. No clubs and no golf courses 😞 Overall though, I’m still loving this semester. The homesickness is only minor, and I’m sure it’ll pass once I see family again. I can’t wait! Ten days!
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