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Published: March 13th 2017
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Hello!!!
This will be a long one😊
In the last week I've been filled with overflowing amounts of joy as I sit at the beach on the benches and gaze at the sunsets and the rolling waves, I almost find myself in tears of joy because of the life I get to live out here. I could not be more happy.
Barcelona was amazing, I absolutely loved it. I chose to do this trip to Barcelona a few weeks ago and I am so glad I did. I am not usually one to do group trips, but this one was great; especially for such a large city with so much to see. And
boy did we see it all. We left San Sebastián 7:15AM, and arrived Friday afternoon. The bus there was extremely fun. I think the people a part of the group are large part of what made it so fun. People slept the first few hours but of course I couldn't. After a break for the driver about halfway through, the bus turned into a huge party. The ambassadors with us representing our cities started dancing and blasting music in the bus to
get us excited. It's one thing to plan a trip for students, but it's another to follow through and make it a blast!! The remainder of the bus was a fun party. We arrived to the city and checked into the hostel that I must say, was pretty nice (my first experience in one). There were probably 30 of us in the hostel so we kind of took over a lot of the rooms. 12 beds per room. However, my friends and I got lucky. It was just us three girls with one guy from a neighboring town, originally from California. It was a pleasant experience. Clean sheets, clean bathrooms, floors, what have you. The location of the hostel was an A+ spot, next to all the big brand named stores in the center of the city. Next time I am there I'd like to stay there again. (EquityPoint)
Included in the trip price was free entry to nightlife, a couple free drinks, breakfasts and other meals, tours around the city, to see Parque Güell, and to see Sagrada Familia. Friday night we we went to a club called Razzmatazz, and the theme of the night was
animal. So, of course I go in my dog suit outfit that I wore to carnival. It was a colder night so I was quite comfortable. What I don't like about a huge city like this is that you are miles from the nightlife and other things, so subways and cabs are a must for almost everything. It added up. I love that in San Sebastián I can walk everywhere and there be no problems. Saturday morning after breakfast we walked around the entire day seeing as much of the city as we could. There are so many areas of Barcelona so this is why I am grateful for the cool tour guide we had, just less than ten of us doing the english version with him so it was fun and he took us to more places than he usually would because of how small we were. I loved Barcelona, and we truly did see everything!!! Haha, 45k steps later in less than ten hours and 2 blisters, and the soles of your feet literally swelling. Worth it. On weekend trips like this you cannot waste a minute and we surely did not. We saw everything and I really
loved it.
On the downside, Saturday, after a day of tours after seeing Gaudí's parque güell, an unfortunate thing happened to my dear friend from Germany. Considering the name of this city, I assume you can guess. We were tired after a long day, so myself, Lena (Germany), Camille (France), and three of our guy friends decided to walk to this pizza place around the corner of the hostel in the center of the city area. We got our pizzas and began eating and conversing when a middle aged woman turned the corner to our booth to ask for money and food. We ignored her, a couple of the boys just kept saying "no" and "sorry". Then, she walked closer to the table with a piece of paper that said in Spanish "I am so hungry in need of food". She
places it on the table close to Lena and her pizza. We keep saying "no". She finally leaves with no pizza, but later we found she did have something else. This was a trick. She did not want the pizza. Lena put her phone next to the pizza on the table like any normal person would.
So while she put the paper on the table, she took Lena's phone under the paper with her other hand and left. We were relieved when she left, saying how glad we were that she was gone. I myself instantly was the first to think to check our things, so I said "She's gone, so everyone maybe check to make sure you have everything." It did not even occur to us that she had a alternative agenda in talking to us. She really was a pro. The hunger and the pizza thing was a compete trick and boy did it work. Because of how much we wanted her to leave us alone, it was all we were thinking about not even paying attention to the fact that she could have something else going on. When Lena realized it was gone and that she had put it on the table in the exact spot that the woman placed the paper, the three guys with us ran outside to see if she was nearby, nowhere to be found. So, Camille from France called the police, but honestly what could they do... They took the information and numbers, but never called back. I
wonder how many similar calls they get a day. Anyways, this bummed us out and I felt horrible, we all tried to make her feel better and hope for the best. I personally was not too happy with the pizza place for even allowing beggars and woman of this sort into the restaurant. We live and we learn, and unfortunately we can't win them all.
Sunday morning I woke up to extremely loud music coming from outside only to find a marathon happening outside in the streets! People jogging, walking and running in the marathon. I liked seeing this in another country, it reminded me of home. We then had quick breakfast and went to the Sagrada Familia to tour the inside. I enjoyed this a lot. What I thought at first is, "Why are they still doing construction on it when it is so beautiful now the way it is??", they said that it will be completely done in 2026 in honor of Gaudí and 100 years of making the Sagrada Familia. The lady said how much money and donations come in from the city and from others, that they keep renovating and making it better.
Looks like I'll be going back to see the final touches in 2026!!! It was mind-blowing beautiful. I want to get married there. (Not possible but I'd like to haha) We went to a different night club on the beach, just for a few hours. Very fun, with good music, good people, and a beautiful beach. What more could we ask for????
I loved Barcelona!!! It is so large, and I am grateful that the city I chose to do exchange in is smaller and easier to navigate. I do want to go back to Barcelona maybe with just few people. Despite the difficult transportation and massiveness of the city, it was impressive and I understand why people fall in love with it quickly. I sure did!!!! So much to do, see, and experience with so much beauty. I want to spend a summer there maybe in a few years, master my Spanish and just live out my twenties. Thanks for reading!! It was a fabulous trip. My brother arrives Thursday and we will train to Madrid on Friday, wish us luck. More updates next week.
Mucho Amor,
(lots of pics this time, scroll down if you wish to see more)
Natalie K O'Brien
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Janet O'Brien Mawicke
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Lucky YOU
Hi my darling Natalie, Barcelona is one beautiful place I've always wanted to go. Now since you have seen it and been there and gave me such a positive description, I ALMOST feel like I have shared that lovely city with YOU. Keep on keeping ON, Honey, just enjoy yourself as much as you can. Much love to my beautiful granddaughter, Grandma Jan