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Published: February 9th 2009
Photo 1
There was no way to get all of the city in the photo.Barcelona was GORGEOUS; a great place to visit, but I could never live there. When we got there the bus drove us up a hill so we could get try to get a view of the entire city. It is huge and we got a view of the sea as well! Then, before checking in at the hotel we went to the Park Guell and saw some of Gaudi’s architecture. His work is intriguing; I wish I could have had the chance to visit the museum. After walking through the park we were very excited to see our hotel room and take long, warm showers. Later that night I got the chance to go shopping at H&M for the first time ever. I loved it; it made me feel like I was back at home at Forever 21. That night I went to a bar area with the boys and some weird, bald, Austrian man with braces tried to befriend us. Barcelona is a very international city and everyone speaks English; a very good reason that I chose not to study there.
The next morning we went on a walking tour of old Barcelona. It is too amazing to capture
Photo 2
The sky was this gorgeous blue the whole time we were in Barcelona! in photos. During our free time we had some incredible gelato, mmm. Then we went to take pictures of La Sagrada Familia. It is this gigantic cathedral designed by Gaudi that they are now in the process of adding onto.
And now comes one of my favorite memories of Barcelona! We spontaneously stopped at an Italian restaurant for dinner. The chef/owner’s name is Matteo and he’s from Venice. He was the sweetest man and we knew our food would be authentic and fresh because we were the only people eating at the restaurant at the time (8:00 is very early for a Spain dinner, thus the spontaneity haha.) We ordered a bottle of wine for our table and Matteo brought us a complementary plate of tapas (appetizer). It seemed to me like a version of ensalada rusia on baguette bread; it was delicious. I ordered pasta with meat sauce and mushrooms and a chocolate crepe for dessert. After he brought us la cuenta (the bill) he surprised us with more Italian goodness; lemoncello shots! Culturally in Spain people do not tip unless the service is exceptional. Matteo definitely got a tip and we took a picture with him. It
La sagrada familia
A cathedral designed by Gaudi. was the perfect start to our Saturday night.
On Sunday we went to the Picasso museum. I learned so much more about Picasso in one hour at the museum than I ever have before in the classroom. I used to only associate him with cubism but there is so much more to his previous works than that; his paintings are beautiful and I may write my paper for my literature class about him. Before catching the bus ride back home we had some free time for lunch in “Las Ramblas,” an entertainment area of Barcelona (I don’t know where the name comes from). We had pizza and gelato and walked up and down the street watching the street performers. There were some bizarre acts.
It feels good to be back in Valencia now. It’s a great place to live; I’m ready to walk down the street and not have to dodge tourists.
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Aunt Mick
non-member comment
Barcelona
Courtney, thanks for continuing to include us in your "world". I so love to read your entries and see your pictures. Do you have to sleep in the fetal position in your bunk bed in Valencia?!!! Continue to have great fun and adventures!