Blogs from Spain, Europe - page 1374

so basically pamplona made halloween in isla vista seem like a cakewalk. there were an ungodly amount of people there, but drunken europeans are far less belligerent and obnoxious than drunken americans. for the most part, people were pretty friendly and courteous, save for the random "hola china!" comments we would get every now and then. fast forward to a few hours and two whole bottles of sangria later. our group had hit a good number of bars and clubs, meeting up with some other kids from our program and ditching them later. we stayed out on the streets, napping on the bench for a while. some random guy came up to me and gave me my camera that had apparently fallen out of my pocket. what luck!! i was sleeping when he approached me, so ... read more

So there was no running with the bulls. After Dan and I arrived at the Barcelona airport in Girona on Thursday night, we checked all the possible trains, buses, and rental cars that could take us to Pamplona. All were either booked or way too expensive. So we made the executive decision to stay in Barcelona until Sunday. It was quite an easy decision, really, in view of the events in London. I personally received a number of emails from concerned friends and family. So… ‘thank you.’ I was even surprised to seem my name picked up on the AP Wire. In a nutshell… Barcelona is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited. It was quite nerve-racking to arrive in a city where we had no hostel or hotel reservations in what I’m ... read more

Got up really late again today. There´s just something about Barcelona that inspires laziness and seduces me back to my nocturnal schedule. I did drag myself out eventually though, and up quite far to Parc Güell. I´m kind of thinking that I should have visited the Gaudi museum, just to get the slightest inkling of what the man was like, because his creations are just out of this world. My head spins trying to imagine what the place would be like had he actually finished it (Parc Güell was originally meant to be a cutting edge urban community, but the project scuttled due to lack of funds). Even with just the few buildings currently there, I expect smurfs to pour out the curvey windows or doors. Having seen his domestic creations, you realize that Sagrada Familia ... read more

I awoke this morning to the soothing sound of the bells at La Catedral de Barcelona and a massive hangover. I somehow managed to keep count of the tolls well enough to realize it was 11 and we needed to get up and pay for the next night. After showers and lunch, we headed to Barcelona’s Arc de Triomf to take some pictures and have a walk through the park to the see the cascading fountains and go through the zoo. The fountains were absolutely gorgeous and were a welcomed surprise in comparison to what we’d expected. And the park was full of birds, gardens, families, affectionate couples, and more outdoor cafés. Our hangover having not subsided one bit, and being pretty tired, we decided to skip the zoo and hop on a double decker tour ... read more

Barcelona is fucking beautiful. Pardon the French, but the statement warrants the language. While the city's modernist architecture and layout play a big role, its beauty extends far beyond just the orientation and look. The arts play an enormous role in the flavor of the city; more so than I had known before we decided to stay here. The city's old center, Ciutat Vella (which is where our hostels for the our three night stay are located) is full of museums, sculptures, and street artists who not only have an obvious passion for their craft, but also have a meticulous level of talent that was impressive to say the least. Every square is teeming with easels and artists creating and selling their works. The locals' sense of fashion is overwhelming. Everyone dresses well, from the teenagers ... read more