Barcelona was just as fun as I imagined. My 21st was definitely something to remember and was probably a lot cooler than celebrating at the Purdue campus bars. We had an evening flight so we did not arrive in Barcelona until around 9 or 10pm. We were staying with some friends of one of the girls that went with us. She found an apartment in a great location that looked straight out of the Real World (an MTV show where they always live in really nice places). It was huge, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, leather couches, and a nice kitchen. We met up with the people staying in the apartment next to us that were from England and hung out with them a majority of the weekend too. That night we arrived was technically my 21st so we celebrated accordingly and went to a bar on the beach.
The next day we did the touristy stuff walking up and down their main road. We stopped at the Gaudi museum to check out some things dedicated to the famous architect, Antonio Gaudi. His work was completely before his time as a very modern and contemporary style. He is very well known throughout Spain and especially in Barcelona as he worked on many major projects in the city (Park Güell and Sagrada Familia). After that we just walked down the port of Barcelona.
On Saturday we continued with our touristy things to the Picasso museum. It was a huge museum with many of Picasso’s famous collections. After seeing his collection in Madrid (at the Renia Sofia with works like the Guernica) I was seeing the same type of things there. They had many paintings from his “Blue Period” and a few other famous Picasso works. After the museum we headed to Park Güell which is a Gaudi designed park. Again, his architecture was evident as there were many unique designs throughout the park. After we climbed what seemed like 3 miles uphill, we made it to the top of the park. The top overlooks the entire city out to the Balearic Sea. It was an unreal view and we were able to catch a little of the sun going down. After the park Jake and I headed to see the Sagrada Familia. This was Gaudi’s last major project that is still to this day not completed (construction began in 1882). Unfortunately, it was late in the evening and we were unable to go inside but just standing outside the structure was incredible. The amount of detail that goes into each part of the church is really unbelievable.
That evening we heard about an Ice bar where the entire bar was made of Ice (cups, bar, seats, and ice sculptures) that sat right along the beach. Upon arrival, you are given a huge jacket and gloves as you enter into this refrigerator type bar. I’ve never seen anything like it before and it was a really neat experience.
Each week I always say I can’t wait to get back to Madrid and always compare each city to I visit to where I’m studying. Barcelona reminded me a lot of Madrid (big buildings, many things to do, and a lot of people) but it has one thing Madrid lacks.. a beach. It was so relaxing to walk down the port, see all the sailboats, or walk along the beach at night. To sum it up, Barcelona is just a really fun city. I don’t know if I could handle all the craziness that comes with that city. There truly is no other city like it in the world and that’s what I loved about it. I really hope I can go back and visit someday (hopefully with my brother, Craig) because it is a must see city in Europe.
Me on top of the Gaudi Museum overlooking the city
Alright I didn't take this but this was a better picture than what I had of the Sagrada Familia
