No! Yesssss … (a.k.a. Barcelona)
“Here in Barcelona, everything was swept aside. The world was turned upside down and stayed there.
Has it ever occurred to you that maybe the world was upside down before, and now it’s right side up” Barcelona, 1994.
Barcelona was one of my favorite places I’ve been. It’s gorgeous and amazing and powerful and calm. It has such a distinct and charming vibe; it is a definite must on the life list.
So, anyway, our travel on Friday was uneventful, nicely. I loved not having to take the bus, Ryanair was great, an efficient cheap way to get around Europe, and the in betweens of getting to the obscure cities the airline flies into was relatively self-explanatory. We also saw a whole Dutch soccer team wearing CLOGS!! Woot, it was awesome.
Anyway we checked in to our hostel, and Whitney (Sarah’s friend who was in Barcelona the same time we were) met us there in the lobby. We somehow ended up in the same room as her (we had booked separately) and ventured up. And it was awesome. It was like this lofted area that had two twin beds, but it was more like a fort than anything else, and we instantly fell in love with the unique charm of it.
We headed out on the town, since it wasn’t late, and unfortunately it was quite rainy. I was not happy, since I thought I had finally come to a city of sun and warmth. We wandered around a bit, walked up La Rambla, the main boulevard of the city, found a market that was a visual feast, and traveled down many palm-tree lined streets. We stopped for some melted chocolate deliciousness and then went back to the hostel. I was exhausted, so I read a bit and went to bed; while Sarah and Whitney tried out a bar we had seen earlier. Still, I think it was an early night for all of us.
The next morning we decided to see Tibidabo. What is that you ask? Awesomeness, pretty much. Really, it’s this mountain on the outskirts of the city. We climbed up a bit (it was a sidewalk/road so don’t be too impressed) and then took a tram-thing to the top. There, rested both a gorgeous church and an amusement park. Odd combination, but somehow it worked. What can I say, its Barcelona. Of course we checked out the park and bought tickets for a Ferris wheel. When we got to the top of the rotation, words failed me. It was spectacular. We could see all the way to the ocean, and the whole city in between. There’s something about being high up and looking over urban sprawl. It’s a feeling, as Sarah said, that very few people dislike. Anyway, after our fun ride we checked out the view from the ground, which was still just as breathtaking, and then wandered over to the church, which was also badass. We eventually decided to go back down, but for anyone traveling to BCN, I would definitely say do Tibidabo … it’s so worth it. We stopped in Parc Guell, a Gaudi laced park. It was neat, and lots of people were chillaxing in the sun.
We went back to the cool market we had discovered the night before to pick up food for a picnic. We took it to the beach and enjoyed the beauty. There’s something about the beach for me. I need it, it makes me happy. It was so lovely. The water was a blue that was beautiful. The sun was shining (which we later paid for with sunburn). We sat there for hours, with out any concept of the passing time. Eventually we found a beach restaurant and ordered drinks (one of the strongest drinks I’ve ever had – they pretty much just added food coloring to vodka and called it Blue Lagoon.)
We sat there as the sun set over the water, and then saw Whitney off to the bus station (she was leaving for Bilbao.)
The next day was “animal day.” We walked to the zoo via the Arc de triomf (spelling?) and the park that follows it. Both were super cool.
The zoo was also so fun! We saw the dolphin show and monkeys and the cutest brown bear ever. And an elephant! And peacocks were wandering freely over the grounds. Plus we saw a giant sea turtle desperately trying to escape the bars. It was a good time! Then we desperately tried to find the aquarium, apparently “the second largest in Europe” (it was not large – and then I thought about it and realized there probably aren’t that many aquariums in Europe). It was not easy. Some how we sat right next to it on a break and didn’t realize it, and walked in a large circle until finally doubling back. But we were walking along the harbor and it was sunny and beautiful, so I didn’t mind too much.
After we decided to head back to the beach, of course. On the way back we stopped and listened to a street band that had a large, a very large, group gathered around them. I usually am not interested in street music, but they were fantastic. Very engaging and talented. We went back to the same spot eventually and stared into the ocean (or sea, depending on who you are talking to) for hours. Also another fun thing about Barcelona beaches is that there are these guys with backpacks and they travel up and down the many bcn beaches muttering “cervesa? Beer?” Also there are these women who come up to you and offer 5-euro messages. The same one came up to us everyday and every time we send ‘no, gracias’ she would grumble a very persistent ‘yesss’ under her breath, but she said it as she was walking away. It amused us to no end.
We ate dinner at another beachside restaurant and then started to head back to the hostel. However, at one point we looked down the road and could see the Sagrada Familia. So we decided to walk to it, and view it at night. After a couple more blocks than we had originally thought, we arrived. It is magnificent. I’m always slightly skeptical of “sights to see” but this was just mind-blowing. The details were crazy. How did he ever conceptualize such a building? Gaudi was a genius, seriously and obviously. We stood in awe for a good amount of time, before retiring for the night.
Monday was our last day in Barcelona. We first tried to find more Gaudi in the city. We found his last project for the city, which was actually public housing. It’s obviously a museum now, and very impressive. I don’t know how he came up with these designs, it’s just insane. It was more expensive than either of us wanted to pay, but still just seeing the outside was enough to give us an extreme appreciation.
We then climbed Mont Juic. It was an interesting climb in flip-flops, but it was all paved, so that made it easier. At the top was a castle. We went inside and got another great view of BCN from a high up place : ) It was beautiful and we were closer to the ocean, so one side you could just look out and see nothing but water. And we could clearly see the many beaches that are all lined up in a row on the coastline.
After the mountain, we walked down La Rambla again and down to the beach, which was actually quite a long walk, but we got to pass a lot of sights again, which was nice. But by the time we reached the sand I was ready to collapse for a couple hours and not move again. The problem was that there were clouds. And while it was the perfect temperature when the sun was out, it was quite cold when the band of clouds covered it, which was the majority. I had my backpack with me and I just started taking all of my clothes out and laying them on top of me in a futile effort to stay warm. Eventually we lost the battle, and said goodbye to the beautiful stretch of ocean we had called ours for three days. We went to the bus station to take one to Giorna, the city the airport we were flying out of was located. We had a lovely hotel, where they offered to pack us our continental breakfast, since we were leaving so early. We had to get up at 4 a.m. for our flight, which was rough, but we managed to get home fine. And Amsterdam welcomed us home as it always does.
I loved Barcelona. It was an amazing city, throbbing with an undercurrent of awesomeness. I can’t imagine living there for a long time, I feel like I would get too hot, but it is definitely one of my favorite cities I’ve ever been to.
But I’m also ready to enjoy the rest of my time in Amsterdam. This will be the first weekend I’ve been here in the last six weeks, which blows my mind. I’m so glad I did all the travel that I did, but I’m ready to be in my city.
In the last month and a half I’ve seen so much. I’ve experienced many beautiful cities, and fell a little bit in love with each of them for different reasons. But I’ll always be coming home, when I return back to Amsterdam.
oh yeah and p.s. i have a post for maastrict and donny visiting, that i’m not sure got posted, but ill but it up in the next couple days
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