Barcelona: Day One

We left for Barcelona in the afternoon on Tuesday after spending the morning at Charles Darwin’s house. There were six of us travelling together. We almost weren’t allowed to get on our flight because of a slight passport misunderstanding: we didn’t get our boarding passes stamped at the visa desk. When it looked like all hope was lost, one of the girls at the gate grabbed our boarding passes and ran all the way back through the maze of hallways and security to get stamp them for us. I take back every mean thing I’ve said about bad customer service in England. We were so grateful for her help!

We landed in Spain late that night and giggled like twelve-year-olds when we were greeted with ‘Hola’ and Spain stamps in our passports at the customs desk. After a long bus ride, a ride on the [ghetto] Spanish Metro and some slight room issues, we finally settled into bed in our hotel room(s) sometime after midnight.

Barcelona: Day Two

It was raining in the morning when we woke up. I bought a cheap umbrella from a man on the street. After grabbing some breakfast at a Starbucks we walked around trying to orient ourselves and figure out the lay of the city. We were so excited when the sky cleared up around noon. We walked up a hill at the edge of the city and had an amazing view of the whole city and the Mediterranean Sea. We also stumbled across a palace and some museums. It was a beautiful day. A Spanish lobster..or en

Español: LANGOSTA!

Barcelona: Day Three

It poured all day long! We set out in the morning with high hopes that the sky would clear again, but the longer we were outside, the more evident it became that the rain was there to stay. I was so grateful for my cheap umbrella. We walked to the Arc de Triomf and a huge church called the Sagrada Familia. It’s been under construction for ages, and they don’t plan to finish it for like fifty more years. It was beautiful, but really strange. There were lizards and snails carved on the outside?

Arc de Triomf

Sagrada Familia

We also walked around for a while in search of some gardens we’d heard of, but gave up because of the excessive rain that was no longer falling down, but sideways. Later that evening I set out from the hotel to meet up with Allie and Kirsten at the Picasso museum, but they’d gotten lost so I went through the museum by myself. Picasso was kind of a weird guy. I got in trouble in the museum for letting my wet umbrella drip on the floor. I’m not really sure where I was supposed to let it drip though, and if the irate museum employee told me I didn’t understand her.

Wet jeans in the hotel room

Barcelona: Day Four

Friday dawned bright and sunny, which was a relief since we were going to the beach. After breakfast we rented some bicycles from a little shop and rode to the beach. After cruising up and down the boardwalk for a while, we parked our bikes and headed for the waves. The day was perfect for the beach. It was my first excursion into the Mediterranean and I loved it.

When we finished swimming we hopped back on our bikes and toured the city. We rode through the city park and up to an old bull-fighting arena. After we returned our bikes we ate some awesome gelato and did some window shopping.



For dinner we went to Hard Rock Café Barcelona. It’s nice to know that there’s a little bit of America in the form of celebrity worship and rock memorabilia no matter where you go in the world.

Barcelona: Day Five

We caught a bus early in the morning back to the airport. We made sure not to forget any important steps and got on the plane without any incidents. London was a little overcast, but beautiful. When I got off the bus we rode from the airport, it hit me how much I’d missed my little home away from home. We walked back to our house instead of riding the tube. Fall has arrived here in London. The air is crisp and the leaves are all changing on the trees. Barcelona was a fun place to visit, but I missed people speaking in English and having my own bed and the way it feels to return to a home after a long day instead of a hotel room.

I love you London, and I will never complain about the way your streets smell again.