BARCELONA

I got back yesterday from an amazing trip to Barcelona, Spain! It was fantastic. We left Friday morning at 6:30 am and took a 9 hour bus ride from Segovia to Barcelona.  It was A LOT of bus-riding (A LOT being an understatement).  It didn't help that our bus driver got lost a couple of time along the way either..ha. Once we finally got to Barcelona, it was amazing. The temperature was in the mid 60s and sunny all weekend.  We stayed in a hotel on Las Ramblas, one of the most popular streets in Barcelona.  Our hotel was a little outdated (every room was pink and had extreme flower-power floral decor), but it was in such a perfect location AND we had a 24 hour buffet. 



Our lovely bedroom



So once we got all settled in after the bus ride, a couple of the girls and I went to check out the shops! I didn't have any success, but others did.  After that we went to an international market which was great! There was fresh fruit, fish, seafood, chocolate and gelato EVERYWHERE. It was a site to see. My host parents said that this was one of the best places to go in Barcelona and I completely agree! Just walking around was a pleasure in itself, I didn't even have to buy food to make it better (of course I did end up buying a fresh fruit smoothie). We were all pretty tired from the long bus ride so we took a little siesta after and then went out that night.



International Market



Saturday was spent walking La Rambla, going through the Gothic Quarter (Barri Gotic), visiting the Cathedral and Musea d'Historia de la Ciutat and La Iglesia de Santa Maria del Mar (St. Mary's church).  The churches were my favorite part. They were so beautiful and ornate.  After seeing all this, some of the girls and I decided to have a bite to eat at an outdoor restaurant right by the beach.  I had some really nummy pasta and pesto! After that, we took a walk on the beach, dipped our toes in the sand, and got some gelato (the best pistachio gelato EVER!).  We went back to take a siesta after a long day of walking and then we went out again for the night.  This time we went to a discoteca called "Cat Walk" to get our dance on.



Cathedral de Barcelona



Inside La Iglesia de Santa Maria del Mar

Us girls eating gelato before hitting the beach

The beautiful beach!

Sunday aka "Gaudi Day" was spent visitng all of Gaudi's fantastic works of art.  We started off visiting La Sagrada Familia which ended up being my favorite part of the whole trip.  It is SO BEAUTIFUL and detailed and they are still working on finishing it.  After that, we went to Parc Guell (one of Gaudi's parks), and finally, a couple of us went to Gaudi's House at La Pedrera.  Everything was fantastic.  Walking back from the La Pedrera, we heard this drumming and lo and behold, there was a bunch of different drums lines parading down Las Ramblas.  They were so good! We went home, took another siesta, and stayed in and played cards all night because we had to get up for our 9 hour bus ride back home the next morning!

La Sagrada Familia

Inside La Sagrada Familia

Overall, I loved Barcelona a lot.  The weather really made it amazing with all the walking and site-seeing that we did. Now it's back to another week of classes and living the Segovian lifestyle!


I love stained glass

Hasta luego y muchos besos :)