Barcelona

Hello again!

As I write this blog, I’m on the train from Paris to Stuttgart, where I will then catch another train to see my friend Meike in Tuebingen, which is in Southwestern Germany. So – Barcelona. I absolutely loved the city. It was great to see Greg as well! The city itself felt much more residential to me than most other cities I’ve been to – there were markets everywhere and the city just had a lived-in air about it. I really enjoyed all of the art as well!

I wasn’t taking notes on my activities as religiously as I should have been, but I’ll do my best not to leave anything out! My first day I met my friends Matt and Pat (both from Trinity but both doing a year at Oxford) at the harbor. The harbor was beautiful and it was so refreshing to see the water and feel a nice clean breeze. After sitting and catching up for a while, we went to the Picasso Museum, which was really interesting. While they certainly do not have all of his work, they have a very impressive collection, particularly of his early work, which I found very interesting as the collection as a whole really showed Picasso’s progression as an artist. After the museum we met two other Trinity students for Tapas who are also studying in Barcelona at the moment. All of them are getting ready to go home as their semester is just ending. Greg stopped by at dinner with Matt, Pat, and I (where we had paella which is AMAZING) after his final.

I did a fair amount of exploring on my own in Barcelona, which I enjoyed. I checked out La Rambla, which while touristy was very pretty. I also went to the Museum of the History of Barcelona, which I found very interesting – they had the Roman ruins of Barcino, the original city that developed into Barcelona as we know it today. As for the Cathedral – I have seen A LOT of cathedrals lately – they’re starting to look a little similar to each other, haha. However this cathedral was a nice change as it had a more Gothic design. My favorite thing in the entire city, though, was La Sagrada Familia, the Gaudi cathedral that is still under construction. It was so cool to see a cathedral of this expanse in not only a more modern design but also still during the process of construction. I also saw Parc Guell, the Gaudi designed park, which is Greg’s favorite place in the city. It’s absolutely gorgeous and has not only uniquely designed buildings but also statues. Another favorite attraction was the Palau Nacional, where I also went to a light show one night with my hostel (they light up the fountains and play music). Greg and I also explored the old Olympic stadium, which was really neat.

My hostel (Mambo Tango) was awesome. The family that runs it really encourages meeting fellow travelers and facilitates this by creating a generally great atmosphere, but also by having activities like the visit to the fountain. I met and talked to people from Argentina, Ecuador, England, Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, and the US. I think my favorite part of the hostel was the concept that Totti, the main owner creates in the hostel that the hostel is your home, that you have a sense of responsibility and ownership towards it. As I left he told me that it was “my home in Barcelona”, and I really felt like he meant it. Adela, Totti’s mother-in-law, only spoke Spanish, but she and I chatted and she helped me practice my Spanish a lot.

It’s been so rewarding to get to practice my Spanish – I can’t get over how much easier it’s gotten just in the week and a half I spent in Spain to communicate my thoughts. I’ve always had much better comprehension skills than communication skills, but practice really does make the difference, and it was great to practice my Spanish in an environment like my hostel where making mistakes was absolutely fine and where there would even be someone there who could explain to me how to say what I wanted to say correctly. It was great to hang out with my new hostel friends and my Trinity friends and to spend my time in Barcelona relaxing more than I have in other cities. I felt like five days was a great amount of time to have, as I didn’t feel rushed to see everything I was “supposed to see in Barcelona” in just a few days.

Alright, if I remember anything I’ve forgotten I shall add it in my next post, but for now, I’m going to take a little nap on my train to Germany/enjoy the beautiful French scenery out my window! I’ve devoured several books recently, on a side note – I highly recommend “Bird by Bird” by Anne Lamott. I’m most of the way through “The Reader” now, which is another winner. I hope you’re all healthy, safe, and happy wherever you are and I can’t wait to see all of you and hear about your lives soon!!