We were supposed to leave Sevilla at about 4 PM on Thursday, but the flight was delayed 40 minutes due to an air traffic control strike in France. (Our plane had to come from Brussels.) But it wasn't really that big of a deal-- we didn't have anything planned for Thursday night, so when we got to the hostel, we unloaded our stuff and decided to go find somewhere for dinner. There was a girl staying in the room with us, Abby from Arizona, that was traveling alone, so we invited her to come along. Laura is doing a presentation on Catalonian food, so we had to go to local places, which was perfect. We went into this one place and found out that they had tiny tapas, so we decided to just get 4 and share them, and then we'd move on to another place. The next place was one of my favorite restaurants that I've been to while I've been here. It was more of a sit-down dinner place, but we just ordered a few tapas to share, followed by a couple of desserts! The food was awesome, the atmosphere was fun, the decorations were cute... It was great. :) After dinner, though, it was kinda late, so we just went back to the hostel and rested up for the next day.
The next morning, the first thing on our itinerary was La Sagrada Familia, designed by Gaudí. It isn't finished, and there were a ton of construction cranes surrounding it, but it was still amazing.
The next morning, the first thing on our itinerary was La Sagrada Familia, designed by Gaudí. It isn't finished, and there were a ton of construction cranes surrounding it, but it was still amazing.
Next, we trekked up to Park Güell, which is the park that Gaudí designed. There was a big plaza that overlooked all of Barcelona and the Mediterranean Sea.
After exploring the park, we headed back down toward the main part of Barcelona in search of some of Gaudí's "casas," or apartment buildings that he designed. There were several close to our hostel:
And finally... the beach!!! I was looking so forward to that-- getting to see and play in the Mediterranean?! It's always been a dream of mine... We found a spot we liked and sat down in the sand, enjoying the sun. It was a cloudless day, and I just lay there, looking up at the sky, thinking about how truly blessed I am. I'm 21 years old and am living one of my life's dreams... After a brief siesta, Laura, Tori, and I decided we wanted to play in the water. So we each took turns, someone taking pictures while the others played. It was probably my favorite part of the trip.
After the beach, we walked along an area called Port Vell. It was neat-- there were a couple of cool sculptures:
For dinner, we went to a local place that was recommended to us by the staff at the hostel. It was so local that the menu was in Catalán, the local dialect of Barcelona. There were a few chef's recommendations, so we chose those and hoped they'd be good. They were!
The next morning, we really only had one thing on our intinerary: the Picasso Museum. It didn't have any of his most famous works, but it showed his progression as an artist with works that he did over the course of his life. One of my favorite rooms had various "copies" of the famous Las Meninas by Velázquez. Many artists will try to directly imitate a work of another artist, but Picasso did anything but. He did imitate the content of Las Meninas, but his interpretation is completely different-- the colors, the shapes, the perspective... All is different. I had no idea that Picasso had done these copies, and they were a very pleasant surprise for me to see.
After the museum, we just decided to wander around Barri Gótic, or the old part of the city, for a little while. It was very much like Sevilla, with its tiny, winding, quiet streets. There was also quite a lot of graffiti.
The next morning, we really only had one thing on our intinerary: the Picasso Museum. It didn't have any of his most famous works, but it showed his progression as an artist with works that he did over the course of his life. One of my favorite rooms had various "copies" of the famous Las Meninas by Velázquez. Many artists will try to directly imitate a work of another artist, but Picasso did anything but. He did imitate the content of Las Meninas, but his interpretation is completely different-- the colors, the shapes, the perspective... All is different. I had no idea that Picasso had done these copies, and they were a very pleasant surprise for me to see.
After the museum, we just decided to wander around Barri Gótic, or the old part of the city, for a little while. It was very much like Sevilla, with its tiny, winding, quiet streets. There was also quite a lot of graffiti.
After lunch in a cute little café, we walked along Las Ramblas, which is a big tree-lined street that has shops and restaurants all along it. There were also a bunch of random... street performers, I guess you could call them. They'd paint themselves and put on costumes and stand like statues on pedestals until people came near them, and then they'd scare the people or do some sort of skit. There were a ton of them. But my favorite place along Las Ramblas was the market. It was huge and had everything from 65-euros-per-kilo chocolate to raw, fresh meat to fresh fruits and veggies. The fruit stands were selling fresh-squeezed fruit juice- I cannot tell you how good it was. My favorite was strawberry-coconut. Fabulous. :)
That night, our last in Barcelona, we decided to cave and get Chinese food. I know, I know, but trust me-- we've been eating plenty of Spanish food. So it was a nice change. And a perfect way to end the perfect weekend in Barcelona, España. :)
I am glad you are having such a great time. The photos are amazing, as always. =)
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