Last weekend was our anticipated trip to Barcelona! We skipped class on Friday (it was cheaper to take that flight) and arrived in Barcelona in the early afternoon. As soon as we had checked into our hostel, Abigail, Joelle, and I took the metro over to the Sagrada Familia. It was amazing! As we were riding the escalator up out of the station, we turned around and there it was! It's HUGE!!!!!! And still not completed, even though it was started back in the late 1800's. We were able to go all over the church and up into some of the towers, which was really cool. Everything is so intricate and unique that I doubt that any other architect could even come close to repeating Gaudi's genius. Next we walked the Ramblas, one of the most famous streets in the world, where there are artists, small pet vendors, and even street performers and "living statues". For supper we went to Hard Rock Café, because we were all feeling a little homesick and really craving real meat... not just fish or ham. Didn't get any shirts - the store was too busy to see very well what it offered.
Saturday we had an early start and went off to explore Barcelona again, which was pretty exciting. We started off the day in Park Güell, the huge park designed by Gaudi. That park is more than 30 acres wide, and it isn't just flat... rather it is in tune with nature, just like Gaudi's other works. So after exploring the park before the heat of the day set in, we went over to Casa Milà, also designed by Gaudi. We went up into the apartment complex, to see the roof with the famous chimneys. We also got to see inside one of the apartments to see what it would have looked like in Gaudi's time. Later we went to see a couple of other Gaudi buildings, including the Casa Batlló on the Block of Discord. Finally we ended the day with a quick walk-through of the cathedral and some locals dancing outside. Also watched a fountain show similar to what can be found at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Before heading back to the hostel for a well-deserved night of sleep, we also hunted down this silo-shaped structure that supposedly lit up at night. It wasn't when we saw it, and neither was the Sagrada Familia.
Sunday we got up early again for a tour of the Palau de la Música (Music Palace), a world class concert hall that is amazing to see, both inside and out. A person can't rest one's eyes while inside because there's so much to look at! After the tour, we walked around town a bit to check out some more sights before heading quickly back to the hostel for our stuff. However, once we got back to the hostel, we found out that the Barcelona airport was completely closed and that everything was cancelled due to the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland. Then five minutes before our flight was supposed to take off, everything was back up and running. A guy came and told us to go to the check in desks, and that we'd get squared away. But, the lady there kept trying to tell us that we had to go back to the lines which we had just left. We didn't give up, and then finally someone came over, and she got us our tickets. However, the tickets said the original gate and boarding time, which was wrong, so we checked the information board, which told us that our flight was located at a different gate. So we bolted to that gate, all the while thankful that we didn't have any checked luggage and that we had never missed our flight. So while we waited for our flight to start boarding, Abigail and I got some McDonald's food because we hadn't really had any lunch. Finally, after going through the gate, we were directed to a bus that took us to the middle of the tarmac where our plane awaited us. By that time, there were less than 15 passengers boarding. We felt so cool climbing stairs to get on the airplane. We felt like the President and his entourage. After the flight we took an uneventful bus ride back to Oviedo.
That was Barcelona in a nutshell. Now it's a week of fun cultural classes and then on to Madrid! Madrid is officially my last trip while here in Spain, because I am out of travel money.
All for now! Hasta la vista!
Saturday we had an early start and went off to explore Barcelona again, which was pretty exciting. We started off the day in Park Güell, the huge park designed by Gaudi. That park is more than 30 acres wide, and it isn't just flat... rather it is in tune with nature, just like Gaudi's other works. So after exploring the park before the heat of the day set in, we went over to Casa Milà, also designed by Gaudi. We went up into the apartment complex, to see the roof with the famous chimneys. We also got to see inside one of the apartments to see what it would have looked like in Gaudi's time. Later we went to see a couple of other Gaudi buildings, including the Casa Batlló on the Block of Discord. Finally we ended the day with a quick walk-through of the cathedral and some locals dancing outside. Also watched a fountain show similar to what can be found at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Before heading back to the hostel for a well-deserved night of sleep, we also hunted down this silo-shaped structure that supposedly lit up at night. It wasn't when we saw it, and neither was the Sagrada Familia.
Sunday we got up early again for a tour of the Palau de la Música (Music Palace), a world class concert hall that is amazing to see, both inside and out. A person can't rest one's eyes while inside because there's so much to look at! After the tour, we walked around town a bit to check out some more sights before heading quickly back to the hostel for our stuff. However, once we got back to the hostel, we found out that the Barcelona airport was completely closed and that everything was cancelled due to the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland. Then five minutes before our flight was supposed to take off, everything was back up and running. A guy came and told us to go to the check in desks, and that we'd get squared away. But, the lady there kept trying to tell us that we had to go back to the lines which we had just left. We didn't give up, and then finally someone came over, and she got us our tickets. However, the tickets said the original gate and boarding time, which was wrong, so we checked the information board, which told us that our flight was located at a different gate. So we bolted to that gate, all the while thankful that we didn't have any checked luggage and that we had never missed our flight. So while we waited for our flight to start boarding, Abigail and I got some McDonald's food because we hadn't really had any lunch. Finally, after going through the gate, we were directed to a bus that took us to the middle of the tarmac where our plane awaited us. By that time, there were less than 15 passengers boarding. We felt so cool climbing stairs to get on the airplane. We felt like the President and his entourage. After the flight we took an uneventful bus ride back to Oviedo.
That was Barcelona in a nutshell. Now it's a week of fun cultural classes and then on to Madrid! Madrid is officially my last trip while here in Spain, because I am out of travel money.
All for now! Hasta la vista!
WOW, sounds like a great weekend and also very busy. You have seen some amazing sights in the last 4 months. You will never forget your experiences and will have become all the wiser through them.
ReplyDeleteWhat did you have to eat at Hard Rock Cafe? Dad ate at one in India too.....you must be missing his grilled meat like venison....
It will be here soon.
Love,
Mom
Cool videos, Leslie....I loved the Spanish folk dancers. THe music is so happy. You just want to get out and dance with them.
ReplyDeleteI hope you found lots of chicken to last you for a few of more weeks. I promise, no ham for at least 2 weeks after you get home :)
Love ya,
Mom
What an adventure. Sounds like a lotta fun.
ReplyDelete