Spring Break in BARCELONA!

Last week I had my spring break and I headed to Barcelona to see the city that Kai is studying abroad in! Because I was there for a while, I am going to list the highlights of the trip.

1) The trip started off a little rocky, when I took my first RYANAIR flight. The plane felt very different than any other plane I have been on when taking off. After about five minutes in the air, the plane had a huge drop while it was sideways and everyone on the plane screamed bloody murder. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it to Barcelona. BUT I DID! And I am alive!

2) The first full day I was there, Kai and I did another Fat Tire Bike Tour! It was funny, because this bike tour really resembled the culture of the spanish people. We took about five breaks, each break my tour guide got a beer, one of the breaks he also took us to go get a drink, and the last break we took a long break to eat. This was one of my favorite parts because he took us to an awesome Tapa's bar that Rick Steve's reccomends, that I would have never found! It was very fun tour and I got to see and learn about so many things in Barcelona such as the Sagrada Familia, bullfighting, the history, the beach, and so much more. Bike tours are my favorite way to see a city so you should do one next time you are visiting a new place!

3) I met up with my friend Alison a few times who is also studying abroad in Barcelona! It was so good to see her and made me so excited for next year when we are living together! She also introduced me to my new favorite drink. Tinto de Verano. It is really similar to Sangria, but BETTER! It is 1 part red wine and 1 part carbonated lemonade. It is delicious! If you are in Spain, you must try this drink.

4) Kai and I took a day trip to a cute little beach town that Kai's friends had told him about called Blanes on Thursday. We took a train there and the whole train ride we were looking at the beach and the ocean. That is until about 5 minutes before we got to Blanes. Right before we got there, the train went inland to what looked very similar to the midewest. This was not a good sign because Kai and I were trying to go to the beach, not away from it. We just decided to get off at this stop because we knew we were trying to go to a place called Blanes. Right outside the train station was a bus stop and that was it, so we figured if we got on a bus we would get to the beach. There were two different buses that came to that stop, and no map around to figure out which one we should take. So the plan was, we would take the bus that the most people got on because they were probably all headed to the beach. A bus showed up and everyone stood inline to get on it, so we did to. We paid our 3 Euro and sat down. As we were leaving we saw another bus coming in that said "BLANES" on the top. Kai and I looked at each other and Kai said "I think we might want to be on that bus." We were already driving on this one though, so we just decided to see if it also took us near the beach. At the round-about there was a sign that pointed right that said "PLAYA." Kai and I decided if the bus went right than we would stay on it, but if it didn't we were for sure on the wrong bus. The bus started to slowly turn right and we got really excited but then quickly turned left and we were going away from the beach. Finally when a sign read that we were leaving Blanes we decided we better get off. We ended up in the middle of nowhere. We were near car dealerships but that was about it. We went to the bus stop across the street and waited 20 minutes to go back to the station, and then at the station we waited another 10 minutes to get on the other bus. A 3 euro, 10 minute bus ride, turned into a 9 euro 40 minute adventure.
Once we got to the beach, it was totally worth it. The town was adorable and we spent the afternoon eating paella and lounging on the beach!

5) The Boqueria in Barcelona is amazing! If you are ever visiting, you need to check it out. It is a huge market open from Monday-Saturday. There is amazing fruit, chocolate, meat, and even restaurants. It was very cool to see and gave a great sense of Spanish culture.

6) The last day we focused our attention around Gaudi. We went up to Parc Guell. The Park that Gaudi designed. To get there we walked through a neighborhood that looked very similar to San Francisco. When we got to the park we were able to see views of the entire city. It was gorgeous! Also in the park are two houses that Gaudi designed. It was supposed to be an entire neighborhood for wealthy people, but people didn't want to buy his gingerbread looking houses, so there are only two. We also visited one of the apartments that Gaudi designed. This was one of my favorite things I have seen in Europe. Gaudi's architecture is so fascinating and it was amazing to be able to see inside of it and learn about why he did the things that he did. It also had such a crazy rooftop.

Barcelona was such a cool city. It was very fun to see such different architecture and be in pretty warm weather by the beach for a week. I will say though, that I do like the Italian culture more than the Spanish culture. I think that the Spanish culture is too lazy for me. Not only do they take about a 4 hour siesta everyday, but they also have about 35 holidays! (and they wonder why their economy isn't doing so well.) From my experience they weren't all that friendly either. It made me really appreciate the Italian  culture and how nice and welcoming everyone is!

Well, that was my Spring Break in Spain. My plan is to stay in Italy for my last month and a half and discover all that Italy has to offer now! Thursday, I am headed to the Cinque Terre for a night, and then to Urbino on Saturday with my art history class.