Oops...
It's been a long time since the last post and I have a lot to catch up on. Toward the end of February I took a trip to Barcelona to meet a friend that was studying abroad in Spain. We decided to meet in Barcelona so we could both cross that off our bucket list. Neither one of us had ever stayed in a hostel, so we decided to book a hostel and have the full youth-travel-on-a-budget experience.
Our hostel turned out to be very well located and we were within walking distance of most of the major attractions. We walked to Las Ramblas, the most famous pedestrian street in Barccelona, and La Boqueria, a very impressive open air market, almost every night. Even though we were only able to stay for a short amount of time I can honestly say that Barcelona is one of the best cities I have ever been to. It has easily made it into my Top Five Places.
Day 1
The first day we decided to conquer Parque Guell. This is probably the most famous park in Barcelona and it's known for the terrace with the bench designed by Gaudi. The park has an amazing view of the city. The view from the terrace is great, but you can also climb to a higher point and see the entire city. It's an incredible view but it takes some determination to hike all the way to the top. There is a house in the park that you are allowed to enter and see Gaudi's architecture. Gaudi was the leading figure in Catalan Modernism. From the outside the house resembled something you might see in a fairy tale and the inside was similar.
For dinner, we discovered a pedestrian street that was lined with Tapas bars. I have to admit by first dinner in Spain wasn't exactly traditional Spanish cuisine. I was really excited when we found a burger place and I ended up ordering a bacon cheeseburger with egg and two sides of calamari. I have been mildly homesick for American food so I went overboard when ordering. It's interesting how many Tapas bars and restaurants there are in Barcelona. Most people go out for tapas in the early evening, during what would be considered normal dinner time in the US, and then actually eat dinner closer to 9pm. This is probably one of the reasons I felt like that city never slept.
It's been a long time since the last post and I have a lot to catch up on. Toward the end of February I took a trip to Barcelona to meet a friend that was studying abroad in Spain. We decided to meet in Barcelona so we could both cross that off our bucket list. Neither one of us had ever stayed in a hostel, so we decided to book a hostel and have the full youth-travel-on-a-budget experience.
Our hostel turned out to be very well located and we were within walking distance of most of the major attractions. We walked to Las Ramblas, the most famous pedestrian street in Barccelona, and La Boqueria, a very impressive open air market, almost every night. Even though we were only able to stay for a short amount of time I can honestly say that Barcelona is one of the best cities I have ever been to. It has easily made it into my Top Five Places.
Day 1
The first day we decided to conquer Parque Guell. This is probably the most famous park in Barcelona and it's known for the terrace with the bench designed by Gaudi. The park has an amazing view of the city. The view from the terrace is great, but you can also climb to a higher point and see the entire city. It's an incredible view but it takes some determination to hike all the way to the top. There is a house in the park that you are allowed to enter and see Gaudi's architecture. Gaudi was the leading figure in Catalan Modernism. From the outside the house resembled something you might see in a fairy tale and the inside was similar.
For dinner, we discovered a pedestrian street that was lined with Tapas bars. I have to admit by first dinner in Spain wasn't exactly traditional Spanish cuisine. I was really excited when we found a burger place and I ended up ordering a bacon cheeseburger with egg and two sides of calamari. I have been mildly homesick for American food so I went overboard when ordering. It's interesting how many Tapas bars and restaurants there are in Barcelona. Most people go out for tapas in the early evening, during what would be considered normal dinner time in the US, and then actually eat dinner closer to 9pm. This is probably one of the reasons I felt like that city never slept.
Day 2
On the second day we signed up for a free tour of the city. We went with a company called Sandemans. The tour was definitely worth it. I learned so much about the history of the city and it only made me like it more. For example, I learned that Barcelona was thought to have been founded by Hercules, they definitely left that out of the Disney movie...We started our tour by the ruins of the castle that has now been converted into a museum. Then we walked around the Gothic Quarter and concluded in the Borne district.
After the tour my friend and I, along with some people we met on the tour, went to the Sagrada Familia. This is Gaudi's most famous work and the church has been under construction since 1822. It's supposed to be completed in the near future, making it the world's longest architectural project. The Sagrada Familia was definitely my favorite part of the trip. It's probably the most beautiful thing I have ever seen and listening to it's history and then seeing all the symbolism within the architecture only further glorifies it. The outside is covered in thousands of carvings and statues that tell the entire story of the Bible. We bought a ticket with entrance to one of the towers and it was definitely worth it.
On the second day we signed up for a free tour of the city. We went with a company called Sandemans. The tour was definitely worth it. I learned so much about the history of the city and it only made me like it more. For example, I learned that Barcelona was thought to have been founded by Hercules, they definitely left that out of the Disney movie...We started our tour by the ruins of the castle that has now been converted into a museum. Then we walked around the Gothic Quarter and concluded in the Borne district.
After the tour my friend and I, along with some people we met on the tour, went to the Sagrada Familia. This is Gaudi's most famous work and the church has been under construction since 1822. It's supposed to be completed in the near future, making it the world's longest architectural project. The Sagrada Familia was definitely my favorite part of the trip. It's probably the most beautiful thing I have ever seen and listening to it's history and then seeing all the symbolism within the architecture only further glorifies it. The outside is covered in thousands of carvings and statues that tell the entire story of the Bible. We bought a ticket with entrance to one of the towers and it was definitely worth it.
Day 3
Our last full day in Barcelona was also a day well spend as we decided to hike to see Castle Montjuic and then went to el Museu de la Xocolata,or the Museum of Chocolate. The museum explained the history of chocolate and it had some very elaborate sculptures made purely from chocolate. I was impressed. We spent our last afternoon in Barcelona looking for the traditional churros con chocolate and then ended our trip with some paella and sangria. Overall it wasn't a bad experience. I can't wait to go back.
Our last full day in Barcelona was also a day well spend as we decided to hike to see Castle Montjuic and then went to el Museu de la Xocolata,or the Museum of Chocolate. The museum explained the history of chocolate and it had some very elaborate sculptures made purely from chocolate. I was impressed. We spent our last afternoon in Barcelona looking for the traditional churros con chocolate and then ended our trip with some paella and sangria. Overall it wasn't a bad experience. I can't wait to go back.