Saturday morning we left at 6:30 am to catch a bus to the airport. We left Brussels at around 9:30am. I slept the whole flight and woke up in Barcelona! We had to take a bus from BCN to Las Ramblas (the center of Barcelona). When we arrived, our friends were waiting at the bus stop for us. We dropped off our luggage at our hostel Sant Jordi and then went out for tapas. They were delicious! Afterwards, the six of us went back to the hostel and got ourselves situated and took a little siesta. Most of my group had tickets for a Barcelona soccer game that night, so I had planned to meet up with my friend Emily for UMW who was in Barcelona for the weekend as well. Coincidently, we were neighbors in the hostel! When the other left for the soccer game, I went out with Emily and her friends for dinner. It was so much fun! The waiters even gave us free champagne. After dinner, we went to a chupitos bar called “El Gato Negro”. They have 200 different kinds of shots. To the bartender you would say if you wanted strong, medium, or soft and sweet or sour. So you could say fuerte y dulce (strong and sweet) and every time they would make up a new shot for you to try. And they were going two Euros! The locals at the tables also had these extremely large drinks that were green and blue with huge straws to share with everyone at the table. We wanted to try one too so we got one to share. Later on, my friends that had gone to the soccer game met up with us at the bar and then we all went to the renowned night club called Razzmatazz. It was amazing! It was very different from usual clubs because it was a DJ but a band that played various kinds of music. There were at least 2000 people there.
Razzmatazz Night Club
Sunday morning we slept in, because partying in Barcelona means you don’t come home until at least 5:00am. We decided to have a nice, relaxed day and explore Barcelona. We went to a port and walked around the little markets along the beach. We got these really yummy pizza/sandwiches from one of the vendors. Then we wanted to check out the Barcelona Aquarium that was right there. We all love the ocean and fish so we had a fun time there. It was not as big as the one in Baltimore but there were different kinds of fish (from the Mediterranean). After, we walked along the port again and saw a band playing in the street with people salsa dancing next to them. It was so cool! We also randomly ran into the boys there. We went back home and took another siesta before going out at night. For dinner we went back to Barceloneta where there are a bunch of restaurants along the beach. We picked one called “El Rey de la Gamba” (the king of shrimp). We all got traditional paellas with chicken and seafood. We also got Sangrias to share. It was probably one of the best meals I have had so far. Later that night we decided to check out this bar called Dow Jones, where it is like the stock market. There is a huge screen with the different drinks and prices. If the drink is sold a lot, the price goes down and vice-versa. Sometimes the stock market will “crash” and the drinks are very cheap! There were not that many people there because it was Sunday so the drinks were a little expensive. We left kind of early so we could get a good night’s sleep for our busy day on Monday.
Aquarium
Monday morning we got up early and went to the biggest market I have ever seen. It was an inside market with so many little vendors with fresh fruit, vegetables, bread, meat, candy, etc. We wanted to buy everything! We bought stuff to make sandwiches and then left for the Park Guell. First off, to get to the park there is a very, very steep hill to walk up. They have some escalators to help you get up to the top. But once you get there it is definitely worth it. There is a beautiful view of Barcelona. The park was so pretty. There was art and structures made by the famous artist Gaudi. The statues and piece of art were all covered and colorful ceramic pieces. We also realized that this is where they filmed an episode of America’s next top model! We ate our lunch in the park, explored all around, bought jewelry from vendors, listened to music, and drank sangrias in the outdoor restaurant with a great view of the park. Later, we went to the beach. It was so beautiful but a little windy. We dipped our toes in the water, but it was freezing still. Two of our friends went back to the hostel to nap while the rest of us went to a few restaurants along the beach and try all the different kinds of sangrias. Our favorite was the white sparkling wine one. I had mentioned in a previous blog in Amsterdam that we had met four friends from Barcelona. We texted them and they met up with us at one of the restaurants. It was so much fun! They told us what we should do and go see which was awesome. That night the hostel organized a pub crawl with other hostels. We decided to join in and met so many people from around the world. We went to the chupitos bar again and then met up with our friends at another bar. They had heard about this good club going on tonight called Otto Zutz. It was cool because we knew all the songs they were playing but it was FILLED with Americans. I guess they had sent out a thing to all study abroad people so only Americans were there. It was like a frat party. It was kind of annoying because we didn’t go to Barcelona to party with Americans… but we still made the best of it.
Beach!
Tuesday our two friends left in the morning to go to Rome. The rest of us went to go see the Sagrada Familia, the most famous cathedral in Barcelona. It was beautiful, but there was a lot of construction going on. Then we went to the Montjuic Castle. To get there we did a cable car ride up to the top. The castle was huge and was perfect view of the scenery. When we walked down we stopped at the Olympic Park where they had the Olympics in the 90s. The rest of my friends left for Rome that day, and I met up with my friend Courtney who is studying abroad in Barcelona. We should me her apartment and then we went to a really pretty park next to her house. There was a zoo and huge fountain in it. Then with her roommate we went to eat dinner and went home early because we were so tired.
Wednesday morning, she had class but we met up for lunch. After, I met up with my friends we met in Amsterdam. We went to another really awesome place to see all of Barcelona. Then I got to see their university. It was so pretty! We stayed there for awhile with their other university friends. They dropped me off at Courtney’s apartment and then I left for Paris that night!
JMU!
PARIS
In Paris, my cousin Anais came to pick me up at the airport. Thursday morning she had an exam so I got to sleep in which was wonderful! We met up with my cousin Chloe at her new apartment. Then for dinner we went to the best Greek restaurant.
The next day I met up with Chloe again for lunch and we went to my aunt’s apartment. It was great to catch up with everyone and everything going on in the family. Around 6:00pm I met up with Anais and we got coffee with my cousin Robin and his girlfriend for his birthday. For dinner, Anais, Chloe, and I met up with my cousin Roman and his wife. Afterwards Anais, Chloe, and I went to a student bar and met up with Anais’s friends. It was a great way to end such a busy day!
Saturday, Anais and I had a very lazy day. But we both needed it! That night we went to her friend’s party who had just moved in to a new apartment.
Sunday I came back to Antwerp. Almost missing my train, per usual. We went to the wrong train station and took us forever to get to the other station. But I made it and got back to Belgium safely!
Perfect Spring Break. Moving back to Barcelona after I graduate!
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