When I say “Barce,” you say “lona”. Barce-lona, Barcelona!



View of the City



I was super excited this weekend to go to Barcelona. Anyone that knows anything about the world knows that Barcelona is not only one of the most popular Spanish cities, but it is also one of the most popular cities of all of Europe. I was so happy to finally go there.

I left Jávea early Friday morning and took a bus to Valencia. Living in Jávea, it is very difficult to get anywhere in Spain because Jávea doesn’t have any trains, metros, or airports. It only has one bus stop. So whenever I travel, I usually have to go to Alicante or Valencia first. Anyway, after my two hour trip to Valencia, I waited for a little while and then took another bus to Barcelona. The bus ride was about 5 hours and It was packed. I mostly slept the whole time. I arrived in Barcelona at around 2:00pm that day. When I arrived, I immediately took a taxi to the hostel that I was going to stay at with my American friends from Alicante.

Exploring the City

The hostel was very nice. It was very clean and nicely decorated. While at the hostel I met up with my friends and we talked a little about what we were going to do that day. First, we went to a nice restaurant to get something to eat. We all ordered from the menú del dia. My first plate was vegetable paella, my second plate was steak and fries and I had red wine for my beverage and coffee for dessert. The food was very delicious and exactly what I needed after that trip.



Barcelona at Night



After eating we walked around the city for a little bit. It is obvious that Barcelona is a “city” city because it is huge, and on top of that there is something to see everywhere you go. There were always a lot of noise, lights, and tons of people. After looking at some monuments and taking a little tour around a city, we went to Park Güell, which is a very beautiful park created by Guadi. After the park we walked around the city  and went to a shopping center. At the very top of the shopping center there was a round balcony where you could see some of the city. We stayed there for a while and then, to warm ourselves up, we stopped at a café for some café con leche and a pastry.

Later that night, we went out with some Americans who were friends of one of the Americans living in Alicante. After walking around for a while searching for a place to eat, we went to a bar where we socialized and had lots of tapas and wine. After that bar, we went to another place that had a very large selection of cocktails and we had more drinks there. I bravely ordered a peach margarita, and, for the first time since being in Spain, it was actually very good!  Lastly we stopped at another bar. At the last bar the bartender was really nice and chatted with us about some drinks. He got me to try this holiday beer, which tasted very interesting. By the time we got back to the hostel, I was so tired that I didn’t even put my pajamas on.



La Sagrada Familia



On Saturday morning we had breakfast at the hostel and headed to La Sagrada Familia. La Sagrada Familia is a very large cathedral that is still in construction and it contains more Gaudi arquictecture. We were at the Sagrada Familia for more than 2 hours. There was so much to see. Everything that I looked at had so many different depths to it. I especially loved looking at the sculptures on the outside of the cathedral. After the cathedral we went and had a very tasty lunch and we continued the night exploring the city.

On Sunday morning, we woke up early, ate breakfast and tried to explore more of the city before we left later that day. Before we left, we stopped at a wonderful coffee shop where I ordered café amb llet i xocolata, or coffee with milk and a chocolate cake. It was so delicious. As we were walking, we came across a small street parade of people playing instruments and singing Christmas songs. Later that day, I got on the bus back to Valencia, and then back to Jávea.



A Delightful Treat



Barcelona was a great trip I had so much fun and saw so much. I was also surprised at the amount of Catalán that I understood. Catalán is very similar to Valenciano and it is the official language of Catalonia, the providence of Barcelona. I would definitely like to go back to Barcelona before I return to America, Maybe in the summer.