Barcelona is a coastal city in the northeast part of Spain. It is one of the largest cities on the Mediterranean Sea and offers incredible beaches, culture, history, and world renowned architecture.
For the first week-long break of my semester abroad in France, I decided to join a few other kids in my cohort on a trip around Spain and Portugal. Our first stop: Barcelona, Spain.
We started our trip with a morning train ride from Toulouse to Narbonne, a small coastal town on the east coast of France. We had a bit of a layover before our connecting train to Barcelona, so we stopped by a bakery in Narbonne for a quick breakfast.
Our train from Narbonne to Barcelona took us along the coastline of France, around the Pyrenees mountains, and eventually into the city. We arrived around mid-afternoon at the Barcelona-Sants train station and immediately headed toward the Gothic Quarter. From the train station, we took the metro to the Catedral de Barcelona. This gothic style cathedral is one of the most popular attractions in the Gothic Quarter. Tucked into the surrounding buildings, the Barcelona Cathedral stands out with its incredibly intricate facade.
We continued walking through the area, passing by other gothic architecture from medieval eras, before eventually reaching the coast. Near the coast, we passed by the Columbus monument which rose high into the air and marked the south end of the famous La Rambla street. We walked up La Rambla for a little bit, passing by a large protest in the streets and the dozens of shops that are lined up on either side. One thing I found pretty cool was that a lot of the streets, especially some of the side streets, had bridges that connected adjacent buildings together.
At some point, we made our way back toward the hostel we were staying in - my first hostel experience by the way. Relaxed for a bit, then headed to a nearby bar to grab some drinks. We hung out here for a few hours watching soccer matches on TV before eventually meeting up with some other friends at a club called Opium down by the beach.
Everything started so much later in the city than I was used to. We didn't arrive at Opium until close to 2am, and ended up staying there until around 5am. I never really went clubbing aside from a few times in college, so staying out this late at a packed club was certainly a new experience for me. As we were leaving the club and walking back toward the metro, random locals would come up to us trying to offer drugs or prostitutes, which was also a new experience for me. Obviously we just ignored them, but it seems to be a common occurrence and was quite amusing.
Being out so late, we got a late start to the following day. We hopped on the metro toward the iconic Basílica de la Sagrada Familia. The metro stop there was pretty cool too, because as you emerge from the station underground, the church just suddenly appears in front of you and towers way up into the sky.
But before doing anything, we first grabbed a quick lunch at a small cafe nearby. I ordered a sandwich, which I believe was a bocadillo with jamón ibérico and fresh mozzarella on it, and fresh-squeezed orange juice. I think this was one of my first times drinking orange juice, as I grew up pretty picky, but I've got to say I really enjoyed it.
After lunch, we walked back toward La Sagrada Familia to take some photos. Unfortunately we didn't realize we had to book tickets in advance to go inside the church, but it still offered some incredible views from the outside.
From there, we walked through the streets to see some buildings designed by famous architect Antoni Gaudi. We first went to La Pedrera, or Casa Milà (which I unfortunately took no photos of), and then down along the Passeig de Gràcia toward the Casa Batlló. Both buildings featured very unique facades that stood out among the rest of the buildings in the city. Again, unfortunately we didn't get to go inside either building because we didn't have any tickets (and did not want to wait in line to get them). But the exteriors were cool enough to see, and we had fun trying to think of puns with the names of all the luxury stores we walked past along the Passeig de Gràcia.
Later we took the metro toward the Arc de Triomf in Barcelona (not to be confused with the one in Paris, France). They were doing some restoration repairs on it while we were there, so did not get to see it in all its full glory. But still was cool to see the landmark.
We walked into the nearby Parc de la Ciutadella afterwards for a short respite. The park itself was quite expansive and offered scenic views of lakes, ponds, and statues. We took some photos in front of the main fountain in the park and enjoyed the views with dozens of ducks and other birds doing the same.
As afternoon turned to evening, we went back to the hostel for a quick siesta before meeting up with some others for dinner somewhere in the city. Unfortunately, at this point in my semester I was not doing a great job of documenting my travels, so you'll just have to take my word on the rest. For dinner I ordered a chicken paella (not a huge fan of seafood so I forewent the traditional style of paella). I had never heard of paella up to this point, so you can imagine my surprise when they came out with my paella in a pan the size of my car's spare tire. Even my friends were taken by surprise when it was brought to the table. But when the food is good, I don't play. Safe to say everyone was even more astonished when they looked over to see I had practically licked the pan clean. I really wish I had taken a photo of that dish, because now all I have left is but a distant memory.
Anyway, I digress. The food was good, the vibes great, and we soon headed back to the hostel to get a good night's rest before departing for Madrid the next morning. Only two days in Barcelona was certainly not enough time to see and embrace all the city has to offer. But this trip was a nice preview, and I know I'll be back at some point in my future.