Barcelona was a trip unlike the rest of the trips I went on this semester, and I have to say, it was definitely one of my absolute favorites. I know I say that about each trip, but they just keep getting better and better! I knew for Easter Break I wanted to go somewhere for the long weekend and celebrate my 21st birthday. When I went to Barcelona the first time I never got to visit my friend who was studying there. I loved everything about Barcelona, so I figured why not go back and spend my birthday with him! He was originally going to visit Rome, but his ticket was too expensive, so instead I came to him. The weekend could not have been more perfect!
I arrived late Thursday night, and Chris picked me up from the bus station. We got to his apartment and he cooked us dinner and then we went out with Anthony from his program and got a drink. I was exhausted and it was almost 3:00, so we called it a night. Funny thing is-3:00 is early to call it a night in Barcelona!
Since this was my second time visiting Barcelona, I had already done all of the touristy stuff, so this was going to be a very relaxing and chill weekend. There was no rush to see anything or go anywhere; we just kinda wandered. It was Chris's break as well, so I didn't want to make him go to places he had already seen, so we just got up each morning and played each day by ear. It was great!
The next day we woke up late (another great thing about not having plans, you get to sleep in!), and we ran a few errands. We got lunch and then headed to Chris's studio space to print a few things out. I also got to see his final project, which was super cool. After, we got lunch and then headed to this architecture building Chris had been wanting to see. The building was a bull fighting stadium that was
turned into a shopping mall. It was a pretty cool building. I am finding that the more time I spend with architects the more I am learning to appreciate different buildings. Afterwards Chris and I headed back to his apartment and caught up on homework. That night Chris, Anthony, and I went out to dinner near Las Ramblas street. Ironically, it was on the exact same street of the apartment I stayed in the first time I went to Barcelona. After dinner we met up with everyone else and just spent the night hanging out. There is only three girls in the Barcelona study abroad program and two of them were away for the weekend. Thus, the majority of the weekend was spent with just the guys, and I have to say, I really enjoyed it. No gossiping, or girl talk, just watching the guys goof off. I can't begin to tell you how much fun they are; a genuinely good group of guys!
The next day we got up and headed to the Barcelona Pavilion. Chris was shocked that I didn't see it the first time I visited, so of course we went and saw it. As usual with my trips with Chris, we had perfect weather. Chris even said that the clouds in our photos looked photo shopped in, and they really did. Take a look.
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| Montjuic |
After the pavilion we headed to Montjuic. It was at this point, with the beautiful scenery around us, that Chris and I decided to go into the postcard making business haha. Once we made it to the top of Montjuic we went to the Olympic Pavilion. It was cool to see all these places, because prior to this trip I
didn't even know they existed! After the pavilion we saw the Olympic stadium and the torch. Chris had never been in the museum in Montjuic, (Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya) so we decided to head there next. I have to say, Chris and I were not loving it. I liked the architecture of the musuem better than I like some of the work. Although, we agreed the second floor was much better than the first. After Montjuic we headed to the Arc de Triomf.
Afterwards we wandered around and decided to head towards the beach. However, on our way there, we stumbled upon something even better...The Zoo! When we went inside I told Chris a little secret about myself. It's tradition that I spend my birthday at the zoo. It was fate that we happened to stumble upon the zoo. I could not think of a better way to spend my birthday. I got to see my first dolphin show, the wildcats, the roos, a meerkat, and my favorite, the giraffes! It was perfect. After the zoo, we finished our adventure at the beach. Perfect end to a perfect day. We headed back to the apartment, heated up leftovers, and then hung out with the guys until we went out for the night.
The next day was Easter Sunday and even though I went to bed at 5:00 am I got up and went to Mass at the Barcelona Cathedral. The mass was completely in Spanish, and I am so proud that I understood it all. The service was also one of the most beautiful I have ever been to. I think I appreciate masses in a different language more, and this church is Gothic, so I loved that as well. Chris and I spent the rest of the day at the beach. After the beach it was time for Easter Dinner. Everyone got dressed up and all of the guys cooked Easter dinner while Sam and I just sat and watched. She set the table and I did the dishes. It was so funny seeing all these guys, who are a bunch of goofs cook dinner. And I have to say, the meal was excellent! Nicely done guys! The guys there say they are all part of a family, so after dinner we all took a family photo. As we were taking the photo Chris said to me, "Hey, you're now part of the family!"
The next day was my last day in Barcelona, and I was definitely sad to be leaving. We had heard that the walk down to the W Hotel was cool so we decided to do that. We just walked along the beach and headed to the hotel. Afterwards we headed back to the apartment and I got ready to leave. Chris dropped me off at the bus station and I was off to the airport. This was truly an awesome weekend! I couldn't think of a better place, better people, or a better way to spend my birthday!
"Don't count ever hour in the day, make every hour in the day count."
~Anonymous
