Amazing fruit at Barcelona's famous open market "La Boqueria"
Picasso museum
Magic Fountain show
Cave in Parc Guell
On the docks
View of Barcelona from a cable car
Gaudi's Sagrada Familia
Gaudi's Parc Guell
Ocean! Oh how I've missed you!
The Museum of Chocolate
This past weekend I visited Barcelona with my roommate Monica and our friend Amity. We left bright and early on Friday morning and were in our hostel by 10am. The sky was a little overcast on our first day, but other than that, it was perfect. Barcelona is a beautiful city full of amazing museums, shopping, Gaudi artwork and a magnificent beach!
For the three of us, this was our first weekend trip that wasn't organized by SU, so we were a little worried there would be some bumps in the road. Much to our surprise, everything from our hostel to getting around via the metro to finding all of the hotspot monuments went smoothly. On our first day we visited the Museum of Chocolate, Gaudi's Casa Battlo, the Picasso museum, the waterfront of the city, and the famous La Boqueria on Las Ramblas. My favorite, being the art lover that I am, was Picasso's museum. Instead of his famous works, the museum focused on his growth and transitions from one style to the next from his early childhood until his death. I had no knowledge of the great transformations Picasso made throughout his lifetime, nor of all the Spanish artists and landscapes he was inspired by. It was a beautiful museum enclosed in five gothic castles connected by open air staircases and walkways.
Saturday we woke up early (that's a relative statement...) and went straight to the Parc Ciutadella, rode the cable car above the shoreline of Barcelona, ate at a modern outdoor restaurant overlooking the city, visited the Sagrada Familia (another one of Gaudi's famous works), couldn't resist stopping at La Boqueria for some more 1 euro juices and chocolates, and spent the night at the magic fountain show of Montjuic.
We woke up on Sunday morning to sunshine and a clear blue sky, so we headed to Parc Guell (my favorite of Gaudi's work). It is a huge park with various sculptures, buildings, and pathways all decorated in ceramics or lush garden plants. It is amazing to understand how much Gaudi was inspired by the nature he saw, and how well-preserved his monuments are, even though some are still under construction.
The one aspect of our visit to Barcelona that was somewhat disappointing but very eye-opening was the distaste Barcelona feels for the rest of Spain, specifically Madrid. Barcelona is undeniably a beautiful place, but it has been taken over by tourists. The contradictions between Spanish speakers, Catalonians, and American study abroad students makes for tension and a less authentic experience. I cannot comprehend the identity crisis Catalonians and Spaniards must feel living in such a city. I'm still trying to understand the history of Spain, and how modern Spaniards feel about their government and culture, but for me, the closest similarity I can make between Barcelona's conflict with their identity as a Spanish city is the Civil War of America between the North and the South.
Overall, we had a wonderful time. I am still amazed by the amount of things we were able to do in just two and a half days. Hopefully I will someday be able to visit Barcelona again and lay out on the beach :) I have a busy week ahead of me before heading off to Morocco on Thursday!
Where does the time go?
Emily
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