Barca

The purpose of my trip to Barcelona was to see my two friends from Pamplona, who I had not seen in 6 or 7 years. I finally found them at the station, and we immediately took a taxi to their friend’s apartment where we spent the night. Their friend had a very warm personality, and he was able to speak a lot of English to me.

My first time taking a train did not quite go as planned: I woke up 10 minutes before I had to be at the train station. I had not packed one thing. The woman at the ticket check in told me the wrong directions. I missed the train. The woman felt bad and helped me change my ticket. I went to the other train station. I boarded the train at 10:55. An older woman tried to chat with me through my limited Spanish skills. I arrived in Barcelona at 2:10.

After our arrival, we took the metro by the Sagrada familia, where Pao’s apartment was located. I had yet to take a metro in Spain, and wondered if it would differ from the metro stops in the United States. The metro was a little bit smaller, but I did not see a lot of significant differences between the metros in Washington D.C. and Barcelona.

Ironically, I traveled all the way to Spain to eat Mexican food, because we went to a very popular small Mexican restaurant further towards the gothic section of Barcelona. It had amazing Mexican food, and I was introduced to a «clara,» a cerveza with lemonade.

We walked around the streets of Barcelona afterwards, visiting an ice cream shop where my friend Gabriela had gone to chef school with the owner. In this section of town, I started to notice how different the people were in Barcelona. Everyone there had tattoos and an edgier style. Barcelona seems to be heavily influenced by fashion and what is deemed as hipster. I pulled a similarity to New York and its status as a fashion city to create a parallel for Barcelona.

We also met up in a beautiful courtyard restaurant where Gabriela’s friend Omar worked, and it was one of the most peaceful moments I have had in Spain, thus far. It was practically connected to the ice cream shop, and had previously been a sanctuary for monks.

There were still small dogs everywhere and I loved it.

The streets of Barcelona were very narrow and beautiful, towering over the streets in a delicate way. The architecture of Barcelona was unlike any other city that I have been in. The buildings were mostly stone, and little shops were located in and out of allies.

We did end up going to the more touristy parts of Barcelona, heading near the large shopping area. The shops were larger than most any I had ever seen, with H&M having an entire restaurants inside of its multi-story store 

We went out in the gothic district after a dinner made up of pizza, and the bars were very unique and fun; however, we made it an early night and did not head out to any clubs.

Ending the trip, we woke up and went to breakfast in the morning, finding healthier more hipster options. I really enjoyed my time in Barcelona, and cannot wait to go back.