Bathalona... wait, Barcelona?

Well let me start out by saying, I may not be as cultured as I thought.  I did not realize people in Barcelona did not speak Spanish; they speak Catalan. From what I understand it is a mixture between Spanish, French, and Italian. While I know a little of both Spanish and Italian, this language was beyond me. They also speak with a lisp when they do speak. This is because there once was a king who had a lisp and it became proper to speak that way. It actually sort of bugged me.

This was the first time to Spain for both Holly and myself. Jacqueline, my best friend in the world, is studying in Barcelona until December through a program called API. Jacque and I have been inseparable since high school and I was so excited to see her! We couldn't have asked for a better tour guide for this metropolitan beach town. She actually lives two blocks from one of the most famous landmarks in Barcelona, La Sagrada Familia designed by Gaudi (who I will talk about later); our location was perfect. We landed late on Thursday night after four trains, an airplane, and a bus ride; that is when I decided I do not like traveling at night (for anyone who knows me knows that I do not operate very well without sleep). Needless to say, not much was done on Thursday night except for catching up.

We started our Friday morning with Jacuqe's regular coffee shop next to her apartment. It was then I realized, I was actually getting USED to Italian coffee! What an accomplishment for me! Ha. Spanish coffee was much less strong than the hardcore Italian coffee. Then if was off to Las Ramblas, which is a main strip downtown. There she took us to the market called St. Josep. As you can see above, it was amazing! From fruit, to live fish, everything looked fake. My raspberries were amazing! 

To keep the authenticity coming, we stopped and had a real Spanish mojito at an amazing restuarant called Princessa 23 (which we would end up going back to becuase it was so good and cheap) by the Picasso museum.

And then, the Picasso Museum in the Gothic District of Barcelona! This was actually the only Picasso museum that was actually built and seen by Picasso while he was alive. They had some incredible pieces and my favorite was a staircase he built that was actually part of the wall! I wasn't allowed to take pictures but I snuck one on my iphone:) 

There was an stunning exhibit displaying Picasso's fourty-four interpretations of Velasquez's Young Ladies of the Court done in 1656. 

The building itself had an incredible courtyard and was beautiful. 

Actually, more than the Picasso museum, I enjoyed a museum that we stumbled upon in the Gothic Disctrict: The Textile and costume Museum. It was only 3 Euros to get in and it may have been my favorite thing I've done.  Jacqueline is a fashion major and had taken many classes on textiles and fabrication so she really enjoyed it!

Inside they had facsinating works done with plastic and showed all the advances in techonology that plastics are making today including prosthetic legs and actually making plastic models of fetuses in a mother's womb. I never realized what an innovative and brilliant material plastic was. 3D printers were used to make a lot of these pieces and we were truly blown away. 

The museum displayed many works from students, which also made it intriguing. We actually ended up meeting a student whos works were displayed in the museum. He was from Colombia and took the time to show us how he works. 

Another part of the collection was a exhibit of wallpapers! There were crossword, glow-in-the-dark, sticky note, and color changing wall paper! I want some in my house. My favorite was the cowboy whose clothes came off when you put heat on it. Of course, he was wearing American boxer! Too funny!

Then it was off to more sightseeing! This is the Plaza Royal where the royal family of Spain once lived, I loved the palm trees; it was a refreshing change from olive trees!

Tapas time! Typical tapas start with Pan con Tomate, which is pictured below. Sangria, mussels, teriyake chicken, mushrooms, and unfortunately, the best part of the meal was gone before I could photograph it: Lemon sage sorbet with chilled vodka over it. Pause. Try and picture that. Oh my goodness, I cannot explain how magical it was. There was so many flavors that mixed so well together. 

I had actually heard Spanish food wasn't that good but I completely disagree!

Although it was a little cloudy, we ventured to the beach. Not only did we see full-on naked men but also surfers and amazing sandcastles! This city was filled with so much richness and so many different types of people. When we were at the beach, I truly felt like we were in a whole separate country from where we had lunch, much less in the same city. 

That night we went to the "beach clubs" which ended up being overpriced discos but we had a good time. I guess it is a right of passage in Barcelona! 

Jacqueline's roommates also had friends visiting at the time so the next morning all ten of us American girls ventured up to Park Guell. Park Guell was designed by Antoni Gaudi and was really cool! After a long hike and some escalators we made it to the top. It had an amazing view of the whole entire city! 

Park Guell was really like a small village of Gaudi's art. With vendors and a ton of people, it had a real Spanish feel. I bought a leather braided bracelet for 2 Euros from one of the market people. The park was really neat and we decided Jacqueline needs to get married there. Gaudi was an amazing artist and we continued to see his art all throughout the city. 

 

This is my favorite picture of the weekend of Jacqueline and I! I'm framing this one when I get home!

That night we met up with my other long-time friend, Taylor. I have known Taylor since first grade and she is one of those people who I could talk to all day. We met her and her roommates at Princessa 23 (my second time there within 48 hours) and had a great time! Unfortunately, she had an early travel plans the next morning so our time was too short!

We ended our night at one of the "local clubs" called Magic (pronounced Mag-ik), which was more reasonably priced and a lot more fun than the touristy clubs on the beach. We danced the night away!

Sunday we walked almost the entire city of Barcelona! Every corner is different and there is something to see on every street. Spain has so much character and I really enjoyed it. 

We stopped in the Cathedral of Barcelona. As awful as it is, I think I am becoming numb to the pure beauty of churches from being in Italy. Don't get me wrong, it was a exquisite cathedral. It had a lovely garden with geese and fountains.

 

More tapas! The fried artichoke were our favorite; we ordered another plate!

The whole time I was there, we were looking for Horchata, which is a Spanish cold drink made of rice, almonds, cinnamon, lime zest and sugar. We finally found it! I mostly wanted it because it was mentioned in one of my favorite songs (Horchata by Vampire Weekend) but it ended up being quite delicious! Of course, we also got crepes! Haha. I need to stop eating like I'm on vacation! 

We ended the weekend with going to an American bar called George Payne's. It truly was American. The Oakland Raider's game was on, there was karaoke and they were serving Budweiser. It was nice to be around Americans for a change and we had a great time! I got my fix of the States!

This is Jacqueline and I in front of La Sagrada Familia right outside her apartment. 

At the end of it all, I was actually sort of excited to get back to slow-paced Tuscany. The atmosphere could not have been more different between Arezzo and Barcelona but I truly have an appreciation for both. Barcelona was a success and now I cannot wait to show Jacqueline Tuscany in November over Thanksgiving break!