Barcelona!

Ah, Barcelona, the land of sangria, tapas, and mosaics out the wazoo. I can honestly say it’s the most aesthetically pleasing city I’ve been to so far. I also enjoyed the huge amount of freedom I had to sightsee, since I didn’t have meetings interrupting my day or making me wake up early.

So what did I see?

Well, on Friday evening after we arrived, we visited Font Magica, a wonderful fountain that is synchronized to music and with awesome lighting effects. Then we went at got some bad tapas and wonderful sangria. After a quick disco nap, a €2 shot bar was visited, and then we walked a EXTREMELY long way to the beach, where we frolicked in the Mediterranean at about 2:30 am. Walking some more, we happened upon a series of beach side clubs, which all charge €20 as a cover. So, we took a taxi back to our Alternative Creative Youth Home and went to bed.

Now, here is where I need to mention the party/living environment in Barcelona: Get to the club by 2:00 am at the earliest, party until 5:00 or 6:00, sleep for however long, eat breakfast around noon, lunch around 4:00 or 5:00, dinner at 10:00, repeat. It was exhausting.

Anyway, woke up the next day and saw la Rambla, la Boqueria, Rambla del Mar, an awesome floating bridge, the gothic center downtown, and Gaudi’s most famous buildings in Barcelona. Don’t know who Gaudi is? Neither did I. He pretty much shaped Barcelona’s most influential architecture with modern designs way before his time.

The church he designed, Sagrada de Familia, is still under construction. I thought, though, after being worked on for 127 years, there would be something substantial inside to see. So, I paid €9. TOTALLY SWINDLED BY THE CHURCH. It was still very under construction. I’m still bitter about it.

Anyway, that night we went to Razzmatazz, a very large club that was only €15. It was supposed to be life changing. While I don’t think it was quite that amazing, it was a good time and there ended up being some nice live music by this random electronic band.

The next day was Easter, so peeled myself out of bed for early mass, which didn’t feel like a mass at all, considering that I had no idea what the priest was saying and there were tons of tourists milling about. Anyway, saw Parc Guell, Gaudi’s other masterpiece. It’s this huge, gorgeous park that’s home to the longest park bench in the work. And America’s Next Top Model Season 7 Final Runway Show.

Afterwards, we went to the Picasso museum, and then finally had delicious tapas for dinner. That night visited the Dow Jones Bar, where the prices are supposed to fluctuate based on supply and demand. It was fun, but not the fast paced night I was expecting. The next day, got up super early and back on a plane to good ‘ol Freiburg.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that it rained practically ALL DAY on Sunday. What a super spring break weather. Oh well, life goes on. Until next time!