I <3 Barcelona.
I love Barcelona.
Really, I love it here. This is one of the first places that makes me go, "ya, I could live here." Not just vacation here, like I thought about in France. But live here. Work here. Go grocery shopping here. I really, really like it here.
I'm going to steal my friend's description of Milan and apply it to Barcelona: It's like a small town that happens to be a large city. (I think that's what she said). I love walking around here. None of the buildings are more than 6 or so stories, so it doesn't feel like you're lost in a skyscraper forest. The buildings are all beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful. I don't know about architecture, nor do I care about it. At all. And even I know that the architecture here is something special. It's not all straight lines and hard corners. There are artistic details here that I really love. And there are big, beautiful fountains everywhere! The streets are wide and have large bike lanes. I love it here. I never feel like I'm going to die when I cross the street. There are escalators where you need them, but not enough that make you think they're just for the fat Americans. There is a huge long strip of beach with lots of day life and night life. The people are friendly. The metro system is punctual, understandable, and functional. It's full of twenty-something year olds. Everyone speaks Spanish. The food it delicious (tapas!). Every restaurant has outdoor seating. The streets are paved with gold (just kidding). The girls wear pretty dresses. The boys skateboard. I love it here. There are people from all around the world. It feels cosmopolitan but still very Spanish. It feels metropolitan, but not overwhelmingly so like you're never going to see nature again. I love it here. It's hot, but not too hot. You don't need a sweater when you go out at night, but you're also not like, "dang these hot, hot clothes." There's a ocean breeze. I love it here.
I'm such a happy girl.
Okay, now I'll tell you a little about my time here.
Day 1: Rolled into Barcelona around 2pm. Checked into my AWESOME hostel. You can check it out here if you want to. It's probably the coolest hostel I've stayed in, and I'm going to probably keep looking for Equity Point Hostels. Okay, now that that plug is over. When I checked in, I had to pay for the night before that I had booked even though I didn't stay there because of the train mishaps. A bit of a bummer, but definitely fair. BUT, they felt bad for me, so they gave me a better room (on the second floor, room is smaller and only has 8 people, not a crowded/noisy floor), AND they gave me free towels and sheets (usually you have to rent them for like 2 euro). So that worked out awesomely. Then I went exploring Barcelona on a mini-mission to replace the stuff in my stolen purse.
It was pretty easy. Partially because EVERYONE HERE SPEAKS SPANISH. Imagine that. But it was so easy, because I could ask people where to buy a camera, and then when I got to the camera store, I could talk to them about the different cameras, compare them, compare the prices, etc. It was so easy. So I replaced the phone, camera, etc. Dropped some dollars, but it was worth it. Then I went through the Casa Batllo, and that was really super cool. (House designed by Gaudi).
Then what did I do...
Wow! I just realized that I was trying to break stuff up into days, but I've only been here one day! Holy moly, how did everything happen in one day?
Then I went home and took a nap. Then I went and met up with the two lovely girls that I had met on the attempted trip to Barcelona with the trains and hotels and such. We had dinner and wandered around the city. Walking a little, grabbing a drink, walking some more. Super fun. Eventually (1:30am) we ended at a club and our names were on the list (ya, we're that cool. Don't ask me how it happened. Someone knew someone who knew someone with connections) so we got in for free. So that was great. I love getting in places for free.
But I didn't end up staying very long. Actually, I left pretty immediately, and I went out to find Nadja. She was out on the beach because there was a freakin' huge party. It's kind of like a New Year's eve celebration. Except for the beginning of summer. Yay summer! Fireworks, bonfires, clubs on the beach, music, dancing, more fireworks. It was great.
So I went - and I found her! We were on the phone, and I was like "I'm under the fireworks" and she was like "I'm under the fireworks!" and we were under the same fireworks trying to wave at each other but looking in opposite directions. But we found each other. Huzzah! So I joined her and her friends, and we spent the night dancing on the beach 'till it started getting light a bit after 5am, and we went home to her apartment and went to sleep until past noon.
THEN
Day 2: Woke up past noon. Had breakfast/lunch. I went back to the hostel and changed and such. Met with Nadja and Phillip and went to Parco Guell, the park area designed by Gaudi. And that was super cool.
Then I came back to the hostel and showered (finally!).
Then I went and met with Hannah and Carolyn again (the girls from the train) and ate food.
Then I came back, but on comfy clothes, and now I'm writing this.
I'm sorry, I know this was just a really basic play-by-play. I hope it wasn't too boring.
Love you all.
I'll go back and add some pics, then I'm out. Night all.
(sorry, the picture adding wasn't quite successful, but it takes a long time and my computer is dying and some were upside down and insert other excuses here. please forgive me).
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