BARCELONA!!!!...longest blog ever

Thursday October 1^st came and I had my small carry one of clothes for the weekend, my passport held tight, and so many different expectations. I was so excited to go to Barcelona not only to see it but also because I considered studying in Spain. I started the journey with my friends Stephanie and Amanda. We had to take an hour bus to Pisa,

an hour and a half plane to Girona, another hour-long bus to Barcelona, and then the metro to our hostel! It was quite the journey to get there but we made it!! I was so proud of us. It is so much different traveling with out any adults, but is so rewarding.

The night we arrived we checked into our hostel, HelloBCN, and went to find some dinner, we were sooooo hungry! Later that night my best friend Shea, who is studying in Rome, arrived with some of here friends and stayed at the hostel with us. It was so great to see her! We took lots of silly pictures and laughed a lot, we both couldn’t believe that we were finally together!

Spain was awesome and I would love to go into every detail, but I think you may get a little bored of all my explanations so lets see what I can do…

DAY 1. We woke up early to begin our day of sight seeing. First stop Gaudi Park Museum. It was incredible. It looked exactly like I had seen in pictures, minus mine have a lot of tourists in the background. The park had uniquely crafted mosaic buildings and ceilings with an array of beautiful colors. There was also I section of it that was on Americas Next Top Model! Antoni Gaudi’s work is featured at Balboa Park, so it reminded me a little bit of home. Next stop Casa Mila Pedrera. Another Gaudi piece, so it was awesome! We went inside what was once an apartment building, but is now a museum. The architecture was insane, and something I had never seen before. I thought the top looked like a vanilla ice cream cone! Third and fourth stop… Casa Amatller and Casa Batllo. Both were amazing on the outside, but there was a special event going on so we weren’t able to go inside. Next and final stop if the day, La Sagrada Familia! It was gigantic! It has taken 200 years already and won’t be done until 2021, shucks I guess ill have to come back! We ate dinner and drank some San Gria, Spain’s infamous beverage, and hit the hay we were exhausted from a long day and had another day of sigh seeing the next day.

DAY 2. We woke up early again, ate our breakfast provided by the hostel, bread and cereal, haha. And began the next days adventure. I was so excited because Shea came along with us! We started at the Picasso museum. Honestly my knowledge of Picasso is pretty slim, but I know that his art was influential and I remember learning about him in Meet the Masters in elementary school! It was cool to see how drastically his art evolved from his age, to stages of his life and to the colors he used. Next stop: Starbucks, sounds silly, but there is nothing like a cold caramel frappaccino! We made our way to a vegetable, fruit, and meat market. It was packed with vendors and different colors from all the food. I have realized something about myself; I HATE seeing meet when it is not cooked. In the past two weeks I have seen a tongue of some creature, a full leg, a full chicken with a head, a spine of a fish, and other gross bloody animals. Don’t worry I am not going vegetarian, I just prefer no to see it in this stage of its life, but I did take some pictures. WE kept walking and came across a street of vintage and thrift stores…. O no!! We pushed through our sore legs and went to Estadi Olimpia! They had the Olympics there!! Yahoo so cool to see! It was right next to National Palas, it looked like a castle and we got to watch a water show!!! That was my favorite part! It was a surreal moment, an “ Im actually in Spain moment”. It over looked the city of Barcelona, the water changed colors, and music played.

Day 3. First stop Palau de la Musica. It is a theater where orchestras play. It was filled with mosaic everything. We took a tour and learned about the meaning of different aspects of the building. Europe has been so impressive to me because of the way it has preserved its buildings, to me this place looked new, but was centuries old. Later that day I ran into 10 Armenians! I could tell they were Armenian, and when I asked and the said yes, I said one phrase and it was like instantly they became my best friend! My roommate at Point Loma taught me some Armenian so it reminded me of her! Any attempt at a language other than your own has proved to itself t show you care for another culture. I said a simple phrase and somehow the Armenian genocide was brought up, which Mary also told me about. Connecting with people around the world is an unexplainable and makes me want to lean more about all culture so that I can connect with all sorts of different people. We ended our time in Barcelona by walking along the coast.

It was an awesome trip and I am so glad I went! The metro, sightseeing, staying in a hostel with all sorts of travelers, and long days and late nights. Now its time to get down to business and finish those to papers and read a lot more!! Thank you for your prayers, I had a safe trip and I have been blessed with stable health. I love you all! Thanks for following what I write, it means a lot.