After an outstanding long weekend in Barcelona, I have presentations to prepare, gifts to buy, and finals to study for. So the 4 days I could write about for hours must be condensed into list format:
Thursday
- 5:15am wake-up call, 3 trains, 1 plane, 1 bus, and 1 long walk...we arrive!
- My first meal in Spain was--I kid you not--pizza.
- Exploration of Las Ramblas (Spain's version of The Champs-Élysées)
- A Barcelona basketball game (Barcelona dominated)
Friday:
- Up again early to find a free walking tour down by Las Ramblas but found that the guide had been out late partying the night before and never arrived
- Wandered down Las Ramblas and found the most amazing, colorful, and exciting food market I have ever seen
- Grabbed a Spanish tortilla for lunch (like a frittata with potatoes and onions)
- Headed back to the "Traveller's Bar" meeting point to catch the 3pm walking tour and, when the guide was found MIA, agreed to pay 5 euro for a biking tour with a friendly Australian named Mintch. Best. Decision. Ever.
- Over 2 hours of biking through almost all of Barcelona and learning several fun facts:
- Barcelona tourism is only 17 years old, coming into existence because of the Olympics
- The palm trees throughout the city were imported from Hawaii
- Sand on the beaches must be replaced every year
- Public nuditiy is legal, as long as you are wearing shoes
- We saw a man in the buff, but he was breaking the law.
- Barcelona's Arc de Triomf was built because France had one
- Spain hopes to finish work on the Sagrada Familia, its famous Gaudi cathedral, by 2026
- There are Catalonian restaurants that will not serve tourists, only locals
- The tour ended with a complimentary beer and a host of entertaining stories by Mintch, the Australian who bought a roundtrip ticket 7 years ago and never made it back home.
- We made an attempt at a tapas dinner but found the price/serviving size ratio to be a bit difficult for college students (I ate a phenomenal spinach, garbanzo bean, prosciutto mix)
- Met some late-comers of our group at the hostel and joined them for a much more manageable 5 euro all-inclusive dinner
- Enjoyed a few drinks on the terrace of our fantastic hostel before heading out to a dance club until after 4 am (don't even think about going to a Spanish club before 1:30)
Saturday:
-About 4 hours later, up for breakfast and headed to the Gaudi House (fantastic and whimiscal)
- After lunch, spent several hours wandering Park Guell, a real-life Candy Land
- Several of us headed back to the hostel for a nap and met back up with the full group to see the "magical fountain show" and catch a late dinner
- Turns out that the "magic" of the fountain is its ability to disappear. After a few hours of wandering, we surrendered to hunger and all ate late-night paellas for dinner
-Enjoyed a glass of sangria at the Traveller's bar before crashing into bed
Sunday:
- Up for one more early morning to eat breakfast before finding the Picasso Museum (free on the first Sunday of the month!)
- We took our time enjoying the exhibits (my personal favorite was Picasso's version of "Las Meninas")
- Grabbed lunch and a pastry
- 1 bus ride, 1 plane, 3 trains, and 1 taxi cab later, we returned to Siena!
A bit scatter-brained and long, that is the quickest summary of a fantastic weekend that I can manage to organize. Travelling was mercifully easy, the weather was pleasantly cool, the city was incredibly interesting, and, most of all, the escape from papers, finals, and presenations was a phenomenal success.
- My first meal in Spain was--I kid you not--pizza.
- Exploration of Las Ramblas (Spain's version of The Champs-Élysées)
- A Barcelona basketball game (Barcelona dominated)
Friday:
- Up again early to find a free walking tour down by Las Ramblas but found that the guide had been out late partying the night before and never arrived
- Wandered down Las Ramblas and found the most amazing, colorful, and exciting food market I have ever seen
- Grabbed a Spanish tortilla for lunch (like a frittata with potatoes and onions)
- Headed back to the "Traveller's Bar" meeting point to catch the 3pm walking tour and, when the guide was found MIA, agreed to pay 5 euro for a biking tour with a friendly Australian named Mintch. Best. Decision. Ever.
- Over 2 hours of biking through almost all of Barcelona and learning several fun facts:
- Barcelona tourism is only 17 years old, coming into existence because of the Olympics
- The palm trees throughout the city were imported from Hawaii
- Sand on the beaches must be replaced every year
- Public nuditiy is legal, as long as you are wearing shoes
- We saw a man in the buff, but he was breaking the law.
- Barcelona's Arc de Triomf was built because France had one
- Spain hopes to finish work on the Sagrada Familia, its famous Gaudi cathedral, by 2026
- There are Catalonian restaurants that will not serve tourists, only locals
- The tour ended with a complimentary beer and a host of entertaining stories by Mintch, the Australian who bought a roundtrip ticket 7 years ago and never made it back home.
- We made an attempt at a tapas dinner but found the price/serviving size ratio to be a bit difficult for college students (I ate a phenomenal spinach, garbanzo bean, prosciutto mix)
- Met some late-comers of our group at the hostel and joined them for a much more manageable 5 euro all-inclusive dinner
- Enjoyed a few drinks on the terrace of our fantastic hostel before heading out to a dance club until after 4 am (don't even think about going to a Spanish club before 1:30)
Saturday:
-About 4 hours later, up for breakfast and headed to the Gaudi House (fantastic and whimiscal)
- After lunch, spent several hours wandering Park Guell, a real-life Candy Land
- Several of us headed back to the hostel for a nap and met back up with the full group to see the "magical fountain show" and catch a late dinner
- Turns out that the "magic" of the fountain is its ability to disappear. After a few hours of wandering, we surrendered to hunger and all ate late-night paellas for dinner
-Enjoyed a glass of sangria at the Traveller's bar before crashing into bed
Sunday:
- Up for one more early morning to eat breakfast before finding the Picasso Museum (free on the first Sunday of the month!)
- We took our time enjoying the exhibits (my personal favorite was Picasso's version of "Las Meninas")
- Grabbed lunch and a pastry
- 1 bus ride, 1 plane, 3 trains, and 1 taxi cab later, we returned to Siena!
A bit scatter-brained and long, that is the quickest summary of a fantastic weekend that I can manage to organize. Travelling was mercifully easy, the weather was pleasantly cool, the city was incredibly interesting, and, most of all, the escape from papers, finals, and presenations was a phenomenal success.
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