Cathedral
Gaudi Lizard Sculpture
Gaudi Mosaics
Park Guell
Highest peak, view of all of Barcelona
Sangria and Tapas on a beautiful beachy night
Gaudi House
Gaudi Cathedral
Harbor
Bois de Bologne
Montmartre Wine Festival
The next day we were lucky enough to have the beautiful weather continue and we went to Bois de Bologne, a lake on the eastern edge of Paris. It was stunning and reminded me surprisingly enough of Bloomfield Hills, MI which I didn't even think I remembered much of considering how young I was when I lived there. You can rent boats across the river, but most people come to picnic or bike ride around the lake's edges.
Last week I went to the Theatre des Champs Elysees to see an orchestra play. It was beautiful and not only was the theatre lovely but the street it is on, Avenue Montaigne, has the most glamorous stores. The street was lit up and the store windows for places like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Nini Ricci, and pretty much every other designer store that appears in Vogue had the most decadently decorated store windows. The eiffel tower glitters at the end of the street and is nothing short of spectacular. Afterwards we went to Laduree for their world famous macaroons. The bar where you can order them is majestic and looks like the inside of a Forest, a la "A Midsummer Night's Dream". The macaroons came in seasonal flavors like chestnut, pistachio, praline, and other assortments of mouth watering flavors.
On thursday, we departed for Barcelona, Spain! I went with my good friends Flannery, Juliette, Andrew, and Maaike. It was one of my favorite weekends ever, nothing but fun from start to finish! We were a little worried that our flight could be canceled because of the incessant strikes in Paris affecting all forms of transportation in, out, and through the city. It seems they're on strike now more often than not, which has become frustrating. However, we were very lucky and we made it to flight with spare time and it was on schedule. We arrived in lovely Barcelona a short plane ride later and were greeted with warm, lovely weather, after we had heard that it might rain all weekend. We got to our hostel which was a bit like Summer Camp. Due to our procrastination, we stayed in a room with 8 bunk beds and 16 people. We had to find the humor in this situation and were happy to report that we had a great experience overall while staying there. We dropped our bags off right away and wandered down Las Ramblas, a fun street with lots happening although it is rather touristy. Then we went to the beach which was a short walk from our hostel and it was sooooo wonderful to see the coast again! I missed it so much and we caught a beautiful sunset while sipping a bit of champagne in a little open air cafe on the beach. Later that evening we socialized a bit with our fellow hostel mates who were very entertaining. We had a plethora of Swedish, Danish, and British travelers who were fun to meet. Later that night we went out to a club on the beach which was so much fun and it was great to have nice weather.
The next day we went to see Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi's famous buildings. We saw a cathedral under construction, that he was commissioned to create but has since been restored and added onto since his death in the 1920's. We wandered around the streets of Barcelona that day and ended up at the Gaudi house later which was beautiful as well. Later in the afternoon we headed to the beach to soak up as much sun as possible before two months of cold, rainy days. It was lovely and we enjoyed fresh sangria and tapas Spain is so famous for in another one of the little cafes. At this point, it seemed as though life wouldn't be able to get any better than this. However, our lovely weekend continued and that night we went out exploring the city visiting its busy nightlife and had a wonderful time meeting local and tourist people alike.
Our last real day there we spent at Park Guell commissioned by Eusebi Guell and designed by Gaudi was meant for Spanish aristocracy to explore and enjoy which is apparent by its beauty. To get there, after the subway stop you hike up a steep hill and climb to a mountain peak where a stone cross is perched at the top of the hill. It has such an incredible view of the city that extends all the way to the ocean. Afterwards you wander down to a courtyard with palm trees, and mosaic tiles lining seating areas all around. There are unique sculptures and jungle like plants all over the park making us feel like we were in a South American jungle. Afterwards, we ate traditional Paella which was delicious. I always think it's fun to sample as much traditional cuisine as possible when in a new city or country, after all its what they do best, so its usually always good. We then headed back to the beach and went for a Mediterranean swim was was fabulous. However, in the water my friend stepped on some kind of creature ( we never found at exactly what it was). At first we thought she was fine but she said the pain kept getting worse. We decided to take her to the beach hospital up the street where she was treated. We again all had to laugh at the situation we were in, winding up in a Spanish hospital, but we knew she'd be fine, as did she, and in a couple of hours she was out and ready to go again. We walked around the city and went to an old cathedral, heard some traditional music, and went down side streets to see cute shops. Later we went to a famous club in Barcelona called Razzmatazz that was recommended to us by nearly all of our friends who had previously been to Barcelona. Our flight left very early the next morning and got back to Paris in the afternoon and were greeted with very chilly weather.
Observations about Barcelona: The best way I could describe it would be a mixture of San Diego, with European influences, older architecture, and way more nightlife. Sometimes it felt like we were Mexico, sometimes in California, and sometimes jungle...but I absolutely loved it! All the things it reminded me of are things I love and miss!
The nightlife is unlike anything I have ever seen and most definitely rivals Paris. People literally do not go home to 7am, each night! I don't know how they do that so often but it is definitely a party city.
Catalan is much different than I was expecting. I have never been more confused. The spanish I do know ended up being taken over by the French I have been learning and my speech became a combination of Fraspanglish. Most people speak English however and would begin speaking it after I would say something like, "Je voudrais an appetizer por favor."
There is a more casual lifestyle in Barcelona than in Paris. It has more of a beach town feeling while Paris is very formal and glamorous. No one dares leave their house without looking fabulous in Paris and there is a more stoic quality to the people making it seem more formal and glamorous. Spain seemed much different and it was fun to be immersed in a new kind of culture.
Spain is definitely somewhere I want to visit again and hope to go back to Barcelona, one day soon hopefully!
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