siguiendosalamanca: Barcelona: Allonah estuvo aquí 29/4

So I decided to go to Barcelona. Originally I wasn’t really interested in going. I heard it was a huge party city, full of people who speak Catalan and not Castellano; and, oh yeah, it has some cool architecture by this guy named Gaudí, mainly the Sagrada Familia which is a modern imitation of Gothic architecture. I was making plans to go then got super stressed with stuff going on at home and decided not to; then my roommate decided she was going, and I figured what the heck: My boyfriend leaves for Italy that weekend, we can all go to the airport together, I can say goodbye then have a weekend in a new city to distract me. So that’s basically what happened. The other girl’s I was with absolutely loved the city. Barcelona wasn't as bad as I expected, but I didn't find it all that amazing either. However, I would go back to Barcelona for two things: to see more of Gaudí’s work and to learn Catalan.

We left Salamanca Thursday night, spent the night in the airport at Madrid, Jair left for Italy, I cried…a lot, and then I went to Barcelona. Somehow we managed to pack a fair amount of stuff into 2 days. Thank you Barcelona card, your 30 euro was well worth it. Free public transportation allowed us to go all over the city rather easily, plus we got into some museums for free or a discounted price, and discounts at restaurants.

Here is a rough summary of my whirlwind tour of Barcelona:

Day 1:

Off to find the Sagrada Familia

Ran into Pat Dillingham on my way to Casa Battló

(Ogdensburg reuniting in Barcelona pretty much made my day, thanks Pat :))

Arc de Triomf

Plaza de Espanya and Palacio Real

Day 2:

Parc Montjuic

Fundació de Joan Miró (art museum)

Botanical Gardens

Museum of Ethnology (while my friends went to the soccer stadium)