We did finally make it to Spain despite our false start at the beginning. Alex and I were the only ones that got switched to another EasyJet flight (by the way, there is NOTHING easy about EasyJet) so we left Saturday morning. Which meant getting up at 4:30 am so we could catch the tube (which was a half hour late) so we could catch the train to the airport. Luckily, we already had printed our boarding passes and weren't checking any luggage so we got to skip the huge line and so straight to security and to the gate. The flight was delayed, but we made it to Madrid in time to catch our connecting flight to Barcelona. The other four flew straight to Barcelona and we all ended up arriving at the same time. We took the metro together to our hostel and checked in. We weren't all in the same room which made it fun to share stories about the crazy people who were in our rooms with us. But actually it was really nice and my first experience in a hostel wasn't all that bad. That night we wandered around our neighborhood, got some food, may or may not have gotten a little lost, and then went back to the hostel to play some cards. We played A LOT of cards on this trip which made we extremely happy as I had been going through card withdrawal. We also ate a lot of chocolate. :)
Our first full day in Barcelona was beautiful. It was 60 degrees and sunny and we so excited to be there. Our hostel was outside of where the main city center was, so it took about 30-45 minutes to walk there, but it was so nice out that none of us cared. That was also the day when I was somehow designated the "fearless leader" who took control of the map and led us 
everywhere. Needless to say, we got where we were going. However, the first day, we mostly just wandered around everywhere taking in the architecture, the people, the feel, and most importantly, the water! We were on the ocean in the sun. What more can you want from spring break? We had some really good sangria with our lunch and then wandered around some more. We went into the Barcelona Cathedral, walked Las Ramblas, and had a grand old time in the sun. We had dinner on Las Ramblas and then went back to the hostel. When we were playing cards in the common room, we met these three Germans who joined us in our card game. They joined us the next day when we went on a walking tour.Our second day in Barcelona started with a walking tour. Our tour guide was named Shawn and he was from Australia and he was very knowledgeable about the area. He had travelled all over Europe before ending up in Barcelona and he's only 22! Anyway, it was a very long tour, but really cool and with a beer stop in the middle. A little bit about Barcelona. It is in part of the country known as Catalonia which has tried and failed many times to be separate from Spain. They do speak Spanish there but the main language is Catalan which made communicating that much more fun. However, Beka and Lauren were both spoke Spanish well and Mike spoke some too and they managed to get us through. Anyway, on the tour we went through George Orwell plaza where they had a funny looking statue dedicated to him. When the artist revealed it, no one understood what it was and the artist was very put out when he had to explain that is was what a tuberculosis
cell looked like under a microscope and that he chose it because that is what George Orwell died of. Strange choice to design a statue to celebrate his death rather than his life. But the people of Catalonia really like him because he fought against the Spanish when they were trying to gain independence, although he only fought for a week before getting injured. However, the most amusing part about this plaza was that since it is a popular place for drug dealers, the plaza is full of cameras....so Big Brother is always watching you in Placa de George Orwell. That night we walked along the beach which was absolutely beautiful and there were some cool sand sculptures too.
The next was Gaudi day. Antoni Gaudi is a very famous architect that has tons of stuff all over Barcelona. We first went to La Sagrada Familia (left picture) which is a church he designed and is still not fini
shed. They started it in the 1890s and after many failed deadlines, now believe it will be finished in 2050. We'll see. But despite its being under construction, it is incredible. His style is completely unique in how he incorporates themes of nature and ironic bits and pieces that you have to look closely to see. We then went to Park Guell which Gaudi designed and where he lived. It is way up on a hill which meant a fantastic view once we got up there. There is a cool terrace that he designed, plus some houses, a stairway (picture above), and a bunch of other things. Finally, we went to two more of Gaudi's buildings that were in the city. It was a lot of walking, but luckily it was really sunny and nice. That night we went to a flamenco show which was incredible. They move their feet so fast and we all came out dancing a little.
cell looked like under a microscope and that he chose it because that is what George Orwell died of. Strange choice to design a statue to celebrate his death rather than his life. But the people of Catalonia really like him because he fought against the Spanish when they were trying to gain independence, although he only fought for a week before getting injured. However, the most amusing part about this plaza was that since it is a popular place for drug dealers, the plaza is full of cameras....so Big Brother is always watching you in Placa de George Orwell. That night we walked along the beach which was absolutely beautiful and there were some cool sand sculptures too.The next was Gaudi day. Antoni Gaudi is a very famous architect that has tons of stuff all over Barcelona. We first went to La Sagrada Familia (left picture) which is a church he designed and is still not fini
shed. They started it in the 1890s and after many failed deadlines, now believe it will be finished in 2050. We'll see. But despite its being under construction, it is incredible. His style is completely unique in how he incorporates themes of nature and ironic bits and pieces that you have to look closely to see. We then went to Park Guell which Gaudi designed and where he lived. It is way up on a hill which meant a fantastic view once we got up there. There is a cool terrace that he designed, plus some houses, a stairway (picture above), and a bunch of other things. Finally, we went to two more of Gaudi's buildings that were in the city. It was a lot of walking, but luckily it was really sunny and nice. That night we went to a flamenco show which was incredible. They move their feet so fast and we all came out dancing a little.Our last day in Barcelona was a rainy one, but we had saved the museums for that day. We also had another new friend. Fernanda was one of my roommates and she was from Brazil. She was super nice so I invited her to come along on our day to the museums. We first went to the National Art Museum of Catalan which featured an amazing collection of art by mostly Catalonian an
d Spanish artists. We also saw the Olympic stadium as Barcelona was the site of the 1992 Olympic Games. A lot of the statues and cool buildings were built because they were hosting the Olympics. The funniest one is that they built an Arc de Triomf (picture). As I mentioned earlier, they have tried and failed many times to gain independence but have never actually been triumphant. They simply saw the French one and said "Hey, that looks cool" and built one for themselves. We also went to the Picasso museum. Both Picasso and Miro were from Barcelona and have museums dedicated to them. We only made it to the Picasso museum, and unfortunately it was a little disappointing. They had a lot of his early work, which was really cool, but not much after that. For a museum dedicated to Picasso, they really did not have a very good range of his works. That night, we were all pretty tired, so we picked up some bread and cheese at the store and had that for dinner at our hostel and played cards with our friends we had made in Barcelona.
d Spanish artists. We also saw the Olympic stadium as Barcelona was the site of the 1992 Olympic Games. A lot of the statues and cool buildings were built because they were hosting the Olympics. The funniest one is that they built an Arc de Triomf (picture). As I mentioned earlier, they have tried and failed many times to gain independence but have never actually been triumphant. They simply saw the French one and said "Hey, that looks cool" and built one for themselves. We also went to the Picasso museum. Both Picasso and Miro were from Barcelona and have museums dedicated to them. We only made it to the Picasso museum, and unfortunately it was a little disappointing. They had a lot of his early work, which was really cool, but not much after that. For a museum dedicated to Picasso, they really did not have a very good range of his works. That night, we were all pretty tired, so we picked up some bread and cheese at the store and had that for dinner at our hostel and played cards with our friends we had made in Barcelona.
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