Rebecca Does Spain

Well now that I have been to Spain, I already can't wait to go back! Barcelona was an incredible time but there is so much to do and see there that I need to go back to see the rest!

The trip started off with a lot of laughs- which was a great sign. To fly out of Milan, we have to take a train from Verona to Milan and then take a hour long bus ride from the train station to the airport. We were flying EasyJet and they stop checking people in 45 minutes before the flight. With all this traveling we weren't exactly sure how much time to allow so we left with plenty buffer time. The train ride was fine and it only took a few minutes to find the airport bus stop. The bus ride was fine as well and got us to the airport with plenty of time. Check in only took a second and airport security over here is a joke compared to the US. We didn't have to take off our shoes or anything. Once we finished with all of that we had to sit around the airport for a little bit but it wasn't that bad. While we were in line to board the plane we met some guys from California that were studying in Turin, Italy. Two of them were actually from the San Francisco bay area so I got to talk to them about my summer in Concord which was neat. The flight to Barcelona was smooth and quick- only about a hour and 20 minutes. From the airport in Barcelona we took a train to the metro station and then the metro to our hostel. This hostel was a bit better than the one in Salzburg, but still couldn't compare to the one in Nice. There were, however, students from Notre Dame at the hostel and they knew the two people from Notre Dame that I had met in the train on the way back from Nice, which was pretty cool. We didn't get to the hostel until 11pm but we were all starving so we grabbed a pizza after checking in. It wasn't the cleanest restaurant but the pizza was decent and we had a lot of laughs.

Friday morning we didn't wake up too early- just early enough to grab breakfast at the hostel. From there we walked down towards the water and got on a bus tour. It was a double-decker bus that drove you around the main stops but you could get on and off the bus whenever you wanted to. It was a great way to see a lot in one day. The first place we got off was the Temple Sagrada Familia. Construction for this church began in 1882 and it is yet to be finished. It started in 1882 with another architect but was handed over to Antoni Gaudi in 1883. For over 40 years he spent his life working and designing this church. I was told that the adjective "gaudy" was after Gaudi's works. From the outside, this church has a lot going on and some would think it was gaudy. I initally thought it was a bit too much but once we went inside and I learned more about Gaudi and the design, I was absolutely amazed by his work. Gaudi was mostly inspired by nature- including trees. For those who don't know, I love trees. There are many reasons why and to see that included as a theme in a church was really cool. The columns in the inside were designed after trees and the exterior has a lot of nature influence as well, including animals. Everything that has been done, and will be done, has a purpose and its amazing how much time was put into the design and the actual construction. I think they predict another 40-50 years of construction too which is so hard to believe. I really hope to make it back and see it completed. If you have time, Google this church and read about Gaudi and his work. The website will also have a lot more pictures. (http://www.sagradafamilia.org/) After we visited the church, we ate at a cafe close by... I had a spanish omelette sandwich that was pretty good. After lunch we got back on the bus and rode to the Park Guell- a park designed by Gaudi. We walked around and hung out there for a little while. The sun was starting to set and it was a great view of the city. (Picture above of me is from the park) After the park, we hopped back on the tour bus and rode the rest of the route. One of the girls lost her ticket though, so we had to get off the bus alittle earlier than planned. It wouldn't have been a problem but once the sun went down, the temperature went with it. We finally figured out which way to walk to get back to the hostel but half way there we got hungry and stopped for food. It was the perfect place for dinner- I got Catalan sausage and beans and it was delicious. That was something that surprised me about Barcelona- they mostly speak Catalan and not Spanish. I know a lot of people speak both but I was expecting to understand a lot of the conversations around me and I couldn't. The languages are very similar but I have never studied Catalan. I got to use a bit of my Spanish knowledge but not as much as I had planned. Anyways, after dinner we finished the walk back to the hostel. We rested and got ready to go out. One of the girls, Emily, who came with us had friends from UGA in Barcelona for Spring Break. One of the UGA girls had studied in Spain over the summer and was more familiar with the culture and area which was convenient. She informed us that people don't start going out in Barcelona until 2am. So, we got ready and waited until about 1:45 to leave the hostel. We didn't go with the UGA girls who had been to Barcelona before, which was a mistake, and we ended up not even making it anywhere specific. So, we got back at 3:45 and hoped for a more successful Saturday night.

Saturday we slept in, which was nice. We actually missed breakfast but it worked out much better that way. A popular street in Barcelona is Las Ramblas and although its pretty sketchy at night, its pretty cool during the day. Its lined with street vendors, artists and performers. Also off of Las Ramblas is the market. It was absolutely incredible all of the food that was there. We got fresh fruit smoothies and fruit boats for breakfast- both of which were super cheap, fresh and delicious. I actually had two smoothies- a strawberry and I got brave and tried a cactus flower smoothie. It was pretty good! We walked all around the market and saw loads of seafood and meat. The produce looked incredible- so did the cheese, chocolate and bread (all of which I bought...). We did end up buying our lunch there to eat later. I got some amazing pasta, probably the best I've ever had and I don't even know what all was on it, and I got some pastries that were full of cream. They too were delicious! From the market we took a leisurely stroll through town to see the St. Maria church. We sat outisde of it, in the sun, for about a hour and just chilled. From there we walked to the beach. Thats where I ate my delicious lunch and took a nap. It was warm but not warm enough for a bathing suit so I just rolled up the jeans and layed on my jacket. It was pretty crowded there but we had a nice area and goregous view. We stayed at the beach for a good 3 hours which didn't allow time for the Picasso museum. (Something I'll have to come back and do ;) After my delicious pasta, I wanted to go back to the market for dinner. Other girls felt the same so we made our back to Las Ramblas and did some shopping on the way. By the time we actually got to the market, the pasta place had closed but we still loaded up on good cheese, bread and fruit. It was a light dinner but thats all we needed after a heavy lunch. Okay, so this is when things got interesting. Since our going out plans on Friday night was a bust, we wanted to make sure that Saturday night was a lot of fun. Here is Europe, Discoteca Clubs are big and I knew thats where I could get my dance on. The UGA girl that had been to Barcelona had been to a club called Razzmatazz that had 5 huge rooms, holdinga few thousand people each, with different DJs in each room. Since the club didn't open till 2am we decided to sleep from 8pm-12am, get up and get ready and then go to Razz at 2. So, thats what we did. It seems pretty crazy but it worked out really well. I slept like a rock for those 4 hours and felt really awake when we left the hostel at 2. It took about 30 minutes to get there, so we didn't get in the club until about 3am. The cover charge was a lot just to go dancing, but for me it was totally worth it! 4 of us stayed together on the dance floor and had a really fun time. We were ready to leave at 5, even though it stayed open till 7am. We got another hour and a half of sleep before we were up at 7:30 to eat breakfast and get to the airport. It was pretty crazy for me, but I am really glad we went. It was a lot of fun to dance to Kings of Leon in Spain- and its something I won't forget! Our travels back to Verona were fine, even though most of us were pretty tired.

All in all, I had a great time in Barcelona! No one in our group of 6 had anything stolen which is great news! And I really do look forward to returning to Spain though- and not only going to Barcelona but making it to Madrid and maybe Sevilla and Valencia.

Thanks for all of your continued thoughts and prayers! I really appreciate them! Hope all is well in the states! Miss you!

Con todo mi amor,

Senorita Rector

Temple de la Sagrada Familia- the Passion Side

Me with my Cactus Flower fruit smoothie!

The beach and city view!