Barça! Barça! Barça!

Sometimes in life you are in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. For my study abroad group and I, that is exactly the case for our recent trip to Barcelona. I had mentioned earlier last week that we were going to Barcelona for a long weekend. We flew out of Valladolid on Wednesday afternoon and arrived at our hostel in the early evening. It was called Sun and Moon and was located right off of La Rambla, which is an extremely popular street in Barcelona. It was a nice place that hosted 8 of us per room, with each room having its own bathroom and shower as well as lockers to stow away our valuables. On Wednesday we were thinking about taking it easy and getting our bearings in this brand new and massive city. Naturally, we did exactly the opposite. We hopped on a pub crawl put on by the hostel. We hit some bars down by the pier and ended up at a large discoteca called Shoko, it was quite the welcoming to Barcelona. Despite little sleep, we woke early to do some touristy things and see the city. Our first stop was La Sagrada Familia. If you have ever heard of it or seen pictures, you know that it is amazingly beautiful. Let me just say that pictures do not do it justice at all, not even close. It might be one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Outside, you notice the Gothic style of Antoni Gaudi, a very prominent architect in Barcelona and Spain. When you walk inside you realize just how vast this place is. You also notice all of the stained glass and how vibrant it is (yellow, green, blue, red, orange, etc.) Side note, La Sagrada Familia has yet to be finished even though building commenced in the 1800's. So there are still cranes and what not around it but this does not subtract from the beauty. After Sagrada Familia, we started the trek towards Park Guell, which is another popular destination for tourists. We walked a bit and then hopped on the subway to get to the park. Once off the subway, we had to climb a pretty impressive hill that actually had a series of escalators to make it easier to get up. Once we made it to the top of the park, the views were absolutely breathtaking. You could see the majority of Barcelona, even Sagrada Familia, where we were earlier in the day. After Park Guell, we hit a series of subways to get home and rest up for the festivities to come. After a short siesta, we began the night which started at the bars by the pier again. From there, we made our way to one of the biggest discos in Barcelona/Spain called Opium. This is a very popular spot for professional athletes as well as celebrities. It was a very fun time, and later in the night I made some friends with some other Americans and ended up in VIP, the same spot that Lionel Messi was rumored to be one week ago. It was a great night. Friday was another long night turned morning, but we still were able to rise and do daily activities. Some of our friends went to Camp Nou, where FC Barcelona plays. This is the one thing that I wish we could have done that I didn't. A group of guys and myself decided to get a little rugged and go on a hike. We climbed for a good two hours to reach which we later learned to be the highest point in Barcelona. There were trails to follow, but we decided to go rogue and find our own route, which was definitely worth it. At the top, there is a really old cathedral and an amusement park of all things. The views from the cathedral were 100 times better than Park Guell We could see so much it was really, really cool. We opted for public transit because we were a little gassed. Once back, we siested for a bit again, and then got ready for the night. This time we didn't go to the Disco because we had an early bus to catch so we just hit the bars and got a taxi back relatively early. It is tough to pick favorites on such an awesome trip, but Saturday in Barcelona/Costa Brava may have been my favorite day of the whole trip. We got up early and caught a bud to Costa Brava which is around an hour and a half away from Barcelona. Upon arrival, you were immediately hit with an amazing view of cliffs and the clearest water that I have seen in my entire life. We kayaked and snorkeled through caves and what not for a few hours. After the kayaking and snorkeling we ate some lunch and then played a far too competitive game of volleyball on the beach amongst all the guys that made the trip. It was so much fun. We departed back towards Barcelona for the nights activities. This is where the whole right place, right time thing comes into play. It just so happened that FC Barcelona was to face off against Juventus of Italy for the Champions cup of Europe which is a very big deal. We all bought Messi, Neymar, Suarez, etc jerseys and prepared for the game. We found a local bar early so that we would all fit and be able to watch the game. We cheered on the hometown team along with the locals in the bar to a 3-1 victory and riots literally ensued. We headed straight towards La Rambla, which is where everyone else was heading. We chanted chants and drank beers and had an amazing time. I don't know if I have ever had as much fun in my entire life. After the streets began to clear, we went back to the hostel to recoup for the night. We felt obligated to go out because it was our last night, but nothing in the bar our disco was going to top what we had just done and witnessed. Pure euphoria. Sunday morning we woke up, packed, and headed for the airport. Almost everyone slept in the airport waiting to board the plane after an extremely long weekend with little sleep. We arrived back in Valladolid in the evening on Sunday and headed straight for bed. At this point we have a little less than two weeks left. There is still much to do and much fun to be had. We head to Segovia on Saturday, which I am really excited about because I have only heard good things. I will probably not post again until next week, so until then peeps...

Cheers

Parker