It's been five days now since I left Barcelona and I'm still having a difficult time coming to terms with the fact that 1. I left barca 2. I'm done with Europe 3. I'm stuck on a ship for 14 days (only 10 now) luckily today is a study day so we have no class. It's also beautiful out so I'll be poolside all day... Studying... Obviously.
Leaving Barca was definitely one of the hardest by far, I strongly considered ditching the ship and staying there forever. It was the first place I really could've seen myself studying abroad. I never had any interest in staying in one place to study abroad, too much of a free spirit ya know? But everything about that place was amazing. We got to see a ton of our friends from Bentley which was awesome, especially since we won't see anyone again until December 8th. We stayed with Isabella and Katie and I must say they may have been the greatest hosts so far (sorry everyone, much love to all you guys). Their apartment was right on the beach which was super convenient plus we had awesome weather the whole time. But the way the city is set up and with the metro they could get anywhere pretty quickly. Barcelona is just the perfect mix of history, beach, fun, great weather, and great people. I'm seriously probably never going to get over leaving.
The first day we woke up early to get off the ship and Isabella met us and we walked back to their apartment, it was only a little over a twenty minute walk. After settling in and catching up a bit we walked with them along the beach on the way to their school and they went to class and we explored the boardwalk and stuff. We decided to get the touristy stuff done our first day so we could relax the rest of our time. First we went to Sagrada Familia which is a church in barca, it's a lot different than most churches I've been to abroad because it's a lot more modern, it's actually still under construction and will be for a long time. It was one of the most incredible churches I've ever seen. I couldn't capture how beautiful it was with any camera. The detail inside, the stained glass, everything was just incredible. It's not something I can really explain, it's one of those things you need to see in person. We just sat there staring around the place for like an hour. After that we went to Parc Guell. It's quite a hike to get up to it, there are actually escalators along the street for people to get up. It gave some really amazing views of the entire city though which was cool, it was a little hazy which wasn't ideal but it was still a great view. We obviously went to the bench there to get pics and stuff, that was really cool too. The mosaics at Parc Guell are all so cool. On our way back from Parc Guell to the metro station we stopped in a bunch of the souvenir shops to look for our souvenirs and jerseys for the soccer game. Fun fact about Barcelona: they sell FC Barca jerseys in legitimately every store. This is great for people buying them, I got to haggle the price of mine down, I also got a beach towel which I'll be needing as we go into these more tropical climates (life is hard). After that we went back to the apartment and Katie and Isabella got back from class. For dinner we just got some pizzas from an Italian place on their street. It was no Italy pizza but it was still pretty good. That night we went to a bar called George Payne which is essentially the skell of Barcelona according to our friends, as usual if you don't know what I'm talking about don't worry about it (RIP Skell). It was really cool though I finally got to see a ton of the Bentley people in Barca. There was even a beer pong tournament however I unfortunately didn't get to take part, this may be better for everyone though, I would've hated to embarrass everyone. After that we went to the clubs along the beach, they're all underground so there's just a small entrance above ground. We ending up splitting up and Isabella and I went to one called Opium which also happened to be the choice location of semester at sea for the night. We eventually went back to the apartment which was a super short walk from where we were.
The next morning we woke up and went right to the beach for a while. In the afternoon we met up with the girls again between their classes and they brought us to this amazing sandwich place right near them. It was called Bode B maybe (sp?) idk but all the bread there was freshly baked and you pick a meat that they cool for you then you just load it with vegetables and stuff. I got chicken with a ton of toppings and their sauces which I don't think anybody actually has any idea what they are but everyone knows they're really good. After lunch we walked with Isabella and Katie to their scho and on the way they showed us this really nice park with a really cool fountain and we saw the arc de triomph (arc number 63? They're everywhere) then we saw their campus and headed back to the apartment. We chilled there for a while and showered and stuff before we headed back to the ship to get dinner and to meet for the soccer game. We met on the top deck of the ship with the other people in our group who were going to the game and they distributed our tickets. Then they herded all 300+ of us out to buses and headed for the stadium. When we got to the stadium it was just masses of people, not surprising since it holds over 100,000 fans but definitely overwhelming nonetheless. Walking into the stadium out to where the seats are was wild, I'd never seen such a huge stadium with so many people. Soccer for these people is right up there with religion. I was in awe. We were up in the nosebleeds but right on the mid line so I was so happy with the seats because I could see the whole game perfectly. Some other SAS kids got tickets right on the field which is sick because they could see Messi and Neymar up close but not the whole game as it played out. It was also really funny at the stadium because they have the opposing team fans in the top corner of the stadium behind plexi glass surrounded by tons of security. Overall it was more quiet than I expected, I think cause everyone was so intent on the game. Whenever they scored though the place absolutely erupted. They ended up winning which was awesome. Afterwards the buses dropped us on La Rambla which is the main street in Barca. They said it was supposed to be crazy but it really wasn't so Syd and I just went back to the apartment. We definitely didn't miss anything besides typical drunk SAS kids.
The next morning we woke up and went back to the beach. For a while, the weather was just too beautiful not to. In the afternoon we met up with Isabella and she brought us to this really cool food market. They had tons of fresh fruit and vegetables and sold stuff like chocolate, meals for lunch, smoothies, it was great and so cheap. We walked around la Rambla for a while after that. Then we went over to the gothic district which has a lot of really cool architecture and some really nice churches. She also brought us to the greatest gelato place I've been to thus far called mana gelats. I got peanut butter and Ferrero Roche (sp?) then they fill a mini cone with melted chocolate and put it on top. Heaven. It was getting late at this point so we headed back to the apartment. Isabella and I went over to the beach to watch the sunset, very romantic stuff. It was so nice though it was like it surrounded us. It definitely competed with our ship sunsets. For dinner Katie cooked pasta and chicken with some really good sauce, not sure what it was but it was awesome. Plus can't beat a home cooked meal. Then we got ready to go out for our last night in Barcelona/last night out for two weeks. First we went to this sick bar called Dow Jones. It's modeled after the stock market, a Bentley student's dream. All the drink prices are on screens with tickers and it shows the prices and as people buy certain ones the prices change. Then at some point the stock market crashes and everyone rushes to get their drinks. It was so cool I would go there all the time. After that we went to this club called Sutton. They had free wine and champagne until like one so it was pretty cool. It was a pretty late night, just like most of them have been. I'm not quite sure what time we got back but for some reason I had a headache when I woke up.
The next morning we met Isabella at his great fry place right near them called las fritas. We sat by the water for a while being depressed because it was getting to be time to leave. Then we went to the apartment to pack and say goodbye. On our way back to the ship we stopped in a few souvenir shops to delay the inevitable.
By late afternoon we were in line to get back on the MV and I had to say possibly the hardest goodbye yet to Barcelona. It definitely won my heart. As I got back on the ship I kissed the ground, my last European stop and last time on solid, non-rocking ground for a while.
Leaving Barca was definitely one of the hardest by far, I strongly considered ditching the ship and staying there forever. It was the first place I really could've seen myself studying abroad. I never had any interest in staying in one place to study abroad, too much of a free spirit ya know? But everything about that place was amazing. We got to see a ton of our friends from Bentley which was awesome, especially since we won't see anyone again until December 8th. We stayed with Isabella and Katie and I must say they may have been the greatest hosts so far (sorry everyone, much love to all you guys). Their apartment was right on the beach which was super convenient plus we had awesome weather the whole time. But the way the city is set up and with the metro they could get anywhere pretty quickly. Barcelona is just the perfect mix of history, beach, fun, great weather, and great people. I'm seriously probably never going to get over leaving.
The first day we woke up early to get off the ship and Isabella met us and we walked back to their apartment, it was only a little over a twenty minute walk. After settling in and catching up a bit we walked with them along the beach on the way to their school and they went to class and we explored the boardwalk and stuff. We decided to get the touristy stuff done our first day so we could relax the rest of our time. First we went to Sagrada Familia which is a church in barca, it's a lot different than most churches I've been to abroad because it's a lot more modern, it's actually still under construction and will be for a long time. It was one of the most incredible churches I've ever seen. I couldn't capture how beautiful it was with any camera. The detail inside, the stained glass, everything was just incredible. It's not something I can really explain, it's one of those things you need to see in person. We just sat there staring around the place for like an hour. After that we went to Parc Guell. It's quite a hike to get up to it, there are actually escalators along the street for people to get up. It gave some really amazing views of the entire city though which was cool, it was a little hazy which wasn't ideal but it was still a great view. We obviously went to the bench there to get pics and stuff, that was really cool too. The mosaics at Parc Guell are all so cool. On our way back from Parc Guell to the metro station we stopped in a bunch of the souvenir shops to look for our souvenirs and jerseys for the soccer game. Fun fact about Barcelona: they sell FC Barca jerseys in legitimately every store. This is great for people buying them, I got to haggle the price of mine down, I also got a beach towel which I'll be needing as we go into these more tropical climates (life is hard). After that we went back to the apartment and Katie and Isabella got back from class. For dinner we just got some pizzas from an Italian place on their street. It was no Italy pizza but it was still pretty good. That night we went to a bar called George Payne which is essentially the skell of Barcelona according to our friends, as usual if you don't know what I'm talking about don't worry about it (RIP Skell). It was really cool though I finally got to see a ton of the Bentley people in Barca. There was even a beer pong tournament however I unfortunately didn't get to take part, this may be better for everyone though, I would've hated to embarrass everyone. After that we went to the clubs along the beach, they're all underground so there's just a small entrance above ground. We ending up splitting up and Isabella and I went to one called Opium which also happened to be the choice location of semester at sea for the night. We eventually went back to the apartment which was a super short walk from where we were.
The next morning we woke up and went right to the beach for a while. In the afternoon we met up with the girls again between their classes and they brought us to this amazing sandwich place right near them. It was called Bode B maybe (sp?) idk but all the bread there was freshly baked and you pick a meat that they cool for you then you just load it with vegetables and stuff. I got chicken with a ton of toppings and their sauces which I don't think anybody actually has any idea what they are but everyone knows they're really good. After lunch we walked with Isabella and Katie to their scho and on the way they showed us this really nice park with a really cool fountain and we saw the arc de triomph (arc number 63? They're everywhere) then we saw their campus and headed back to the apartment. We chilled there for a while and showered and stuff before we headed back to the ship to get dinner and to meet for the soccer game. We met on the top deck of the ship with the other people in our group who were going to the game and they distributed our tickets. Then they herded all 300+ of us out to buses and headed for the stadium. When we got to the stadium it was just masses of people, not surprising since it holds over 100,000 fans but definitely overwhelming nonetheless. Walking into the stadium out to where the seats are was wild, I'd never seen such a huge stadium with so many people. Soccer for these people is right up there with religion. I was in awe. We were up in the nosebleeds but right on the mid line so I was so happy with the seats because I could see the whole game perfectly. Some other SAS kids got tickets right on the field which is sick because they could see Messi and Neymar up close but not the whole game as it played out. It was also really funny at the stadium because they have the opposing team fans in the top corner of the stadium behind plexi glass surrounded by tons of security. Overall it was more quiet than I expected, I think cause everyone was so intent on the game. Whenever they scored though the place absolutely erupted. They ended up winning which was awesome. Afterwards the buses dropped us on La Rambla which is the main street in Barca. They said it was supposed to be crazy but it really wasn't so Syd and I just went back to the apartment. We definitely didn't miss anything besides typical drunk SAS kids.
The next morning we woke up and went back to the beach. For a while, the weather was just too beautiful not to. In the afternoon we met up with Isabella and she brought us to this really cool food market. They had tons of fresh fruit and vegetables and sold stuff like chocolate, meals for lunch, smoothies, it was great and so cheap. We walked around la Rambla for a while after that. Then we went over to the gothic district which has a lot of really cool architecture and some really nice churches. She also brought us to the greatest gelato place I've been to thus far called mana gelats. I got peanut butter and Ferrero Roche (sp?) then they fill a mini cone with melted chocolate and put it on top. Heaven. It was getting late at this point so we headed back to the apartment. Isabella and I went over to the beach to watch the sunset, very romantic stuff. It was so nice though it was like it surrounded us. It definitely competed with our ship sunsets. For dinner Katie cooked pasta and chicken with some really good sauce, not sure what it was but it was awesome. Plus can't beat a home cooked meal. Then we got ready to go out for our last night in Barcelona/last night out for two weeks. First we went to this sick bar called Dow Jones. It's modeled after the stock market, a Bentley student's dream. All the drink prices are on screens with tickers and it shows the prices and as people buy certain ones the prices change. Then at some point the stock market crashes and everyone rushes to get their drinks. It was so cool I would go there all the time. After that we went to this club called Sutton. They had free wine and champagne until like one so it was pretty cool. It was a pretty late night, just like most of them have been. I'm not quite sure what time we got back but for some reason I had a headache when I woke up.
The next morning we met Isabella at his great fry place right near them called las fritas. We sat by the water for a while being depressed because it was getting to be time to leave. Then we went to the apartment to pack and say goodbye. On our way back to the ship we stopped in a few souvenir shops to delay the inevitable.
By late afternoon we were in line to get back on the MV and I had to say possibly the hardest goodbye yet to Barcelona. It definitely won my heart. As I got back on the ship I kissed the ground, my last European stop and last time on solid, non-rocking ground for a while.
WOW again Tori!! I just read it for the first time and it sounds wonderful. I will read it again to take it all in. Hope you last through your long sea voyage!! Enjoy, stay safe. Love you and miss you Nana..xoxo
ReplyDeleteJust sent you a couple of emails.. Love your blogs.. I have to say I'm living thru you..lol I can't wait to read what you've done, where you've been.. How exciting for you...Once in a life time ......Love you Auntie Red
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