I survived, which according to my mother was a serious concern, but here I am back in the good ole’ USA! My trip was AMAZING. I arrived in Barcelona around 7:30am their time which is 2:30am our time. I was as wide eyed as ever and ready to take on the city. However my boyfriend Max, who was the one picking me up from the airport, was ready to go back to sleep the second we got to his apartment. I guess my body agreed with him because I immediately fell asleep too. Once we woke up, he had to go to class but luckily (or not so luckily as the week goes on and the house gets dirtier) he lives with 5 other boys who I went to high school with who were there to entertain me.
My first purchase in barcelona was a cafe con leche which is a ‘coffee’, term used loosely because its about two sips, with milk. I sat and drank it at a coffee shop across from his apartment. The shop also served Tapas which are little snacks you get that can be a meal or just an appetizer.
After that, the 12 days flew by from there. The food, the architecture, the shopping, the culture everything was AMAZING. Like they say, “Pictures are worth a thousand words” so I’m just going to post some pics with a little background story.
This is Parc Guell. Its a huge park designed by the famous Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi. It overlooks all of barcelona and the Mediterranean Sea.
Above are pictures from the Boqueri Markets. Let me tell you that was some of the freshest fruit I have ever tasted and it was really cheap, usually only 1 euro for a huge bag of grapes or a cup of strawberries; and yes the fish and meat were all out in the open for you to carefully select and watch be cut up right in front of you. Hey, at least you know exactly what you are paying for.
More famous buildings designed by Antoni Gaudi on the famous Las Rambles street.
The best part of Barcelona is that it is a large city, but it also has a beach. Next to the beach there are plenty of restaurants for you to sit and drink sangria in the warm sun because oh the best part….IT NEVER RAINS IN BARCELONA. It was 75 and Sunny the entire time I was there. ❤
The night life is just as glamourous as you are imagining. We went to three different clubs, all were extremely fun and out of control. We even went to one bar that served flaming shots.
7 days later I began my next adventure which was to Sevilla, Spain to visit my best friend who is studying abroad there. It was about an hour and a half plane ride to southern Spain.
Max and I with Sevilla in the background.
Sevilla was a lot different than Barcelona. No one spoke English and the city was smaller and more historic than Barcelona.
If you are looking for a complete culture shock go to Sevilla. They stay true to there Spanish roots and don’t like if you don’t attempt to speak Spanish to them. Most of the people genuinely could not speak any english so it was difficult, yet fun, to communicate with them.
Over the past 12 days I got to experience the study abroad semester I never got to go on. I loved every second of it and can’t wait to go back to Europe!
torrthor 