The group went on an excursion to Barcelona this weekend and WOW was it amazing! Getting there was a little rough, but after the ten hour bus ride (yuck), we settled into our lovely four star hotel around 7:30 pm. The hotel served us dinner at 9, and everyone was so excited because the food on our excursions is a nice break from the food our Spanish madres make us back in Salamanca. Well, the first course comes out and it’s plain noodles in a bowl for each of us. We all looked around like, “sauce?” And then the waiters came out of the kitchen with large bowls of red sauce-looking stuff, so we were relieved that they also brought out pasta sauce. Wrong. It was ketchup.
Cold ketchup. And it’s not just that it was cold ketchup in a gigantic bowl. It’s that they brought out three bowls per table. And I would estimate that there were two or three entire bottles of Heinz Ketchup emptied into each one. And the waiters were pretty dumb, too. Whenever anyone in our group would ask for anything, be it butter, or a clean plate, or salt, the waiter would give major attitude before grudgingly entering the kitchen to get it. “But WHY do you need butter?” they would ask us. So rude! The rest of the meal was lovely, though, because I asked for the vegetarian option instead of the pound of beef that everyone else got. It was delicious!
After dinner, a bunch of people were getting ready to hit the clubs, but a few of us decided to not go wild on the first night, and instead took the metro into the heart of Barcelona and went exploring. I had been to Barcelona for a day trip 4 years ago when I studied abroad in Tarragona. The first step I took out of the metro hit me with memories from that trip. La Rambla—the main street going from the center of town down straight to the water—is just like the rambla in Tarragona. Only at night it’s like a circus, complete with prostitutes, drug trafficking, and little men in golden jumpsuits promoting new clubs. We literally had to navigate our way around the men trying to sell us single cans of beer from the six-packs they were swinging around. The rambla ends because it hits the Mediterranean Sea, and we went walking on the docks where all the little sailboats were sleeping. I think that the reason this weekend was so much fun is because of the company I was in the entire time. Ally is just like me, in that she loves to plan ahead and be prepared on excursions so that we can squeeze as much out of the little time we are in each city. She always has the guide book and the perfect place to go, and she’s wonderful at gently nudging us in that direction.
Anyways, we stayed out for a few hours, and on our way back to the metro I almost had a heart attack when I saw the Bicing Bikes. Let me give some background for those that don’t know me/didn’t talk to me last semester…Last semester I was in a class called COB 300. It was worth 12 credits, and involves working in a group of 6 students all semester long to propose a business by writing a business plan. COB 300 is known around JMU as being the class the ruins romantic relationships, deprives sleep, and generally destroys the physical and mental health of all who take it. Well, MY group’s brilliant business plan was to produce and sell bicycle-sharing equipment to universities across the US. We got the idea from the European cities who have bikes available as a type of pubic transportation. I had COMPLETELY forgotten that one of the cities we studied was in fact Barcelona, and when I saw those red and white bikes, I squealed in delight and demanded that all my friends take pictures of me with the bikes/on the bikes/hugging the bikes. Seeing them only confirmed my belief that we had the best and most realistic business plan.
But I digress…The night ended as I drifted to sleep in my perfect 4-star bed dreaming of bicycles and la rambla.
In the morning we started touring the city. Barcelona is in a region of Spain called Catalunya, where they speak Catalan (a mixture of Spanish, French, German, and alien). A major part of the Catalan culture, and a great source of pride for the region, is Antoni Gaudi, one of the most famous architects Spain has ever seen. Gaudi’s buildings are like manifestations of dreams—he uses no straight lines or 90-degree angles. Instead, he goes nuts and uses every ounce of imagination to create the most beautiful buildings in the country. On Saturday morning, our group visited Park Guell, Gaudi’s attempt at creating a suburb outside the city center that eventually became a public park. The park is full of gingerbread houses topped in colorful fruit-like bursts of mosaic colors.
It also has the Room of a Hundred Columns, a marketplace supported by columns encrusted with mosaic tiles.
I could have spent the whole day there, because it finally felt like Spring and there were so many things to see on the different pathways hidden throughout the park. 
After the park, we went to see a panoramic view of the city from Montjuic, a small mountain where the Olympic Stadium was built for the games of 1992.
However, there was too much fog and humidity to see the city, so instead our trusty guide, Jesus, took the time as an opportunity to buy tickets to a soccer match that was taking place in the stadium that night. As much as I love sporting events, I passed on the game, but about half our group ended up going that night. After the stadium, we hopped on the bus and went to the Picasso museum, which is hidden in the Barrio Gotic—the Gothic Quarter of the city. The streets were so narrow you could touch buildings on both sides of you. In the museum, we viewed some of Picasso’s most important works, including my favorite, “Las Meninas,” which is an interpretation of Velazquez’s painting by the same name. The free afternoon started when we were finished in the museum, so a group of my friends and I decided to walk back towards la Rambla. Hannah and I had decided earlier in the week that we were going to save a ton of money by buying our own groceries and making PB&J sandwiches and salads (which also happen to be good ol’ American food that we have been missing). I decided to separate from the group because they wanted to go to the mall, where I had been 4 years earlier on my trip here. But Hannah had the peanut butter and I had the bread! So I stopped in the middle of the street, sat down, and made myself a sandwich right there. I don’t care if I looked crazy, desperate times called for desperate measures! 
The three hours that I spent by myself were VITAL. I hadn’t realized it, but I had not had any time to myself the entire time I’ve been in Spain. It’s fun to meet new people and socialize with them, but I really needed a break. I spent the afternoon wondering around, and the Rambla was waaaay different during the day. Instead of drugs and sex, street performers were asking for money in exchange for entertaining the tourists. I saw some of the dumbest performers of all time. I woman dressed up like a princess would take a picture with you if you payed her a Euro. THAT IS NOT TALENT! And this poor man who had lost his lower limbs was also asking for money, but no one was paying attention to him because he wasn’t dressed like a princess. I gave HIM my euro instead, and silently condemned those who were clapping for the idiot sitting on a toilet seat covered in white paint. (Again, not talent). I stumbled my way into the outdoor marketplace, which consisted of row after row of booths selling fresh vegetables, fruit, fish, meat, cheese, nuts, chocolate, beer, you name it, it was there. It was such a sensory overload.
I think I stood in one spot on the outskirts of the marketplace for a whole minute before I decided to go further. I stayed for like an hour just walking around and looking at all the things that were in front of me.
After my sweet alone time, I met up with the group at the Xocolate Museum (that’s how they spell chocolate in Catalan). I didn’t go in, but a few people from our group went through the museum and saw statues made from chocolate depicting famous things from history. I led everyone BACK to the market after the museum visit, because we all wanted to buy groceries for dinner. In 20 minutes, Hannah and I darted through the market looking for exactly what we needed. And it was so cheap, which really shocked me.
After all this, we got BACK on the metro and rode to la Plaza de Espana, which is very close to the soccer stadium. Only we went because Ally had told us about this “magic fountain” that performs every weekend night. When we got there, we could see these huge spouts of neon-colored water jumping up and down to music in the distance, so we hurried over to it watched this crazy show for half an hour. It was water, color, and light choreographed to some of the most random music, including Beyonce and Alicia Keys, some old country music, and Spanish pop. Let me just say how difficult it is to take a picture of someone in the darkness standing in front of a bright light. But we managed.
When we got home, everyone was exhausted. We had spent 12 hours walking through town. And the best part of the day was yet to come, because Hannah and I had planned the best dinner ever. We made salads with our trappings from the market, with aged gouda and a sweet little baguette on the side. It kills me just thinking about how good that dinner was!
We ended the night drinking tinto con naranja—red wine mixed with orange fanta. I know that it sounds gross, but it is delightful if you give it a chance!The next morning I had a great wake up call. I got onto the elevator to go to breakfast, and when it opened on the main floor, an enraged man kicked a huge glass vase straight towards me. I’m sure that he did not intend to hit me with it, he was kicking it at closed elevator doors when he started. But the doors opened half way through and there I was, where I received shattered shards of glass all around me. I wasn’t hurt for those of you on the edge of your seats, so don’t worry. I was just shocked, so I didn’t step forward and the elevator doors tried to close, but they couldn’t because huge chunks of glass were in their way. So there I am, standing in a puddle of glass and barely breathing from confusion, when the man ran out of the hotel. I finally woke up out of my stupor and asked the lady at the front desk what that was about, and she said he was pissed because his laptop had been stolen and he wanted the hotel to find it. I think he’s just a jackass who left his car door unlocked the night before, and was trying to blame it on other people. The rest of breakfast passed without incident, and we were on our way to the main event: El Templo de La Sagrada Famila. Sagrada Familia is Gaudi’s most famous and important works.
It is still under construction, even 90 years after Gaudi died (incidentally, he was run over by a trolley train right in front of la Sagrada Familia, and killed on the spot). The church is one of the most unique buildings I have ever seen. It is huge and ugly and beautiful all at once. Each side of the building has a different theme and style of architecture. A person could look at that building all year and see a different thing hidden in all of the decorations every day. After seeing the outside and the inside, our group took the elevator up to the top of one of the towers and crossed the bridge from one tower to another, where we got to see a beautiful view of the entire city. It was awesome, but really high up so some people got a little scared. We made our way back down using the spiral staircase.
When we left la Sagrada Familia, we went to another one of Gaudi’s buildings, called La Pederera, which was an apartment building for the super wealthy back in the early 1900’s. Gaudi designed every piece of furniture, every chandelier and lighting fixture, and the entire building. The most impressive part of the building was the roof, which is famous for the crazy chimneys that Gaudi designed. They look like modern art sculptures, not chimneys.
We hung out there for a while and then had free time again, which is when the best part of the weekend happened: Bike riding. 
A group of about 9 of us walked to a park by the sea and rented bikes. We rode along the Mediteranean ocean and it was the most peaceful and blissful hour of my life. I would ding my little bicycle bell at all the people on the street and yell “hola!” at them. It was just plain fun.
This weekend was by far the most fun I’ve had since I’ve been here.
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