On Friday morning when my professor asked me where I was going this weekend (I had my bag with me), I told him I was going to Barcelona. “Oh, poor you,” was his response (said in a snarky, sarcastic way).

That “poor you” jealousy was absolutely warranted. Barcelona was a blast. Mostly because I didn’t realize how much I miss friends from home–it was SO fun to see Meg (Bowdoin friend who is spending the semester in Seville in Southern Spain). We met at the airport on Friday, found our way into the city, went for a late dinner of tapas and sangria and went to bed.

Saturday’s forecast was scattered thunder storms and some serious rain. We layered up in waterproof clothes and hit the town. Walked up and down La Rambla, explored in El Barrio Gotico (Gothic Quarter), admired the Santa Maria del Mar church in El Born, did a little bit of shopping, and got caught in the rain. Luckily, we were able to duck into the Museu Picasso giftshop and look at the postcards of the paintings were weren’t going to see as the storm passed over after twenty minutes. The sun came out, Meg walked with a new spring in her step (she’s not used to bad weather in Seville, unlike those of us who have almost grown fond of grey skies), I put on my sunglasses, and we continued walking and attempting to read/understand the Catalan street names and menus (mix of Spanish and French). One of the highlights was an afternoon snack of churros and chocolate with a heaping amount of whipped cream. Dinner in Barceloneta was delish paella and leisurely enjoyed. Those three hours passed by in what felt like 30 minutes. After some dancing and observing the bar and club scenes, we went back to the hotel and crashed for the night.

L to R: Sophie, Meg and Grace standing in front of a Gaudí streetlamp.

Sunday was our day of culture. Definitely the highlight of the trip, we toured Casa Batlló, a “masterpiece by Antoni Gaudí” in form, color and light. Characterized by marine motifs, dragons and lizards, the house is colorful and incredibly beautifully light by natural light. The audio tour commentary was a bit long, but provided us with basic information about Gaudî, his vision for Casa Batlló and the family that at one point inhabited the house. We followed this excursion with a quick look at the outside of La Sagrada Familia, the very famous still incomplete modernist basillica, also designed by Gaudí. The guidebooks say a lot about the elements of symbolism and significance of each detail such as when the church is finally completed (predicted 2026. Building started in 1882), there will be 12 towers, one for each apostle. I think it looks like a giant drip castle–you know, like when you drip wet sand on top of more wet sand and continue until your vision of a sandcastle is complete.

L to R: Meg, Sophie and Grace on the top floor of Casa Batlló posing for a Disneyland-style photo.

The Noble Floor of Casa Batlló Gallery room overlooking Passeig de Gràcia.

For New Yorkers who take the subway and those who know the subway system: In the same fashion as the NYC subway’s system of a light up “map” of the specific line you are traveling on–at the start of the line, all the stops are lit up and as you pass each one, the lights are dimmed so that you know where the train has passed–the Barcelona metro indicates where the train is/has been. I am confident in my abilities to navigate public transportation. I feel like have a sort of instinct that not everyone has, and for that I am grateful. But wow, did I get thrown off when I noticed that the lights on the metro line maps were turning ON (instead of off like in NYC) as we passed stations. Especially when I didn’t connect that the lights were turning on when we approached the stations but only saw that the light for our stop was off. I doubted my sense of direction for a moment there. Meg and Grace could not understand my confusion. #culturaldifferences some people would say, though not truly a cultural difference but just a technical difference.