Barcelona, Spain
where i saw through different eyes
After taking mom to the airport in Madrid I took a bus (cheaper than a train) to Barcelona, on the East coast of Spain. As I transitioned into traveling solo I also had the weight of figuring out what to do and where to go the next couple of months on my shoulders. My mission for the summer was to stay in Europe for the 90 days you get as an American entering into Schengen region. I had never spent much time on mainland Europe besides Italy and Spain so this was the time to finally have my European backpacking experience. I think I had been putting it off because Europe is so much more expensive and for my cheap, dirtbag, hiker trash lifestyle I’ve been trying to travel in places where my money can stretch more like my trips to Asia. But since I was here now I figured I can finally check this of my list and I would try to visit as many places as I could. HOWEVER, since I don’t want to drain my savings I got to do this on the cheap and cheap-my speciality of sorts. So I decided I would try housesitting/pet sitting as a way to cut costs, by using the trusted housesitting website I signed up for, which I used on my ski road trip. But since I was constantly moving and touring I wasn’t able to plan in depth, but luckily enough I booked a gig in Switzerland for the next week. And since I knew I needed to get there I decided to take it in stages. And Barcelona was on the way…
I decided I didn’t want to jump right into hostel life (sleeping in dorms, sharing bathrooms, etc) cause I wanted my own space so I turned to Airbnb and found a place for a comparable price to a hostel that would still give me my own room. So after arriving in Barcelona I walked to the Airbnb but wasn’t able to get in. This was the time when not having a SIM card with data bites you in the butt. I had been making due with using WiFi here and there but this time I didn’t have a way to contact the host so I had to find a café where I could use the WiFi and send her a message through the Airbnb site. Luckily she responded quickly and I went back to the apartment. I found the door open but once I got to the apartment door no one was answering so I knocked on other doors to make sure I was in the right place and then went back to the door and knocked until someone answered. It turned out to be a fellow guest and the host showed up a few minutes later cause she lived in a different apartment upstairs. After all that confusion I was finally able to relax after a long day of travel.
Thursday
I checked the weather forecast and to my disappointment it was going to be rainy and chilly for two of the days I would be there. I had imagined that I would spend a majority of the time at the beach enjoying hot temperatures, but I was not going to get that here. And the only nice, warm day was that day so I decided it would be my beach day. But with a high in the lower 70s I still didn’t think it would be hot enough to get in the water so I didn’t even put on my bathing suit. … I took the metro to the Barceloneta stop and walked to the beach. To my surprise it wasn’t too chilly and the the beach was packed. I found a spot to lay out my packtowel and layed out. Even though I didn’t have my bikini on I till had a sports bra and bottoms that could work so I was still able to lay out. But I didn’t bring my sunscreen so after a bit I covered back up so as not to burn, but I still wanted to enjoy being outside so I layed there listening to podcasts. A couple hours later I walked along the boardwalk for a couple miles and then turned back and headed for my room. By that point I could feel my thigh was burned and that it was going to be painful for the next few days.
Friday
It was a rainy day but I decided I couldn’t waste a day in Barcelona so I put on my rain jacket and took the metro to Park Güell. Located on a high point over the city I climbed many stairs to get there. The park was built by famous architect Antoni Gaudí, whom built several remarkable landmarks throughout Barcelona. I decided not to pay for access to the restricted area that housed more of his statues because I had read prior in my research about the park that it wasn’t really worth it and I could see them from other areas of the park. I ended up sitting under an alcove for an hour just to get out of the rain and continued my walk later when the rain lessened up a bit. I was disappointed because since it was cloudy I couldn’t see the ocean and didn’t get the views I wanted or that I would have got if it was a sunny day. But I was able to see the massive Sagrada Familia down in the city below with the cranes towering above it as it’s still being worked on, but more about that later. I ended up leaving the park not super impressed and stopped in a restaurant to eat and write in my journal and called it an early day. I really needed to plan my next step and look into buses, trains, cities, accommodations, and such, and that takes hours.
Saturday
I thought it was going to rain but it ended up just being a partly cloudy day. First I headed to the bus station to buy a ticket to Lyon, France, for the next day. I wasn’t able to purchase it online because my credit card wasn’t working or their website was failing. With that taken care of I walked to the nearby Mercat Fira de Bellcaire Els Encants, a flea market I had read about. But first I came across a Xurreria (churro stand) and had to get my fix. The market was setup under a pretty interesting and mesmerizing roof structure that undulated and reflected metallic hues. I walked around checking out the different stalls but wasn’t compelled to purchase anything. Then from there I walked about a mile to Gaudí’s masterpiece, Sagrada Familia. I stood looking up at it trying to see every little detail. I particularly was mesmerized by brightly colored balls sitting on the top of some steeples, very unusual to see on a religious building. The stone structure is a work in progress which started in 1882. I saw a rendering of the completed project inside the gift shop and there are several more taller spires to be built. But it was interesting to be able to tell what is newly built compared to what was built in the 1800s based solely on the color of the stone. The newer stone is lighter in color and the older stone is darker. For a little background on the building: it’s a Roman Catholic Church that Gaudí designed combining Gothic and Art Nouveau styles. I walked around to the backside and saw Gaudí’s sculptures portraying the passion of Christ. I had decided before visiting that I wasn’t going to pay to see the inside due to the steep price (30euros was the cheapest ticket) and made the argument to myself that one day I’ll return and tour it when it’s finished (of course knowing that there is the chance I may never return) but I felt okay with that decision even though I’m a big fan of architecture and it is one of Barcelona’s major landmarks. There are hopes for it to be completed by 2026, 100 years after Gaudí’s death.
But I wasn’t finished with Gaudí yet. I walked another mile to see Casa Mila, also known as La Pedrera. It’s an apartment building comprising a corner of a block with other buildings joined on either side. Gaudí rennovated it and the façade is what I call wavy (def not the architectural term). But it wasn’t anything too out there so I moved on just down the street to Casa Batlló, which ended up being my favorite probably because it had some color to it. It was another random building with others on either side and I only could see the façade. And as I didn’t take the tour I don’t know the correct terms for different elements and so forth, but there was a structure on the roof that looked like a fish with brightly colored scales, splashes of pinks and blues on the front of the building, and some purple circle stained glass towards the bottom. It just appealed to me more visually.
And if that wasn’t enough architecture I walked down to the Gothic Quarter and saw the old town and church built with gothic designs. Then finally on my last night in Barcelona I ate dinner out at a restaurant by all the fancy shops. And the next day I took a bus to Lyon, France, and got another step closer to Switzerland.
Next: Lyon, France
