Week 4: BARCELONA!

This week was just wonderful because we went to Barcelona. I don't know why but this trip definitely felt different than the others. It is a big city so it was just a great experience to be there. The beginning of this week was pretty normal. We had a nice class week of 2 days! You can't really beat that. We did have an extra fun FHE because we had a birthday party for one of the girls in the group and we watched Nacho Libre to really make it great. It was a fun evening where we just all were able to chill together!

So on Wednesday we headed out at 8 am for our trip. First we headed to Valencia which is another town on the coast of Spain, bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Every time we travel we have a different bus and this time our bus was the smallest it has ever been, it still holds about 25 people so each got our own row, but it was fun! So because of the difference if was a little bit more bumpy, which can be a bad thing for Alyssa so she was able to sleep on my lap and I slept in the chair. It was fun because on the bus we usually all sleep at the same time so we were all just out. Then we headed to this little town in the middle of nowhere to visit a castle but it was closed so we didn't even get off the bus so then we stopped at this random bus stop. The Rest areas they have here are very different. They are a lot bigger with a lot more food options. They always have a little cafe and a little store with snacks. Anyway so we finally made it to Valencia and since we had a little extra time they just let us free for an hour and a half. So a few of us just took a huge loop of the center of town. The coolest part was that we found this huge market that had a ton of stands inside of it and it was fun to see. I just have a picture of when we walked in, but it was really cool.

Then we made it back to our meeting spot to meet our guide. We were pretty tired at that point so it was nice that the first part of our tour was on the bus. One of the boys let me use a pillow he brought so I just cuddled with the pillow and watched the city go by, I was so comfortable. Then we went to the docks area and the guide let us have 15 minutes for the beach. It was beautiful! We heard that Valencia has the best beach and I would have to agree. So we quickly touched the Mediterranean Ocean and headed back to the bus.

 

 Then we went to the city of arts and sciences and experienced the beautiful architecture there. Apparently it was recently featured in the new movie Tomorrowland! They had all of these different contemporary buildings and then these huge shallow pools of water. Sadly we only had 10 minutes for this location but it was cool to see it!

Then we headed back into the center of town to the cathedral. Sadly we just missed the time to tour it so we just got to see a little just inside the door, but it was definitely a lovely cathedral. Then we went to see the basilica which is another type of church that was right next door. Then she showed us the outside of the Archaeology museum. Right outside that had this glass pool where you could see inside to some of the escalated parts of an ancient Bathroom. The cool thing was that we had just learned about a lot of those things in out civilization class which really helped it come to life for me.

Then to really experience the culture we went to get Horchata as a group. Valencia is where it originally came from. It definitely is different than Horchata is the states, it was good, but there was only so much I could drink. So at this point we were all very tired so it was nice to get some nourishment to help us along. Then the bus driver took us back to the hotel where we all kind of conked out for the night.

In the morning we left to head to Barcelona. I wished I had seen a little more of Valencia, but I was glad that I saw something. The drive to Barcelona was beautiful because we drove along the coast. I snapped a few shots to share just how lovely it was! I was catching up on some journal writing and truly enjoying the scenic journey!

Then when we arrived in Barcelona we had 6 hours of free time. Luckily we were pretty prepared with our things for the beach so we had something to do. As we got off the bus there were just a ton of people. Apparently as Dad mentioned there were some festivities going on for the week. So when we got there we went down the main street and came upon a parade and there were just tons of things going on and a ton of outdoor canopies with their little shops. We first were going for food which was fun, we went into this place thinking it would be casual, but it was actually a kind of nice restaurant so we could have gone somewhere easier but it all worked out in the end. Then we got to this cool monument right by the docks!

Then after a long walk we made it to the beach as you can see here. We all got in our swimsuits and went into the water. It was really salty and got really deep really fast so we kind of just floated around in the water. Also the waves weren't very big and didn't really crash so the water was just very calm and peaceful. Then Alyssa and I took off to do some shopping. That was when I got the slushy, because that just felt like the fun beachy thing to do!

Here is another view of the monument. I loved the statues of the angels, they were just lovely.

One popular thing in spain as well are these different type of entertainers. Some stay frozen in crazy positions and others just have unique little set ups, but in Barcelona they just had really detailed "statues" that would move to take pictures with you. This was an interesting one that I thought I would share as an example.

Alyssa and I had a lot of fun shopping around. Then we hurried back to meet up with our group and we came upon another huge parade so it was entertaining to really fight through the crowd. Then also because of the festivities they shut down all of the streets so we had to walk a long way in order to meet up with the bus driver, so I got this quick shot of the Cathedral on our way.

Then on Friday we got up and headed out and when we got on the bus our tour guide was already there which was nice because as we drove into town and he gave us some history and context of Barcelona. The first area we went to was a garden which was an idea by an architect named Gaudi. He had the idea of having the city within a garden. It never actually came to pass but he did build a few of the houses and some other items.

It was a really lovely park and had some cool little bits to it!

Then we headed over to see La Sagrada Familia. It is one the most famous parts of spain. It is meant to be a church dedicated to Jesus Christ, his family and closest followers, but it is under construction and has been under construction for a while and will continue so for at least 10 more years. It is a truly grand place and it funded by donations and by the entrance fees to view it. So the main portion of the inside is complete but there is still a lot of work to do for the outside and the entrance and things. It is detail heavy as you will see, but it was quite lovely.

This side represented the birth of Jesus Christ with statues in scenes depicting the events.

Jacob, Perry, Kristen and I out front with our headphones on ready for the tour.

This is a model of what it is supposed to look like when it is done.

This is part of the front door. The guide told us the symbolism behind all the little animals on the door, but I just liked the butterflies!

It was definitely an interesting place to be. Then after that tour we went as a group to go and get tapas which was fun but a little chaotic but it was fun.

After tapas we decided to hang around the center of town to visit the cathedral. We decided to shop with some of the girls before then. They had some really nice stores and it was fun to visit them. We did enjoy and have success at H&M. Then Alyssa decided to get some gelato and here they sell lots of crepes and waffles so I decided to try one of the special waffles that they sell. I got it with chocolate sauce, whipped cream and walnuts. It was really delicious and I was so happy that I got it.

Then we finally made it to the cathedral after seeing a ton of cute shops. It was definitely my favorite cathedral so far and that is really saying something. There was just something about it that gave a medieval feel and it just had some lovely attributes to it. The courtyard was also very cool and unique with ponds and geese and palm trees.

Then here was this cute little place we ate at for 2 nights in a row right next to our hotel!

Then on Saturday we headed back to Alcala de Henares. We decided to stop at Zaragoza to take our lunch break and visit the Cathedral there. That is one of the fun parts of our trip is that we make trips out of trips. We have to stop every few hours so we hit some of the smaller cities along the way. This cathedral was lovely but full of people because it was baptism day. It was interesting to witness.

Then I had the freshest orange juice I have ever had outside of my own home so I had to take a picture in order to remember and share.

Then here I am in the center of town with my spanish newspaper, El Pais that I need for my homework.

Overall it was a very fun week and all of it is just continuing to be more and more normal to just travel around Europe, Spain mostly, but it is just wonderful to be with the people I am with and see the wonderful things I see.