I must say the weekend in Barcelona was a needed vacation. Unlike the trips to Paris and Rome, I had no agenda for Barcelona. No expectations and no list of places I was dying to see before we left. Is that not exactly how life goes? The less we expect the more enjoyable our experiences tend to be? To say the least it was a restful weekend.
We arrived at the Ámister Art Hotel on Thursday afternoon. A group of girls and I decided to walk around the town to see what shops were close and to grab dinner. We ended up eating in true European style by spending three hours eating at a café nearby. Sitting, eating, and chatting were activities I did not realize I had been missing. Dinner turned into an early return to the hotel for the sleep deprived night owl.
On Friday morning we had a bus tour around Barcelona to see some of the architecture done by Gaudi, the most famous architect in the city. Although I did appreciate not having to walk all over the city, the bus was just a vessel for an extended nights sleep. However when we did stop we arrived at a park where Gaudi made a beautiful bench from recycled tile. From where we were sitting we could see the entire city. After the tour we headed to the beach to eat at a trendy burger joint. It had loud music, fun waiters, and delicious burgers. Afterwards we walked down to the beach to soak up the sun. The weather was perfect. Lying on the sand to the sound of waves rolling back and forth was serene. The Mediterranean was a beautiful shade of blue green and the water was cool yet refreshing. After hours of beach bumming we headed to the Hotel to shower up for dinner and a peaceful nights sleep.
La Sagrada de Familia
Saturday morning we had another tour to the Familia Sagrada Basilica. Though still being built today, it was started by Gaudi himself around 130 years ago. The builders are hoping to finish in about 15 years. The original blueprints were destroyed during the Spanish war so today they are building form what they think Gaudi envisioned. Gaudi’s work was modern for his time, and still today has a unique and distinguished look. The building looks like it is melting, and the stain glass pieces are large. The characters on the outside of the building have inverted faces, and the stories from the bible are moving in an S-shape upward towards the top of the basilica. After touring the basilica a group of us headed out for lunch to the city center. After lunch I went to the market in town where I ate the most delicious fruit I have ever tasted. I started with a coconut smoothie that was so fresh that towards the end I could taste coconut shreds. I then ventured towards the fruit were I tried my first Pitahaya. After the market a friend and I ventured out to find coffee at Café Bliss. My GPS had us venturing down small roads and we wondered how anyone could ever find the café. We sat and had iced coffee and tea before we opted to take a taxi back to the hotel instead of an hour-long journey. Once we arrived back at the hotel I took a 30 minute siesta before getting ready for dinner. Once dinner rolled around we all decided we were craving some sort of American food. Our stomachs outweighed our logic and we waited at Hard Rock Café for an hour and a half before being seated; however, it was worth it. We started with nachos, a milk shake, cheeseburger, and ended with cheesecake. We feasted like we had been stranded without food for days. We were enjoying the rock music and commotion of young people joining the evening scene. Afterwards, in honor of consistency we headed back to the hotel for yet another early nights sleep.
Sunday we slept in and left for London at 12 pm. Though some touring took place this trip, overall it felt more like a vacation than sight seeing. I caught up on much needed sleep and I lazily laid along the beach. I can back to London with a rested mind and a golden glow. What better weekend could I have asked for?