Ok so apparently Barcelona trees have more pollen than the entire state of Georgia. Today was AWFUL, you couldn't go five minutes without scratching your eyes, sneezing, or blowing your nose. I think the worst part about it is the little stuff that blows off the trees. I wore a black dress and it looked like I had been rolling around with a dog all day (ugh, in my dreams) because there was what looked like little hairs stuck to me. So today, sunny and 75 with a 100% chance of sneezing and stuffiness.
Other than the allergies today was quite nice! I got a lazy start to the day after sleeping through three alarms. We went to a museum this morning about roman ruins. It was really cool and let you walk around ruins of the city that were still in tact. We got an audio tour to go with it and it had signs that explained everything along the walls. It was fun learning things without wondering if I'm going to get tested on it! Did you know that they had sewer system type canal where people from the streets would pee in it and it would all drain back to the laundry place? Apparently pee was used as bleach! Also the slaves (or I guess whoever owned them) had to pay taxes on the pee canals. What a crazy time to be alive!
Today I noticed a lot more coach busses with groups traveling and more families/people in general. Since it's the weekend there were also a few more shops and pop up tents that were on different streets. We walked around the streets and tried to find presents for our people. I love shopping when I travel I wish I had unlimited money so I could buy everything in the tourist shops. You never know when you'll need an olive oil dispenser with La Sagrada Familia on it and matching salt and pepper shakers!!
The streets of Barcelona don't feel as foreign anymore. I'm starting to recognize different areas and people don't look as confused when I throw a Spanish word into my sentences. Tomorrow is our last day though and I'm happy about that because I'd rather leave Barcelona wanting a little more instead of being sick of it and just ready to get out. I feel like you can only be a tourist in a city for so long. After a while you really need a purpose to enjoy the city to its fullest potential.
So on to the important things, FOOD. I slept too late to get breakfast (still scarred from yesterday) and I just had a ham and cheese croissant for lunch. But dinner was SO GOOD! We went to this Mexican place and I had Mexican sangria (it's like soda water + wine) which was kind of weird but fizzy and delicious! This place had a fun vibe and was packed. After dinner we walked home and stopped by a skate park. Barcelona is a HUGE skateboarding city since it's so flat and the streets are so smooth. On our walk home is this plaza where the skateboarders congregate and then people just sit and watch them skate. They can do pretty cool tricks I was impressed!!
Tomorrow we have a few more tourist stops and then it's off to Rome. So until then, Adios!
Emily
Friday, May 12, 2017
Biking through Barcelona
Today was a GREAT DAY!! It was a rainy morning so I slept through that apparently with the rest of Barcelona. Our tour guide later told us shops and restaurants opened later because of the rain. The morning started off a little rocky at a breakfast place called Benedict. I got eggs benedict with some kind of Spanish sausage and it was no bueno. Ryan traded with me because his was a little less terrible and he thought mine was a little less terrible. So overall, really gross breakfast. We wanted to good to the place next door, Milk, but the wait was too long. But maybe we'll be able to go before we leave!
After breakfast we walked around the millions of stores sprinkles along the streets. We got to go inside some beautiful churches and see some new parts of the city. I love how many parks there are here! And they're big parks too. It's like NYC but bigger. After killing some time we went to our meet up for our bike tour! Our tour guide was this cute girl from New Zealand. We went all around the city and we made some new friends too. This guy who had just graduated from UGA was on the tour. He was traveling by himself because he had some time before he started his new job in Atlanta. What a small world! The bike tour was a great way to learn about the city. It was also fun to bike after doing so much walking every day.
Things I learned from bike tour:
Pic 1- People threw their waste pots into the streets and it made for quite an unsanitary town. The Jews started washing their hands before and after meals and they weren't getting sick. The queen (queen Isabella I think) decided that they weren't getting sick not because they were hygienic but because they were cursing everyone else. The logical thing to think! So she started killing them off by pouring hot wax on them by the wall of the castle. Those who lived were burned alive.
Queen Isabella also had a speculated affair with Christopher Columbus! They met and began canoodling before taking off on his expendition. Being the loving partner that she was she offered to fund his adventures! She gave him slaves from the prisons for his crew and boats from her fleets for him to use. He left and find treasures and land and came back to tell her about how rush he wasN what he failed to remember (or read) was before he left Isabella had him sign a little slip of paper that said "hey everything you find is mine". So although he wasn't the owner of everything he found, he was still happy because Isabella continued to fund his voyages. Later both him, Isabella, and Ferdinand (I think that's the name of the king) all died of symptoms similar to syphilis. Be safe kids!!!
Pic 2 - This is a museum where we learned about Catalan culture. I'm going to butcher it because I don't remember it as well but there was a dictator who oppressed the people so now there are separatists flags specifically for the Catalan people. The dictator was friends with Hitler and Mussolini and died a natural death. He was hurried outside Madrid and never punished for the way he treated the people in the Catalan region. So the Catalan people are PO'd that they never got an apology and that no one recognized their oppression. I forgot how the museum ties into that though...
Pic 3 - The Arc de Triomphe! This is in a beautiful park. So when they were trying to figure out what structure to build here they had architects from all over come and pitch their ideas. There was one man that came and pitched an idea but the Catalan people hated it and sent him away. He took his designs to Paris and built the Eiffel Towet there instead of Barcelona. There are (I think) 10 Arc de Triomphs around the world. They are built for soldiers returning home from war to march through. This was not the reasoning behind Barcelona's Arc, they just liked the way it looked.
Pic 4 - This is a cool fountain and I was too distracted to listen to why it's important! I did hear her say the top isn't real gold, they just painted it gold for the '92 Olymlics.
Pic 5 - This is an old bull fighting ring. Bull fighting was banned in 2010 because of the cruel treatment to the animal. They would starve the animal, cover their eyes in Vaseline, drug them, and stab them before the fights. They use the stadiums for concerts and stuff now.
Pic 6 - La Sagrada Familia has too many cranes. But it's really cool! We didn't get to go inside but the outside was very pretty to look at. Gaudi gave himself 200 years to finish it but the government thinks they're going to finish it in 9 years. So time will tell!
Pic 7 - Barcelona has a man made beach. They had to ask Egypt for sand because they didn't have any!
After the bike tour we walked around trying to find a few dinner spots and eventually found a restaurant with some Italian food. It wasn't the best but it also wasn't the worst. I got pizza and Ryan got pesto gnocchi. I'm excited to eat REAL Italian food soon!
Tomorrow we don't have much planned so we'll just be taking on the city.
Ttyl!!
Emily
After breakfast we walked around the millions of stores sprinkles along the streets. We got to go inside some beautiful churches and see some new parts of the city. I love how many parks there are here! And they're big parks too. It's like NYC but bigger. After killing some time we went to our meet up for our bike tour! Our tour guide was this cute girl from New Zealand. We went all around the city and we made some new friends too. This guy who had just graduated from UGA was on the tour. He was traveling by himself because he had some time before he started his new job in Atlanta. What a small world! The bike tour was a great way to learn about the city. It was also fun to bike after doing so much walking every day.
Things I learned from bike tour:
Pic 1- People threw their waste pots into the streets and it made for quite an unsanitary town. The Jews started washing their hands before and after meals and they weren't getting sick. The queen (queen Isabella I think) decided that they weren't getting sick not because they were hygienic but because they were cursing everyone else. The logical thing to think! So she started killing them off by pouring hot wax on them by the wall of the castle. Those who lived were burned alive.
Queen Isabella also had a speculated affair with Christopher Columbus! They met and began canoodling before taking off on his expendition. Being the loving partner that she was she offered to fund his adventures! She gave him slaves from the prisons for his crew and boats from her fleets for him to use. He left and find treasures and land and came back to tell her about how rush he wasN what he failed to remember (or read) was before he left Isabella had him sign a little slip of paper that said "hey everything you find is mine". So although he wasn't the owner of everything he found, he was still happy because Isabella continued to fund his voyages. Later both him, Isabella, and Ferdinand (I think that's the name of the king) all died of symptoms similar to syphilis. Be safe kids!!!
Pic 2 - This is a museum where we learned about Catalan culture. I'm going to butcher it because I don't remember it as well but there was a dictator who oppressed the people so now there are separatists flags specifically for the Catalan people. The dictator was friends with Hitler and Mussolini and died a natural death. He was hurried outside Madrid and never punished for the way he treated the people in the Catalan region. So the Catalan people are PO'd that they never got an apology and that no one recognized their oppression. I forgot how the museum ties into that though...
Pic 3 - The Arc de Triomphe! This is in a beautiful park. So when they were trying to figure out what structure to build here they had architects from all over come and pitch their ideas. There was one man that came and pitched an idea but the Catalan people hated it and sent him away. He took his designs to Paris and built the Eiffel Towet there instead of Barcelona. There are (I think) 10 Arc de Triomphs around the world. They are built for soldiers returning home from war to march through. This was not the reasoning behind Barcelona's Arc, they just liked the way it looked.
Pic 4 - This is a cool fountain and I was too distracted to listen to why it's important! I did hear her say the top isn't real gold, they just painted it gold for the '92 Olymlics.
Pic 5 - This is an old bull fighting ring. Bull fighting was banned in 2010 because of the cruel treatment to the animal. They would starve the animal, cover their eyes in Vaseline, drug them, and stab them before the fights. They use the stadiums for concerts and stuff now.
Pic 6 - La Sagrada Familia has too many cranes. But it's really cool! We didn't get to go inside but the outside was very pretty to look at. Gaudi gave himself 200 years to finish it but the government thinks they're going to finish it in 9 years. So time will tell!
Pic 7 - Barcelona has a man made beach. They had to ask Egypt for sand because they didn't have any!
After the bike tour we walked around trying to find a few dinner spots and eventually found a restaurant with some Italian food. It wasn't the best but it also wasn't the worst. I got pizza and Ryan got pesto gnocchi. I'm excited to eat REAL Italian food soon!
Tomorrow we don't have much planned so we'll just be taking on the city.
Ttyl!!
Emily
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Beautiful Views + Tapas = Great Day
Today was such a great day!!! But first a few notes: so many people in Barcelona spoke cigarettes and it's a little ridiculous. I didn't really notice it until Ryan said something yesterday but now I notice it everywhere. If we are walking in crowded areas it's like walking in a bar, cigarette smoke just clinging to the air around you. So that stinks. Also the bathrooms/water in general is way different here. Sometimes I feel like I'm in NYC or something but then I'll remember there are no water fountains and you don't get tap water at restaurants and I'm like oh, right, not America. But overall Barcelona is pretty cool!!
Montserrat
So today we started off the day with a chocolate croissant, a cliff bar, and a coach bus that took us to the top of a mountain. Yesterday I was saying how I was sad we didn't get to learn about this history as much but since this was a guided tour we got lots of information! It was also nice waking up with a plan and a place to go. So we head up on the bus for about an hour outside Barcelona and arrive at Montserrat, the mountain with a famous monastery on top. The sun was way stronger than I expected (good thing I remembered to put on some sunscreen before I left!) but it was windy so it felt really great at the top. We got the see the old chapel and learn about a Virgin Mary sculpture that is famous in Spain. There's some Spanish name for her but it translates into the "little black one". I think it has something to do with the material she's made of and it darkens over time? But after our guided tour we had about two hours of free time so Ryan and I did a short hike to an overlook and did a liquor tasting that was included with our trip. Apparently when the monks weren't praising Jesus they were brewing up some liquor. They don't make it on the mountain anymore but we got to try four different kinds. They were all gross. The overlook was BEAUTIFUL though! There's nothing like being about to look out and see whole cities and new mountain ranges on the skyline. It makes the world feel giant but also right at your fingertips. Overall the trip was really great and I'm glad we got to go!
Da Streets
We made dinner reservations for 7 pm and the tour ended at about 2:30 so we had some time to kill. We got a little snack at a burger place and spent the rest of the time walking the streets. It's crazy here. Imagine a maze but within the maze there are shops on every street. I have no clue how anyone finds their way around let alone memorize where places are! It also feels like you're waking around residential areas because the streets are so small and apartments and on top of all the shops. We did a little bit of shopping and eventually made our way to a tapas place that our friend had suggested. It. Was. Awesome.
Dinner
Dinner was so fun!! This was my first experience with tapas and I must say, it set the bar quite high. The restaurant was called Sensi Taps Gourmet. We ordered one cheese plate, four tapas, and a dessert. They bring the tapas out one at a time and make them all on the spot. All the kitchens here are so tiny and restaurants are rarely that big. We had the first reservation time and were the only people in the restaurant at 7, but by 730 the place was packed wall to wall. We got a steak and potato confit, a ravioli that was life changing, pork tenderloin (we could have done without this), and cheese risotto. To top it off we had dulce de leche cheese cake which was just the icing on the cake. This was all a pretty penny but it was worth it I would go back there in a heartbeat!
Clubbin
Barcelona has a really big club scene but I don't think I'll be able to see it because they don't start until 1 am. Tonight we went into an ice bar at 9 pm and were the only ones in there lol. For those who don't know an ice bar is a bar made entirely of ice and kept at freezing temperatures. They give you a parka, gloves, and a glass made of ice for your drink. I was so cold I couldn't feel my fingers for ten minutes so no bueno. We did meet these nice girls (2 girls ended up joining our solo dance party) and we got to talk to them for a little bit. They had just graduated from the University of Edinburgh! Anyway maybe one night we will make it to "da cluubb" but until then it home at 11 and accidentally falling asleep before I wake up and write a blog post :)
Goodnight ttyl!!
Emily
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
WELCOME TO BARCELONA!
What a crazy day, night, day, and night it's been. Being in the Atlanta airport feels like AGES ago! For those who are just now catching up - Ryan and I were flying standby and did not make it on a flight our first go around Monday afternoon. We had to ride Marta home with some all too interesting characters and get picked up at the North Springs station. This ended up not being the worst thing because I got to catch up on my sleep, hangout with the parents, and get some delicious pancakes before heading back to the airport Monday afternoon to try try again.
The Flight
I was really hoping for a first class seat (since I will probably never actually splurge for one on my own) but instead I got the window seat on the exit row. I thought this was the second best option from first class but as it turns out the exit door is extremely loud and extremely cold. There is also no where to prop your feet up. I had seen most of the movies on the airplane already so I would watch half of one and then just switch. Since I wasn't able to get very comfortable I only got about an hour of sleep during the whole 9 hour flight. Ryan didn't have the most enjoyable flight either and had a stomachache from the beginning. Icing on the cake? We both left our portable chargers behind. Ryan left his charging in the Atlanta airport and I left mine on the airplane. Welcome to Barcelona...
(The views flying in were beautiful though!! So many mountains and green landscape.)
Getting out
We got to wait in line for probably an hour and a half thinking about our left behind comrades (the chargers) since there were 3-4 flights that got in that morning and about 3-4 people working the passport offices. It really was ridiculous that they didn't have more employees working there. We weren't even at the end of the line! I'm sure the people behind us had to wait at least another hour until they could get through to their baggage. So to sum things up - long line leads to stamped passports, which takes us to our bags that both arrived safely, and a nice delta employee who got me my charger back (woohoo!). Now that we had our stuff we were ready to go. The only problem was, we didn't know how to go anywhere. At this point we were nearing the 24 hour mark for being awake so thinking and planning were getting difficult. After looking at trains, metro passes, day passes, taxis, and talking to not very helpful people, we finally figured out what to do. We hopped on our bus and headed to Plaza Calalunya!
Dazed and Confused
Still dazed and confused from sleep deprivation we sat on some park benches waiting for our check in time with our air bnb. All the apartments here have balconies with little gardens and they look beautiful. It's either gardens or laundry drying, but I prefer to look at the ones with flowers instead of sheets and underwear. We took our time walking through the streets and made our way to the apartment. It's in a great location that's in a walking distance to most things! We dropped our bags off and passed out for longer than I wanted to (I wanted to catch a bike tour) Tomorrow we're waking up early for a trip to the mountains though so I guess it's good we got to rest up today. Oh did I mention the apartment is on like the fifth floor with no elevator? It's like hiking a mountain every time we come home! Anyway, we walked to get dinner on the beach and had some delicious sangria and churros with our meal. It was nice to relax by the water and people watch for a while. There are so many tourists here and most employees speak English. I've tried speaking Spanish but it mostly just confuses people.
Group travel vs solo travel
We headed back before it got super dark outside and unintentionally passed out again. But I woke up and remembered to write this so you're welcome dad!! Tomorrow we're going to Montersatt and I think it's going to be really cool. I'll send lots of pics! Traveling alone is much different than traveling with a group. It's kind of nice to have things scheduled and someone making sure you get to where you need to be. Group things also make you appreciate free time when you have it as opposed to traveling alone and every second is free time. Something I miss is during my study abroad we were learning about the cities we were exploring. I wish we could do more of that here. It makes you appreciate the city more and makes it feel a little smaller. But that's something we can work on in the next few days!
Ok off to bed! Hopefully I can still sleep after all my naps. Ttyl!!
Emily
The Flight
I was really hoping for a first class seat (since I will probably never actually splurge for one on my own) but instead I got the window seat on the exit row. I thought this was the second best option from first class but as it turns out the exit door is extremely loud and extremely cold. There is also no where to prop your feet up. I had seen most of the movies on the airplane already so I would watch half of one and then just switch. Since I wasn't able to get very comfortable I only got about an hour of sleep during the whole 9 hour flight. Ryan didn't have the most enjoyable flight either and had a stomachache from the beginning. Icing on the cake? We both left our portable chargers behind. Ryan left his charging in the Atlanta airport and I left mine on the airplane. Welcome to Barcelona...
(The views flying in were beautiful though!! So many mountains and green landscape.)
Getting out
We got to wait in line for probably an hour and a half thinking about our left behind comrades (the chargers) since there were 3-4 flights that got in that morning and about 3-4 people working the passport offices. It really was ridiculous that they didn't have more employees working there. We weren't even at the end of the line! I'm sure the people behind us had to wait at least another hour until they could get through to their baggage. So to sum things up - long line leads to stamped passports, which takes us to our bags that both arrived safely, and a nice delta employee who got me my charger back (woohoo!). Now that we had our stuff we were ready to go. The only problem was, we didn't know how to go anywhere. At this point we were nearing the 24 hour mark for being awake so thinking and planning were getting difficult. After looking at trains, metro passes, day passes, taxis, and talking to not very helpful people, we finally figured out what to do. We hopped on our bus and headed to Plaza Calalunya!
Dazed and Confused
Still dazed and confused from sleep deprivation we sat on some park benches waiting for our check in time with our air bnb. All the apartments here have balconies with little gardens and they look beautiful. It's either gardens or laundry drying, but I prefer to look at the ones with flowers instead of sheets and underwear. We took our time walking through the streets and made our way to the apartment. It's in a great location that's in a walking distance to most things! We dropped our bags off and passed out for longer than I wanted to (I wanted to catch a bike tour) Tomorrow we're waking up early for a trip to the mountains though so I guess it's good we got to rest up today. Oh did I mention the apartment is on like the fifth floor with no elevator? It's like hiking a mountain every time we come home! Anyway, we walked to get dinner on the beach and had some delicious sangria and churros with our meal. It was nice to relax by the water and people watch for a while. There are so many tourists here and most employees speak English. I've tried speaking Spanish but it mostly just confuses people.
Group travel vs solo travel
We headed back before it got super dark outside and unintentionally passed out again. But I woke up and remembered to write this so you're welcome dad!! Tomorrow we're going to Montersatt and I think it's going to be really cool. I'll send lots of pics! Traveling alone is much different than traveling with a group. It's kind of nice to have things scheduled and someone making sure you get to where you need to be. Group things also make you appreciate free time when you have it as opposed to traveling alone and every second is free time. Something I miss is during my study abroad we were learning about the cities we were exploring. I wish we could do more of that here. It makes you appreciate the city more and makes it feel a little smaller. But that's something we can work on in the next few days!
Ok off to bed! Hopefully I can still sleep after all my naps. Ttyl!!
Emily
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