Barcelona

I arrived in Barcelona in the evening of Thursday, Oct. 29th. AJ had given me the address and corresponding metro stop of his friend Almy, our host for the weekend. As I reached street level at the metro stop, I immediately spotted a familiar face. Amber, another of AJ's friends, was on her way to Almy's, so I tagged along with her. Almy was a very gracious host, as were her roommates who didn't bat an eye at the three guys cluttering up their apartment. Already there were AJ and our friend Dylan, who we know through Max Teicher, another friend from Westport.

One of the northernmost Spanish cities, Barcelona lies in an area of Spain called Catalonia. Inhabitants tend to think of themselves as separate from Spain. They speak their own language, a Spanish-French hybrid called Catalan.

Barcelona demanded some serious partying. Almy took us out Thursday night, first to a bar called Fairy Bar. Not a gay bar (I think), Fairy Bar was populated by fake trees, a rainforest canopy, and plenty of Americans. Next Almy led us by taxi to a club called Opium. Located right on the beach, Opium was quite large, packed to the gills, and had an array of seizure-inducing light effects. It was a cool place, but the club experience is really not that exciting.

Partying Spanish-style means returning home at 5 AM. Thus, the next day began around noon. Tour guide Almy took us to Barcelona's unfinished pride and joy, the cathedral La Sagrada Familia. Designed by chosen one Gaudi, La Sagrada Familia is an acid trip of architectural design, better viewed than described. Its construction began in the late 1800's and continues today. The church's design is extremely complicated, which explains in part the construction delays. Gaudi died in 1926, and the cathedral's anticipated completion date is 2026. Tourism now pays for construction - currently costing 18 million euros per year.

La Sagrada Familia still under construction

The Facade seems to be melting - its flowing nature, a contrast to most sharply carved cathedrals

Almy took us to Gaudi-designed Parc Guell. The park was built into a hillside and provides a decent view of the city as well as some brightly colored Gaudi creations.

Parc Guell

We relaxed at the park a little, then made our way back to the apartment for an afternoon siesta. That night we had a similar nightclub adventure. First we went to a packed bar called Chupitos - Spanish for shots. The bar offered about two hundred different types of shots. We tried flaming shots called el Diablo, which came with a fiery cross of flaming alcohol poured and lit on the bar. Almy was a great host, and thanks to her I never paid a cover while I was there. I recognized a bunch of Duke kids while I was out, and even ran in to Dan Rosato, a friend from Westport, who also goes to Duke.

In the morning, or mid-day, I should say, we checked out the Barrio Gotic - the Gothic quarter of Barcelona. We only scratched the surface. After walking for a few hours, we returned to Almy's apartment. It was Halloween and Almy's roommates were hosting a dinner with a bunch of people. Dylan and I had convinced ourselves that we would try the bar scene rather than the clubs that night. He and I watched a soccer game at a nearby bar, and ate delicious cheeseburger with eggs on it - a Spanish delicacy? We went back to the apartment to meet up with Aj and friends and Dylan decided he was going to the clubs, so I felt obligated. We quickly changed and spent Halloween night at a nearby place called Broadbar.

Arc de Trionf

On Sunday morning, AJ and Dylan left early for their fligh, while I left the apartment around 1 PM. I took my excess luggage to a nearby train station to be out of Almy's hair. Then I made use of a Let's go guide I had loaded on my Ipod and wandered down the famous La Rambla tourist drag from Plaza Catalunya all the way to the sea. There was a beautiful port area with the Mirador de Colom - a monument to Colombus - hundreds of ships, a cable car, and a view of Montjuic.

Mirador de Colom

Montjuic was the site of the 1988 Olympic games. If you look closely, you can see the cable car towers silhouetted on the outline of the hill.

The Port

I spent a little time at the port, then walked down to the Barceloneta area for a minute. This district was constructed for people displaced by King Phillip IV's demolition of their homes and construction of a fortress on the grounds of the current park Parc Ciutadella. I would have liked wandered more in Barceloneta but my time was limited. I walked from the Barceloneta metro to the international train hub Estación de França to time the trip and make sure the area was safe for my departure later that night. In the distance I could see a park and made my way to it. Parc Ciutadella was beautiful - certainly less touristed than Parc Guell, and filled with locals: kids wrestling and playing soccer, teens strumming guitars, families picnicing. The Catalan Parliament was on the park grounds, as was a pond with rentable rowboats. At the opposite end of the park was stunning fountain and monument called the Cascada.

Foliage, Pond, Parliament in Parc de la Ciutadella

Catalan Parliament

La Cascada

From Parc de la Ciutadella, I checked out a map on a metro sign and walked toward the Gothic Quarter through Ciutat Vella (old city). The streets were windy and buildings tightly spaced glorified alleys with little of the dusk light making its way into the depths. I passed the Museu Picasso, but the Museu offers free entry on the first Sunday of every month and the line was about an hour long by my estimate. I continued my mapless wandering and found some beautiful squares and an impressive church. Outside the church, street performers played accordions and danced, while inside, a baptism took place. I soaked in the church atmosphere and watched the baptism for a while, then moved on.

As the sun finished setting I picked up my bags from Estación Sants and returned to Estación França with an hour to spare for my return to France. The ride to Metz was disappointing - the name of the train - Trenhotel - and the exorbitant reservation fee of 73 euros (did not include the actual ticket) had me dreaming of some sort of suite with tables and a private bathroom. Instead I shared a cramped room with three aromatic men, and slept in a bed filled with sand. Worst of all my Eurail pass was checked for the first time in Spain, so I had to use a day.

On Sunday, I felt I had seen and experienced more of Barcelona than the previous two days combined. There is something to be said for traveling alone, and also for wandering around a city and happening upon sites. Dylan and I talked at length about our study abroad programs - what we were getting out of them and accomplishing. His is a year-long Spanish immersion program. At all times he is required to speak Spanish, and he lives with two Spanish students who have become his good friends. We also noticed that the Barcelona program seemed to be a relocation of American students to Barcelona en masse. Everyone we seemed to encounter at night was American and many were from my school - Duke, or AJ's school - Wake Forest. Although my program at Georgia-Tech Lorraine is certainly no immersion experience (and after talking to Dylan I wish it were) at least I'm meeting new people.

Cathedral in Cerbère

I shot this from the train, but needed a steadier hand. Cerbère is the first French town across the Spanish border.

Aj, Almy Standing, Dylan squatting