The first day began bright and early with a train ride from
Madrid to Barcelona. The train was
high-speed, which was a new experience for me.
It was pretty cool, but I guess it was not too exciting because I slept
most of the way.
We arrived at Barcelona around 11 a.m. and were immediately chauffeured around the city on a bus tour. The guide first took us to the Olympic stadium pavilion, where the Olympics were held in 1992. We saw several buildings and plazas important to the city and learned about the vital process of how Barcelona rapidly cleaned up their city in preparation for the Olympic Games.
The one thing that I will remember most about today is finally getting to visit Antoni Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia, a very famous cathedral. The construction on the famous cathedral began over 100 years ago and still has not been completed. It is very unique in that as construction took place over the years, the style of architecture changed. Because of this, it is very interesting to see the evolution of style in the construction of the cathedral. It amazes me that after all these years it still has not been completed. Tomorrow we get to go inside so I am really looking forward to that!
After a full day of exploring I can say that Barcelona has been my favorite city in Spain so far. It is situated on the Mediterranean Sea and has a beautiful coast on one side with mountains bordering the city on the other side. The city as a whole is much more similar to America than any other place we have been so far, but the culture of the city makes it a fun and unique place to be.
So far, the days that we walk the furthest are the days that are most memorable. The second day in Barcelona we walked over 15 miles, but it was awesome! I can now say that I have walked pretty much the entire city of Barcelona. We began by walking to the Sangrada Familia Cathedral. On the way we got to see a couple other projects designed by Antoni Gaudi. At the cathedral we were given an hour inside to sketch and reflect on the design. This was probably one of my favorite activities so far. I had plenty of time to sketch and pray inside. Being a part of an experience like that, I do not know how some people do not believe in God. I think there is a reason churches around the world are the most impressive pieces of architecture. There is just no other way the construction could be possible without Him. Anyways, this cathedral was absolutely breath-taking.
After our visit there, we headed up the mountain across town to Park Guell, designed by Antoni Gaudi. It was at least a 30 minute hike uphill, but it was worth it. We were given another hour to explore the park on our own. I knew nothing about the park that is apparently very famous in the landscape architecture world. One can imagine the state of awe I was in as I came up a flight of stairs and saw the entire city of Barcelona laid out before the Mediterranean Sea. It was beautiful! I sat on the top plaza of the park and attempted to sketch possibly the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It is places like this that make this whole traveling thing worth it! We ate lunch at a place close to the park that was completely overpriced. I got a dish of mixed seafood paella, and I was not impressed all that much. It also took forever, but it turned out to be ok because I had time to finish both of my sketches from earlier.
The rest of the day was not necessarily exciting but we got to experience a large part of the city by walking. We hiked back down the mountain and headed straight though the city to eventually end up on the coast. The timing was perfect because we got to the coast right at sunset. Once again the views were amazing! It was a bit cold so I did not get to frolic in the Mediterranean (it is on my bucket list), but I was able to stick my hand in. I was surprised by how warm the water was. We all took way too many pictures, and then continued down the coast towards our hotel.
About a half hour later we were released from our group for the evening. A smaller group of us went to eat at a restaurant on the Rambla, a famous pedestrian street, to eat our last meal in Spain. I finally got to try a specialty dish of fried eggplant and honey, and it was delicious. After dinner we all headed back to the hotel and crashed. I can honestly say my feet have never hurt so badly in my life. For every great day there seems to be a hard one, so I am assuming that will be tomorrow. We will be on a bus all day! Oh well, maybe I can get caught up on some sleep.
We arrived at Barcelona around 11 a.m. and were immediately chauffeured around the city on a bus tour. The guide first took us to the Olympic stadium pavilion, where the Olympics were held in 1992. We saw several buildings and plazas important to the city and learned about the vital process of how Barcelona rapidly cleaned up their city in preparation for the Olympic Games.
The one thing that I will remember most about today is finally getting to visit Antoni Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia, a very famous cathedral. The construction on the famous cathedral began over 100 years ago and still has not been completed. It is very unique in that as construction took place over the years, the style of architecture changed. Because of this, it is very interesting to see the evolution of style in the construction of the cathedral. It amazes me that after all these years it still has not been completed. Tomorrow we get to go inside so I am really looking forward to that!
After a full day of exploring I can say that Barcelona has been my favorite city in Spain so far. It is situated on the Mediterranean Sea and has a beautiful coast on one side with mountains bordering the city on the other side. The city as a whole is much more similar to America than any other place we have been so far, but the culture of the city makes it a fun and unique place to be.
So far, the days that we walk the furthest are the days that are most memorable. The second day in Barcelona we walked over 15 miles, but it was awesome! I can now say that I have walked pretty much the entire city of Barcelona. We began by walking to the Sangrada Familia Cathedral. On the way we got to see a couple other projects designed by Antoni Gaudi. At the cathedral we were given an hour inside to sketch and reflect on the design. This was probably one of my favorite activities so far. I had plenty of time to sketch and pray inside. Being a part of an experience like that, I do not know how some people do not believe in God. I think there is a reason churches around the world are the most impressive pieces of architecture. There is just no other way the construction could be possible without Him. Anyways, this cathedral was absolutely breath-taking.
After our visit there, we headed up the mountain across town to Park Guell, designed by Antoni Gaudi. It was at least a 30 minute hike uphill, but it was worth it. We were given another hour to explore the park on our own. I knew nothing about the park that is apparently very famous in the landscape architecture world. One can imagine the state of awe I was in as I came up a flight of stairs and saw the entire city of Barcelona laid out before the Mediterranean Sea. It was beautiful! I sat on the top plaza of the park and attempted to sketch possibly the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It is places like this that make this whole traveling thing worth it! We ate lunch at a place close to the park that was completely overpriced. I got a dish of mixed seafood paella, and I was not impressed all that much. It also took forever, but it turned out to be ok because I had time to finish both of my sketches from earlier.
The rest of the day was not necessarily exciting but we got to experience a large part of the city by walking. We hiked back down the mountain and headed straight though the city to eventually end up on the coast. The timing was perfect because we got to the coast right at sunset. Once again the views were amazing! It was a bit cold so I did not get to frolic in the Mediterranean (it is on my bucket list), but I was able to stick my hand in. I was surprised by how warm the water was. We all took way too many pictures, and then continued down the coast towards our hotel.
About a half hour later we were released from our group for the evening. A smaller group of us went to eat at a restaurant on the Rambla, a famous pedestrian street, to eat our last meal in Spain. I finally got to try a specialty dish of fried eggplant and honey, and it was delicious. After dinner we all headed back to the hotel and crashed. I can honestly say my feet have never hurt so badly in my life. For every great day there seems to be a hard one, so I am assuming that will be tomorrow. We will be on a bus all day! Oh well, maybe I can get caught up on some sleep.
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