Barcelona

Barcelona is a city in which one cannot miss visiting during a trip to Spain, it has everything: beach, art, medieval characteristics, culture, etc. I would describe it as the Spanish San Francisco. It is situated on the east coast in the Autonomous Province (“state”) of Cataluña (spelled Catalunya in the region because they have their own language alongside Spanish, called Catalán. It is trying to declare independence from Spain, in case you wanted a modern political lesson).

A friend of mine was going to accompany me, but at last minute, she was unable. I have heard that every person has to experience traveling solo, and this was my opportunity. For those of you who are not my family, I am an evangelical Christian, which will help you understand my reasons to saying what I am about to explain. Never could I have imagined the fun and random opportunities that God brought along for me during this trip—occurrences that could not have happened had I had a fellow traveler.

I stayed in a precious hostel, themed after a tailor’s shop, where I made good friends with the receptionist. Being that I was alone, and being blonde certainly does not help, I received a ton of “piropos” (“catcalls” that usually are fairly innocent, but can be excessive—I will comment on those in another post), but one that made me laugh was a high school kid who stopped me on the street. He was very kind, obviously flirtatious, and told me that I looked gorgeous that day and he had to stop to tell me—poor kid, I kind of brushed him off because I had more important things to do, such as see La Sagrada Familia!

Fachada de la Pasión, La Sagrada Familia

It is a structure unlike anything I have ever seen in Europe or the States; Gaudí, the architect, used lots of organic-like designs and unusual forms to plan the Catholic temple (not a cathedral). It is still in construction, and to support the project, the tickets to enter are quite expensive, but that does not stop the millions of visitors. As a poor student, I tried to work the system by attending the evening mass (= save $). Unfortunately my plan did not goes as planned because mass is held in the underground crypt, but it turned out to be another lovely blessing. The mass was in Catalán, and afterword I made friends with the ancient priest who should me the roof of his study, which was designed by Gaudí (I just finished a contemporary Spanish art class, so this kind of stuff mattered to me), and he proceeded to give me some special brochures and tell me some fun facts about the building.

The next morning I headed to Montserrat, a famous monastery situated in the mountains 2 hours via train from Barcelona. (Tip: if you buy tickets for the trip, go to the kiosk on the floor below the main ticket counter in the metro station, it is somewhat hidden, but you get a better deal than at the “official” ticket counter). There are incredible hiking trails (really easy, but GORGEOUS views), and so I went with that objective. I then went off and passed through the “rosary” trail, which had scenes from Jesus’ life and crucifixion, and later traversed through the “less touristic trail” that left me with scratches down my legs, but a view of three valleys. I stopped to eat lunch at a lookout that left me breathless.

My lunch spot

That night, back in the hostel, I met a group of guys from the States who were studying in Spain as well. After showing my superior skill at billiards, they heard about my plans to go to tango dancing that evening. One of them asked to go with me, and so we went! He, I later discovered, could not dance tango if his life depended on it, but I could not help but enjoy the atmosphere. Everyone was over 60 years old in the establishment, and it was decorated to be like Cuba—loved every minute, especially because I could converse with the Spanish and my fellow inept partner could barely speak the languageJ Terrible, I know.

The following morning I hit Barcelona’s marvelous beach before my flight, which made it rather difficult to have any desire to get on any plane, but obligatory homework awaited.

Making a new friend and with our art

Arriving in Granada, every woman, female adolescent and baby was wearing the “traje de Gitano,” which is the traditional long tress with ruffles and polka dots. Día de la Cruz is a festival where people decorate little crosses with flowers, drink plenty and dance Sevillanas—it is a very family-oriented atmosphere and tons of fun! This is an element of Spain: a Catholic culture yet few practicing believers. Although the festival has religious connotations, it is completely cultural with basically every trace of religiosity only as an “origin” rather than the “focus.” I wish we, as Americans, had more festivals—I would imagine that they would turn into a drinking fest, but I like the idea of an entire city celebrating with a traditional dance and delicious food.