Busy day in Barcelona

Hey guys!

Maddy, here. If you’ve read Maya’s last post, you probably realized that Barcelona almost has too much to do. We’ve been running around the city all day yesterday and today, enjoying every square inch of culture and beauty. Here are some photos from yesterday’s adventures. I’ll be back in a little to tell you more about today (hint: there was a lot of art involved).

One of the famous buildings on “La manzana de discordia.”

Antoni Gaudi’s famous apartment: El Batllo.

Oh, you know, La Sagrada Familia.

The inside.

El Parc Guell.

Two SU broads abroad!

And of course…the food!

 

Also, this was Maya and I after that crazy day. Literally so much walking…

Un dia nueva en Barcelona

Buenas tardes a todos!

The last you’d heard from us, we were just two tired little Americans hoping to rest up for another day of sightseeing in Barcelona. At 8:51 p.m. on Monday, I can safely report that Maddy and I are now two completely exhausted and adequately housed Americans (emphasis on exhausted, today was endless). Read on:

After our 8:30 a.m. wakeup call this morning followed by an interesting buffet breakfast (apparently hot dogs are breakfast buffet fare?), we had a long lecture about Gaudi, the modernist architect. We then began our tour, but prior to doing so, Maddy fell in love with the (attractive) hotel concierge, who offered to give us a lot of information about a bunch of discotecas in town, which we’re hoping to take advantage of rather soon. Apparently there’s a bar here called Dow Jones that works like the stock market in regards to supply and demand—the best time to order your drink is when it’s the cheapest price, but it’s always fluctuating, and there’s another bar called chupitas that serves only chupitas—shots. We’re itching to go out, so hopefully we can make our way to one of those a bit later.

Anyway, Gaudi! We walked around downtown Barcelona and admired a bunch of Gaudi’s work—we saw “La Manzana de la Discordia,” Gaudi’s self-designed apartment located next door to that of one of his rival architect’s, and we also saw an apartment building known as La Pedrera. Gaudi’s modernist style was initially scoffed at by younger architects who preferred sleeker designs, and they literally called his beautiful building a pile of stones, or “la pedrera”. I really admire Gaudi’s style. He has a way of making inorganic, cold materials like iron look organic and beautiful.

After La Pedrera we saw La Sagrada Familia, a cathedral that is probably known as Gaudi’s best work, though he only finished part of it in his lifetime. The city commissioned another architect to finish the building, though as our adorable tour guide Ricardo said, this other architect’s style is the very antithesis of Gaudi—hard, angular lines and figures. I much preferred Gaudi’s work on the cathedral, though the entire building is breathtaking.

After a real seafood lunch (Paella! Octopus! Croquettes!) on the shore, we visited Palau de la musica, a musical venue in modernist style in the city, and finished out the day with a trip to Park Guell, a park with untouched nature that sits atop the oldest part of the city. It was a long day, but the view overlooking the city made it all worth it.

Finally, Maddy and I found out who are host family is during a meeting with the housing director! We’re ecstatic—we’re living just outside the city in a house, not an apartment, which is generally rare. We’re living with a family—Tito Perez, the father; Visi Perez, the mother (and apparently an amazing cook); and Vita Perez, the university-attending daughter—and we have our own room and a basement and bathroom to ourselves. The family has a pool that we’re welcome to use as well as fast WiFi, an open kitchen, and the freedom to invite over our friends, according to one former student’s review. I’m just so excited to meet our family in the next week and move in and start classes. I’m dying for a routine that doesn’t involve translating Catalan menus for lunch and guarding my purse like a hawk whenever I walk down La Rambla.

It’s 9:30 and Maddy and I are starved for dinner, so I’m going to go, but we’ll post some pictures and another update again soon! Missing you just a little bit, America.

A little Dali, a little Barcelona.

Attention, readers…

Maya and I have officially arrived in Barcelona–the popular party (and pick-pocketing) capital of Spain. Before anyone gets curious, no, we have not had a chance to experience the crazy, out-of-this-world life that is downtown. We had time to grab dinner and check it out before bed, but not before admiring some awesome artwork.

After saying goodbye to lovely (and small) Gerona, we headed to Figueras, the birthplace of famous Surrealist painter, Salvador Dali. We had been prepped on his work during a lecture in Gerona, which was actually really eye-opening. I had no idea the guy was this creative in his use of symbolism and detail. This shock was only amplified after seeing some of his painting in real life. Talk about a tortured artist.

Dali’s tomb.

This may sound cheesy, but I was actually floored by how Dali used his sheltered childhood and sexual frustration to make amazing art. I learned so much by viewing the real deal, and applying the symbolism I had been taught before. His depictions of women, impotency and grief were so powerful. I’m definitely not an art person, but I was seriously moved by his work.

(Also, I think all classes should be taught where you learn background information on a subject and then go do/look at it. It makes learning SO much more fun, interactive and helpful.)

An optical illusion of Dali’s. What do you see?

After checking out some popular Dali art, we got lunch in Figueras, then headed to Barcelona! On the way, however, a funny cultural problem occurred…

The drive to Barcelona was two hours, but I drank a bit more Coke during lunch than expected (it had been a while since I last drank the good stuff). So, an hour in, I had to go. With a bathroom on our charter bus, I did not think this was a problem. However, when I asked if I could use the bus’s bathroom, I got a stern “no.” Why? Because apparently, in Spain, the bus driver owns the bus and everything in it. So, literally, the bus bathroom was property of our bus driver and no one could use it. Apparently this is a special rule for all bus drivers in Spain. So, we had to stop just for me. But what’s a girl to do when a charter bus bathroom is only for its driver?!

Anyway, Barcelona is HUGE. The top shot is of Barcelona, but only one part of it. Our friends and I tried to compare the size to that of a U.S. city, and we determined it was a lot like Philadelphia, downtown NYC or Dupont Circle in D.C. Our hotel is right in the heart of the city, down the street from La Rambla–one of the most famous commercial streets in Barcelona. It’s also a pick-pocketer’s heaven. Everyone there was gripping their purses because in all honesty, it’s a serious problem here. Thankfully, we were able to walk up and down and through some back streets without being touched. It was fun and awesome to see another side of Spain. Seriously, this is not a village. This is a metropolis of parties, food and crazily-clothed people.

(Seriously, Barcelona has some of the most interesting-looking people. It’s a very free-spirited area. Also, Maya has a great story about La Rambla, but maybe I’ll let her tell you that. Also, I don’t have a picture because I was scared someone would snatch it, lolz. Soon, though!)

After dinner, our group tried to find a bar but the Sunday night scene isn’t too exciting and slightly sketchy. So, now we’re in bed soaking up all the wi-fi. Tomorrow night, it’s ON.

Bring it, Barcelona,
Maddy