“I’ve always found Barcelona the place where I would best like to live, for two reasons: it’s cosmopolitan and has access to the sea. What more could you want from a Mediterranean city?” - Ronald Fraser
I took a trip this weekend to Barcelona, Spain and had the time of my life! Through a friend of mine here in Paris, I heard about a tour company started by Andy Steves, the son of the Europe travel guru Rick Steves, called Weekend Student Adventures. These tours are designed for adventurous students studying abroad who want to make the most out of their European experience through weekend excursions to new places. I didn’t think that I was going to be able to see Spain during my short semester here, but because of WSA I did, and I loved every second of it.
At the airport in Barcelona I met another student, from Covington, WA, who is studying abroad in England . Then I got lost and wandered around Barcelona with a guy I met who was also lost, a musician who is touring Europe with his band and will soon be playing at the Sasquatch music festival in Washington State! Small world isn’t it? Finally reaching my destination, I met a bunch of other students on the WSA tour. The Sant Jordi Alberg hostel was really nice, in a great central location.
Lunch in Spain is usually served between 1-3 pm, and dinner is between 9-11 pm. Being that I am typically a late eater, I loved the Spanish routine. At around 10 o’clock, we went to a tapas bar where I had my first tapas ever. Tapas is the name for snacks, appetizers, and finger food in Spanish cuisine. Serving tapas is meant to encourage conversation between people since they are not sitting down, focusing on an entire meal. Walking around the bar to pick and choose different tapas was a great way to get to know the other students on the tour. 
The next day we headed out in the morning for a walking tour of Barcelona. Our wonderful guide taught us about the city of Barcelona and its beautiful Spanish architecture. During our tour we walked down the Passeig de Gràcia, a long avenue that is comparable to the Champs Elysees in Paris . It is lined with designer shops, cafes, and great examples of Spanish architecture, including Casa Batlló, Casa Amatller, and Casa Milà. 
The last stop on the tour was the Sagrada Familia, a huge Roman Catholic cathedral designed by the famous Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudí. Even though it is unfinished, in November 2010, the Pope consecrated and proclaimed it as a minor basilica. The construction of this cathedral began in 1882, and in 1883 Gaudi became involved, and ultimately took over the planning of this project. He designed the cathedral to resemble a forest, with tree-like columns to support the structure from the inside. These columns eliminated the need for buttresses, like those required in the neo-Gothic style. Gaudi worked on the project until the time of his death in 1926, where less than one-quarter of the project was complete. The work is still continuing every day, and this cathedral is anticipated to be complete by 2026. I’ve been to many cathedrals that were built hundreds of years ago; it was cool to visit one that is still under construction.
After touring the cathedral and museum, a friend and I decided to walk up to the Park Guell. This park is up on a hill looking over all of Barcelona and onto the Mediterranean. The park was designed by Gaudi and was built between 1900-1914. Originally the park was going to be part of a housing development, but the plans failed and only two houses were built. One was bought by Gaudi and he lived there from 1906 to 1926. The park is a beautiful and peaceful getaway, and has great views of the city below. 
That night we went to a great little restaurant where we ate paella, a traditional Spanish dish, and drank sangria. Our seafood paella was made of white rice, vegetables, seafood (mussels, clams, crawfish, shrimp, scallops, and octopus), saffron and olive oil. Sangria is a wine punch that is characteristic of Spain. It usually contains a red wine, fruit, a sweetener, a small amount of a spirit like brandy, and some spices like cinnamon. I had never had sangria or paella before, and I’m happy that I saved those “firsts” for when I was in Spain. It was a great Spanish feast! 
Next, we went to an awesome bar near our hostel called the Dow Jones Bar. At this bar the price of the drinks go up and down like the prices in the Stock Market. When a drink is ordered the price goes up .50 cents and if the drink hasn’t been ordered in a while, its price goes down. Of course, the best thing to do is to wait until the sirens in the place go off. This indicates that the market is crashing and subsequently all of the prices take a huge plunge! This concept was very entertaining and we had a lot of fun deciphering the trends of the market. 
The following morning we began our last full day in Barcelona with a walk down Las Ramblas, a long pedestrian mall that is popular with tourists. There are a lot of quaint side streets full of shops that go off from this one. We visited La Boqueria, a large market with a very diverse selection of foods. If you decide to eat at one of the many restaurants that surround the market you're guaranteed to have a meal made with fresh ingredients. After meandering through the old town, seeing the ancient Roman wall, a couple of churches, and the City Hall of Barcelona, we decided to do some shopping! 
Later on we headed over to the renowned Museu Picasso. This museum has one of the most extensive collections of pieces by the famous contemporary artist Pablo Picasso. The museum opened in 1963 and it was Picasso’s own idea to have the museum in Barcelona, given his longstanding connections with the city. There are now more than 3,500 pieces of art in the permanent collection of this museum. I loved how the museum was laid out. As you travel from room to room, you travel through the years in Picasso’s life. From the descriptions on the wall at the entrance to each room, you get a sense of what was going on in Picasso’s personal life when he created the works of art in that room. This gave me a feel for how Picasso’s art was affected by what was going on in his personal life and helps me understand his moods, like his Blue Period. 
For our last night out we went on a tapas crawl through the Old Town. We started at the L’Ovella Negra (The Black Sheep), a rustic tavern where you are served popcorn with your beer. It’s been so long since I’ve had popcorn. I forgot how much I missed it! Next, we moved on to the sister bar of the one we went to on the first night. This was by far my favorite tapas bar. The white wine was very nice and I chose excellent tapas. My favorite was one with crab and a creamy mayonnaise topped with soft, shredded cheese. To top off our culinary adventure, we decided to go for an ice cream run and ended up at Amorino, a high-end ice cream shop that serves homemade Italian ice cream. They serve the ice cream using a spatula, creating a flower like shape. On recommendation, I chose Pistacchio di Bronte and Speculoos (pistachio and gingersnap). Both were to die for! 
To put the cherry on top, we headed over to Taranto’s to watch a flamenco show. Flamenco is a traditional style of music and dance that is native to Spain. The music was beautiful and the dancing was mesmerizing. I’ve never seen feet move that fast before! After the show we headed to a classy pipe bar. It was great, because for a while we had the place to ourselves. So nice to kick back with the new friends that I’d made over the weekend, have a drink, and enjoy our final night together. The morning was full of goodbyes and hustles to the Barcelona airport to catch our flights back to our various home bases in Europe. I was so sad to leave Barcelona. Even though it was only a few days, I really connected with the group that I was with. We all enjoyed spending time together and got along really well. Discovering Barcelona and experiencing the Spanish culture couldn’t have gone any better, and I owe it all to WSA and the exciting people I was with.
