We ended our whirlwind Spanish tour in Barcelona. Barcelona is such an interesting city because it is in Cataluyna, a primarily Catalan region. Many true Catalans want to actually secede from Spain and become their own country. They have their own constitution, although Spanish law still rules supreme, as well as their own flag. One more interesting fact about Barcelona before I go into details about my trip, they are actually trying to outlaw bull fighting, and they are very close. This year is supposed to be the last season of bull fighting in Barcelona, so we will see what happens.
Anyways, we again bused from Valencia to Barcelona. The ride was absolutely beautiful, it was almost completely along the Mediterranean coast of Spain with beautiful views of the sea. When we arrived in Barcelona we found our hostel and settled in. Our hostel was right off of Las Rambla, one of the main drags in Barcelona. We did a little bit of exploring in our area the first day but nothing too exciting.
Friday we woke up and split into two groups; Laura, Margaret, and I headed to Sagrada Familia. Okay another quick history lesson...Sagrada Familia was started by Gaudi (known for his mosaic works) in 1882, and the construction is still going on today. Gaudi designed the church knowing it would be not finished in his lifetime. Towards the end of his life, he donated all of his money to Sagrada to continue constuction (during the Spanish Civil War and WWI the money was not always readily available for construction). Gaudi in turn moved to a small shack right outside Sagrada Familia. When he died in 1926 the church was not near complete, right now there are 8 main spires, when Sagrada Familia is complete there will be 18, each representing one figure important in the Catholic Church. Construction has been able to continue through private donations from those who want to see it finished as well as admission to enter the church. The goal is to have Sagrada Familia finished by 2026 to mark the 100 year anniversary of Gaudi's death, although most believe that will be impossible as there is still so much work to be done. Interesting huh?
After Sagrada Familia we met up with the other girls to head up to Olympic Park. Since Barcelona had the Olympics in 1992 they have kept most of the Olympic structures and created a museum. The Olympic Park is on one of the three main "mountains" (really bona fide hills) surrounding Barcelona on all sides. We were able to take the metro most of the way, and there is a cable car to take you to the very top but it was 12 euro, we decided to walk! The Olympic Park was really nothing special, the views were nice though. We also visited the former German Pavilion during the Worlds Fair in Barcelona in 1888. One of the friends Katharine worked at home designed by the same architect in Illinois so that is how she knew to visit this Pavilion in Barcelona.
Saturday was a great day, we woke up and headed out to the Gaudi park. On another hill in Barcelona this park was amazing! Tucked away was this little mosaic village that Gaudi had created, the colors were incredible! I took a ton of pictures of the mosaics close up because I just thought they were so beautiful. Late Saturday afternoon we set out on a great adventure: a guided bike tour of Barcelona! Let me tell you, the saying its as easy as riding a bike, not true! Try riding through the streets of Barcelona next to the crazy European drivers! The tour was three and a half hours and took throughout the city. Our guide was from San Francisco and really knew a lot of interesting things about the places we stopped to check out. It wasn't just the usual facts which was a nice change. All and all it was a great tour and well worth the money.
Sunday we finally left Barcelona to head back to Paris, but not before stopping at the Contemporary Art Museum near our hostel. There was a really powerful photographic exhibit about the WTO riots in Seattle, very interesting. After 10 days of traveling throughout 3 cities we were all exhausted and happy to be returning to our own rooms! It was an incredible trip that I will remember forever! Love from Paris...
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