On the Saturday after midterms, we embarked on a journey involving Barcelona, Madrid, and Portugal. Setting out we didn’t quite know what our upcoming week would hold, but we did know that it would be full of adventures and crazy stories to tell when we came back.
Our first destination: Barcelona!!! As soon as we arrived in Spain, the first goal on everyone’s minds was to go find the beach! So off we went in search of our first sight of the Mediterranean. It was beautiful and so of course I ran off in order to stick my feet in the water. It was so incredibly cold but also worth it!
The next goal we had was to go get some sangria at a little place along the beach. We were successful and I would have to say my first sangria was delicious! We also got a snack of some fried shrimp that were also quite scrumptious.
The next day we decided to get some food that Barcelona was known for. Some of us got paella (which is a Spanish rice dish usually containing chicken or seafood) and a meatball dish. It was nice to just be able to sit outside to eat with the sun beaming down on us.
Later, it was time to hit up some sites! This is a picture of the famous Sagrada Familia. This church was designed by Gaudi and is constantly under construction, as they are still not even close to finishing it. This church certainly towered over you and the detail was meticulously beautiful, but still not my favorite of Gaudi’s work.
We then decided to make the climb up to Park Guell to see the rest of Gaudi’s work. The view up on top was incredible and we could see all of Barcelona. The building in the right hand side of the picture though, was the most beautiful of all of Gaudi’s work in my opinion.
This was the underside of the lookout in Park Guell. It had awesome mosaics on the ceilings that were a colorful contrast to the neutral columns.
Here’s my traveling crew for the week along with me! We were for sure enjoying the warmer weather that allowed us to not have to wear coats.
Next destination: Madrid! After taking an 8-hour night bus, we finally reached our second destination. Although it rained most of the time, it was still a fun place to explore! Pictured here is a view out of the balcony of our hostel.
One of the days we went to this cool indoor market that was like a building full of mini restaurants. Everything in sight appeared delicious, and our eyes for sure didn’t steer us wrong! I ended the food market journey with sangria and a bowl of veggie paella.
A few blocks from our hostel was an area that marked the exact center of Spain (or at least this point was 0 Km and all roads started their markings coming out from here). So of course I had to stand on the exact middle of it and proclaim that I in fact was standing on the exact center. It felt like such an accomplishment even though it was such a small action!
Along with some people I met in other hostels, I traveled to the local town of Toledo. It was this beautiful old town that kind of reminded me of when we visited Todi back at the beginning of the semester in Italy. At the very top of the hill town stood a library, and here is the view out of a window in this building looking out onto the town.