Fall Break Day 2: Barcelona

Saturday, October 23rd

Me on the rooftop of the building. So strange looking! 

Hola everyone!
We are having an amazing time in Barcelona. The atmosphere here is so great! We were out pretty late the night before, so we ended up sleeping in until about noon. Then we got ready, grabbed a quick coffee at starbucks and headed to the Gaudi museum, which was conveniently right up the street from the apartment we were staying at. There are quite a few Gaudi houses and museums throughout Barcelona but everyone reccommended this as the best. The museum was called "La Pedrera de Caixa Catalunya". This was Gaudi´s apartment and had displays that represented the changing times in Barcelona. There were so many floors, each twisty and unique. The building was shaped somewhat like an oval, with a huge couryard in the middle. We headed through each floor, touring his living quarters, maids quarters, working/design space, and a small movie viewing room where we viewed a movie of his life and designs. The top floor of the building is designed like an attic with the slanty ceilings and dim lights, with huge models of his buildings. It also showed the planning process he went through to make each unique building.

Then, we walked up a long spiral staircase to the roof top terrace. What a crazy sight! There were modern sculptures, each one more huge and obstract than the next. It looked like something out of a movie! We spend quite a bit of time on the roof, enjoying the view of the city, admiring the obscure work of Gaudi, and basking in the beautiful, sunny, Barcelona weather.

A look down into the courtyard of the house.

After the Gaudi museum, we walked to Sagrada Familia, which is a building is in the centre of Barcelona designed by famous architect Francisco de Paula del Villar. Work on the Cathedral began in March 1882 and is predicted to be finished in 2026. It was SO BREAUTIFUL! Because the line was so long adn it was closing soon, we decided to try it again tomorrow. After our failed Sagrada Familia attempt, we met up with Justin (the guys we´re staying with) and took a stroll with his friends down "Las Ramblas". "Las Ramblas" is often the first landmark that most tourists identify with the city. It is the central most Boulevard which cuts through the heart of the city center and is a vibrant and lively promenade filled with Barcelona action at its best. Basically, you walk down the middle of the street and view the many attractions along the Ramblas including live performances, human statue art, and artists that will draw your portrait or caricature. It is actually a very historic and cultural part of the city and I am glad we were able to spend some time here. An overall very chill and fun atmosphere.

My friends and I sitting on the comfy little
chairs in the attic of the museum. 

After this, we headed back to the apartment for a little "siesta" and then went out for a dinner at a restaurant named "Taller Tappa", famous for their Paella. I had garlic asparagus and seafood Paella. It was SO tasty and way too filling! After a long dinner, we headed back to the apartment to get ready to go out for the night. (It was already almost 1AM!). Before getting changed to go out, we decided to make sure everything was in order for the next day (hostel in Madrid, train times etc.). In doing so, we realized we were pretty tired from lack of sleep all weekend and should maybe stay in and have an "early night". 6:00am rolls around (how did that happen) and we were still looking up trains to Madrid. We finally decided to take a night train instead of our original plan to take a high speed train, and headed to bed. One of Justins roommates gave up his room for us all to sleep in, so the five of us crammed into his room and got a couple hours of uncomfortable shut eye, which I´m sure was a pretty funny sight. Three of us laying sideways, curled up on the bed and two on a twin mattress on the floor (the things we do to save a little money).

Love, Dana