Fall Break Day 3: Barcelona & Night Train

Sunday, October 24^th

Our group at Park Guell
(Alicia, Natalie, Katie, Kristen, and me)

At the bottom, there is a huge plaza scattered with vendors and musicians of all kinds. What a great taste of the culture! We walked down steps from the plaza and were amazed by what we saw. The space under the plaza is all-open with huge columns holding up the plaza. The columns are completely decorated with crazy mosaic designs, as are the floor and ceiling. What a cool sight! The “underbelly” of the plaza spills onto a massive staircase. On it is a large mosaic lizard, which is one symbol of Barcelona. There are also other statues and walls covered in colorful, vibrant mosaics. There are two large mosaic buildings, also designed by Gaudi (he’s kind of a big deal!). So much to take in here! Definitely my favorite thing in Barcelona!

The bottom of Park Guell

This morning we took the metro to Park Guella. The metro in Barcelona is so handy and something we used the entire time we were there. Its very cheap (only about 1.40 Euro/person) and very easy to figure out! This is something Florence should highly consider! We hopped up the metro and were surprised to see a series of escalators that would carry us all the way up the steep, steep hill. Very cool to see so many escalators outside! After the escalators, there were dirt paths that winded way up to a beautiful cross that looks over the entire city (such great views!). Once a couple pictures had been taken at the top, we headed back down the opposite side to check out what Park Guell is really known for.

The mosaic lizard. It was so huge in person!
Very cool to see all the different mosaics!

After this, we took the metro across the city a bit to give Segrada Familia another try. After waiting in line for almost an hour, we were able to see the inside of the famous cathedral. Upon entering the building, our mouths instantly dropped. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen IN MY LIFE! Yes, yes, I know I have a lot of these moments, but this is the real deal! There were huge white columns, massive lifelike sculptures, and beautiful unique windows letting in a perfect stream of light. It was amazing! Like I mentioned earlier, Gaudi designed the cathedral and it is only about halfway finished. They predict the last stones to be set in 2026 (16 more years!). There was quite a bit of construction going on both inside and outside of the building, but will be SO completely worth seeing once its complete.

Inside "Segrada Familia"

Huge windows letting in beautiful light!

After this, we headed down the shopping district, only to find out that on Sundays in Spain, everything completely shuts down. Bummer! However this was probably for the best considering our suitcases are already busting at the seams and we still have an entire week left of traveling!

Outside Segrada Familia. It is just over halfway done!

We left the apartment at 8:30, took the metro to the train station and boarded our overnight train to Madrid. We had no idea what to expect but were hoping for a little compartment like on the movie “Harry Potter”. We were so excited when we arrived at our seats to find our own little room, with comfy seats that fold into beds. Even a door to shut and lock so there was no need to worry about our belongings being tampered with. We all did al little journaling together and then decided it was time to finally catch up on some sleep. What better way to do so than in our own little Harry Potter sleeping car on a train to Madrid, Spain. Sometimes I can’t believe the things I am writing! 

Our little Harry Potter room on the train