¡Vamos a Barcelona!

Another few weeks have come and gone and it feels as though a year’s worth of experiences has been crammed into it. Two weekends ago, I spent the weekend in Barcelona, Spain. Finally, I got to put my 8 years worth of Spanish classes to use (sort of). I loved being in Spain, beautiful country, with so much to do and see. We ended up walking over 13 miles on Saturday just exploring and getting around the city. Luckily we were staying in an airbnb that was pretty much right downtown, so we could walk a little bit and get breakfast and then start our day. 

My favorite part of the weekend had two things tied: the beach, and happening upon the rooftop bar with a 360 view of the city. The beach was wonderful and the water was perfect. Being from California, as well as a lifelong swimmer, I am always happiest around the water. There is no comparative feeing to letting your body float freely in the ocean (or the Mediterranean Sea). The rooftop view was breathtaking, we could see literally everything in the city.

Being in such a beautiful place did come with some drawbacks though. We had to be very alert and on our guard or our belongings would have been stolen in a second. In highly concentrated touristy areas, there were people EVERYWHERE trying to grab your attention, so it was important to be mindful. 

The other amazing thing there was the food. I’m not hard to please when it comes to food, but wow. I tried my first paella and it was incredible. For sure in my top 10 favorite meals ever. Additionally the tapas were inescapably addicting. All the foods were so decadently prepared and memorably unique. The gelato and coffee were also crucial inclusions both days we were there. Everything they have to offer is just so fresh and rich with flavor. 

This was an amazing trip I will never forget, especially because we did not waste a second of our time there, and I was definitely in good company. Meeting travel buddies along the way is an aspect of being abroad that I did not really consider, but it is often what makes exploring so much fun.  Being able to see new and amazing things with other people who desire to do the same is such a cool bond that takes this experience up a notch.