The flight itself went smoothly with a small layover in Frankfurt and then on to Barcelona. I landed in Barcelona at 10:50 and looked cab to Sarah's apartment. The weather that week in Prague ranged from the mid-40's to mid-30's so when I stepped outside in a balmy 65 that night it felt great. Barcelona is different from other parts of Spain in that they speak Catalan, a mix of French and ordinary Spanish. This meant that my four years of Spanish (most of which I have forgotten) would be much less useful. Immediately this became apparent when the cabbie mistook the number "ocho" for "dos". Either way, I made it to Sarah's apartment around 11:30 and we got ready to go out.
Heading out, I looked at the buildings along the street and they felt distinctly Spanish. I can't say what exactly gave them such a feel but it was there. We headed out down La Rambla, a largely populated street littered with small shops and men who try to sell you beers for 1 Euro. We made it to a bar that apparently sells the best sangria in Spain and I have to say it was delicious as I drank the entire glass in about a minute. The next stop was a bar that specialized in shots where we had 3 shots of tequila. Tequila in Spain is usually served with sugar or cinnamon and a slice of orange and it's pretty tasty. Either way, 3 tequila shots in is not a good way to go to a club.
We took a cab to the club, called Opium, right on the beach. Dancing was going on but I wasn't quite in the mood so we all sat outside and talked in the beautiful weather. At the bar I noticed a major difference between Barcelona and Prague: the presence of Americans. Don't get me wrong, Prague has its fair share of Americans, tourists and students. But, at Opium club and around the city in general, you can go almost anywhere, hear English being spoken and see Americans. Apparently, Sarah's study abroad program has over 500 students while my program in Prague had no more than 150.
The club was fine but I spent most of the time wandering around and hanging out by the Mediterranean. We went home around 4:30 which is pretty early by Barcelona standard and got ready for a big day on Friday.
Waking up late, around 1, we headed out for a lunch a one of Sarah's favorite tapas places. I haven't eaten much seafood in Prague and I was very anxious to get some good seafood. My first trip outside in the daylight was amazing. I wore a polo shirt, the sun was shining and the weather was borderline hot. It was incredible. We ate tapas right under a gothic cathedral in the shade of a backstreet and I ordered some steamed mussels that were huge and delicious. I also sampled Spanish croquettes which are much different from their Czech counterparts. They are fried cylinders with ham and a sort of potato mush usually stuffed inside. We ordered another Barcelon(an)? staple: bread with tomatoes spread on top which was also quite good.
After lunch, we headed to the Parc de la Cituadella, a park in the center of the city that was highly recommended by the guidebook. We exited the metro at the Arc de Triomf. I've never seen the Arc in Paris, but this one was thoroughly impressing and beautiful. Built with red brick, it once again felt distinctly Spanish. The park was landscaped beautifully, and we had a nice afternoon looking at fountains and laying on the grass having a beer.
That night we met up with my friend David and his friend studying in Spain named Piera. Every night in Barcelona they have this large fountain that has synchronized water jets with music. This thing was great. They have a couple different shows. There's a classical/opera show, a rock show and a soul/R&B show. Good stuff all around.
That night we ate dinner at a traditional Catalan cuisine restaurant where David and I got ripped off. The menu said our fish was 12 Euros but it turned out it was 20. Fabulous.
We headed to a shot bar that was filled with blacklights so everything white was glowing. We ordered a couple of weird shots like the "Harry Potter" and "Boy Scout". One was really cool that had you light the shot on fire, drink it, and then inhale the alcohol vapor or some such nonsense. Finally, we ended up at a club called Razzmatzz which was humongous. With a bunch of different, huge dancefloors we danced until 6:00am when the club closed. At this point, we took the metro home and went to bed with the sun up. I was so proud of this fact that I took pictures of the city that morning after the sun was up.
The next day we woke up and went to grab some lunch. It was hard to believe but it was even hotter than on Friday. We went to a place called La Champagneria which is a gross little eatery that sells hamburgers, sausages and 4 Euro bottles of champagne. The line was massive but we eventually got in and had a bottle or so. The hamburgers at this place were also surprisingly good. After lunch we walked through the coastal area and sat down on the beach. The sun was out and some people were even sleeping in the cold Mediterranean. Sitting there, I was struck by the fact that I was actually sitting in Barcelona, on the coast of the Mediterranean, hanging out with my friends. It was the first time I had ever seen the Mediterranean and I spent some time pondering all the history that took place on it.
Some of the most famous sights in Barcelona are buildings designed by Gaudi, a famous modernista architect. So, we went to his master work, the Sagrada Familia. Started by Gaudi over 100 years ago, it is still under construction but still looks fabulous. After visiting the cathedral, we headed out to eat some authentic paella. While it was expensive, the Paella was incredibly good with all sorts of seafood mixed in. That night, we headed out to Kennedy's and Irish pub that was actually filled with Irish people. I talked to a few and even got a free St. Patrick's Day hat that I plan on wearing this Tuesday. We stayed at the bar for a while because they had live music (they played 90 U2 covers) and then went home around 5:00.
I managed to get about 3 hours of sleep before waking up to go the airport. I arrived alright and made it home safely to Prague with David. Overall, I absolutely loved Barcelona. Maybe it was because of the warm weather, but it has the distinct feel of a sleepy Mediterranean town. Even so, there are very modern clubs and places to go as well. The people are generally nice and the city is beautiful.
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