Well, lately my blog posts have been a little bit outdated so I'm sorry for that. Within the next few weeks I'll try to use my free time to keep you all up to date and fill you in on the newest developments on my continuing life abroad.
In the meantime, however, I'll be devoting this post to the beautiful, sunny city of Barcelona. With my outrageously long winter break, I figured I should spend at least some time exploring a different piece of Europe. Since my good friend from Wisconsin is currently studying there I figured Barca would be my best bet, and I certainly can't say there were any second thoughts about that idea. Who wouldn't want to turn down sun, beautiful people, and the beach? Regardless of the fact that it still wasn't quite sunbathing time, I'll take the continued presence of the sun over getting bogged down in the grayness of Bruxelles any day.
Once Lindsey finally found me standing practically smack dab in the middle of Passeig de Gracia, we made our way to a cute Tapas place near her housing. We ordered a few small plates, fried fish being one among them (sounds... normal, right?). We were.... well.. unpleasantly surprised to find ten minutes later a full plate of little baby fishes staring us in the face (literally... eyes and all included). We tried them out, but needless to say the waiter seemed a bit disappointed in our ability to stomach the little guys. Fortunately the rough start was not a bad omen for the week to come, which was filled with more delicious tapas, desserts, and plenty of paella.
One of the things I was most impressed by in Barcelona (aside from the remarkably clean public transport) was the architecture, specifically that of Gaudi. We started our little tour of his creations by visiting Parc Guell, a neat little place that boasts lots of green space, a great view of the city, and fabulous examples of Gaudi's work. We then went on to la Sagrada Familia, one of his last big works which is still in progress today. Hands down, this place is one the most phenomenal churches I have yet to see in Europe. Forget Notre Dame, this place is just overflowing with architectural singularity and overwhelming detail. Much of Gaudi's inspiration came from nature, and this could be clearly seen in the tree like resemblances in the columns and ceilings. Unfortunately he died a tragic death before his work could be completed, so the newer side is a bit of a disappointment, but still worth the entrance ticket nonetheless.
When I had some time to myself I went strolling along the beaches... stopping along the way to play with the sand and even take a little snooze. As I sat and took it all in I began to notice some of the habits of these Southern Europeans. One pronounced detail was the amount of young men coming to get their gym on - just along the beach was a little area that looked almost like a child's playground. However, this was not a place for children, but for dudes doing all sorts of odd exercises, looking to get ripped on the monkeybars. The best part for me though was witnessing the group of older, out of shape men in their speedos hangin' out on the rocks. Despite their massive (beer,food, both?) bellies, they still made some effort to do some exercises, whether it be stretching or running just on the edge of the water. Though they may not keep up their bodies like some northern Europeans I've seen, they certainly still seemed to care about staying active.
Spending some time along the beach also brought a lot of differences into perspective. One might see the Spaniards' inherent 'disrespect' for time as some fundamental flaw, but how could one not share that kind of mentality if one lived in a place that was ALWAYS sunny and offered not only the beach, but mountains too? Though understanding that late lunches and late dinners were very much the norm (oh, and don't mess with that 2-5 break for siestas) was a little difficult for me, it's all apart of their culture so why mess with it? I certainly don't see it as laziness, as current opinions may suggest, just a different way of life. If anything, it only highlights the difficulties in trying to bring so many nations together that, in the end, don't really have all that much in common. Not trying to start a political debate here, just putting forth a perspective that dawned on me (but certainly not one that should hold very much weight :) ).
Though Barcelona may be an exception to the other cities in Spain (or so I've heard), I still had a wonderful time and if the opportunity ever posed itself I would certainly go back in the future. Any of you fellow travelers looking for a good deal on hostels should definitely check out Equity Point Centric. It's located right on Passeig de Gracia, is a great deal, offers extremely helpful service, and breakfast is included! Can't really go wrong with all of that. Aside from that I would encourage anyone to explore Barca - it truly is a city you can get lost in, whether it be at sea level or far, far above :)
