Just like Ed Sheran, I thought Barcelona was a place where the “sun is shinning bright,” until I arrived there at 5:45am and heard the bus driver say “there’s never this much rain.” While it might have been pouring around me, there was still no rain on my parade…because I was in Barcelona baby!!
Night buses are affordable options and smart ways to commute until you beat the sunrise to your desired location, have a dead phone battery, and are forced to kill time in a creepy bus station until a coffee shop opens; but its all an adventure, right? Once my phone and I both got some fuel at a coffee shop, I started my solo part of the journey in Barcelona (which lasted about 10 hours until my friend arrived to meet up with me). With so much beauty to see in so little time, I thought I’d start at the Sagrada Familia. This was a great start, I was in awe of the architecture and found the history equally intriguing. I was so happy with the view, I decided to admire it from a nearby touristy coffee shop so I could simultaneously avoid the rain. As I was minding my own business, downing my third cup of black coffee that day, and making a silly attempt to sketch what laid before me; several beggars approached me inside the coffee shop asking for money (As if I had any..). I was pretty surprised that this went on inside a coffee shop but what really stunned me was the man who tried to steal my phone. That’s right, the piece of technology with my bus ticket home on it, my employer’s phone number, my friend’s phone number, all of my banking information, oh yeah and my whole life, was almost taken away from me as if it was never mine to begin with. The thief in question repeatedly asked me for money in English and once I said no for the hundredth time, he placed a piece of paper pleading for money atop my phone while his other sneaky little hand slid my phone away from under the paper. Just as he thought he was going to become the newest member on Ocean’s Twelve, I caught him in the act and pulled my phone back to the rightful owner.
Precisely when I was starting to think Ed Sheran was wrong all along or sang a song about a different Barcelona, my friend Arantxa texted me to meet her at the hotel. I beat her there and took a quick nap which may or may not have put me in a better mood… Then I heard a knock on the door and just like that, the rain stopped and the sun began to shine again. Okay Ed, maybe you weren’t wrong all along.
It felt so good to see our old exchange student, Arantxa, the first familiar face I’ve seen since I’ve been in Spain. We had so much to catch up on. We went to grab some snacks from the grocery store for lunch; we ate popcorn, sushi, chips and salsa. Before you ask, I promise you neither one of us is pregnant. Just two hungry girls on student budgets. Once we were all caught up we strolled the streets of Barcelona, saw the beautiful sunset, and experienced the lively square of Plaza de Catalunya. We mostly just chatted that day since it had been a good year and a half since we saw each other. I also ended up walking 13 miles that day and ran off three coffees and three hours of sleep, which resulted in that night being one of the best sleeps I have ever experienced.
On Saturday we got our day started at 7:00am, this is something I love to do especially when I am in a city as neat as Barcelona with only a weekend to enjoy it. We loaded up on the hotel breakfast so that we could skip lunch (take notes if you’re on a budget!). Then we went to a free tour (“Free” is a key word in this note taking). The tour was really interesting and we spent the whole morning outside in the sun and listened to some talented street musicians. The tour ended near an outdoor art market which we walked through and as we admired it, it was easy to imagine one day being able to afford fancy European art to hangup in my hypothetical equally fancy house! While I was busy imagining fancy things in the future (as usual), these dudes began doing back flips and jumping all over the place right next to where we were standing. They pulled me out of the crowd and said they were going to jump over me. “Umm okay?” I thought, as I recalled the last time this happened, the guy ended up kicking my arm. That’s right, I have now been pulled out of a crowd TWICE to be jumped over. I have a new fun fact about me. I don’t mean to brag but I guess I have the perfect height to jump over, it’s whatever, no big deal…
After the fun morning, we went to the hotel to refresh then strolled on the beach. We got to see the most incredible sunset while we were sitting by the water. All I can remember from that moment is just being in awe of our view. Once we stared at the sun longer than 9 out of 10 doctors would recommend, I began to collect all the pretty little shells I could find just like the little kid I am.
As the night time festivities began, Arantxa and I hit up Las Ramblas. It was such a fun street to walk down, I can’t recall exactly what made the street so fun. Maybe just all of the tourists gathered up in one area? Or the fascinating things being sold? Or just the fun energy of the crowd? I can’t remember, but it was a blast. Halfway through we stopped at this huge indoor market and spent a decent amount of time there. It was like nothing you’d find in America. It was very touristy and had fresh fruit, seafood, and traditional Spanish things being sold at several different booths. I am already prepared to go back next time and spend more money there than I should.
Sunday, our last day. To my surprise, we somehow managed to get up and going at 7:00am again, woot woot! After breakfast, we took to the metro and were headed to Park Guell. This was by far my favorite touristy thing we did. If I lived in Barcelona, I’d be the creepy lady who spends all my time in a park and this would be my park. I seriously could’ve spent all day there. It was breathtaking. If you are planning a trip to Barcelona put this on the top of your bucket list! If you are on a budget like we were, there is a free entrance on one side of the park which still allows you to have access to most of it. After spending most of our day there we headed back for our luggage, hugged goodbye, and departed. I ended the perfect beach weekend with a six hour bus ride home without wifi. Once I got to Madrid, I took the metro home which took an hour, getting me home by midnight which left me just enough time to get my beauty sleep in and work the next day!
My weekend in Barcelona has been the highlight of my time in Spain and I’ll be counting down the days until I go there again!