Barcelona

My school had Fall Break for students starting Friday October 8th to Sunday October 16th. I had planned out Fall Break trip with four other girls: Maggie, Judy, Nikki, and Dana.

Our first stop was Barcelona. We arrived late Thursday evening after some delays due to a Ryan Air strike. We settled into our beautiful Airbnb right off La Rambla (or Las Ramblas… not sure) then set off for some sangria before turning in for an early night.

On Friday we woke up early and went to La Boqueria, an outdoor market down the street, for breakfast. I had some amazing fresh juice. Then we set out to the Picasso Museum where we were happily surprised to receive free admission because we were university students. My favorite part of the Picasso museum was the rooms on his Las Meninas series. Then we had paninis for lunch and spent a wonderful afternoon shopping. For dinner we had some much needed tacos from La Boqueria (I REALLY missed avocados and spicy food).

Friday night

On Saturday we went to La Boqueria for lunch (and more juice!). Then we headed up the hill to Parc Guell which was amazingly beautiful and had an unbelievable view of the city. Although we didn’t buy tickets for the famous mosaic benches, it was really great to experience Guadi design. We hiked to the other end of the park and onto a platform with a large stone cross. The view here was even better and I would definitely call it the highlight of the day. We had some nice tapas for dinner even though it was too cold to eat outside.

Parc Guell

Sunday was our last day in Barcelona. It was both my favorite day of the trip and the most challenging. We spent the morning at Sagrada Familia which was breathtaking and even made me tear up a little bit. My neck hurt from staring at the ceiling for so long.

Sagrada Familia

Then we set off to the Arc de Triomphe which was magnificent (and also red). Next we walked to Citudella Park which was full of people. There were families and couples and groups of friends doing all sorts of things- picnicking, working out, dancing, just laying out in the sun. We laid in the grass in the sun for a bit then walked over to Barceloneta, which is a neighborhood right on the beach. It’s a very touristy area with a few open air markets and street vendors.

Citudella Park

My friends and I were sitting on some steps enjoying some churros dipped in chocolate. We were watching a street performer play with bubbles with some children. When we got up to leave, I realized my purse had been stolen. This meant that my phone, wallet, sunglasses, keys, IDs, etc. were all missing. Thankfully my passport was at the apartment, but the keys had been stolen. We scrambled to find a police station, but they were all closed because it was Sunday. We were able to get to the main station and report the theft, and a police officer called our airbnb host. A few hours later, we were finally able to gain access to our apartment. We were all exhausted and had to get up early to fly to Amsterdam in the morning, so we called it an early night.

Overall, the experience of getting my purse stolen was not as shocking or jarring as I thought it would be, but I strangely miss the things I will never see again, like the emerald green lining inside my wallet, my sunburst key chain, and the way the stitching on my sunglasses case was fraying on the left side.

But mostly I am thankful for my parents who cancelled all my cards and wiped my phone remotely and wired me money and did all the things necessary that I couldn’t do myself in that moment. I am also grateful for my friends who held my hand as I cried into my scarf at the Barcelona police station and lent me money and forgave me for missing our reservation for paella.

Despite all this, I think Barcelona felt the most alive and was one of the most beautiful cities that I have been able to visit.