We have been in Barcelona for a little over a week now, but in some ways, it has seemed like much longer than that because we are experiencing and learning new things each day that we are here. Last night my roommates and I were talking about how every day this week we did something exciting and fun.
We visited some amazing places this week. On Thursday, we toured Casa Milla, which is one of Gaudi’s most famous architectural works. It made me appreciate the pure talent and creativity that Gaudi had. One of my favorite parts about the tour was seeing the model apartment units because it gave me a visual of what upper-class families’ homes looked like in the 1900s. We also toured Montserrat on Friday, which was amazing. I had no idea that monks currently live at Montserrat and use the facilities there. Walking through the church was incredible. I have visited numerous cathedrals and monasteries with my family, but there was something different about visiting the cathedral with my friends and being able to talk about it afterward. We talked about how amazing it is that such an extravagant building was created for the sole purpose of worshiping the Lord. It was so special to sit in the pews and take in the beauty of the building. After Montserrat, we visited a winery called Freixenet, where sparkling white wine called cava is produced. It was fascinating to learn how wine is made from start to finish, and there was just something exciting about drinking cava in the courtyard of the winery where it was produced.
One of my favorite days this week was our day trip to Rosas and Cataques. In Rosas, we took a boat ride out to a cove where we swam in the bright blue ocean and it was SURREAL. You could see the ocean floor because the water was so clear. Cadaques was also amazing. We didn’t spend any time laying out on the beach because we wanted to walk around and explore the town. I couldn’t get over how beautiful it was with all of its white buildings and blue shutters. It also had the cutest cafes, restaurants, and shops.
We met some amazing people on our trip and it was so fun getting to know them and learn about what brought them to Barcelona. We met one girl from New York and one girl from Switzerland who are studying abroad for the summer. We also met a girl from Belgium who is getting her master’s degree in Barcelona, and her boyfriend from Mexico was our tour guide! Talking to them makes me want to learn another language and travel more to experience the world. Our friend from Belgium speaks French and English fluently, and as soon as she moved to Barcelona, she learned Spanish by watching cartoons in English with Spanish subtitles. Now she speaks fluent Spanish! I just love talking to people from different countries and learning about their cultures.
After our first week in Barcelona, I am even more excited to continue experiencing the culture and taking trips to different parts of Spain. This is the trip of a lifetime and I am soaking it all in!
