Our final destination for Spring Break 2010 was Barcelona. Even though we were slightly disheveled after the mix up in the Madrid Airport, we safely arrived at the apartment our fellow DGs from Wisconsin, Molly, Rachel and Laura. They were ready to greet us with a cool beverage as soon as we arrived and we got dressed quickly because we only had one night with most of our friends in Barcelona because they were all leaving to do their own traveling the next day. We went to a bar called Chuppitos to start the night off which is basically a bar full of hundreds of different kinds of shots you can take. I think their motto should be “when in doubt, light it on fire” because that’s pretty much what they did with all of them. There was also a highly inappropriate shot entitled, “The Monica Lewinsky” but I won’t go into detail about that one.
Thursday morning we got up early to have Molly show us some of the famous sights of Barcelona. She took us to La Boqueria which was a huge outdoor market where they are had the freshest fruit, vegetables, fish and basically anything else you could want from all different vendors. We treated ourselves to smoothies for one euro which were quite delicious. We also got to see some street performers on the way there and Spinks and I got a picture with a really funny but slightly terrifying gargoyle man (see picture).
Friday morning we went to a tapas restaurant for brunch to try some local Spanish cuisine. The restaurant had a bunch of different crustinis or mini sandwiches that you picked up with toothpicks and at the end of your meal you were just charged by how many toothpicks were left on your plate. Each tapa had so many different fresh flavors of cheese, fish and vegetables and I felt like I was back at the Icon in Madison (but better-sorry guys). After lunch we had to move apartments because Molly was leaving for Venice for the weekend so Laura and I went to stay with my friend from high school, Mike. Mike’s roommate also had friends coming to visit him so Laura and I felt like we were living in a frat house for the weekend since there were about 8 boys there in total.
Since Mike was still recovering from his strep throat, Laura and I decided to do some more sight seeing on our own. We went to Park Guell and Sagrada Familia which is the famous church that is taking centuries to finish. The park is designed by the famous Spanish architecht, Gaudi who is known for his incredibly innovative and modern designs. We decided we were sick of sightseeing and had seen most of the famous sights in Barcelona already so we made a pact to spend the next two days we were there just lying at the beach. Best decision Ever.
Saturday we went to the beach with some of Mike’s roommates (since Mike was still “sick” aka being a big loser…) and had a great day just relaxing in the sun. It was Barcelona’s first really warm weekend so the beach was absolutely packed. They were a ton of vendors wandering through the beach towels selling everything from coconut slices to fake sun glasses. I would say I’m ashamed to admit that Laura and I each bought five euro massages from the Asian ladies who were pestering everyone with their endless questions of “Massaje? Massaje?”, but it actually ended up being one of the best five euros I’ve spent this trip. A massage while basking in the sun? How much more relaxing can you get?
Saturday night we went to what is probably the coolest club I have ever seen. It’s called Razzmatazz and is 5 stories high with different rooms on each floor that each have their own music playing to go with their theme. There were endless winding staircases that took you outside to get to the different rooms and it basically summed up true Barcelona Clubbing at its finest. Mike had a miraculous recover and was able to make it out that night and I am proud to say that we were able to watch the Barcelona sunrise after we got off the metro on our way home from Razzmatazz.
Sunday we just went back to the beach for the day so we could at least come home with a little color. We spent the whole day there but grudgingly left around 5pm to catch our flight. After yet another easy commute home, we arrived in Florence around 2:30 in the morning. Thanks Ryanair. Can’t wait to take you to Munich in a couple of hours as I write this. I will be leaving my apartment at 2:55am and not actually arriving in Munich until noon at the earliest. However, I’ve heard a little rumor about some volcano erupting in Iceland causing over 3,000 flights to be cancelled so I’m hoping we aren’t going to be one of those lucky flights. First all these earthquakes and now this? I’m telling you, this 2012 stuff is really starting to creep me out….
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