Barcelona

So since I have been done with classes I have had a lot of free time on my hands. I had about six days off from class and I wanted to take this opportunity to travel. I knew I wanted to go somewhere fairly close and cheap, but also awesome. I ended up deciding on Barcelona.

Because everything is so cheap here, the ticket to Barcelona was only 30 euros and the flight back was only 40 euros. I found a really cheap hostel that was only 23 euros a night and was right on the beach with free breakfast. Originally my friend and I were supposed to go, but unfortunately she missed her flight so I ended up going alone. At first I was pretty anxious because I have never gone on a trip all by myself. I really wanted to see Barcelona and was determined to go regardless of the situation.

I ended up leaving on a Thursday and planned to arrive on that Sunday. I took the bus to the airport and breezed through security. By this point I was feeling very confident even though I hadn’t left Oviedo yet. Once on the plane, the trip only took an hour and afterward I found a bus to take me to the center of Barcelona. From there I wasn’t sure quite where to go so I just ended up taking a taxi the rest of the way to the hostel.

The room I got in the hostel had a total of nine beds in it which was all girls. I checked in very easily and then went up to my room. Most of the girls were Americans, but there were some from England and France. As soon as I got there I met a girl from Chile who was sleeping in the bed above mine. She was really nice and spoke pretty good English. I told her I was there alone and she insisted that I come out with her and her friends that night. One of them was also from Chile and the other was from Santander which is close to Oviedo.

They asked what I could like to drink and we ended up just getting some cheap bottles of wine to split. Apparently it was a full moon that night so there was a “fiesta de luna llena” (full moon party) on the beach. Because our hostel is right on the beach, all we had to do was walk straight down along the shore which was beautiful at night. I was a bit far and we were having trouble finding it. Finally we decided to give up and just sit. Because they were studying English and I was studying Spanish, they would talk to me in English and I would answer in Spanish. It was exciting to keep practicing and I am noticing that speaking Spanish now is taking less and less thinking. I don’t have to really try to form sentences in my head and I can just speak.

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After awhile I sitting and talking, I looked up on my map where this party was. Stupidly we realized it was right on the other side of the port we were sitting next to. So we ended up getting to the party after all. There was a huge bonfire and everyone was was sitting around and dancing. There were also many people playing the drums. It was such a great atmosphere to see all these happy people celebrating together.

Afterward, we went to McDonald’s to grab a snack because they open 24 hours and then headed back. The crazy thing about Barcelona is that almost everyone speaks English. I think it is because there are so many tourists, especially american.

The next morning I ended up getting up fairly early to eat breakfast and also because everyone else was up and its impossible to sleep in a room full of nine girls that are talking. I decided to go to the beach all day because it was right next to me. I went from 11:00 to 4:30 and got so much color. There was a heat advisory that day so there were many announcements reminding people to be aware of the heat.

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My friends from Oviedo were going to be in Barcelona that night and the next day so I was happy to see them and have someone to site see with. After the beach I met them out for dinner where we ordered only tapas and sangria which was the best combination. All the restaurants in Barcelona are beautiful and it was so nice to catch up with them. After dinner we walked around to explore and find gelato. There are two beautiful fountains in the Plaza de Catalunya and we even witnessed a proposal! which is crazy.

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I took the metro home which is just the subway. I was scared at first because I have not had the best experiences with public transportation, but it was actually very easy and I got home fairly quickly.

Saturday was my last day there which was sad. I can’t believe how fast the time went. I woke up around 7:00 that morning so that we could all go site seeing. First we went to Parc Guell which is a part that Gaudi designed. He has many buildings there with such a distinct style. From the top of the theater, you can see the whole city of Barcelona and the beach beyond that.

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On the way back from Parc Guell, we stopped at all the souvenir shops. I actually found things for my family and friends that were fairly cheap and pretty great gifts. We then headed to La Sagrada Familia which is one of the most famous buildings in the world. They told us that we were have to wait 4 hours which was a bummer, but also gave us to time to do other things. We bought out tickets and then went for lunch. After lunch we had more time sow decided to go see the other two houses that Gaudi designed which were just down the street. The first was Casa Mile which was just beautiful and the second was Casa Batllo which is also extremely famous. Even from only standing outside it is really something to see. By this time, it was already time for us to head back and enter La Sagrada Familia. Going into it, I really didn’t know what to expect. I knew it was going to be beautiful, but I was even prepared for how incredible it was. Going inside was like a dream. It was amazing that it didn’t even look real. There were stained glass windows everywhere and so much detail in every wall. The light shown from just the right way to color the entire room.

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I am really happy I ended up going inside even if it was 15 euros. Of course we went to the Souvenir shop again and bought more because it was so incredible.

We then decided to go to the beach for the rest of the day. The Mediterranean sea is really unique. the water is a teal color and is it the perfect temperature. The beach I was on was so beautiful, it just didn’t seem real. Our friends ended up meeting us there and we went for dinner. It was the fourth of July, but being in another country, no one celebrated it. It was just a normal day in Barcelona which was weird for me.

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We went to a restaurant and ordered Paella, as I have still yet to have it in Spain. There were two huge dishes of paella and we all shared. It was so good and you could tell it was fresh; a great way to end my trip to Barcelona.

The next morning I had to get up early to catch a flight back. I had no problem taking the metro to the Plaza and finding the bus to the airport. When I arrived at the airport, it was huge. I wasn’t really sure exactly where to go, but I eventually found my way. I went though security and then had to wait two hours for my flight. It was a bit delayed, but I didn’t mind.

Once on the plane, the flight was only an hour. I was flying Ryanair which I had heard bad reviews about, but it was so cheap that I couldn’t pass it up. The whole flight was fine until the ending. We caught some turbulence and it was a bit rough. The landing was even rougher as the plane was all over the place. Luckily we got there safely and that is all that matters.

I actually flew into Santander which is a few towns over from Oviedo because they had no flights directly to Oviedo. Once there I found the city bus to the bus station and then had to find my bus back to Oviedo. I bought my ticket on Thursday so that I wouldn’t have to worry about it when I got there. My ticket was for a 3:30 bus, but I didn’t see it on the board of departures. I asked the information desk and she informed me that I bought it ticket for 3:30 am not 3:30 pm. I forget that in Spain they use military time so 3:30 in the afternoon is actually 15:30. I instantly started freaking out and just thinking how was I going to get home?

The other bad thing was that I was running out of money and only had 10 euros left to get me home. Luckily, they had another bus that was going to Oviedo at 3:30, but I had to buy another ticket. I found enough money in my wallet to pay and was so happy that I had enough.

The bus ride was a total of three hours back to Oviedo and once there I took the city bus back to my apartment. Unfortunately I got on a different bus then normal and the ride was about half an hour, but I was happy I didn’t have to walk.

Overall I think that my trip to Barcelona was very successful and I am so proud of myself to doing this all by myself and getting to see the beautiful city.

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My name is Ashely Sirna. I am a junior at SUNY New Paltz and am double majoring in Spanish and psychology with a minor in disaster studies. This summer I am studying abroad in Oviedo, Spain for two months. I am very excited to learn about the culture and improve my Spanish!

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