I thought I would dedicate a post to describing my experience in Barcelona, Spain. When many people think of Spain, Barcelona is the first city that comes to mind, and rightfully so. Right along with Madrid and Valencia, Barcelona is one of the most populous cities in this country, home to one of the greatest football clubs in the world, and home to some of the most incredible landmarks I’ve ever seen in my life. Without a doubt, Barcelona was the city I most wanted to visit within Spain, since I have always heard so many great things about it, and according to the basic research I had done on the city, everything looked incredible. Luckily enough, I was also able to plan my trip to Barcelona for the Halloween weekend. I have been fortunate enough to visit several cities throughout Spain and throughout Europe (which I’ll be talking about in my next post), but there was something about Barça that really stuck with me. Madrid truly feels like home to me, it is where I feel the most comfortable, safe, and happy, yet Barcelona was a very very close second.
Although my time spent in the city was incredible, getting there was very tough. While there are various ways of getting to the city, Alexa and I chose to take an 8 HOUR BUS RIDE. Although it sounds awful, it really wasn’t that bad. There are actually a lot of options for long-distance transportation within Spain that don’t require you to take an expensive flight. Yes there are cheap flight options such as Ryanair, Easy Jet, etc., but even those airlines still require you to book way in advance in order to actually get an affordable deal. If you want to do some long-distance, last-minute traveling, services like Spain’s ALSA bus company and Renfe Train Systems have always worked out very conveniently and affordable. The ALSA bus that we ended up taking to Barcelona was actually pretty comfortable, and you can actually get a decent sleep on it. Just ask Alexa…..
She’s gonna kill me.
Alexa and I stood at a hostel that was in a great central location, and that had a very friendly staff and great accommodations. For those of you that don’t know, hostels are pretty much highly affordable “hotels”, only more often than not, your “hotel room” will also have 10 or more complete strangers living in your room with you. Does this sound sketchy? Yes. Is it sketchy? Usually. But don’t let this deter you from ever considering staying at one. You can meet a lot of great people, security for these hostels is usually always perfectly fine, and you save a ton of money.
Because there are so many important and amazing landmarks to see in Barcelona, we took one of those double-decker tour buses to cover as much ground as possible. This isn’t my preferred method of touring a city, but Barca is enormous, and with so much to see, I think the tour buses were worth it. It was also great since we were able to get on and off the bus as we pleased. I won’t get into detail on every single thing that was visited, but I’ll highlight some of my favorite destinations.
Park Guell was a massive and extremely beautiful park, that was full of modernist architecture and designs. Antoni Gaudi, was the genius behind the beautiful architecture of the Sagrada Familia Cathedral, mosiac benches, and other forms of architecture through Park Guell and the city of Barcelona. His unique style sets the overall artistic tone that you see in many ways throughout the city.
Unique architecture at Park Guell
Gingerbread-like Houses in Park Guell
A view of the famous mosaic benches that overlooks the entire city
Unfortunately, we visited Barcelona right when the beach season came to an end, but that didn’t stop us from visiting the gorgeous shorefronts. These great beaches definitely give Barcelona some extra points when it comes to tourism, and the Mediterranean looks incredible no matter what time of year it is.
One of the beautiful beachfront restaurants we ate at
Barceloneta Beach
Visiting Camp Nou, home of the FC Barcelona football club, was truly a dream come true for me. I love sports, and getting the opportunity to visit such a famous stadium for such a storied team was an unforgettable experience.
Camp Nou
Getting into the spirit of things
Those in the Catalan region celebrate Halloween within a 3-day span. On October 31st, the events unfold much like they would anywhere else, with people of all ages dressing up and enjoying a really fun night in the lively streets of the city. For people in Spain, this day is known as Dia de las Brujas (day of the witches). On the 1st November, All Saints Day, Barcelona holds an amazing and traditional festival called La Castanyada, where you can treat yourself to chestnuts and other delicious delicacies, while enjoying live musical performances. Finally, the 3-day festivities end with Dia de los Muertos, which is day in which the day in which many remember and pray for the deceased.
SWAT Team on patrol in the streets of Barcelona. Also, see if you can find the thing in this picture that is completely fake (it’s the hat)
My time in this gigantic and incredible city was truly a time that I will never forget. Although my visit was short, I was still lucky enough to see and experience so much. Visiting the second biggest city in Spain served to enhance my overall appreciation of this unbelievable country, and also helped me to understand the diversity of the different regions within Spain. This should go without saying, but I highly recommend visiting this marvel of a city at least once in your life.
Aaron, a Political Science major and International Relations Minor, has wanted to experience a Study Abroad opportunity in Europe, with hopes of also enhancing his Spanish-speaking skills. He is thrilled to take political and international courses in Madrid, Spain this upcoming semester!
Barça! Barça! Barça!
Hello again everyone,
I thought I would dedicate a post to describing my experience in Barcelona, Spain. When many people think of Spain, Barcelona is the first city that comes to mind, and rightfully so. Right along with Madrid and Valencia, Barcelona is one of the most populous cities in this country, home to one of the greatest football clubs in the world, and home to some of the most incredible landmarks I’ve ever seen in my life. Without a doubt, Barcelona was the city I most wanted to visit within Spain, since I have always heard so many great things about it, and according to the basic research I had done on the city, everything looked incredible. Luckily enough, I was also able to plan my trip to Barcelona for the Halloween weekend. I have been fortunate enough to visit several cities throughout Spain and throughout Europe (which I’ll be talking about in my next post), but there was something about Barça that really stuck with me. Madrid truly feels like home to me, it is where I feel the most comfortable, safe, and happy, yet Barcelona was a very very close second.
Although my time spent in the city was incredible, getting there was very tough. While there are various ways of getting to the city, Alexa and I chose to take an 8 HOUR BUS RIDE. Although it sounds awful, it really wasn’t that bad. There are actually a lot of options for long-distance transportation within Spain that don’t require you to take an expensive flight. Yes there are cheap flight options such as Ryanair, Easy Jet, etc., but even those airlines still require you to book way in advance in order to actually get an affordable deal. If you want to do some long-distance, last-minute traveling, services like Spain’s ALSA bus company and Renfe Train Systems have always worked out very conveniently and affordable. The ALSA bus that we ended up taking to Barcelona was actually pretty comfortable, and you can actually get a decent sleep on it. Just ask Alexa…..
She’s gonna kill me.
Alexa and I stood at a hostel that was in a great central location, and that had a very friendly staff and great accommodations. For those of you that don’t know, hostels are pretty much highly affordable “hotels”, only more often than not, your “hotel room” will also have 10 or more complete strangers living in your room with you. Does this sound sketchy? Yes. Is it sketchy? Usually. But don’t let this deter you from ever considering staying at one. You can meet a lot of great people, security for these hostels is usually always perfectly fine, and you save a ton of money.
Because there are so many important and amazing landmarks to see in Barcelona, we took one of those double-decker tour buses to cover as much ground as possible. This isn’t my preferred method of touring a city, but Barca is enormous, and with so much to see, I think the tour buses were worth it. It was also great since we were able to get on and off the bus as we pleased. I won’t get into detail on every single thing that was visited, but I’ll highlight some of my favorite destinations.
Park Guell was a massive and extremely beautiful park, that was full of modernist architecture and designs. Antoni Gaudi, was the genius behind the beautiful architecture of the Sagrada Familia Cathedral, mosiac benches, and other forms of architecture through Park Guell and the city of Barcelona. His unique style sets the overall artistic tone that you see in many ways throughout the city.
Unique architecture at Park Guell
Gingerbread-like Houses in Park Guell
A view of the famous mosaic benches that overlooks the entire city
Unfortunately, we visited Barcelona right when the beach season came to an end, but that didn’t stop us from visiting the gorgeous shorefronts. These great beaches definitely give Barcelona some extra points when it comes to tourism, and the Mediterranean looks incredible no matter what time of year it is.
One of the beautiful beachfront restaurants we ate at
Barceloneta Beach
Visiting Camp Nou, home of the FC Barcelona football club, was truly a dream come true for me. I love sports, and getting the opportunity to visit such a famous stadium for such a storied team was an unforgettable experience.
Camp Nou
Getting into the spirit of things
Those in the Catalan region celebrate Halloween within a 3-day span. On October 31st, the events unfold much like they would anywhere else, with people of all ages dressing up and enjoying a really fun night in the lively streets of the city. For people in Spain, this day is known as Dia de las Brujas (day of the witches). On the 1st November, All Saints Day, Barcelona holds an amazing and traditional festival called La Castanyada, where you can treat yourself to chestnuts and other delicious delicacies, while enjoying live musical performances. Finally, the 3-day festivities end with Dia de los Muertos, which is day in which the day in which many remember and pray for the deceased.
SWAT Team on patrol in the streets of Barcelona. Also, see if you can find the thing in this picture that is completely fake (it’s the hat)
My time in this gigantic and incredible city was truly a time that I will never forget. Although my visit was short, I was still lucky enough to see and experience so much. Visiting the second biggest city in Spain served to enhance my overall appreciation of this unbelievable country, and also helped me to understand the diversity of the different regions within Spain. This should go without saying, but I highly recommend visiting this marvel of a city at least once in your life.
Hasta Luego,
Aaron Marrero
Aaron Marrero
Aaron, a Political Science major and International Relations Minor, has wanted to experience a Study Abroad opportunity in Europe, with hopes of also enhancing his Spanish-speaking skills. He is thrilled to take political and international courses in Madrid, Spain this upcoming semester!
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