DAY ONE (Wed. 20th) Happy Fall Break!
“Happy Fall Break Mary!,” stated Larry in the middle of Barcelona’s subway system. Most college students spend their fall break catching up on sleep and enjoying the relaxation of home. Of course, I had to be different. (Sorry Mom.) Instead, I started my fall break by waiting at gate A25 to board a direct flight to Barcelona, Spain. After a stressful week, I was excited to leave the country as well as enjoy the culture of Spain! I’m very impatient so eight hours of flying made me very anxious. At least, I had an empty row to myself. When I got off the plane, I was nervous that Larry would be waiting with a moped. Yet, Larry assured me that Barcelona is quite different than Heidelberg, Germany. Instead, he surprised me with a banana and chocolate, besides being incredible (Larry added this), he definitely knows my eating habits. Larry was ready to start my grand tour of the city and he knew exactly what I needed to stay awake. Our tour began at the Sagrada Familia which we later visited but is directly across from Larry’s front door. It is funny because he is not fazed by this immense piece of architecture wonder since living here for a few months, yet millions of tourists come to gaze. We literally spent the morning walking up the Avenue de Gaudi. The walk was gorgeous, but very hilly. Our first stop was the Hospital de la Santa Creu. The hospital is under construction, but the architecture is incredible. I wonder if the patient’s attitudes are more positive based on their beautiful surroundings?
LARRY:
I knew the best thing to do when Mary had arrived was to keep her moving and awake. With her MAC completion the following week I had 2 goals all week, to keep her healthy and having fun. The nerves as I waited for her at the airport were incredible. I knew she would have emotions of vary degrees running through her mind and I was just excited and ready to go. Like horses are the derby, we started the week off running and now that I look back it was well worth it! Avenue De Gaudi runs in an odd diagonal direction from the Sagrada Familia….at the top is the incredible Hospital de la Santa Creu. Though under restoration, this campus was designed by Domenech Montaner, one of the greatest Catalan designers of the modernism movement. The diagonal direction road of Avenue de Gaudi is partly thanks to Montaner despising the grids of the city and building the hospital on an angle.
MARY:
Our walk continued with an extended park tour of Parc del Guinardo, Parc del Carmel, and Parc Guell. We stopped at the top Parc del Guinardo for lunch and to admire the great view of the city. The views were unbelievable since you could see from the mountains to the sea. However, Parc Guell, designed by Gaudi, was my favorite. Gaudi’s unique style is captivating and I loved the lizard statue.
In the evening, we met up with some of Larry’s friends for a Barcelona soccer game! The stadium was huge and roaring with fans! The Barcelona club team won and even scored a goal during the last few seconds of the game. I am excited to see what adventures the next week brings. Hopefully, Larry’s Spanish skills will make up for my Spanish vocabulary, which includes hello and the light. (Hola y La Luz)
LARRY:
The day really turned out to be incredible and Mary was a trooper to say the least. Parc Guell seemed to have been her favorite part. Originally built for a wealthy business man, aspects of the park are just unbelievable. From the goofy style houses at the entrance in traditional Gaudi design, the famous waved bench covered in broken colored tiles, the “Doric temple” with 86 stone columns which was originally built to house a market and the exotic mosaic roofs which Mary really enjoyed. It is nice to finally be able to share the city with someone.
The Barca game was incredible! Sorry Messiah, this was an interesting game….between the people, the energy and the game, we were just enjoying our time. Luckily Mary got a nap in so she came alive and really enjoyed herself. It was well worth attending and being a part of the experience…plus they are one of the best teams in the world
DAY Two (Thurs. 21th) Gotta Run
MARY:
Larry had class in the morning, so I decided to go for a run along the beach. Running next to the yellow breeches by Messiah is nice, but it is easily trumped by the Mediterranean Sea. In the afternoon, I met up with Larry and we walked down Passaig de Gracia, a famous shopping street. During our walk, we saw the Pedrera, an apartment building, designed by Gaudi. After Passaig de Gracia, we went to Plaza Catalunya to complete one of my check list items, kiss by a fountain. Before heading home we walked down Las Ramblas, which was decorated with restaurants, more shops, and human statues. Also, we checked out the Boquiera Market. The market had a very similar atmosphere as the Reading Market Terminal. We tried the fruit smoothies and picked up some candy treats. I had to try the black licorice for Dampa, my grandfather.
In the evening, we met up with Larry’s friends to celebrate Miriam’s birthday. His friends are so nice and they immediately welcomed me into their group. They seem to know a lot about me...I wonder what Larry has been telling them! We had dinner at a Japanese buffet. Everyone left stuffed! After dinner, I was able to meet up with Diana and Chris, friends of mine from freshman year at Messiah. It was crazy to be reunited in Spain!
LARRY:
Waking up early was exactly what the doctor ordered. I had class in the morning and I knew Mary wanted to go for a run. One of my favorite parts of Barcelona is being able to run along the beach in October. Crazy enough there are still nude people on the beach this time of year. It is really a year around nice weather kind of place. For the experience of complete solidarity on the along the gorgeous Mediterranean, I guided Mary in the right direction and headed out for a class. As nervous as I was, I knew traveling alone in a foreign country tends to be an adventure. One of my second favorite parts about Barcelona is that you can walk just about any way as I proved to Mary yesterday. This afternoon I wanted to show her my walk to school and some of Barcelona’s most famous parts. Our journey began on Passaig De Gracia which is one of the wealthiest parts of the city. The neighborhood of Gracia is very young and upbeat which is incredible. I have 2 good friends that live there, so it is common for us to chill in and around Gracia. The Passaig runs from the bottom of Gracia to the center of the city and is loaded with a ton of designer shops, nice restaurants and things to take pictures of. I walk down this every day to class and have yet to see someone carrying bags…it is a place to see and be seen I guess. The Passaig de Gracia dumps out into the Plaza Catalunya which is one of the biggest plaza’s in Barcelona. There is a Corte Ingles which is a huge mall, banks and fountains. Typically there are a ton of events, exhibitions and pigeons in the plaza so I knew this was a must see! J Our feet were tired and we wanted a break so we only took one more walk down Las Ramblas…home of tourist central and pick pocket heaven. Las Ramblas is the most famous street in Barcelona for its history as a commercial center, animal shops and human statues….it now has a title as being the biggest hot spot of pick pocketers. Mary loved this street with all the energy and the Boquiera…the oldest market in Barcelona!
DAY Three (Fri. 22th) All Aboard
MARY:
Today really challenged my Spanish limits. Larry’s group was heading to Girona for a class trip. Due to insurance coverage, I was not able to ride the bus with the group. This left me in Barcelona with only two options. Spend the day in Barcelona with no help or get on a train to Girona. With some guidance and a map from Larry, I was on my way to explore another city.
I used the Barcelona metro and train system without any issues. Still seeing Larry walk up to the train station was a huge relief. We walked around the historic district and met up with Larry’s friends along the city wall. Before, heading home we stopped at one of my favorite places, a book store. Oddly enough, I found my new favorite children’s author, Leo Lionni. My advisor has been reading his books to my class throughout the fall semester. I came upon Little Blue Little Yellow, Pequeno Azul y Pequeno Amarillo, in the book store! A must buy for my advisor. Larry and I ended our afternoon in Girona with an incredible cup of chocolate and coffee gelato.
LARRY:
Planning Mary’s trip was exciting but I knew there was a lot I wanted to show her and experience with her. The thrill of waiting for her overwhelmed my mind and inevitably forced me to look past a very big detail. I had forgotten all about my day trip to Girona and Figueres in northern Spain. This was our last group trip and one I didn’t want to miss because the Dali Museum in Figueres sounded incredible. I quickly scrambled into planning mode and set Mary up with detailed plans on how to meet us in Girona after the museum which was in the next town. The Dali Museum was incredible and it is crazy to think the whole thing is filled with only one artist’s work. I was rather impressed to be honest.
The next stop to Girona was just as interesting. This northern town filled with history and hilly cobblestone streets was incredible! The tight windy alleys of rough roads and incredible buildings were a pleasure to explore for an evening. A great day is best topped off with a relaxing train ride home and a brief nap. Its only day three and we both are getting tired. Do we stop now and miss some of the events and sites of the city, or do we keep plugging away and figure it out later.
DAY Four (Sat. 23th) Twelve to Twelve!
MARY:
Well waking up at noon always adds more stress into my day. We decided to start with a workout along the Mediterranean Sea. After completing the hard work out, we took a stroll along the beach. The weather was great and we decided to take a short swim. I am very excited that I can officially say that I went swimming in the Mediterranean Sea! I even found a cool lifeguard stand that reminded me of my recent life guarding certification. Around nine, we headed out for dinner. We stopped at the Plaza Espana to see a fountain show. Sadly, the fountain is under construction until mid-November. Larry promised to take pictures for me. We headed to dinner after ten at the Plaza Real. We had paella, croquettes, and Cataylan dessert. The dessert was my favorite, as always. The bottom layer was hot chocolate with a slap of nut ice cream on top. The top was covered by Cataylan crème, which tastes like burnt marshmallows. It was delicious, but I generously shared my dessert with Larry. I gave him a two spoon limit. Afterwards, we met up with Larry’s friends at Mary’s Place. What a perfect name!
LARRY:
Inspiration for today’s blog came from our conversation at dinner tonight. After waking up at 12 and not finishing dinner until about 12 I just knew that today was a 12 to 12 kinda day. Running along the Mediterranean has been one of my favorite aspects of the city. I knew that I had to take Mary at least once while she was here on the run I usually take throughout the week. Starting off at the Sagrada Familia, down the Diagonal and across the beach and back up La Marina, it’s an incredible run to say the least. By the time we got to the beach, Mary let the the views get to her….next thing I knew she was playing life guard and swimming in the Sea pretending to save people drowning. She definitely enjoyed the morning so far!
An afternoon of shopping and some more exploring and our day was only getting better. Dinner tonight was at an incredible restaurant called Les Quinzes Nits. There are a few of these types of restaurants in Barcelona and Madrid and the way they work is that they bring in training chefs to cook. Essentially you get an incredible meal at an unbeatable price. All I wanted Mary to be able to taste was Paella so that she had the full Spanish experience.
To top off the night…taking her for some dancing at Mary’s Place was a definite hit.
DAY Five (Sun. 24th) To the Mountain!
MARY:
Everyday Larry points across the mountains to a building and say, “Tibidabo, we will go there.” So today was finally the day. We took the metro to the base of the mountain and started hiking for about twenty minutes. We found a trail filled with bikers and runners. The atmosphere was great and the view of the city was incredible. Everyone seemed to be on an athlete’s high. The trail was completely flat, which was great for our sore legs. However, that quickly changed. About twenty-five minutes into our run, the trail decided to make a steep turn. Larry and I kept trudging up the mountain. I refused to stop running and finally after forty-five minutes, made it to the top. Getting to the top was a huge fitness accomplishment. The trail was definitely a steep climb and windy. I was ready for Tibidabo two, but Larry declared that we would never be running up that hill ever again.
LARRY:
Sundays are always an adventure in Barcelona. Typically many of the museums are free and there is a lot to do. The morning was spent just as Mary described. Honestly, the views from the top of Tibidabo were breathtaking. Today and tomorrow are the last full days I had with Mary so we had to make them worth our while. After our journey to the peak of Barcelona, where it is said that Jesus was tempted by the devil and would be given Barcelona as his personal city, we headed to the gothic quarters of the city. Mary and I walked all throughout the Gothic Quarters so that she could see what Barcelona once looked like back in the day.
We walked through the streets of the historic quarters, did a ton of shopping and headed to the Picasso Museum so that Mary got some type of education for the classes she skipped. It is crazy to think how fast Mary’s time here has flown by…she really seemed to have an incredible week, and I know that she got to see everything Barcelona had to offer. Tonight was a night to relax, start to pack and to get some work done. Especially after dinner which was spent at my neighbor Eira’s house, I knew Mary got the Spanish and Catalan Experience…All the sights, foods and experiences.
DAY Six (Mon. 25th) Triple Header
LARRY:
Our last day together…where did the time go? Today we had a ton to do to make this trip complete. Amongst packing, shopping and exploring we had to make it to the three top tourist attractions in Barcelona. First stop was Casa Batllo. A bit expensive since it is privately owned but it is nice to know your donations for entrance are solely what goes into maintaining and restoring the Casa Batllo. This home was designed by the great Gaudi for a businessman years and years ago on Passaig de Gracia which happened to be one of the most prestigious roads in Barcelona. The house itself was incredible and Mary really enjoyed it. Rounded walls, circular windows and incredible colors. The house was designed off a nautical theme, and everything was created off this very idea.
Next stop was the Pedrera, an apartment building designed by Gaudi with an original apartment still intact from the 20’s. This is probably one of the second most popular sights in Barcelona and it was absolute a wonder. The design of the building and roof with all of its curves and details was well designed. The apartment was Mary’s favorite part I think. She seemed to love the historic aspect of the apartment with all the old antiques designed by Gaudi and a look into what life might have looked like in years past. We were on the move so we had to keep our day going.
Last stop was by far my favorite. The Sagrada Familia, across from my home and designed by the great Gaudi himself. This magnificent architectural wonder has been being built since 1892 and isn’t supposed to be completed until maybe 2025…the Pope is coming next week, hopefully to get their butts moving. This was my favorite thing we saw probably because of the grandeur and incredibleness of the interior. Designed like a forest of trees, it was a unique feeling to be inside as it is being built above your head. We were a part of the history here and that was a neat feeling. This was a great way to end Mary’s trip here in Barcelona. Well, actually nearly missing her flight was a great ending to remember but as a whole the trip was a blast!
We saw and conquered! (and it was great to share my life here in Barcelona with her.)
DAY Seven (Tues. 26th) I Miss You
Ending
MARY:
I had an incredible week in Barcelona. Fall Break in Spain was one of the wildest ideas of my life! I enjoyed every minute of the trip. This fall semester is going by so fast, but I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to explore a new country. Besides, Larry and I have to continue our tradition of meeting up during his world adventures. I wonder where we will meet up next!
