España: Las Vacaciones de Primavera: final day in Barcelona!

Aye yo guys! So here I am, packing for home…and leaving behind this beautiful city of Barcelona… I know… bittersweet. But you guys are here to read about my day, so here it goes!

This morning we met in the lobby of our hotel at 8:30, where we left for a daytime tour of the same area that we toured last night! It was great, but seeing it all lit up with the nightlife was so much better!

After that quick tour, we were set free to discover the main street of La Rambla, the place to shop, dine and just walk and see the city! So Katie Stephenson, Carmen Brown, Lynde Ring and I headed out to look in all the shops! It was really cool to see what all the souvenir shops had in store, while also getting to see the little kiosk-like things with the original and strange things for us to buy! I ended up getting a sweatshirt that says “Barcelona University” on it, and it’s a rosy pink color and SUPER soft!!!! I couldn’t help myself, and it was the only piece of clothing (other than the Prada Art Museum Shirt) that I bought!

After walking around for a while, we ran into the market, which is literally right off the main street! Inside, the front few stands sell fruit of all kinds, and the smells and bright colors bring you in to discover more. Once in, you notice the meat shacks…yeah like where they are slicing and dicing on some animal’s leg. Gross, I know. And then there were the seafood stands where the owners were literally dumping out pounds of crab and lobster on huge trays of ice where these tiny creatures suffer and eventually die. By the time we got around, the creatures were on their backs and still moving their legs… ew. I’m done. So after escaping the horrors, we eventually found an ice cream shop where I treated myself to the BEST scoop of chocolate ice cream I have ever had. Like it was perfect. And not just because it wasn’t moving.

After this, lunch. At McDonalds. I know, I know, “Katie you should be trying the foods of Spain and enjoying every moment” but you don’t understand. I cannot order another thing that smells weird and has weird aftertastes. I was in dire need of a burger and this did the trick!

After eating a beautiful lunch out on the streets of La Rambla, we headed back towards the beach, but on the way, ran into artists who were selling their works on the street. Yeah. I should have closed my eyes and kept walking….but I didn’t. And by the end of it I had two new pieces to add to my personal art museum that will be located in Raleigh, NC! The first guy uses some sort of puff paint type stuff (except its more legit and has a cooler, professional name other than “puffy paint stuff”) to draw out the lines, and then he uses liquid lacquer to fill in the lines with the bright colors! I ended up getting one of his works that is of the Casa Blattlo house that was built by Goudi. (If you have already forgotten, that was the house that we visited our first night in Barcelona that has the underwater theme!

The second artist that we met was an older lady who paints using oil and cement to create her art! The oil adds the color while the cement adds depth and texture to her work. Lets talk about some amazing stuff. Not only was she super sweet and reminding us to watch our purses at all times because of pickpocketers (re-read that blog post if you missed it!) and she also gave us her email to contact her son if we decided we wanted another painting! I was stuck between two paintings, but I ended up getting a gorgeous painting of a flamenco dancer. The dancer is wearing a red dress with a black background, and IT WILL MATCH MY DORM ROOM PERFECTLY. So yeah, get excited!

After selling my soul to art, we made it to the beach!!!!! I finally got to dig my toes in the sand and experience the freezing water of the Mediterranean Sea! I also got a lot of legit photos—check em out!

After this, I was in dire need to wash my feet and empty out my purchases before going to the Park Guell with the rest of our group. So we made a pit stop by the hotel, which made us seven minutes late. And our group, all except Ken, had gone on without us. Yeah. Lets just say Katie had her moment of anger as I fumed over the whole situation. Just YESTERDAY we were sitting in the lobby for an extra HOUR because some people in our group couldn’t set an alarm, while my small group of four missed a metro and got left for a measely SEVEN MINUTES. I was through.

By the time I hiked the mountain to Park Guell (not a literal mountain, but it was a steeeeeeeeeeep hill that went on forever) I had calmed down enough to enjoy the park. I had expected it to be larger, but what we did get to see of Goudi’s early works was absolutely astounding! The detail in the bench was SO AWESOME. The smallest pieces of tile were used in decorating the longest bench in the WORLD. Yeah. Don’t believe me? Google it. I sat on it. Today.

this was the graffiti on the side of one of the escalators. AMAZING

part of the longest bench in the world

the mosaic tiles are crushed up and then pieced together like a puzzle

and heres the famous salamander!

Fun Fact: The Park Guell was built by Goudi, but paid for by a man with the last name Guell. The man wanted to design a high-class neighborhood with houses that took up 1/6 of the land, and the rest was outdoor areas to congregate. By the time Goudi got to where the development had stopped, the rich man died and his family didn’t want to keep it going, so instead they gave it to Barcelona city for them to deal with. So ta-da, only two houses were completed, but the design and layout has kept people coming to see the all time famous salamander!

After this, I headed back to the hotel to pack. Around 7:30 we went to the restaurant that we ate at yesterday for our group meal. It was good because I got to order a grilled chicken plate with some type of Spanish salad, and some potatoes with a chipotle-type sauce that was DELICOUS! I also ended this amazing meal with a slice of chocolate cake! Thank you scholars for paying!