Barcelona

The girls and I embark on another adventure in Barcelona! We literally finished finals and dashed over to our apartment packed and headed to the train station. The 5-hour train ride was average, nothing major and I say next to Jenny another girls from our program from Chicago. We arrived in Barcelona then jumped onto the Metro (tram) over to the hostel. I've become quite the navigator while in Europe which will surprise my mother. But when your lost and mom is no where in sight, you just have to figure it out yourself. We arrived at Yellow Nest Hostel and I forgot to mention that tho trip was last minute! So yes, a group of 6 girls headed to Barcelona with no tickets and no reservations! If you know anything about me you know that I am a bit OCD and always need a set itinerary wherever I go. But I've learned that being spontaneous and sometimes just heading out and laying your head wherever you can is actually fun. Yellow Nest Hostel was really nice and was full of young adults mainly students studying. We were all separated by twos and I was paired with Rachel. Rachel and I headed to room A and had 4 Mexican guys and a French girls as Roomates. One of the Roomates Victor was a 28 year old student completing his masters in micro bionics Engineering over in Germany. We all started up all night and exchange stories about Mexico, the US and France. They have all spent time in the US and surprisingly missed all of the fast food options, Taco Bell, chipotle , in and out , and Wendy's. The rest of the guys showed up after a night of partying but I was so tired I didn't hear a thing at 3 AM but woke up to a room full of Latino Men. Lol 

Party Animals! 

Since we had no prior planning the hostel was hostel had no availability for the next night but had room in another hostel called Garden Hostel. We headed back to the Metro and headed to our new home. Garden Hostel is located in a more residential area and is so adorable! We were greeted by Felipe at the front desk and he was such a great help. We were assigned our rooms and went to unpack and rest. 

Pin where your from! I was the only visitor from Cleveland or Toledo! 

Leave your mark.

Sitting area. 

We got settled in and decided to go exploring again and visit the famous parque de Guell. Before leaving Felipe was kind enough to supply us with a map that he personally highlighted sights we might want to see with notes of which  train to take and tips. He is such a blessing!  The park was absolutely gorgeous and huge! It was filled with flowers and beautiful gardens. The casa de Gaudi an amazing architect that I became recently obsessed  with. His work is amazing and was filled with different buildings of his work in the park.

We wanted to look like a couple! Lol

Next we went exploring, got lost and ended up at La Sagrada Familia another work if Gaudi. If you are ever in Barcelona it is a MUST see!  

Beautiful even under construction! 

We did a bit more sight seeing and headed to Las Ramblas shopping area before heading back to the hostel. We we even randomly ran into the Barcelona Pride parade!

Awesome parade! Spain was actually the 2nd country in the world to legalize Gay Marriage in 2004! 

We arrived back at the hostel right in time for the hostel BBQ! We sat in the garden ate great food and chatted with fellow travelers. This is probably my favorite part of traveling, meeting new people from all walks of life and exchanging experiences. I met a medical student from Georgetown in DC and told him how much I loved DC especially after staying with a friend of my mother's in Arlington for the inauguration. He asked me the name and I said Tony Baca he's an ER doctor and the kid was like "what you know Tony Baca, he's an awesome physician!  And I hope to shadowing him soon!" What a small world! After takin for awhile the girls and I decided to shower and head out for the night! In Barcelona the best nightclubs are near the pier. We decided to check out this club and here is where the adventure begins! After a sufficient amount of drinks we were dancing , losing an earring and meeting tons of people and having a great time we decided at 4 am (which is considered going home early) it was time to go home. Over by the train station we met Pol and Vicente two very attractive Spanish guys around our age who we all instantly became friends with. Surprisingly we ran into Grace and Alyssa two other girls from the Alicante program.  We wanted to keep the night going so the guys invited us to some pubs where more locals would be. Yes, I know Melanie don't go off with random strangers but hey I was in Barcelona and decided to take a chance! We went to a private party, hung out with the guys and the headed to the beach / pier and had some great conversations. Pol is a recent graduate and working as an aircraft Engineer for Iberia Airlines and Vicente was a international business graduate who just recently started a new program. These guys were so nice and not creepy! The genuinely wanted to show us a good time and show us the city. By the time we noticed it was 7:00 am and the sun was coming up, the guys walked us over to the train station and gave us directions home as they went on their own train home. We exchanged Facebook information to keep in contact! I was so excited to go to bed! 

The next morning Stephanie, Sadie and I check out of the hostel and purchased bus tickets to Madrid. We explored more of Barcelona and had a blast. These two girls and I have become amazing friends and I really have grown to love them. We ended up accidentally running into Casa Batllo another amazing Gaudi building and the Cathedral! 

Casa de Battlo! 

Cathedral

Unbelievable! 

Stephanie, Sadie and I literally had a blast here! We sat on a bench and people watched for over an hour and the things we saw were funny to say the least. Europeans are interesting creatures!  We met up with Bridget and Kara my two favorite Iowa girls for some Vino. Then it was time to head back to the hostel, grab our luggage and head to the bus station and next stop was Madrid! Barcelona was  blast and the sights are beautiful! A must see tourist area! 

Dora with her map! This map was my lifesaver the entire weekend!