Well, the time has arrived and I am back home in the wonderful state of Texas. I cannot even begin to express how wonderful my journeys across Europe were, and how valuable the relationships I have formed with my classmates and friends are to me. Barcelona was perhaps the ultimate end to my time in Europe.
We departed Prague at 2 in the afternoon and had an extremely cramped flight that is very characteristic of European Airlines. Luckily, the flight was only a couple of hours and we arrived in Barcelona around 5 pm. Desigual, a Barcelona fashion brand, provided us with free maps that highlighted all the good clubs, tapas, and included key tips for surviving Barcelona (which is surprisingly difficult - think heat, late nights, and an extremely different daily schedule from any I've ever experienced). It was incredibly helpful as we made our way into the city. Getting to our hostel was a little bit of a task, as this was the first time the entire trip that I had to actually carry a suitcase, and boy was traveling with it difficult. We took a bus from the airport to the center of the town, and then continued to walk about 5 blocks to our hostel. In the Spain heat, it was quite a task.
Our hostel was really fun. We had a room with six beds in it, but unfortunately the beds were pretty much the only things that could fit in the room - we hardly could all stand in it at once! We could handle it though. That night the hostel hosted a punch night and then took everyone to a club. My friends I was traveling with wanted to go explore the city, so I opted to stay at the hostel for the events by myself. I met wonderful people from switzerland, morocco, France, Spain, and all over the world. My favorites were the six German guys staying in the room next door. They were probably the goofiest, funniest, and cutest foreigners I have ever met.
The club that our hostel took us to was a salsa club only a few blocks away. Holy moly can Spaniards dance. I was so amazed by the incredible movements of the locals and had so much fun when the DJ taught everyone some basic salsa moves. The movement is so different from our own dancing! I've honestly never moved my hips like that.
After the tour we all went to the mariner museum, and then to THE BEACH! Barcelona's beaches are famous - for the beauty, parties, andddd nudity. It was a little bit of a culture shock to see, but I give the locals props for their confidence in their skin. My poor pale skin couldn't take the Barcelona sun for too long, and so I left early to walk back to the hostel (which was about 2 and a half miles away). I walked down La Rambles, the most famous shopping street in Barcelona. It was full of markets and art work, and I had a blast looking at everything. After getting back to the hostel I took it easy and got ready for the night. My friends and I wanted to experience to Barcelona nightlife, and we decided to do it right. In order to succeed in this, we had to wait until 2 a.m. to even LEAVE the hostel! Guess what time got home? SEVEN in the morning. Really, it was so much fun, but I could never live like that. Probably the funniest thing about the night was running into our German neighbors at the subway station. They didn't reserve enough money to get home and were stuck! Luckily I found them and was able to donate to their desperate cause, and the 6 Germans, me and my 5 friends all made it back to our hostel safely.
The journey there was a little complex, as it involved a subway ride and a 1.5 mile walk, but the park was beautiful. I wandered through by myself and stopped to sit when I saw a guitarist playing. He too had a gorgeous voice and I enjoyed every moment of his singing. When he stopped playing and put his guitar up, he looked right at me and gave me a wave. What a great connection of appreciation. I started wandering again, and was drawn like a moth to a light when I heard a choir of kids singing Bohemia Rapsody. They were gathered under an awning and sounded like they were sent from heaven. The group was from Belgium, and they had travelled around Europe singing. They were so good I even bought a CD.
The show was incredible, and it felt great to get back in contact with my group. It was hard to believe that that was our last night not only in Spain, but in Europe. We spent the night reminiscing and appreciating everything that we had this summer. I cannot express how thankful and appreciative I am for the opportunity to have seen the places I did, and enjoy them with the people I was with. Thank you to my parents for supporting me, and thank you to everyone who made this adventure all that it was.
