eurotrip! valencia style

Barcelona was amazing, the city was much larger (and had a much cooler temperature) than Valencia.  By bus it's only about a 3-4 hour ride, and this is a great way to arrive as you get a great view of the landscape and countryside.  It changed drastically along the way, I knew by the time we got to Barcelona because there were so many hills and we began to pass through tunnel after tunnel to carve our way through the hilly and mountainous roads.

I stayed in another hostel, this one was called the Yellow Nest Hostel, and was also a very nice one (though not as clean and friendly as the Oasis in Sevilla).  However, it got the job done-- provided me with a bed and a bathroom, and I was a happy traveler.  Two other friends from my program were also staying in the same hostel, so we ventured out around the city together and met up with others from our school as well.

One of the main differences was the language-- Catalan.  Barcelona is in the Catalonian province of Spain, and the language they speak is catalan as well as castellano (the spanish I speak), but all of their signs and advertisements are regulated by the government to be displayed in Catalan.  It is much different than Castellano and made it a little more confusing to navigate an already foreign city.  But I did not let this get in my way of exploring the city.  There's a great metro line throughout Barcelona and this made traveling anywhere much easier (and significantly cheaper).  The city is HUGE, the map is about 5 times larger than that of Valencia.  Needless to say I didn't make it to all of the places I wanted to in my 2-day stay, but I now have a much better idea of the places I want to take my family when they come to visit in 1 month (yay!)

My descriptions won't do it justice, so I'll post some pics for you all to see.

(Ally- this close up is for you)

La Sangrada Familia

Jackie and I in front of La Sangrada Familia from a block away

Me in front of the Magic Fountain in Barcelona. {La Font màgica de Montjuïc(Fuente mágica de Montjuic), o simplemente llamada Font de Montjuïc (Fuente de Montjuic), está situada en la Avenida Maria Cristina, en Montjuic, (Barcelona)}

Me, Jackie, and Emilia in Las Ramblas

Las Ramblas in Barcelona is a 1.2 Km walkway through the very heart of the city centre. Here you will see all sorts of stalls, restaurants, bars and street performers along with the many thousands of people that promenade up and down the Ramblas until the early hours of the morning.

Gaudí House Museum (Casa Museo Gaudí)

the following pics are from inside the house

on the roof of the Gaudí House

All in all, Barcelona was breathtaking and I can't wait to go back.  It was a much more international city than Valencia, and I didn't feel like so much of a foreigner while I was there.  

Next up: Sicily