Spring Break in Barça! (expanded)

The past week, I went to spring break in Barcelona with some of my fellow class mates, and it was awesome! The city was beautiful, the beach was gorgeous, and the culture was fascinating. It was an incredible mixture of fun, relaxation, and thought revolutions. The night life in Barcelona is interesting, as the city stays out on the weekends until 4AM and then wakes up the next day at 10AM, meaning all of the shops wouldn't open until 10AM on the weekends. Speaking of shops, the area near our hostel had quite a few quaint backstreets that had shops and heladerias all along the strip and surrounding church plazas. I'm pretty sure ice cream crepes were my preferred breakfast of choice, a little different from my usual hardy breakfasts of eggs with spinach and bacon. Also, the paella of Barcelona, a dish that is served in a pan that has rice, peas, seafood, and sometimes other miscellaneous items, was delicious. Food was very good this trip...

The beach in Barcelona was very pretty. It had white sand and there were a lot of people out and about, including some unwarranted people without swimsuits. We chilled, ran, and the we guys got a pickup game of soccer going with some Americans from Wisconsin and some French guys. Everyone had fun, our team should have won, but playing soccer on sand is much different than normal, that's my excuse, but more importantly, everyone had fun. I'm going to miss that man-made beach(they haul loads of white sand onto the beach, I seant it!!(that's slang)).

There is a reason why Barcelona is call 'Gaudi's city'. After visting Park Güell, I could see his influence all around Barcelona. The city's vibe almost mirrored his artwork within the park. From elegant walkways with obelisks adorned with prickly cacti, to curved ledges decorated with bright mosaic tiles, the park was a microcosm, rather a similar figure of the uniqueness of the city of Barcelona. Afterwards, we visited another famous figure by Gaudi, La Sagrada Familia. The cathedral was magnificent and my only regret was that I did not fork over the 11 euros to go inside the cathedral, as the pictures I saw of the interior were simply stunning.

On Thursday, a group of us went up to the main hill of Barcelona that had a castle at the top, but I'm pretty sure none of us actually knew what we were going to see at the top. Maybe someone knew that there was a castle at the top, but we trekked up the hill in complete ignorance of what we would find (again, at least that is what happened to me, probably because I did not plan what we would do that day). We took a tram to one of those circular traffic junctions that Europe has and from there we looked up at the hill. It looked much bigger from that viewpoint than when we saw it on the beach. In front, we saw a huge natural history museum that looked like a palace honoring natural history than a museum. The path towards the museum was littered with statues and marble staircases, almost too much beauty to take in at one time! But of course, Chibuzo and I raced up the steps to the top of the staircase, where the museum stood, waiting eternal. Our group meandered by the museum, towards the top of the hill, our destination. Along the way, we stopped by a sort of hidden arboretum (or secret garden) that followed the slope of the hill, to an extent. We took many pictures here (see Megan or Kathryn's blogs) and just enjoyed the natural beauty of blooming trees and flowing fountains. Meandering, we finally made it to the top of the hill! Thanks in part to our adventurous spirit that spotted a trodden dirt path up the side of the hill. After about an hour, we made it to the top of the hill and to the castle. From the Catalan flag that was on it and the weathered stones, it looked like a castle from the 17th century or something like that, we may never find out. From the castle, we could see almost all of Barcelona, including all of the monuments, except Camp Nou, and a serene view of the sea. Honestly, from all of the beautiful nature scenes we saw, I felt like we could have been the subject of a Van Gogh painting. Along the way, I got a facebook profile picture(score!) but more importantly, I think we had the best view to take in the entire beauty of Barcelona, almost from a bird's point of view. That was a good day.

The relaxation that was afforded to me that week was greatly appreciated, as classes had been killing me with the piles of homework and stress over tests. When I returned to Bonn, I felt rejuvenated, ready to take on the world. On the bus ride back to Bonn from the airport, I felt an overwhelming sense of clarity, that I am extremely thankful for the break, and that it came at the right time, also, that I am going to have to work harder than I have before in these next six weeks. Stress did not overshadow my thoughts, as they usually do, but rather, a sense of purpose and acceptance. I think this state of clarity as I saw the green shoots of trees changing season in Germany, from a season of cold and wet weather, to the beautiful result that is darling dear to my heart, another microcosm, but of something less esoteric than I am writing currently. Apologizes are extended from me.

Also, I broke my camera at the wrong time, so look at the other people's posts to see some of the attractions that we saw.

Now, to catch up on sleep...