For all of you that don't get it, the Cheetah girls filmed a movie in Barcelona. And that's where I was last weekend :)
Anyway, yes. I went to Barcelona this weekend. And it was a MUCH better weekend than the last (in some ways, I won't get into detail).
So my friend, Emily, who I met at work this summer lifeguarding, is doing a Semester at Sea. Literally spending a whole semester on a modified cruise ship. Crazy! So she left from Hamburg, Germany about a week ago, and their first stop was in Barcelona, so naturally, we met up!
I don't know if I've ever been so happy to see someone familiar. So familiar we're almost the same person and it's REALLY scary. The first day of work, before we even met each other really, we ran into each other at Starbucks both on our way to work. We're both obsessed with Starbucks, and anything coffee. We literally had the exact same outfit on one day. Black Nike running shorts, and the exact same grey old navy tank top, and Chacos. I won't get into the rest of it, but it was just SO nice to see one of my friends. Someone who actually knows me.
I flew in Friday morning. We woke up at 4am and my flight was at 7:05. We got to Barcelona and did a little shopping, took a nap, and went to dinner with some other students from JCU, who were also meeting up with a friend who was on Semester at Sea. Dinner was so good (even though it literally was a HUGE piece of chicken, 4 pieces of asparagus, and a few tomatoes. Ratio was a little off, if you ask me. Our waiter was super funny, and really helpful, and straight up told me NOT to get chicken fajitas even though I really wanted them.
Saturday morning, we checked out of our airbnb, and took a taxi to meet Emily and her roommate at the hotel. Of course, we had to get Starbucks right then (there's no Starbs in Italy, and definitely not on the cruise ship). Pumpkin Spice Lattes are so good in Spain, just saying. We then went shopping for a little bit, and had tickets to see Park Guell at 1:30. It was so cool! I learned about this place how many times in Spanish classes, and now it was brought to life. The views were absolutely breath taking, and the air was so crisp and fresh. For the first time since I was home, I felt so much peace. The pictures can't even show half of how beautiful the views were. I could practically see the whole city, and we could even see their boat!
We then ate some Tapas on the way to our hotel to freshen up and relax a little bit. Emily and I went off and got another coffee (oops) and shopped even more. I've always wanted a kelly green rain coat and I found one just in time for the rain. We ended up just getting a late dinner at a cute restaurant near the hotel. I love the idea of tapas for dinner, because you can try all sorts of things, for pretty cheap too ;)
Sunday morning we woke up at 7:30 to go to mass at Sagrada Familia. The doors opened at 8:30, so we wanted to get in line early. Buuuuut we ate breakfast at the hotel, and then took a taxi over to the basilica. Thank God they were just letting people in, and we had prime seats at mass. Being at the basilica was surreal. I learned all about it, and probably did 100 projects on it throughout grade school, but never thought I'd actually get to go there. It's crazy that it has been being built for 160 years, and will officially be completed in 2024.
Mass was absolutely beautiful. There were 8 priests, 6 altar servers, a huge choir, and tons of people. It was spoken in english, Italian, French, Catalan, and Spanish. It was just beautiful. That is all I can really say.
After, we got a Starbucks, and shopped at the little markets on the side of the street.
The rest of Sunday, we checked out of our hotel, and met up with another friend. We went near bayside, and walked around for a little bit until they had to catch their train to meet the ship in Florence. Because my flight wasn't until 10pm, I went to a rooftop bar with their friend who was meeting up with the ship the next day.
Barcelona was absolutely wonderful overall, and gave me a little taste of home. The streets looked kindof like Michigan Avenue, actually, and was super modern.
As for Rome, I am still feeling uneasy I can't pin point exactly what it is, but something isn't right. I just keep telling myself that it is only 80 days, and I will be back before I know it. I am trying to stay busy with 5 classes and running a lot, while taking it all in. Prayers are greatly appreciated!
Also, feel free to text me whenever. I'd love to hear how you all are doing, because I feel quite isolated from all of your lives out here. I love facetime!
Love,
Marisa
P.S. fun fact I saw Cleveland hats for sale IN Barcelona!
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