This past weekend, 4 people from U of L along with a girl from Arkansas traveled to Barcelona. It was a hassle to get there, however. We had to take a 90 minute train to Eindhoven, a 20 minute bus to the airport, 2 hours in the airport, 2 hour flight, and a 90 minute bus ride to Barcelona, and a 20 minute metro ride to our hostel. We left at 9 AM and arrived at our hostel a little before 6 pm. After settling down, we went out to a few pubs and clubs and enjoyed our evening.

The following morning, we decided to rent some bikes (due to the advice of the hostel staff). It was great advice in the end, as we were able to use them for about 5 hours for a price of 10 euros per bike. It was the first time I had ridden a bike in about 5 years. To be quite honest, I have a newfound passion for riding bikes. Hopefully when I return to the states, I can buy a bike and use it frequently.

During our bike ride, we were able to see a great deal of the city. We rode through the busy city (luckily there are bike paths), navigating our way through the large and crowded city. We began to climb a large hill and were able to see a good view of the city. We eventually reached the top where the Olympic stadium, from the late 1980s, was located. After spending some time there, we went back down the hill and back through downtown. Our last stop was the beach. Riding along the beach for a few kilometers was one of the most relaxing things I have done in a while. That night, we walked along the city, enjoyed the lights, and stopped at a few pubs.

The following day we ventured into another part of downtown. Our first stop was Gaudi’s Cathedral (If you haven’t seen it, google it). It was definitely the oddest cathedral I had ever seen, but interesting nonetheless. Afterwards, I felt the urge to explore more of the downtown area on foot. The downtown area was quite bustling and crowded, and there was quite a lot of stuff going on there. After dinner, we returned to the beach. It was peaceful just watching the waves at nighttime; it was a good last memory of Barcelona.

The entire time there, I was able to utilize the Spanish, which I learned in high school, to talk to the locals. Granted, I wasn’t great at it, but I got the job done nevertheless. I was glad to see that all of my schooling paid off. This trip has made me want to take some more Spanish classes or buy some software to become more fluent in Spanish.

Barcelona had a little bit of everything-a beach, shopping, nightlife, attractions, and more. We were able to take advantage of most of those. The weather was a big plus for us. All three days there, it was in the mid 60s, sunny, and dry (seemed like a heat wave compared to Holland). I would like to return there during the summer or early autumn to enjoy even warmer weather and a little better nightlife.

Thanks for reading,

Josh