Saturday, February 19, 2011

BARCELONA

The group trip to Barcelona last weekend was definitely a success. I visited the port and touched the Mediterranean for the first time! We stayed there for a while because the sail boats leaving and the birds flying around made it a really relaxing place to be. I was also able to see the Sagrada Familia and the Picasso museum. The day was filled with beautiful art and arquitecture.
The city has a lot to offer and is beautiful during the day, but is a bit scary by night. Men in the street would either grab our arms, or make cat noises to our faces. It was worth it to pass the creepy men to get to the hotel though because it was probably the nicest one I've ever stayed in. The shower was half the size of my room and had water that came out of the ceiling instead of the wall!

SAGRADA FAMILIA - This Roman Catholic church designed by Gaudi in the late 1800's is actually still under construction. The project was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War, but will finally be completed in 2026, a century after the death of Gaudi.

 
This was my favorite part of Sagrada Familia. It's kind of hard to see, but Jesus is hanging on the cross under the yellow shade.

Gaudi designed the windows in a way to allow the room to be filled with colors and sunlight.

I really could not believe how detailed the ceilings were.

So happy to be in Barcelona :)

This is in front of the Christopher Columbus statue we climbed. At the top, we could see all of the city and the sea - such a pretty site.

Just a little piece of heaven.

Lexi and I went in search of a perfect lunch..and boy did we find one. My sandwich had chorizo, cheese, fresh tomato chunks, and garlic. For dessert, we had sugar covered anise seed balls (yum).

We walked through the market, and the whole place smelled of fresh fruits and vegetables. There was so much to choose from, and people filled every aisle waiting for some food.

We definitely purchased some of these.

The front of the market in Barcelona

Lexi and I enjoyed these delicous pastries while we people watched next to the sea :)

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Granada & La Alhambra

After visiting Alicante, we drove to Granada and stayed in a neat hostel that was very chill and hippie-like (like the rest of Granada). No police escort on the way, but the people who worked there were from Australia, France, Spain, and England! To me, that fact was just as exciting.This was when I got really excited about traveling more and meeting people from all over the world.

Needless to say, we had many adventures in the city of Granada. We climbed and explored practically all of La Alhambra - it was beautiful. A lot of the arquitecture in the palaces were heavily influenced by the Arabics, so the geometry and detail in each building was interesting to see. One of the highlights for me there was visiting the room where Christopher Columbus talked to the king and queen of Spain about possibly finding a new pathway to India! Knowing that we were actually in that room was thanks to my friend David's guide book. We would never know how cool anything was that we were doing if it wasn't for that great book. haha After some more exploring, we went tapas hopping. The way it works is that you buy one drink and then you get either a buffet or a few tapas for free. Comparing the food to some of the places we went to, the food was surprising delicous. We actually had some of the best food in Spain at an Indian restuarant - yes, we pack in the diversity.

 
inside La Alhambra


They spared no details - every part of every wall was intricately made.



The gardens inside La Alhambra

My good friend Agata and I in front of La Alhambra

This is the view of La Alhambra from our hostel terrace.

The coffins of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain

Monday, February 14, 2011

Police Escort

From the 3rd through the 6th, 6 friends and I rented a VW "mini-van" and set out for 4 different southern Spain cities: Altea, Alicante, Murcia, and Granada. We were definitely crammed into the small car, but the trip was filled with singing, sleeping, and snuggling. David, our driver, did an excellent job too!



In Alicante, we climbed up a mountain to explore the Santa Barbara Castle. The view on top was absolutely incredible and breath-taking. We could see the Mediterranean and the mountains at the same time. I don't even know how to describe it because the view was just completely overwhelming. The weather was perfect - sunny with a breeze, so we decided to take a siesta on top of the castle. Everyone was grinning from ear to ear. That day has been my favorite so far.





These pictures don't do it justice

Mountains and the Mediterranean
Map of the castle


The hostel we stayed in was really neat. We had a terrace with an incredible view of the castle. The coolest part of the hostel is actually how we got there. We were lost and couldn't find it, so after asking several people for directions, we told a group of police officers "estamos perdidos" meaning that we're lost. They ended up giving us a police escort to our hostel!



Monday, February 7, 2011

Mestalla

Last Wednesday, a group of us toured Mestalla, the Valencian soccer stadium! We walked alongside the field, through the locker and press rooms, and saw the prayer room that is available for the team. Even though the tour guide told us that touching the field with our feet was prohibited, I did it when he wasn't looking. :) The entire stadium was very calm since we were the only ones there, but I can only imagine how intense it is during a game. Valencians get crazy about their soccer!

Sitting in the stadium

Hey, hey!

Mata's part of the locker room

Pretending we were in a press conference