Yesterday had a late start, as our group could not agree on what our plans were. After quite the period of deliberation, we headed out into the city. We walked along the sea, stopping for some ice cream, before we decided to explore the Gothic Quarter. The architecture was incredible. Walking around and looking at the buildings is one of my favorite parts of traveling. After the Gothic Quarter we happened to find this gorgeous park. It was honestly the most beautiful park I have ever been to. We relaxed in the shade, listening to the birds chirp and the swarm of children play. It was refreshing. Fortunately, the city of Barcelona had wifi in the park, so I was able to call my parents and talk to them. I miss them a lot. We stayed at the park for about an hour, and then went to the Picasso museum. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought the collection of Las Meninas paintings was so interesting It was an enormous collection of paintings all based off of one original painting. Very, very neat. We wandered back through the Gothic Quarter on our way back. I love seeing all of the narrow streets with the laundry hanging off all the balconies.
We returned to the ship for a siesta (which is absolutely necessary in Spain...I don't know how the Spanish maintain this lifestyle!), and I thought I was going to stay in for the night, but I got suckered into going out. My compromise to myself was that I was going to go out, eat some tapas, have a drink, and then come back early to sleep. Well, we got mojitos from an adorable, hole-in-the-wall restaurant, and instead of going home I got dragged to a bar. As we were leaving, we were approached by a promoter for this huge event that a lot of SASers were going to. It was the Kaskade concert (whom I had personally never heard of, but apparently he's somewhat of a techno god), and according to the promoter it was going to be, "the hottest party in Barcelona." I wanted to go home, but somehow I got peer pressured into going to the concert! This event was literally straight out of a movie. 3,500 people, techno, strobe lights, etc. It was ridiculous. I'm glad I went to experience Spanish nightlife with my friends, but that was enough clubbing for me for a while. We didn't get back until 5:30am!!!! I kept saying all night I didn't want to be out late, and we ended up being out SO late. Like I said, I had a fun time, but that kind of stuff isn't my priority for this trip. I want to experience the cultures, the history, the cities, not get drunk and go to clubs everynight like some people.
Today was our last day in Barcelona :( I spent it getting tapas for lunch (I had a pesto, mozzarella, and ham sandwich), followed by some shopping at these markets along the sea. I found a really cute silk dress for 19 euros. It is black and white and has sort of a paisley design to it. I was happy with my find. I had to hurry back to the ship to make it in time to my Doctors Without Borders lecture. It was very interesting. The lady was telling us about how they provide psychosocial support during humanitarian crises. She has served in countries all over the world, and it sounds absolutely fasicnating. They work with people that are faced with war, poverty, natural disasters, immigrants/emigrants/refugees, widespread diseases (like HIV-AIDS), etc. In theory I would love to be selfless enough to work for a program like that, but I honestly don't know that I could handle living in a tent in the middle of a third-world country. I have great admiration for the people who do programs like Doctors Without Borders.
Tonight we took our voyage picture with everybody out on the deck. I'll be a little speck somewhere in the picture. They played an actual movie (The Kids Are Alright) tonight in the Union, which I was watching on the TV in my cabin, but it cut out about 20 minutes in. I was super bummed because I would love nothing more than to just vege out and watch a movie right now. They rarely play movies on our TV's. It's usually documentaries looping for different classes, or even just blank channels.
We should be embarking from Barcelona anytime now. I'm sure we're waiting on a few people who missed dock time. I'm sad to be leaving Barcelona. I've had an incredible time here. It really is a beautiful city. I feel that there is still so much more I could have seen. I guess that means I'll just have to come back sometime, right? But for now, onto the next adventure: Adios Espana, Buon Giorno Italia!
No comments:
Post a Comment