Europe ASAP

Barcelona

Right, and I thought London was great. I mean still in terms of cities I could see myself residing in, London is still at the top but Barcelona was just the best overall. The most beautiful city that had the most life, culture, and history. I loved everything about it. The people were amazing, the food was great, the sites were beautiful, the architecture was so cool, and the partying was off the wall. We arrived at Girona Airport which was about 1.5 hours outside the city, as soon as I walked off that Ryanair jet I knew I was going to love Spain.

The first night we arrived at the Centric Point Hostel, Jon and I immediately went out to get some Tapas. We spent a little more than we should have but it was just delectable. We didn’t feel like partying so we just went to a few bars, all local hotspots that were very small and trendy. It was a good first night introduction to the city and culture of Barcelona.

During the day on Friday Jon and I went sight seeing throughout the city. First we saw the Sagrada Familie which is the famous church in Barcelona. It kind of looks like a sand castle and it’s always under construction because the Spanish government refuses to fund the construction. A very interesting place though, we didn’t go outside but got a pretty good feel for it from the outside. We spent the rest of the day roaming around the city and admiring all the cool buildings, open squares, and parks. We had just so happen to run into Quin, Madeleine, and Chiara so we spent the rest of the day with them and took a nice long stroll on the beach.

For dinner we had a pretty disgusting sushi all you can eat buffet. It was cheap and a lot of food but quite repulsive. After that a night of mayhem began, and that’s when we truly discovered the nightlife of Barcelona.

On Saturday Jon and I took a long stroll down the Rumba which is a street in Barcelona famous for it’s street performers. There were performers there doing the weirdest acts and tricks. I’ve posted some pictures showing these interesting acts. We concluded our time in Barcelona with a nice calm night by the beach, strolling through the city, and enjoying the last weekend of independent travel.

It’s hard to believe the time here is coming to a close. Though I have loved every second of everything about being in Europe and I will miss it very dearly, I am very ready to return to a normal life. To go back to a place where I’m living in a reality again, and a place where my money is worth something again. I have this week to get through, finals—final papers, etc. Kasteel Well fall 2009 is drawing to a close.

Milan

Yes, there’s more. This was the last stop in Italy. We only spent about a half a day in Milan but what I saw of the city I was very pleasantly surprised. They say Milan is the design capital of the world and that definitely showed with all the expensive chain stores and boutiques throughout.

Of course, we went down the strip where all of the stores that are way beyond even the richest of the riches price range. The city is large, but also had a very quaint village like feel within the streets. The main street was really cool, filled with large screens and bigger flashy shops. I was really impressed with the Duomo in Milan. I liked it even better than the Duomo in Florence. The gothic architecture was amazing and unlike anything I have ever seen before.

My first Italian experience was jammed packed with 4 cities in essentially 4 days. I’m glad I got a taste of everything. All of the pictures I took in Milan were at night so please excuse that factor. This was the longest trip yet and it was surly exhausting, I can’t believe we did all that we did but it was incredible. Just one more travel weekend left and it’s sure to be a good one; Barcelona. Two weeks from today it’s back to America. Hard to believe this experience is winding down though I will be relieved to return to a “normal” life after this.