A couple of weeks ago, I woke up and really felt the urge to seize the day. How could I carpe the diem? Logging on to RyanAir of course! I came across a major deal to Barcelona, Spain that would leave in only a few short weeks. Quickly I asked if anyone wanted to go with me in the flat and Kenan took the bait. Here's the catch: we had to fly into Girona (and hour away from Barcelona) at 1:15 on friday (getting us to Barcelona at 3:15) then fly out of Girona on Sunday at 7:15. So there you have it a day in a half in a huge city--- how in the world could we possibly see everything? Well, you can't. But seize the day, you could possibly see a lot of incredible things. So here is my top-5-things-to-do-if-you-only-have-a-day-and-a-half-in-Barcelona. (You got it, another list).
1. Parc Guell
Remember when you used to play Candyland in your mountain cabin on a rainy day? No? Okay... remember when you used to play Candyland when you were little? Yes? And remember when you wished there was a place you could go that mirrored the whimsical world of Candyland? Parc Guell is probably the closest you can get to the land of Candy (sans candy and the chocolate puddle monsters). From the metro you must walk up hundreds of steps (or for those who don't like stairs there is an escalator) to get to the Park. Totally worth every one of those steps. You come to winding gravel paths and discover the sight of Gaudi's Gingerbread-esque house. But thats not the only thing there. Besides wonderful views of the city, beautiful natural arbors, and incredible walking trails, you can find colorful displays of lizards and mosaics. If you have more than a day and half, I suggest spending the day relaxing in the sun of the Parc, people watch, and listen to the many "parc" performers. I absolutely loved my short time spent in the Parc... took me straight back to the days where I used to play Candyland with my parents at out mountain cabin.
2. Montjuic
Montjuic was the last thing we did, but it was certainly one of the best. You take a "funicular" from the metro station to a station where you can buy tickets for flying gondola's that take you up to a castle on top of Montjuic. The views from the gondola are breathtaking. We were there at the end of the day where the light was low and it was a perfect break from the hustle and bustle (yeah-- i just used that expression) of the center city. We spent a couple of hours up there writing and sketching and just sitting in the sun relaxing after a long day of walking. I can only imagine what it would be like around sunset!
3. Sagrada Familia
Sagrada Familia is Gaudi's masterpiece in the center of the city. It's like Barcelona's Duomo fast forward hundreds of years. The only thing I could think of when I saw it (besides its unique architecture and immense beauty) was the drip castles I spent hours on at the beach... Wow. Didn't know I was reminiscing of childhood activities so much when in Barcelona. But it's really hard not to with all of the childhood structures created by Gaudi's ingenious mind. The church was more beautiful on the inside with the sun shining through the beautifully orchestrated stain glass windows and incredibly ornamented ceilings. What we noticed most about the inside of the church was that it was actually very lit-- allowing sunlight to come in on all sides. The majority of the churches we have seen are all dark only allowing sunlight to glisten through the stain glass windows. The price to go inside is somewhat expensive (compared to our free admission to every museum in Paris), but is definitely worth it. And you get a discount with a student visa!
4. Sunset at the Olympic Stadium
Well, this was more of mistake than anything. We had just gotten to Barcelona and wanted to go to Montjuic for the sunset. Finally figuring out the metro system, we headed to the area where Montjuic supposedly was. Thanks to an international mobile phone conference we got lost and went the wrong way up the mountain. But not all who wander are lost and when you take the road less traveled by , it makes all the difference. (Obviously constructed that last sentence all on my own...) But I really do suggest going here for a sunset. The light reflecting off the water was picturesque and it gave an incredible view of the city! It was such a great find!!
5. The Gaudi Houses
Both of us were a little too cheap to go inside either of the casa's but honestly the outside was enough for me. The organic shapes and festive colors took me right back to Dr. Seuss. They were incredibly designed and surprisingly on one of the main streets where all of the brand name shops are. A spectacular view, and I can only imagine just how spectacular it would be on the inside!
With all of this walking, food is more than necessary. The first night, we went to a lovely restaurant called
Pitarra. It has supposedly some of the best paella in the city. Of course, that was what I ordered and Kenan got Tuna with potatoes. The two were shared and it was so good. We ordered a small bottle of wine for dinner and afterwards, I truly had the best dessert in Europe. (I said this last week...) It was coconut ice cream (real coconut shreds inside) served with a chocolate lampshade (basically a chocolate bowl with a wafer middle) and a rasberry swirl. But no that was apparently not enough when we were offered a pitcher of Sangria "on the house". Hey, we'll take it. The owners and waiters could not have been more nice and I recommend the restaurant to anyone who goes. As other food excursions go, the St. Josep Market is jam packed with colorful fruits and vegetables and fresh meat and fish.
Barcelona was truly a great experience! Maybe I should seize the day more often?
Our first part of our tour of Italy's off the beaten tracks (most of the time) landed us in Corniglia, the cliff town of the Cinque Terre. It was a very easy train ride to Corniglia, and everything went as planned. After we checked into our hostel, the owner suggested that we should take the high trail to Manarola (the next town over). The "blue trail" was mostly closed because of the flooding of last October, so for most of the trip we had to resort to the "high trails". We both agreed that we were almost glad the blue trail was closed, as we probably wouldn't have even thought of going another way. This was one of my favorite parts of our trip in Cinque Terre and possibly even of our whole trip. With a steady incline, in the beginning we (or I) worked up a sweat. But as we hit the top of the mountain and start to ride the ridge, the beautiful views of the blue water and the towns nestling below took over. The mountains had been cut into stairlike formations creating a perfect farming environment. We were able to walk through small farms and experience a different non-tourism based culture of the Cinque Terre. Ending the hike in the 2nd town of Manarola at dusk only created a more perfect first hours of the trip. We hurried down to the shoreline to capture a memory of the beautiful homes and buildings of Manarola. With the sun setting over the ocean, it only added to the beautiful and lively color already found there. After many... many pictures we decided on tasting our first bit of pesto of the Ligurian Region. We weren't disappointed by any means and that was only the start of it. After a long first day we headed back to our hostel in Corniglia (luckily catching one of the last trains there) with full stomachs and beautiful first memories dancing in our heads.
We woke up early and had a quick breakfast of croissants and black tea provided by the owner of the hostel. It was still cloudy outside when we set off to our first "real" touristy experience: "Via dell' Amore". The walk was one of the only parts of the blue trail open and was a beautiful cliff side stroll from the town of Manarola to the southern most town of Riomaggiore. A bit cheesy for my taste, it was still a fun and side paths brought a little more adventure as it took you close to the sea. We jumped and climbed around on the rocks reverting back to being five year olds. The walk left us hungry and when we hit Riomaggiore, the first thing we found was a large slice of foccaccia covered in olive oil and pesto. Served warm, I almost thought I was dreaming when I took a bite of it. We finished off lunch with a short walk around Riomaggiore and 2 "prunghe", which we later found out were actually plums.
We were planning on doing another high trail from Vernazza to Monterosso, since we so much enjoyed the one from Corniglia to Manarola, but was the reconstruction effort, the trails where the last thing on people's minds (rightfully so) and we were unable to find the #8 to Monterosso. We did however get to walk some of the blue trail until was saw that part of it had been destroyed. Following my mother's "goody-two-shoes" outlook, I didn't want to continue onto the trail since they said it was closed. Thinking back, I wish we had ended up going because many other people seemed to just walk right past the "closed" signs; however, I really have no regrets.So instead we sprawled ourselves out on the rocks by the sea and bathed in the sun until the next train to Monterosso was to arrived. I am still in awe over the incredible work the community (with apparently no government help, I might add) has down to recreate the beautiful town of Vernazza.
