On My First Time in Barcelona, Spain

photo: 3dom

After a quick and easy flight on Vueling (seriously, good airline) I landed in Barcelona at 7pm and made the journey to my hostel via train, metro, and foot.

Because I enjoyed my time in Athens so much, I got wound up in having fun and made a total rookie error. I didn’t write down the address of my hostel before getting to the airport!

That’s okay I said, and checked my internet in Athens Int’l. I started to write down walking directions, and then my ADHD kicked in. I don’t know what happened or how it happened, but my directions stopped in the center of an intersection, with no hostel in sight. Oh you’ve got to be kidding me, self. How could you?!

Luckily I remembered the name of my hostel- but my exhausted body and tired mind decided I was only going to speak in Greek. I couldn’t remember how to say anything in English, or Spanish. This is just sick. How are people so multilingual all the time? Can I get a brain transplant? After about 20 minutes of circling the block, I remembered a phrase from Dora the Explorer (who says TV can’t educate children?) and went into a coffee shop to ask for help! Eventually I got to the hostel, and what an awesome hostel it is.

After good sleep, I headed out to explore the city. Let me just start by saying- I am not a city girl. Every time I find myself in the city I feel like Brick from Anchorman… “LOUD NOISES”. Tons of people around, languages I can’t understand but still spend time trying to decipher, smog, honking… get me away from it! Yet, when I find a place to be with myself (even amongst the crowds) it feels even more special than the solitude of the country.

Today, I sat alone on a park bench while watching a man play catch with his dog in the lake in front of La Segrada Familia- it was one of the best parts of my day.

Naturally I am impressed, floored even, by the creativity and precision that has gone into the fascinating parts of this city…but as I stood behind my camera today, I realized I can’t bring the beauty of this city to you the way I see it. I take photos of the sights you are supposed to see, but what I see in Barcelona is the man playing catch with kids, the old men in the park playing cards while the women fan themselves, and kids feeding pigeons.

I seethe barefoot old lady who walks the streets bent over, while people look over her arched back to stand in line for a church.
Beautiful dark haired men with olive skin in perfectly tailored suits and manicured women walking their dogs… Barcelona is a city that is all about the people- it just happens to be showcased in a gorgeous frame.