HelloBCN

Barcelona was my very first weekend trip abroad, and in true chaotic fashion, it involved poor footwear choices, nonstop sightseeing, and a hostel night out I still can’t explain.

Our first week in Florence wasn’t even over yet when my roommate Jordan, Megan (a girl I met on my flight from Atlanta to Paris), and I booked a last-minute trip to Barcelona. We flew out of Florence with no real plan other than “see everything.” We stayed in a hostel, used public transportation for everything, and managed to do it all in three days.

The first two days were just us bouncing from landmark to landmark: Park Güell, La Rambla, the Gothic Quarter, La Boqueria (huge food market). We bought chocolate-covered strawberries, chicken skewers, fruit, we literally spent like 2 hours there just trying all the different food stands. We managed to squeeze almost all of the iconic architecture and famous landmarks in those 2 days.

I only brought heeled clubbing boots (rookie mistake), and after two days of nonstop exploring, my feet were so bruised I could barely walk. I had to go emergency shoe shopping just to survive the rest of the trip.

Day three was a big one. We started with brunch at Federal Café, then headed to La Sagrada Familia. I had seen photos, but it looks completely unreal in person, like something out of a dream. From there, we walked to Casa Batlló and Casa Milà (Gaudis work is incredible). After lunch and a little shopping (yes, we found Brandy), we made our way to Barceloneta Beach. The weather was perfect, the ocean was gorgeous, and it was one of those moments where you realize, oh right, I live in Europe now.

That night, we ended up going out with a bunch of people from our hostel. And… it was weird. I don’t know how else to say it. But also kind of hilarious in a very hostel-abroad kind of way. They took us to some "club" except it was giving random high school party that had about 30 people there, people were doing the limbo.

We had an early flight the next morning, but somehow Jordan and I kept directing us on the wrong metro trying to get back to the hostel. We didn’t get in until around 2 a.m., and our alarms were set for 5. Classic abroad trip

Barcelona was everything we hoped it would be. Even with a packed itinerary and only a few days, we managed to see so much, try new things, and get a real feel for the city. It was the kind of weekend that reminded me why I wanted to study abroad in the first place... new places, good food, funny moments, and figuring things out in real time. Easily one of the most memorable weekends I’ve had so far..