Man's best friend, indeed
Laura Butterbrodt
Multimedia Journalist
Week 19 (Barcelona)
May 19-24, 2018
Thursday, May 24
7:30 p.m.
I’m on my way home! I’m writing this on my overseas flight from Frankfurt to Houston. I’ve already got two flights down, and I have about one and a half left to go. Five more hours to Houston! It’s been a pretty long journey back from Barcelona, but so worth it!
I got to Barcelona around 10:30 Saturday night and met Sid and her two friends she’s traveling with at our hostel. We went out to eat, where I got some paella and sangria. When in Spain! We were all pretty tired, and I came to learn that their group prefers to rest early and get up for the next day early, so we just went back to the hostel to get ready for our first big day exploring Barcelona.
Our hostel was right in the middle of the Gothic quarter, which meant we were within walking distance to many things, and mostly the parts of the “old city,” before the city expanded into the square blocks it’s known for now. We saw the outside of the Barcelona cathedral and walked around four miles to get to the trolley to the top of Montjuïc, which had a great view of the whole city. There was a castle up there, but we waited in line for a while before deciding we wouldn’t be heartbroken if we didn’t go inside and then went on with our sightseeing. We did a lot more walking than I think we were expecting to, but we saw so many things along the way that we really didn’t have much left to do once it was past noon. So of course we decided to hit the beach! It took a really long time to get around town because we somehow ended up waiting ages and ages for a bus, but since we weren’t usually in any hurry it was fine.
The Barcelona Cathedral
Plaza de España
Arenas de Barcelona
Olympic Stadium
All we wanted to do was swim in this fountain during our climb through the city
View from the Telefonic cable car
Castle on Montjuïc
We found a nice restaurant somewhere in the Gothic Quarter for supper, and then once again retired to our hostel early. Being out in the sun and walking so much really took it out of us! I sure fixed my sleep schedule (which is usually sleeping from 4 a.m. to noon)!
The next day we started by finding the two famous Gaudi Houses, Casa Milà and Casa Batlló. Admission was like 25 euros, so we just enjoyed the exterior views. Then we went to Camp Nou, the soccer stadium.
We had a guided bus tour out to Montserrat midafternoon, which was so cool! It was about a 30 minute drive out of the city to get to the mountain, and while there we had a guide showing us around and explaining the history. It looked like there were some good hiking trails there, but we only had about 45 minutes of free time so we just explored the places close to the monastery. It was quite impressive on the inside, but I have to say the Rila Monastery in Bulgaria has the best exterior!
Montserrat Monastery
A tour bus passing us down the mountain lost a few windows from the cliff
A trolley track that basically goes straight up the mountain... we didn't ride that.
We had dinner and went on a quest for cookies that ended up with us eating quite a bit of gelato instead. It was a good compromise! The next day was our tours of Park Güell and La Sagrada Familia, which were what I was most excited for because they’re obviously the Barcelona must-sees. I was really glad Katie, the girl who planned most of Sid’s trip, got us a guided tour with skip-the-line benefits. There were so many people there that we could have been there all day! Park Güell was originally planned to be a village outside of Barcelona, but no one in the city saw Gaudi and Güell's vision, so they ended up giving it to the city as a park. I really loved both, and was even more blown away by Sagrada Familia than I expected to be. It was incredible!
Sagrada Familia's towers from the view at Park Güell
They were replacing a lot of the mosaics
The only human figure in the park
At first the stairs coming down from the tower looked like this
View from the tower
Then the stairs coming down turned into this
We finished our last night in Barcelona –and my last night touring Europe– in a really great way. First we headed back to the beach for one last view of the ocean and also some (less pleasant) views of some of the interesting people on the beach, which apparently was clothing optional and not family friendly. It was hilarious!! Then we had to go to the Hard Rock Cafe because we saw a delicious looking plate of nachos there the day before and couldn’t stop thinking about them. It was SO EXPENSIVE, but it was honestly the best plate of nachos I’ve ever had. We should have just gotten two plates of nachos to share, but instead we got them as an appetizer and then also got main courses AND two drinks each. Let’s just say our main courses were a little neglected after the giant plate of nachos. But we had a really great time being typical American tourists in the Hard Rock Cafe, and I was really happy to end my travels with a night like that. Sid and I went out to explore the night life scene, but since it was a Tuesday night and still early for European bar scenes (it was about 11, most things don’t get good until about 2), so we didn’t stay out long.
The next morning the other girls had to leave at 10:30 for their next flight to Venice, so I had the whole day to explore on my own. I went back to the Barcelona Cathedral and toured the inside. Then I went to a Gaudi museum, which was so great! I think it was one of my favorite things I did in Barcelona. It was guided with a headset and had tons of artwork, interactive displays and interesting facts that I didn’t know already, which were helpful to know from all the places of his I saw over the few days. Then I really didn’t have much else to do on my list, so I went back to the hostel and just hung out until it was time to leave for the airport.
I read through all my blogs from the semester, and it brought me back through all the great memories I made during my semester abroad. I do have to say though, once I was done touring, I was tired of waiting around and just wanted to get straight home. I still feel that way, sitting in this tiny airplane seat!! So far my trip back has gone without incident, and I’m so close to being back now that I don’t think it will feel like such a long time.
It’s pretty emotional to know that I’m going home right now (but also I’m always emotional…). It’s sad to think that I’m completely done, and the Bulgaria chapter of my life is closed. Of course, I am mostly emotional because I am so excited to get home to my family! I have a feeling I’m going to cry really hard when I see my parents at the airport, but I am so excited to hug them again! I’m also really excited to move to my new house in Brookings and start my job with Daktronics! Plus I can’t wait to get to the lake, to eat home cooked food, to sleep in my own bed… everything. I think my time in Europe was just the perfect amount, and this is a well-placed break.
It’s not the end of my travels in Europe though! I will be returning in just two months for a journalism boot camp in Prague at the beginning of August. My professor recommended that I apply and helped me with a story pitch, and I was accepted into the program! So that’s another thing that keeps me looking forward instead of being sad that the great times I had at AUBG are done.
I still can’t believe I almost came home in January. I can’t imagine having a better experience than I did, and I am so happy that I decided to take all the opportunities I was given. This is definitely a trip that completely shaped who I am, and I will hold it with me forever.
Thank you so much to everyone who supported me in any way, even if it was just by reading me rambling on about my trips or looking at my photos. It was incredible to see the support I had all over the world! Also thank you to all the people I was lucky enough to meet during my trip. Thanks for being so great and keeping me (mostly) sane in Bulge Area! It wouldn’t have been even a fraction as fun without you.
By the time I upload this I will be at home in Minnesota, hopefully well-rested, well-fed and not jet lagged. I hope you enjoyed my blogs! I can’t wait to tell the stories I have in person and to hear other people’s travel stories, too. Again, thank you so much for reading!
Love from wherever I am in the world,
Laura
