The first day in Barcelona was like stepping into a portal and being 15 years old traveling with People to People again. It was amazing to be back in one of the first foreign countries I’d been to and getting to visit the same places years later. My perspective and appreciation might have changed, but the feeling of seeing Parc Güell and La Basílica de la Sagrada Família with a huge group of friends did not.
Seeing the inside of La Sagrada was also new for me, and it was incredible. The contrast between the darker, very intricate façade of the outside and the white, simpler design that let light in through various stained-glass windows was breathtaking.
Another difference is that, now, the option of getting pitchers of Sangria with dinner was a (much welcomed) possibility. We didn’t end up going out in Barcelona the way we had planned, but it was so much fun to just hang out and talk and laugh about all the throwback American music the DJ was playing, clearly egged on by our dancing to it.
We had the absolute best time walking around Las Ramblas at night and avoiding the promoters trying to get us to go across town their clubs who were all, supposedly, the best in Barcelona. We even made use of our various abilities in foreign language, but when Sierra started speaking in French to one of the guys and he responded with equal fluency, all we could do was laugh. We finally realized that German seemed to be a less popular language, so “Nein” was our only response any time we were asked if we spoke English.
Speaking in fake British accents as we walked around trying to find bars that would let our one guy friend in for less than €15 ended up being the most fun we had all night.
The second day in Barcelona we had to be back to the ship pretty early, so we could get to Valencia on time, so we just walked around and then went to a Starbucks in the mall (a super authentic Spanish experience) to get some work done.
Valencia had one of the best beaches I’ve been to with water that was way warmer than any ocean I’d been in. The sand stayed level until we were super far out, so it was easy to stay in the water for what felt like forever. We had paella for lunch in the same city in which it was created (Valencian paella has rabbit and chicken though, so you already know that I stuck to the seafood one.)
That night after dinner we ended up at a beach club that was super nice and would have been dope except that it was a Monday night, so not quite the best time to go out. It’s funny, not everyone gets to study abroad and just roam around foreign cities on any given night of the week.
The last day in Spain we went to brunch and got more work done (productive, classy, and lit.) I tried Agua de Valencia which is like a mimosa but with locally sourced Valencian oranges and champagne. When I say it is literally the best think I’ve ever drank, I’m not kidding. Like, I would fly back to Valencia solely for a pitcher of that stuff.
Anyway, Spain was fun as always and getting to see new aspects of places I had previously seen, with a new group of amazing people made it a great first stop of the voyage. My only regret is still not taking a good Cheetah Girls pic at Parc Güell, that’ll be my peak for sure.
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