I love Barcelona

Granted, we didn’t get to see that much of the actual city other than the major architectural landmarks (I love travelling with a bunch of architecture students who drool over scale models and can match architects to buildings better than I can political leaders to countries). The town area where our hostel was, was absolutely adorable and great for wandering. Park Guell was also really nearby, although the main entrance was closed so we pretty literally had to climb a mountain to sneak in the back, but it was a really neat experience. I’ve got a lot of respect for Gaudi and his daring to dream and imagine and see the world as he saw it, what a unique perspective the man must have had to look at a space and turn it into what he did.
We were in a group of 7, and it really was a great group of kids. Although I didn’t really have time to think about it, I guess there was room for concern about feeling like a 7th wheel hanging out with a bunch of kids that have been through the stress of studio together for two years, but quite honestly, I didn’t feel like an outsider at all. And thankfully, others in the group remarked on how well I just blended right into the group as well. There certainly were dynamics within the group, which was actually nice because it was big enough that we could get space from parts of the group if we needed, but small enough that we could also all feel united. I’m really grateful that I was able to mesh so well, I suppose I don’t care so much about feeling like an outsider (although I certainly don’t enjoy it, especially with my general yearning for a sense of belonging) but mostly I’m glad it wasn’t awkward for the other kids and that they were able to enjoy having me around. I really miss them! It seriously sucks to meet cool new people and have them disappear out of your life so quickly, I’ll have to make sure to drop by studio sometime when I next visit their campus.
As a whole, the city was great. I love the gypsy vibe, the bright colors, and bold designs. The sun was an overly welcome reprieve after rainy and dreary Paris. The people were friendlier and more welcoming as well. It was a bit frustrating for me because I don’t speak a word of Spanish, let alone Catalan so I was completely incapable of talking to people, which was frustrating, but luckily we had three Spanish speakers in the group that were able to do the talking for me at restaurants and asking for directions and such.

Recommendation: we took a day at Sitges beach and it was awesome. The sand was incredibly warm and soft, the waves just the right height for cooling off, and the meandering, brightly painted streets were overflowing with surprisingly great shops and restaurants.