To Northern Spain We Go: Barcelona

This weekend was the first time my friends and I did a trip on our own going to Barcelona, Spain! Travelling on your own is definitely something that teaches you a lot about yourself. This past weekend a group of friends and I went on a weekend trip to Barcelona. Even though a quick hour and change plane ride, we organized and booked everything ourselves. Not as complicated as it sounds, but even though things can go either smoothly or get complicated, learning how to travel and make plans on your own is definitely a life skill worth learning.

4 years later and I made it back!

A majority of the group had not been to Barcelona, and even for me and my friend Liz who had been there before it was still an adventure for everyone. I went with AIFS's sister program ACIS in high school for a 10 day trip visiting France and then Barcelona. I got to see a lot of the city then but this weekend I was able to explore a lot more and see everything I didn't get to in the two days I was there before. For example, I went and saw the world famous La Sagrada Familia basilica before but I didn't get to go inside because of the crazy Disney-theme-park-busy-worthy line that was trying to get in. But this weekend we all woke up early to make sure we got inside and it was more than worth it. La Sagrada Familia was hands down one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen. And when you study abroad in Europe you see A LOT of cathedrals, basilicas and churches so that says something! I did a presentation on Gaudi, the architect behind La Sagrada Familia and a lot of works in Barcelona, last week in my History of Spain class so I was basically geeking out the entire time.

We legitimately walked for two straight days all over the city seeing the beach, Parc Guell, Las Ramblas and everything in between. It was exhausting but so worth it at the same time getting to go back and see more of the city!

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