Rome is an amazing city. I want to start by saying that. But I have this passion for Spain that I can't seem to shake. I will forever be awed and in love with Spanish culture and the country itself. I went to Barcelona last weekend. I had a great time. It was an experience I won't soon forget. So much happened, so many emotions flowed into and out of my head. Overall, I feel that it is best described as a learning experience.
Lesson One: When you go to a new city, bring a map... especially when you arrive in the dead of night. The flight we took into Barcelona took off on a Thursday night at 9:30 p.m.. The flight was an hour and fifteen minutes, we arrived at Girona airport at 11:00. Upon arrival we realize that this airport is not in Barcelona but about an hour outside the city. A taxi into Barcelona from the airport is 150 euro. A taxi was definitely not an option, I'm on a very limited budget. This is when the first problem of the weekend occurs...how are we going to get to Barcelona? We wander around the airport for a while, and luck is on our side, I guess. We find a bus that will take us into Barcelona for 21 euro round trip. After an hour of broken sleep and Snow Patrol playing on repeat we arrive in Barcelona at 12:30. This is where a map would come in handy. We have no idea where our hostel is, much less where the bus station we are currently at is located within the city. So we wander...for two hours. I am mad and ready to jump into the next taxi that drives by. We walked onto a highway, into a ghetto past prostitutes, and into construction zones. Finally we used our last resort, Katherine's iPhone. It probably cost her a lot of money, but we found our hostel and walked there looking like zombies. We bought a map the next day.
Lesson Two: Everything costs money...even blankets. It's three in the morning by the time my head hits the pillow. A blanket costs two euro and Katherine, Marriam and I decide to rough it and save the money. Roughing it did not last long. At around 3:30 I woke up freezing to find Katherine and Marriam shivering under their coats they are using as blankets. I get up and buy the three of us blankets and slept like a baby until 10. Europe is expensive.
Lesson Three: Travel in small groups when possible. I love every single girl I went on this trip with. Know that before reading this paragraph. I am not a girl person. I have girls that I love to death and are my best friends, but I can not handle large groups of girls for long periods of time. I go crazy. I learned to hold my tongue and go with the flow this weekend...that's for sure.
I did a lot of things while I was in Barcelona. My favorite adventure was the Picasso Museum. It is the most interesting place I have been in a long time. I could sit in that museum for hours and stare at his paintings. They take my breath away. My favorite room in the museum is the room(s) dedicated to Picasso's interpretations of Velazquez's painting, Las Meninas or in English, The Maids of Honor. His paintings are amazing and thought consuming. I might be in love with them.
The trip was so fun but during my time there I realized that I missed Rome, or at least my room in Rome. My room is warm, my bed is comfy, and I don't have to play for food here. We started to say that we were Rome sick, although I really am HOME sick. We also realized that we have started chapter two. We all like it here, and it was a huge surprise to find that I actually missed it...still not as much as I miss home, but it's something.
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