After a little over a month of living in Dublin and exposing around Ireland, I finally took to the air and set off to Barcelona!  In the least, Barcelona far exceeded any expectations I had and the vibrant city was the perfect weekend escape.  Although much hotter than I thought it would be, the food, the shopping, and the people made up for it.

When my friend and I first arrived we hadn’t really made a plan, we figured we would walk the streets and see where we ended up.  After a little exploring we wound up at Sagrada Familia- which ended up being my favorite place.  We decided against paying to walk around inside and we instead tried to capture its beauty and then we began to walk towards Park Güell.  Both of these architecture wonders really set Barcelona apart from any city I have ever seen before.  After finding out there were no longer tickets t go inside the monuments of Park Güell, my friend and I decided to hike around the rest of the park and by doing so we found unbelievable views of the entire city.

After walking about seven miles we figured it was time to visit a museum although the Picasso museum which we planned on going to was sold out for the day.  As we wandered around trying to find somewhere else to visit indoors, we stumbled upon the Antoni Gaudí who was a very famous architect that led projects like the Sagrada Familia and Park Güell.  Our day had come full circle and we knew after a tour of the museum that we had to see if there were tickets available for the next day to tour the inside of Sagrada Familia. Later that night we headed to a local place for some food and we had delicious paella – yum!!  I am usually a picky eater, but while I have been abroad I have managed to step out of my comfort zone and try new things because when is the next time I will be in a local hole in the wall Spanish restaurant while in Barcelona?!  After dinner we spent a few hours down by the beach just watching the gorgeous waves crash along the coast.  This was a major highlight of the trip because I was able to catch up with my friend and be at the beach.

The next morning we went to The Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria, aka La Boqueria.  This place was a huge food market which had delicious empanadas, juice, and dessert!  After we filled up on local foods we started walking towards La Sagrada Familia which we managed to book tickets for.  We shopped in and out of cute local shops on the bustling streets and each picked up some local jewelry and other fun bits to remember the trip with.  We stopped in large parks here and there to rest from the sun and to take in the sights.  Then we finally made it to Sagrada Familia which was actually breathtaking and no matter how skilled of a photographer you may be there is no way in capturing the temple’s beauty.  The temple has not been finished yet, but hopefully by 2026, the project will be complete meaning that i will have to return.  As we headed out there was a stage being set up in the front so we panned that after dinner at a local restaurant we would stop back and see what was going on.  Turns out it was the festival of dances so in front of the lit up gorgeous Sagrada Familia we watched an entire show full of Spanish culture.  This was the best way to see this trip come to an end and I am so humbled I had the experience to not only experience the city, but to live the culture even if only for a weekend.