Barcelona study abroad Summer 2011: Day 15/Parc Guell

I went to bed at 7pm last night after I got back from Hard Rock and didn't wake up again until 10am this morning. That was probably the best sleep that i've gotten since i've been here! I had to present a project on 2 sports newspapers in Barcelona today. I thought it went pretty well, until the teacher asked me if I did anything else besides look up information on Wikipedia, haha. Both of them were completely in Spanish, what the heck?! For lunch, I had 2 muffins: blueberry and strawberry. They were dang good, with icing on the top and in the middle, but not enough for a lunch. So, I had to get a small baguette during my next class's break. My roommates went to Parc Guell over the weekend when I was in Pamplona, so I ventured over there by myself after class today. It was a longer cab ride than I thought, and very quiet because my Spanish is still not good enough for conversation yet. The park was beautiful, but a little bit crowded. It's a good thing that I was by myself because it took a long time for me to get through the park alone, and I can't even imagine being with other people because the park closes at 9 and I didn't get there until 6:45pm. And the park was HUGE. There were 2 ways to go once you get past the first monument, with the lizard on it. I had no idea which way to go, so I walked up the right and then crossed over to the left and circled the park. There were so many different routes to take on each path, all of which looked like they ended at a different place. The path was windy and curvy with views of the city almost throughout the park. The first monument was a brick mound with 2 staircases leading to the top, and at the top there were 2 crosses. You could see almost the entire city from up here, from Torre Agbar and Sagrada Familia to Montjuic and further. It was crowded at the top and I got my pictures so I was onto the next one. There was even a basketball hoop on the edge of the park near the top. I definitely veered off the path a little bit, but eventually found my way back. There were awesome columns with designs on the top all throughout the park, with bridges on top of them. I would say that if you ever make it to Barcelona then you have to check out Parc Guell, because the views from here are seriously breathtaking. At the top, there is a gate where you can exit and hike up probably 200 stairs, but the reward is worth it. This is probably the tallest point of the city that you can get into for free and the views just keep getting better and better. I tried to take some panoramics, but they didn't work out so well. They don't look too bad though. After making my way back down, I continued walking though the curvy paths and under bridge columns, dodging the other tourists left and right. There was a house inside the park that was dedicated to Gaudí, with rooms of various people that he helped design structures for. My favorite was the room that showed models of some of his works, including the columns to Sagrada Familia. On my way down to the exit, I stopped back at the tiled benches where the famous view was and waited in line for a picture. Luckily, taking a picture is universal in all languages, so I was able to make the motions with my hand and the task was complete. After this, I headed down a flight of stairs close to the entrance where the famous tiled lizard was and waited long in line to take a picture with it. Once again, I found somebody to take a picture of me (and they spoke English!). Thank God for nice people! By the exit, there was a gift shop with neat crafts and information about the park, so it was only right of me to buy some postcards on my way out. In total, it took me about 2 1/2 hours to get through the park. When I left, I passed a gelato place that looked too good to pass up (and it was the first real gelato that i've had since i've been here) so I stopped in and got a cone. I tried to find the metro when I got to the bottom of the hill, but went the wrong way so I added about 30 minutes to my trip! When I got back on the right path to the station, I was really booking it because my roommates had cooked dinner and I wanted to catch the end of it. As I was walking across the street to the metro, I tried to put my camera back in the case, but my spare battery fell out without me noticing. After a couple of minutes of looking for it, a nice man with a dog stopped me and point me in the right way because of the language barrier. Again, what a nice guy! I could have seriously been in trouble without my extra camera battery. About 30 minutes of metro-ride later, I got off at my stop and headed back to the apartment and was able to eat the leftovers before my roommates put them away. They cooked noodles, broccoli, chicken, and bought bread. And it was a nice end to the day, especially after my skimpy lunch. There are so many things left to do in the city with so little time left to do it. So, I really have to make these next 10 days count!

I was able to skype with my Grandpa and Laura today for about 15 minutes which was great, although short. It was really great to see them and I am glad that I was able to wish my Granpda a Happy Birthday on his 90th. I caught some grief for choosing to go abroad and not be there for his 90th birthday, but thankfully I have a very understanding family. I thought they were throwing his surprise party tonight, but she told me that it wasn't until this weekend! And that's a bummer because I will be in Madrid without a computer. Oh well! Happy 90th birthday gramps! I love ya!