Another beautiful city…I’m not sure how I’m going to adjust to the US when I get back. I’m currently in Madrid, exhausted but enjoying the city and really looking forward to London on Monday. I’m missing that city like crazy, specifically my awesome flat. Let’s hope that the volcanic ash doesn’t mess it up; as of now Ryanair has cancelled all flights until Monday 1pm and my flight is on Monday at 5pm…

As for Barcelona, here it goes!

Day 1: we arrived Sunday late afternoon, and I decided to hit up the Museu Picasso since most museums in Barcelona are free on Sunday. It was a pretty awesome museum, with a lot of Picasso’s early works and all of his Las Meninas. It was pretty cool to see the progression of his work over time, especially since I only thought of Picasso as a modern artist. Afterwards, I walked around the area and explored a little bit before getting back to Elizabeth’s place (her host mom Carmen is amazing and I tried my hardest to communicate but definitely had a tough/embarrassing time).

Day 2: Checked out La Sagrada Familia and my mind was completely blown away. Anyone who knows me knows my disdain for modern art, but after Barcelona I definitely have a true appreciation for it. La Sagrada Familia is Gaudi’s unfinished masterpiece and is still being worked; it’s projected completion is in two decades (!). Anyway, I was so impressed by Gaudi’s creativity…never have I seen anything that awesome. Inside the church, the beams were made to look like trees with branches going up to the ceiling. Pictures will be up on facebook but they won’t do it justice. I just loved that church, once of my favorites in Europe. Afterwards, I had some vegetable paella which was delicious…I wasn’t ambitious enough to try the seafood one. Later that evening, I went to Plaça Espanya, which was also beautiful, and home to the Museu d’Art de Catalunya (which unfortunately was closed on Monday). I decided to walk down to Poble Espanyol and take in some views of Parc Monjuic before heading back to call it a night.

Day 3: I went back to the Plaça Espanya area with the intention to go into the Museu d’Art de Catalunya but decided instead to walk to the Estadi Olympic per Shilpa’s great suggestion. The view of Barcelona was gorgeous and that entire area was just so serene and beautiful. After taking in the views, I went to the Fundacio de Joan Mirro, another Catalan surrealist. His works were definitely impressive, and my appreciation for modern art has truly grown after checking out his work. I spent quite sometime in there and then met up with Elizabeth to do some walking down Las Ramblas. After walking down this main street, we went into La Boqueria, arguably Barcelona’s most famous market. I bought some amazing chocolates (could not resist the vast amounts) and then went over to Elizabeth’s univerisity where I had the best boqadillo de queso (a baguette with cheese, tomato, and oil) in Barcelona.

Day 4: Decided to take it easy and went back to Las Ramblas and walked all the way down until I got to the Columbus monument and the pier. Took in the awesome view of the Mediterranean for a bit and then decided to take the funicular to Parc Montjuic. After getting to the park, I took the cable car all the up to the Castel, which had the best view of Barcelona yet. Had lunch there and spent a lot of time there just looking at the amazing view of the city and the Mediterranean. After awhile, I headed back to Jaume I area to meet up with Elizabeth and to walk around the Barri Gothic. Checked out the awesome medieval buildings and the Catedral de Barcelona. Then we walked back down towards the water and I saw Cervantes’ house (pretty awesome). After walking back up Las Ramblas, we went back home. Later that night I met up with Shara for a great time and the best way to cap off my trip to Barcelona.

Overall, Barcelona was an amazing city although I do have to say the people can be pretty racist. My first ever experience of EXPLICIT racial profiling happened at the airport when Elizabeth and I were heading to Madrid. I went through the scanners and didn’t beep at all, which should mean that I’m fine and good to go, right? No. The woman stopped me and asked me to step to the side where she wanted me to take off my headscarf. After I refused, and told her that she can search me over my scarf, she did just that. It was definitely a weird experience, and eye-opening, since I considered myself pretty lucky to not have faced the problems that many other Muslims have post-9/11. However, I’m not going to let that put a damper on my trip and can safely say Barcelona is a beautiful city.