After months of traveling, I had finally reached my last
destination of Spain. I was really bummed that I only had 5 days left until I
had to head back to America, but I was determined to make the most out of my
remaining time. And I sure did.
DAY 1
I flew from Porto, Portugal to Barcelona, Spain and arrived
in the evening. I got to my hostel, Saint Jordi Rock Palace (the best hostel
EVER), and checked in. I heard so many people talking and yelling in the common
area downstairs and the hostel workers said that there was a club crawl leaving
in about 5 minutes. I was kind of tired but I decided it would be a great way
to meet people so I ran upstairs to my room, threw down my stuff, and headed
downstairs. The club crawl leader had just begun yelling to people to start
gathering by the door since they were about to leave. I saw a huge tub full of
sangria so I found a cup and scooped a cupful. It’s legal to drink on the
streets in Spain (or at least I was told that) so I got shuffled out of the
hostel as I was still holding my cup full of sangria.
I instantly met so many cool people. Some guy named Ethan
who was also from California, a Canadian guy named Mark and a guy named Ren
from Manchester, England ended up being my buddies for the night, as we ended
up getting separated from the group later (I remember their names solely
because I have it typed into my notepad in my phone and have a picture with
them). We were led by this club crawl leader who worked at the hostel and we
were basically his cattle. We headed towards the subway after walking past a
few restaurants with people who were just eating dinner at midnight! I could
get used to this whole late-night Spain routine, and I sure got used to it when
I was there. So the club crawl leader led us to the subway where everyone (with
many people already drunk) had to buy their tickets on a machine. Let’s just say
it took a little longer than it should’ve…So we ended up at some bar, then some
club, then separated from the group somehow after these guys from Manchester
got too crazy and needed help from the hostel club crawl leader. It ended up
being a great night meeting new people, dancing to amazing music (hearing
“Bailando” at a club in Spain made me so happy), and discovering Spanish
nightlife.
DAY 2
The days in Spain all blurred together. Nights turned into
days and everyone basically woke up at sunset and went to sleep at sunrise. The
first club crawl night I think I stayed out until around 6am and managed to
find my room and pass out. I woke up around 5 or 6 hours later when everyone
else in my 14 person room was just beginning to wake up as well. I started getting
ready for the day and was ready around the same time as this girl that I
recognized from the club crawl the night before. She opened the door to leave
and I couldn’t help but ask what her plans were for today. She said that she
was just going to go “explore” and I asked if she wanted to be travel buddies.
We instantly became “trip best friends” for the rest of my time there. Her name
was Becky and she was from Canada and she was the best.
We wandered down one
of the most popular touristy streets in Barcelona called La Rambla, AKA pick-pocket
central, and stopped at different booths and stores. There are so many people
on that street! We approached Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria (as you may
have noticed, that’s not Spanish. They speak Catalan in Barcelona which is kind
of Spanish-y, kind of French-y and kind of weird) and went inside. There were
so many people in there and so many stalls with all types of foods. There were
so many fruit stalls but there were also lots of mini restaurants inside this
covered market. We found one, sat down and had our first meal of the day,
breakfast or lunch or brunch or whatever you want to call it. As we were
leaving, I walked by a stand that was selling lamb heads (!!!) and quickly got
out of there. It’s so crazy that that is normal to Spaniards!
We continued down La Rambla and finally made it to the
beach. I approached this huge statue that I remember seeing the last time I was
in Barcelona so I got excited and took a lot of pics and sent it to my parents
later on when I had wifi. We walked around Rambla de Mar which had many
restaurants, cool looking buildings, and stores, but continued down to the
actual beach, Barceloneta. It ended up being a longer walk than we thought it
would be, but there was never a dull site so we were fine with that. We hung
out on the beautiful yet extremely crowded beach until dinner time, then chose
a nice restaurant directly parallel to the beach. I had been craving Paella
since the last time I was in Spain 3 years before, and as I waited for that
delicious dish, I ordered a mojito. Nothing says Barcelona like Paella and a
mojito! Our Paella finally came and it was better than I even remembered.
Paella is a popular rice dish that generally comes with all kinds of seafood
but you can get it different ways depending on the place. That was when it
really hit me that I was actually in Spain, as I was on the beach eating Paella
and drinking a mojito. I was just so serene and happy.
It started getting dark and we heard about this fountain
light show so we started walking towards it. It was way farther than we thought
so we got in a taxi and got there a few minutes before it started. I actually
had been there a few years before when I went on a Mediterranean Cruise but my
family and I had went on a day when there happened to be no show so I was
excited to finally see it! It was called the Magic Fountain of Montjuic and had
beautiful stairs leading up to the top where you could watch the show from.
There were so many people standing around, sitting on the stairs, and some
right by the fountain. The music started and it played a range of songs from
Frozen to classic rock. It was really random but the lights were beautiful and
there were people from all over the world watching the show. We were there for
about a solid hour since it was such a beautiful place, then we headed back to
the hostel to shower and get ready for club crawl round 2.
Saint Jordi is a chain of hostels (I think there are about 5
of them) and so on the second night of the club crawl, we joined with 2 of the
other ones. I met some more really cool and fun people, we ended up at some
club that was on the beach and so much fun, and I was just really getting the
hang of the Spanish way of life!
DAY 3
I went to brunch with Becky at this amazing crepe place a
few blocks away from the hostel. They were huge crepes and mine had cream
cheese in it with salmon on top. It was so good and I am now craving it. We
then went back to the hostel and hung out as I packed up my stuff. My flight to
Madrid left in a few hours but I was really sad to leave Barcelona since I had
met such amazing people and had such a great time. I went up to the rooftop of
the hostel where people were hanging out in the hot tub and I hung out then
said my goodbyes. Everyone kept telling me not to leave until a few days later
when everyone else happened to be leaving. I was torn. I couldn’t fathom the
idea of leaving Barcelona when I had met so many people, so I frantically
called my parents and asked them to change my flight. They made all my flight
reservations when I was on Semester at Sea since I had no internet access, so
after talking to them (well pretty much begging them), they changed my flight
to two days later. To make things even better, there was some big soccer game
happening at the time and it happened to be Barcelona v. Madrid and Barcelona
won. Barcelona won me over as well.
I went back on the rooftop and told everyone the good news
and they were excited and said I definitely made the right decision. I suddenly
heard a ton of honking on the street because the soccer game had just ended.
The honking didn’t stop for at least 30 minutes! Everyone driving by did the
same honking melody and the whole city came even more to life than it already
was. I went to dinner with Becky and had more Paella, then we got ready for the
third night in a row out.
When all the club crawlers got onto the subway to get to our
first destination, it was completely packed. Everyone was yelling and
celebrating Barcelona’s victory over Madrid, and it was a Sunday night! The
first destination was fun but then we got to the prime beach club, Opium. We
got in line and when I tried to get in, they pointed at my feet and told me I
couldn’t enter. I had flip flops on. I had been backpacking for 3 weeks with
limited space in my backpack so I literally only had a choice of flip flops and
tennis shoes, but they would not let me in. They were nice gold flip flops but
the other girls wearing flip flops who were allowed to enter had one extra tiny
strap over their foot (which I don’t understand at all how that is any
different) so I wasn’t allowed to enter. Some friends offered to help sneak me
in or to go to another club with me, but I told them to have fun. I was in a
pretty bad mood after that so I went into the other beach club that I was in
the night before and just walked around alone. It was the weirdest experience!
It was oddly enough kind of nice since I didn’t feel like talking to people so
I just walked around and observed. I went outside close to where the beach was and
some foreign guy tried talking to me but I just wasn’t in the mood to talk. I
messaged a girl I had met the first night who happened to have a mutual friend
who I went to high school with, and I ended up at her hostel hanging out with
all her roommates. There was a group of fun British guys so of course I had a
lot of fun talking to them! The night did not go according to plan, but it
still ended really well.
DAY 4
I wanted to go more places around Barcelona this day, but
Becky and I woke up really late (typical) and decided we would just walk to the
beach again. Her friend from Canada, Cody, was teaching English in Barcelona
and had just come back from a quick trip to Budapest, so he was back. We met up
with him at the beach and hung out, went to dinner, drank the most delicious Sangria
and had Paella. We kind of just walked around and they caught up, then we took
the subway back to our hostel. There is a club crawl every night at the hostel
but I was just done. 3 nights in a row was enough for me.
I stayed in my room in bed the whole night watching episodes
from the new season of Game of Thrones that was on. I was happy and everyone in
my room had gone out so I had the room to myself to just enjoy GOT. When my
parents switched my flight and extended my stay in Barcelona, there was no more
room in the room I was previously staying in with Becky so they transferred me
to another room. There was a group of 4 American guys who were definitely
entertaining. They came in at 4am and were really loud but saying the funniest
stuff and commenting on their night. Hostel roommates are always entertaining
in some way.
DAY 5
Today was my official last day in Barcelona; I wasn’t going
to change my flight again! I went off with Becky like always and we walked down
some streets close to La Rambla. I found the tattoo parlor I had looked up and
walked in. I decided it would be cool to get a “travel” tattoo when abroad, and
since I was in my favorite place to travel to, I had to get it there. I walked
in and a guy gave me a tattoo on my foot that says “Explore”. That word means a
lot to me since the Semester at Sea ship was called the MV Explorer and the
word “explore” was said so much when wandering around new countries. I also
wanted to remind myself to not be lazy when I got back to America (which has
kind of failed…oops) and that there is a lot of exploring to do even in my own
country. It didn’t hurt as much as my first tattoo even though I heard foot
tattoos hurt, but maybe it was because I knew how it would feel. It was done in
about 15 minutes and it was funny because the guy gave me aftercare
instructions in Spanish. Luckily he told me all of it in English before giving
it to me, but I also could read about 90% of what it said. He wrapped up my
foot and it was time to head back to the hostel to gather my stuff up before
going to the airport. While walking back, it started raining. I guess Barcelona
was sad that I was leaving. I was sad too. I said my goodbyes to Becky, the
hostel workers, and whoever else I could find. I walked across the street to
the bus station then ended up at the airport to board my flight to Madrid.
It was a very short flight and I got into Madrid literally
right after sunset. I got in a taxi and a nice woman drove me to my hostel. The
radio was on in the car and the woman started singing to the song playing: “As
long as you love me” by the Backstreet Boys. I couldn’t help but smile and
joined in with her. I will always remember that moment and think of that moment
every time I hear that song. We arrived at U Hostels in Madrid and I checked
in. I heard people in the next room in the common area but I was hungry and
getting tired. The guy who checked me in was sarcastic (like most hostel
workers) but nice and gave me directions to where to get food. I put my stuff
in my room and walked a few blocks away where I found this small café. I sat
down and my waitress came over but she only spoke Spanish. We managed to communicate
a little though and I put my Spanish to good use. At the end of my meal, she
said “quieres un chupito?” which means “do you want a chupito?” I had no idea
what a “chupito” was so I asked her and she went in the back room and came out
with a shot glass filled with something like Bailey’s Irish Crème. I of course
said “si” and “gracias”, paid for my meal, and went back to the hostel. My
favorite moments of human interaction when traveling is when we don’t speak the
same language fluently!
Back at the hostel, there was a karaoke night going on in
the basement area which happened to be a bar/club-like place. I checked it out
for a bit but felt overwhelmed by the vast amount of people that I did not know
and was just tired. I went upstairs after about 20 minutes and there were 3
guys that had arrived in my hostel room. They were all Americans and we got
talking. Turns out, they were good friends with a guy that I went on Semester
at Sea with! Such a small world. We talked for a while but we were all tired.
They had just gotten off the plane a few hours before and it was their first
destination of a long vacation. It was kind of ironic since it was my very last
destination, and we all seemed equally tired. I said goodnight and couldn’t
believe that it was my last night abroad.
DAY 6
Wednesday, May 20, 2015 was the day I went home. I woke up
really early for a flight out of Madrid and the sun was just rising. It was
absolutely beautiful and I wished I got to spend time in that city, but I was
satisfied with my extended time in Barcelona. I arrived at the airport and we
flew to London for a layover. The layover was for about 6 hours and I sat
around, connected to the wifi, and then grabbed some food. The airport is absolutely
huge with stores, restaurants, and just everything. I found a pub and went in
to order the last full English breakfast I would have in a while (I still haven’t
had one since that day!) and some hard cider. I soaked in the environment
mostly full of drunk, loud, middle-aged men and was grateful that I had a
layover in London. I absolutely loved England so I was happy to be “back” even
if it was just in an airport.
It was finally time to leave, so I got on my plane and
headed home. I had such mixed emotions…excited to see my friends and family for
the first time in 4.5 months, sad to not be traveling anymore, relieved that I
could finally sleep in my own bed, and just grateful to have had the experience
of a lifetime. I watched movies, dozed off, and finally made it home. It was so
great seeing my family and telling them stories and showing them pictures, but
no one will ever be able to understand what I went through while traveling and
how those experiences made me feel. I will forever cherish the memories I made
and traveling has turned me into a better version of myself: a more outgoing, knowledgeable,
cultured and open-minded person. I can’t wait to travel again this summer to my
next destination: ISRAEL!
