So after my first week in Barcelona, there is really only one thing I can say: WOW!

Everything here is so breathtaking! I like to think of it as New York with less people, less cars, and more beautiful buildings.

Look at this:

So far I’ve learned that the city has a very long and rich history, and belongs to the region of Catalonia. This region speaks both Spanish and Catalan, so many street signs and restaurant menus are in Catalan, and are a bit difficult to understand.

The center where my classes will be is located in the main plaza of the city, Placa Catalunya, which is always packed with locals and tourists alike. Around the Placa, there are many places to eat and shop, so I will definitely be doing some exploring over the next few months!

Placa Catalunya is also the beginning of La Rambla, which is a street in Barcelona popular for the many small stores that sell a large variety of things. I love Las Ramblas the most because of the architectural style. They are winding and narrow side streets that cars don’t drive down, but are always packed with people.

Here’s a picture of my first visit down las ramblas (as you can see, I’m having a horrible time): 

Basically, the area is quaint and beautiful. All of the cafes have outside seating, and are perfect for sitting down and enjoying a nice caf� con leche. A lot of the stores sell clothing but there are many specialty stores as well. Further down la rambla is La Boqueria, which is a HUGE market where you can buy fresh flowers, produce, meat, seafood, and spices, whatever your heart desires! This market is not for the weak stomached though, many of the stands have slabs of meat and whole animal parts just hanging from the ceiling or chilling in the coolers. Needless to say, as a forensic science major I thought it was kinda cool, but I can’t say the same for the other students that were with me.

My favorite place so far that I’ve visited has been Park Guell, which is a public park that was designed by Gaudi, a famous architect from Barcelona. The park itself is absolutely stunning, and covered in mosaics, which beautifully sculpted walkways. We hiked up the mountain and were able to see a breathtaking view of the city. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the park:

Here are some things that I found strange about Spain so far:

•  Their “hot chocolate” is very thick and rich, and is definitely not drinkable (but it’s definitely edible!). I would compare it closely to a rich, hot chocolate pudding. Anyway it is delicious!
• The ham here is much different, and looks more like prosciutto. It’s very salty, and I wasn’t a big fan of it. Also they are very fond of this ham and have giant severed pig legs hanging in the windows of almost every grocery store. They also use this giant pig leg to illustrate the ham flavor on the bags of ham flavored Lays potato chips (which by the way, taste eerily of ham.
• The food here is different but also very similar. You can’t find very many crackers or snack foods like in the US and microwaves meals are next to impossible to find. Most people buy fresh produce and actually cook meals. Wow.
• Dinner isn’t served until usually 9 or 10PM, so I’m usually starving by the time it gets here. Well, until I get used to the different meal times anyway.
• People here have no specific walking pattern and do what they want. They walk in whichever direction they prefer, which is usually a zig-zagging pattern so they can get to where they need to be. It’s not hard to walk this way when you’re by yourself but trying to keep a group together, like at orientation, is nearly impossible.
• The euro sucks. You buy something and you’re like oh, only 30 euros for these shoes! That’s like $30! Nope. It’s actually $42.
• EVERYTHING IS SO EXPENSIVE!!!!!! Apart from the euro having a higher value, lunch usually costs me about 11 euro a DAY! Ugh. I need to start packing lunches.

I’ve probably written way too much so I’m going to stop, but I will continue my euro hatred rant next week!

Hasta la proxima! J <3 

Location: Barcelona, Spain