Hei Alle! I’m SO behind on blogging so I’m trying to do two entries this week! Here we go…
I was really surprised when I found out that I was going to have a winter holiday from school during my time in Trondheim. It was at the end of February (21st-25th) and there are no national holidays during that time. I guess the school just thought the students deserve a break at this point in the semester. Sounds like a good deal!
Anyway, one of my best friends from college, Ally, is also majoring in social studies education and is doing her student teaching in the Dept EDUC: Utrecht student teaching program in the Netherlands. We soon realized upon our arrivals in Europe that we had the same winter holiday so we decided to meet up someplace warm. Even though I have traveled quite a bit I had never been to Spain and neither had Ally. We decided to go to the place we had heard the most about: Barcelona. We booked our flights about 3 weeks after we arrived in our respective cities and planned on meeting up.
Time flew by and before I knew it the winter holiday had arrived. Unfortunately Ally and I had some miscommunication and I thought that we were on the same flight from Amsterdam to Barcelona (I had to travel Trondheim-Amsterdam-Barcelona) so I was FREAKING OUT when I didn’t see her at the gate. I didn’t have my computer with me so I bought internet time at a computer in Schiphol and found out that she was on a different flight and would meet me at the airport. Thankfully both of our flights were on time and we met up safely in the Barcelona airport. It was SO AMAZING to see Ally! It felt really good to have someone who is not only one of your best friends, but also someone who is going through a similar experience (student teaching abroad). We took the Aerobus into Barcelona and arrived at our hostel (HelloBCN) around 8pm.
I’ve stayed in a few hostels in Europe and I would really recommend it. If you’ve lived in a dorm they you kind of know what it is like. HelloBCN had a great location (close to one of the main attractions in Barcelona, Las Ramblas) and was safe and clean. The staff was really kind and helpful AND it included free breakfast! Woo!
On our first full day in Barcelona Ally and I decided to take a free walking tour of the city. You can find free walking tours in many major European cities and, again, I would definitely do it. These tours are usually given by young English-speaking transplants and the tours are geared towards young people. The tour guides are paid by tips so if you do a walking tour remember to bring some change. We had a great tour guide who really took us all over and didn’t try to bore us with facts. The tour was mostly of the Gothic Quarter but it also helped us get our bearings in the city. It was really great.
The next day Ally and I got up early to go to the Sagrada Familia. Ally really likes art history and I just love looking at pretty stuff so we were both pretty excited. We traveled by metro (which, although is not necessary, is very navigable and reliable), so when we arrived from the underground to the church we both literally gasped. It was the most beautiful structure I’ve ever seen. We got on line (we were about 15 minutes early) and pretty much got right in as soon as the church opened. We “splurged” on the audio tour with our entrance pass (a whopping 13 Euro…which seems like nothing when you live in Norway!) and it was SO worth it. I feel like I appreciated the little details in the church so much more because I knew more about them. The Sagrada Familia was probably the most beautiful building I have ever been in and is currently my favorite place on Earth. Gaudi really outdid himself. It is so intricate and the details are so deliberate and well thought out. I could really devote an entire post to the Sagrada Familia but I’ll try and edit and only put up my favorite pictures:
The next day Ally and I went to the pier and beach! It was so incredible to feel such warmth (almost 70F!!) in the middle of winter…especially when you’re coming from Norway. It was great just to sit and relax. We also found a beautiful park that had orange trees! All of the oranges in Norway come from Spain so it was cool to see them.
On our last day we went to Montjuic. This is a beautiful mountain in the middle of the city that is home to the Olympic stadium from the ’92 summer games. There are also lost of beautiful parks to explore. Ally and I pretty much went on our own version of a photo safari. It was probably the warmest and clearest day we had on our trip so we both got some excellent shots. I feel like many people don’t go up to Montjuic because it wasn’t too crowded when we were there but I would highly recommend it. Its a great place to explore and get a little lost. I also loved the Olympic park but I also am a bit of an Olympic super-fan. =) We also went back to the park entrance at Placa Espanya later that night to see the fountain show. It was a great way to end our week in Barca.
It was really hard to say goodbye to Ally and Barcelona but it was also good to get back to Norway. Even though this trip was quite expensive (thanks for the graduation present, Mom and Dad!) it really was worth it. I would definitely recommend visiting Barcelona to anyone studying abroad in Europe! Until next time…
Location: Edgar B Schieldropsvei 42-18 7033 Trondheim Norway
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