Barcelona: land of the Sangria and trippy architecture
I can see why so many people rave about Barcelona; it has an undeniably youthful energy about it. It is filled with fun shops, lively restaurants, and lots of young people. One thing I didn't realize until I raked the terrain myself, however, is that everything is incredibly spread out. My friends and I were able to utilize the metro system, and that God we did! We ended up using it for everything—Fundacio Joan Miro, Park Guell, Las Ramblas, the pier, and even going out at night.
For some reason I had this idea in my mind that the tapas and food in general would be incredible, but I was sort of let down. I only had one decent meal, and it happened to be seafood Paella (which I have to say many places did well). I found the tapas offerings at every place I went to be somewhat crusty looking- nothing was fresh or creative.
I think the biggest thing I regret about this trip was the lack of planning that went into it. Had I picked out good restaurants ahead of time, we probably would have found some real diamonds in the rough! Plus, after traveling for twenty minutes taking the metro and hiking up to "Park Guell" (ugh.) we realized that you had to PAY to get into the park. I'm sorry but that's annoying. We would have done so of course (curse the tourism industry!) except for the fact that the next "opening" (I know, right? so dumb) wasn't until 8pm.
So, ya we were not too happy about that. But enough with the complaining!
The highlights of the trip for me were visiting the Fundacio Joan Miro and practicing my spanish!
I discovered that I absolutely love modern art. It was so interesting for me to decode what each painting and sculpture meant. My companions were arguing that modern art seemed pretentious and didn't require much skill, but I beg to differ. I believe that it elucidates abstract thoughts and concepts in a visual form. Things like emotions, events, moods, themes, patterns, recurrences in human nature—these are all portrayed in the form of shapes and colors and lines so that we may interpret them for ourselves. I just find it so interesting how looking at a creation can make every person feel a different way. It connects us and unites us as a human race, because we can understand these complex concepts that are formed in our brains and yet, at the same time, the art allows us to be unique because we each have slightly different interpretations of the art due to the influences of our past experiences and our personal viewpoints and biases, as well as our levels of creativity. It ties in so well with psychology! (Sorry I had to geek out on art for a lil bit). Anyway, thanks Mom and Dad for recommending the foundation! Even though my engineer-y linear-minded friends weren't too crazy about it, I absolutely loved it hehe.
Cuando hablé en español, las personas en los restaurantes y los museos estuvieron contentos. Pero, necesito practicar mucho— yo quiero tomar las clases de español en el verano, especialmente si yo asistirá la escuela en una país latino o hispano.
I would love to go back to Barcelona someday, because I feel like it teems with life and color. I want to get to know more about its history, and I want to experience even more of its culture- dance, food, music, art, customs, literature, and language. Maybe I could do a year abroad there... who knows?
That's all for now, folks! ¡Adios, amigos!
For some reason I had this idea in my mind that the tapas and food in general would be incredible, but I was sort of let down. I only had one decent meal, and it happened to be seafood Paella (which I have to say many places did well). I found the tapas offerings at every place I went to be somewhat crusty looking- nothing was fresh or creative.
I think the biggest thing I regret about this trip was the lack of planning that went into it. Had I picked out good restaurants ahead of time, we probably would have found some real diamonds in the rough! Plus, after traveling for twenty minutes taking the metro and hiking up to "Park Guell" (ugh.) we realized that you had to PAY to get into the park. I'm sorry but that's annoying. We would have done so of course (curse the tourism industry!) except for the fact that the next "opening" (I know, right? so dumb) wasn't until 8pm.
So, ya we were not too happy about that. But enough with the complaining!
The highlights of the trip for me were visiting the Fundacio Joan Miro and practicing my spanish!
I discovered that I absolutely love modern art. It was so interesting for me to decode what each painting and sculpture meant. My companions were arguing that modern art seemed pretentious and didn't require much skill, but I beg to differ. I believe that it elucidates abstract thoughts and concepts in a visual form. Things like emotions, events, moods, themes, patterns, recurrences in human nature—these are all portrayed in the form of shapes and colors and lines so that we may interpret them for ourselves. I just find it so interesting how looking at a creation can make every person feel a different way. It connects us and unites us as a human race, because we can understand these complex concepts that are formed in our brains and yet, at the same time, the art allows us to be unique because we each have slightly different interpretations of the art due to the influences of our past experiences and our personal viewpoints and biases, as well as our levels of creativity. It ties in so well with psychology! (Sorry I had to geek out on art for a lil bit). Anyway, thanks Mom and Dad for recommending the foundation! Even though my engineer-y linear-minded friends weren't too crazy about it, I absolutely loved it hehe.
Cuando hablé en español, las personas en los restaurantes y los museos estuvieron contentos. Pero, necesito practicar mucho— yo quiero tomar las clases de español en el verano, especialmente si yo asistirá la escuela en una país latino o hispano.
I would love to go back to Barcelona someday, because I feel like it teems with life and color. I want to get to know more about its history, and I want to experience even more of its culture- dance, food, music, art, customs, literature, and language. Maybe I could do a year abroad there... who knows?
That's all for now, folks! ¡Adios, amigos!
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