Benvinguda a Barcelona!

My second big trip was quite a success!

This time my group was down to 5 girls (Me, Ellie, Maureen, Erica & Alanna) and sort of spur-of-the-moment decided to make a trip to Barcelona, Spain. After our connecting flight from London (Yes...I can say I've been to England now;) ) we arrived at night to our ADORABLE hostel called Saint Jordi: Sagrada Familia in the north part of the city. We were too exhausted to do anything that night but we were up bright and early the next morning.

We realized quickly that not many people spoke English there (or Spanish for that matter), but Catalan was most people's first language. My companion Alanna and I dusted off our rusty Spanish skills and did our best to get us around. It was so fun to try to remember all the words and expressions, but also motivated me to study it a lot more! We spent the morning wandering aimlessly around, in search of the Fat Tire Bike Tours starting point---we missed the first tour, but went in the afternoon! It was my absolute highlight of the entire weekend: riding around with 20 other tourists and weaving in and out of little alleyways and whizzing along the beaches and seeing the sights. Definitely the way to get around Barcelona :)

The history of the city was fascinating and we got to see some of the most beautiful architecture I have ever seen, mostly Gaudi's works. We went on this underground tour that walked us through Roman ruins and it was so mysterious and enchanting, and we also learned a lot about Catalan culture.

I set foot in the Mediterranean Sea for the first time! A little chilly, but I donned my swimsuit regardless and went for a swim. It was a gorgeous warm day and the sailboats were out. Tidbit: A little fact I didn’t know about Barcelona was that nudity on the beaches is legal…so…well you get the picture… J

The nightlife was great there as well and we got to go out with a big group from our hostel.

After 3 nights in Barcelona, we took a bus up to Girona to spend the night closer the airport. Although I had never heard about Girona, I ended up falling in love with it! While our time in Barcelona has been crowded and fast-paced, this homey little city was a quieter Italian-looking place that was filled with families strolling about, soaking in the sun. My friends and I decided to amble around town to take pictures and we stumbled on the most beautiful cathedral! El Catedral de Girona.  Stunning architcture, and it was empty inside, unlike the touristy Catedral de Barcelona.  It was a perfect way to wrap up a busy and yet perfect four day trip!

Hope all is well friends and family <3

PS: There are more pictures of my trip on Facebook