Barcelona es mi amor nuevo!

Hello everyone! I recently just got back from Barcelona, Spain and let me just say that no matter how well I described the experience it still would not do it justice. It was incredible!
Day1-Jan 31, 2008
Just to give you all a taste of the transportation system here, this is what happened to get to the airport. We left early in the morning on Thursday and first had to take the campus bus to the train station because we had to catch the 9:50 train from Ormskirk to Liverpool, then from there we switched to another train that took us closer to the aiport. From there we took a bus that took us to the airport. We flew out at 12:55 and landed about 2 hrs later. We then had to take another bus followed two more trains, climbed a mountain, and then we were there! Haha so yeah the first day was long but we ended the night with some authentic Spanish food from our hostel. It consisted of some type of green soup, egg casserole tortilla thing, and salad. It was very tasty. On the way back I noticed something that looked like a hairy pig, i thought i might halucinating but after looking closer I realized that it indeed was a wort hog or bore (the debate continues)! Pumba came to tell us goodnight! haha Don't worry it ran away after we all screamed. The hostel was very nice and we all slept extremely well as you can imagine.
Day 2-Feb.1, 2008

The next day we wanted to see as much as possible so we woke up early and went to see this basilica that we heard of and saw at breakfast at the top of the hill. The lady told us it was the highest point I Barcelona and you can see the whole city. Man was she right. This was the highlight of my trip and I could have stayed there and talked to this priest we met all day and been happy. It was absolutely gorgeous. If you really want to see some great pictures of it, check out the album on snapfish. The priest we met gave us all the history of this Church and then took us up to the top. He did not make us pay and when we asked to give a donation instead he just said in his broken Spanish with a smile"please just say a prayer for the Barcelona community instead" When we

reached the top, he gave us each a tissue heart and gave each of us something such as kindness, sincerity, faith, etc. I got love. He said when you get to the very top blow this heart to the community of barcelona. It was the best experience of my life. The rest of the day would have to live up to this moment. After we left there we headed to the Sagrada Familia, which is a church made by Gaudi a very famous Spanish architect. He wanted to build his version of the catholic cathedral, unfortunately he died before finishing it so under controversy other architects decided to finish it. One side is the crucifixion, which the other is the Christmas story, both very different in style. Very cool looking. From there we headed to another cathedral, and we saw some museums of the artist, Dali. One of his paintings was really cool. I thought it might be the fallen angel but I am not sure if he was going for that. We saw an old fashioned car show along with many markets where they had goat heads, duck bodies, brains, and dead fish just sitting out as if it was nothing. Ha ha a little freaky but really interesting! Towards the end of the day (sunset) we went by the water and saw the port of Barcelona which was right near this strip full of shops and people selling things. There were also statues that stood along the walkway, this one was my favorite: the devil and angel playing chess. we ate dinner at this authentic place and I ate baby Octopi! Yes, it may have taken a good half an hour to muster up the courage but I did! They were crunchy, salty, and chewy all at the same time and it was a great experience but never again haha. After that we went on a quest to see the olympic stadium and complex and don't be mad mom but we ended up going through the ghetto, literally. haha but we made it out alice and saw the building. We unexpectedly walked back through this park and ran into the most beautiful set of fountains ever! It was amazing! Right as we got there, there was a light show synced with classical music. It was incredible! Unfortunately my camera died by then so no pics, but I will try to steal some from a friend. The fountains cascaded down a big hill that like lead right into the city. It was breathtaking and unforgettable. I wish all of you could be there just to understand the beauty of this city, I vowed to go back someday and spend more time in it.
Day3-Feb 2, 2008
Remember all those ways of transportation I talked about earlier, yeah well we had to do that and more to get back on the plan and to Edge Hill, but we made it. Leaving at 5 am that morning really helped. I got back to my room ate and crashed for the day. All in all it was the most amazing experience and would do it again in a heartbeat. Oh did I mention that this other girl and I were the only ones who could speak some Spanish? Yeah, well I was very proud of my performance and am glad I paid somewhat attention in high school :) Love you all take care!