La Bella Vita: Barcelona: Gaudi= my new obsession

Barcelona, wow what a whirlwind of a weekend. I went into this trip with zero expectations, not knowing anything and left with so much knowledge! I feel in love with Barc, I loved the half city half beachy vibe along with the incredible architecture by Gaudi. Deanna, Kat, Laurie, Dana, Kelly and Jenny all stayed with a few of our guy friends from Maryland. They showed us all the highlights of the city along with an amazing nightlife experience. When we first arrived our friend took us out to a little lunch place called Bo Da B located right by the beach. We all had these delicious salads with either chicken or salmon topped with a selection of salsas and a wide variety of fresh veggie toppings. After our lunch we took a walk down La Ramblas which is filled with shopping, performers and touristy attractions. Our friend then brought us to the la Boqueria. The bright colors and variety of fruits, vegetables, seafood, meats and candy is absolutely worth a visit! I have heard this is one of the best fresh food markets in all of Europe and I wouldn’t doubt that for a second! The nightlife in Barcelona was a crazy scene! Friday night we went to Opium Mar. The club has a beuatiful beach-front location and stays open until 6 a.m.! The beach terrace was stunning, the white coaches were there for the party goers to enhoy their drinks and admire the ocean.

After only getting a few hours of sleep waking up and starting our day on Saturday was somewhat of a struggle. But, we pushed through our tiredness and hoped on the metro to see Sagrada Familia which was designed and constructed by the famous architect Gaudi. I was really in shock to see the detail that went into this church. I found out that he died mid construction and the expected finish date of the church is in 2026. Oddly enough, the castle sort of reminded me of a sand castle made from drops of wet sand. After being completely stunned by the church we headed to park Guale to see another one of Gaudi’s masterpieces. This park was so magical to me, and I felt like a child that had just entered candy land. The colorful mosaics all around the park and the view of the entire city made us mesmerized for hours. I was so amazed by Gaudi’s work that the boys took us to see Casa Batllo which is an interesting and usual house. The building appeared to be adorned with skulls and bones and the roof resembled fish scales in the most beautiful oceanic blue shades.

Later that night we went to a luxurious, exotic oriental restaurant called Monk. All of the Maryland boys met up with us girls there and we enjoyed fun cocktails, ( I got a Mojito Champaign) and an amazing mediteranean/ asian fusion dinner! The whole trip we kept hearing about Chipitos, so after dinner us girls had to check it our for ourselves. I have never seen anything like this bar in my life; and if a place like this was brought to New York City it would be a gold mine. They have over 500 shots displayed on the wall with fun names such as the “Monica Lewinsky” and the “Willy Wonka” shot. The bartenders put on a show for most of the shots to fit the theme of what you order by using props and fire! Us girls tried the boy shot which starts off with the bartender handing us a marshmallow on a wooden stick and then she lights the bar on fire. We were told to roast our marshmallows in the fire, then drop it in the shot class and take the shot! The next shot we tried was the Harry Potter shot, which involves a huge sparkling flame and oranges. After Chupitos the boys brought us to another nightclub called Oshum where we were fortunate to have the best location for our table that looked down on the entire club. My trip to Barcelona really made me realize how the little things in life really make me the happiest. I realized how appreciative I should be and how fortunate I am to be experiencing such amazing things!