Memory Monday - Barcelona, Spain

Recently, for some reason I've heard a lot of people talking about Barcelona.  Whether it's study abroaders or just people I've met, the city has come up quite a bit, which is why Barcelona is the next memory post.  I specifically remember being there during St. Patrick's Day because it felt slightly odd to be drinking green beer in Spain on a Irish holiday.  Nonetheless the city is incredible.  I was only there for three days but was able to see so much!  Some of my favorites were La Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, Las Ramblas, and of course the beach!

La Sagrada Familia is a Cathedral designed by the masterful architect, Antonio Gaudi.  This insane structure is still being built after over 130 years! It's a joke in Spain that it will never be completed because it still has about 40 years of work left on it.  It's not your typical Cathedral because it definitely gives an eerie feeling to it's visitors.  By that I mean more so than the usual eerie feeling in old churches.  Even more crazy, Gaudi devoted 40 years of his life to this edifice.  Although incredibly magnificent, I think about my small almost 23 years of life and appreciate that the next 40 years are unplanned. Like Siena, La Sagrada is also a World Heritage Site.  Even though it's small in comparison to the Tuscan town, it's sublime architecture speaks far more than I ever could.  At it's tallest point the Cathedral reaches 560 feet and is comprised of 18 towers. The most interesting component of La Sagrada is its bizarre, almost melted interpretation of the Gothic architecture in the time it was constructed.   From far away the structure looks like it's melting, then up close you can see the intricacies in the facades and sheer talent in the sculptures.

Park Guell was well worth the walk.  Even though it's a little bit aways from the church, when walking up to gates the collaboration of mosaics and funky architecture assures you that you've never seen anything like it.  Gaudi designed this park as well, which definitely explains the bizarre and curvy structures.  Once you go through the entry gates there are stairs that lead up to a columned structure.  On top of the structure is a view of Barcelona that is simply breathtaking.  Nothing about the park is normal and nothing about the experience is boring!

On Las Ramblas, myself and the girls I traveled with came across La Boqueria.  La Boqueria is a market filled with anything and everything fresh.  Rows and rows are filled with candy, fruit, veggies, flowers, meat and seafood.  For me it was a hidden gem because I hadn't set out to find it.  The sense of community this place provided gave me a peek of what the Spanish people are about.  How cool would it be to live down the street from a massive public market?

Enjoy the memories,
Kasondra