Reunited in Barcelona

Last summer, my roommate and I hopped on a plane and took off to the energetic city of Barcelona! After two hours on the plane, we finally landed! I was meeting with one of my friends from back home who was also studying abroad, but in Barcelona. She also had just landed there from the U.S.

I had no way to get a hold of my friend due to the lack of Wi-Fi in the airport, so my instinct was just to go where her airline was and hope to find her somewhere in the enormous airport of Barcelona.

I walked toward a man who was at a cellphone company stand and he refused to help me! He wanted me to pay for a phone, which is something I clearly did not want. I kept walking forward and finally a sign of relief! I saw my friend, Soraya, sitting with two large pieces of luggage and a carry on and she yelled, “Oh my gosh Kim! I’m so happy to see you!”

We walked outside the airport and hopped on a cab and made our way to Las Ramblas to look for a hostel. Las Ramblas is a popular tourist area, where the main areas for sightseeing are nearby.

We settled in a hotel that was located inside Las Ramblas and got ready to explore the city.

We walked all along the strip and visited Plaza de Cataluña, where we did a little shopping and ate gelato.

Barcelona is the capital city of the sovereign community of Catalonia in Spain. It is the second-largest city in Spain and the seventh-most populous urban area in the European Union. It is the largest metropolis on the Mediterranean Sea that is also located on the coast between the mouths of rivers of Llobregat and Besos.

It also has a rich cultural heritage and is the center of attention for many tourists. The signature architectural works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner have been designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Barcelona is also the headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean and is known for hosting many international sporting events. The city has done a great job in being one of the world’s leading tourist, economic, trade fair and cultural centers, while having a large influence on commerce, education, entertainment, media, fashion and the arts.

During our week-long visit in Barcelona, the city was hosting a large festival called Fiesta de Barcelona. We hopped on the metro, which was our first time ever experiencing this sort of transportation and hoped that we landed in the right area. We switched lines a couple of times and got onto the most packed metro! People were literally on top on one another, and it was also the summer so the weather was not helping the situation at all! As soon as we got off to our final spot, my friend noticed that her phone was stolen!

The metro had taken off when she realized and there were too many people to even go back and check whom it was. We tried to cheer up my friend to help her feel better, and took a long walk along the coast of La Barceloneta, where there is a large strip of restaurants and bars.

The beach was jam-packed with locals; I have never been to such a large populated city! I couldn’t even tell who was a local.

Fireworks were going off and gunshots, as it was the kick off to the first day of summer. The locals were out and about celebrating this day with live music and drinks.

My friends and I ate at a restaurant on the beach and had tapas, which is a traditional Spanish cuisine along with Sangria.

Later that night we met up with some girl we had met the day before from Arizona State University. We hung out all night and talked about our recent experiences abroad. It was such a nice feeling knowing we had met some girls from the U.S.

We walked all over the center of the city, while locals kept firing guns and popping fireworks in the middle of the streets and near buildings. It surprised us how legal this was and we were also frightened that one of us might get hurt.

We were out and about until 6 in the morning, and that is how I knew Barcelona is the city that never sleeps, with its sparkly energy and positive vibes–I could not wait to explore more of the City of Catalan.