It began like every other day. I ate breakfast at 8:30 and attended my two morning classes. But I could hardly sit still during my lit class because I was so excited to go to Barcelona for the weekend!
After class, I practically ran up the hills back to the apartment. I stuffed my clothes and toiletries into my carryon duffle bag. My madre made me a bowl of lentils and chorizo for lunch and packed me three bocadillos (sandwiches) for the airport. I then walked to the Ayuntamiento in Santander to meet up with the group. Together, we walked to the bus station to take a 20 minute ride to the airport.
The Santander airport is quite small, so we got to our gate pretty fast for our 3:00 flight. I took a nap on the plane, and we arrived in Barcelona at 4:00.
In order to get to the city, we took a metra from the airport to the downtown area. The ride only took about 30 minutes. We got off at a stop that was only one block away from our hostel. Right away, I spotted Casa Balló, an apartment designed by the incredible architect Antoni Gaudí, and I knew we were going to have an amazing trip!
The first thing we did was to check into our hostel. We had a great location- right in the downtown area just a couple of blocks away from Las Ramblas. Since we had 11 of us, we all shared a room that fit 12 people.
After we got settled in, we got some dinner at a restaurant located off Las Ramblas. Then, we walked to the beach to participate in La Noche de San Juan.
La Noche de San Juan is a fiesta that is celebrated throughout Spain. It occurs every year on the night of the summer solstice. People gather on the beach all night to hang out with friends and family. Bonfires are lit along the beaches with some of the more daring people jumping through the flames.
Walking along the beach was kind of scary. Everybody (adults and children) was lighting fireworks, and they exploded way too close to us. Some people even threw fireworks at the feet of their friends. So many people were crowded into the beach area, too. Despite the loud and close fireworks, I had fun hanging out with our group and enjoying our time in Spain. At 2:30 in the morning, four of us took a cab back to the hostel and went to sleep. It's funny because we were one of the first people on the beach to leave. People in Spain stay up crazy late!
First view of Barcelona
In order to get to the city, we took a metra from the airport to the downtown area. The ride only took about 30 minutes. We got off at a stop that was only one block away from our hostel. Right away, I spotted Casa Balló, an apartment designed by the incredible architect Antoni Gaudí, and I knew we were going to have an amazing trip!
The first thing we did was to check into our hostel. We had a great location- right in the downtown area just a couple of blocks away from Las Ramblas. Since we had 11 of us, we all shared a room that fit 12 people.
Entrance to the hostel
Staircase to climb up to our rooms. Our room was on the 6th floor, so we usually took the elevators.
View of our room when you first walked in.
I had the bottom bunk.
Pretty terrace located on the roof of the hostel.
Breakfast area
After we got settled in, we got some dinner at a restaurant located off Las Ramblas. Then, we walked to the beach to participate in La Noche de San Juan.
La Noche de San Juan is a fiesta that is celebrated throughout Spain. It occurs every year on the night of the summer solstice. People gather on the beach all night to hang out with friends and family. Bonfires are lit along the beaches with some of the more daring people jumping through the flames.
People on the beach celebrating La Noche de San Juan.
Bonfires on the beach. Don't worry- I didn't run through that.
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