ESCAPE TO BARCELONA

            I feel a little bit guilty complaining about the weather when all of my friends back in New York are experiencing the worst winter on record… but after having been in London for nearly three months I’ve become a pansy.  So when I heard that they have something called ‘reading week’ here  (meaning that I had a surprise week off from classes) I jumped at the opportunity to head down to Barcelona and remind myself of what sun felt like.

            Though I’ve spent a decent amount of time in Spain previously, I’d never made it all the way to Barcelona. I’d heard stories from friends who had visited the city telling me that it was amazing and I absolutely had to visit, but it had never jumped out at me for some reason. When I got there I was happy to find that what they had said was true.

            Due in part to its proximity to the ocean, Barcelona feels more like a beachside town than a major Spanish city. And there whole siesta-culture is definitely something I could get on board with… along with their need for a glass or two of sangria to accompany every meal, no matter the time of day.

            Even though it’s one of the warmed places in Europe at the moment, its still not quite optimal tourist season which worked well in our favor. It felt like we had the entire city to ourselves! Barcelona was ours to explore.

One of the highlights of the trip was watching the sun set into the ocean over the vast Barcelona skyline from Gaudi's Park Guell. 

(Because it's never too cold for ice cream, amiright?)

Pumpkin soup and bellinis taken alfresco (!) at Picnic

Sangria should only come in glasses the size of your head!

Dear good people of Barcelone, 

I am sorry that I kept insisting on calling Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia. The Sangria Famiglia. Really, I am... 

From café hopping around town to getting stuck at the top of Park Montjuic, we certainly got into some shenanigans. But what good trip doesn’t have lasting memories to match it?