Spain Journal

8/2/2019 Spain Journal

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Kara Ward

Spain Journal

March 13 and 14, 2009

These two days consisted of our traveling and introduction to Barcelona. It was surreal. One

minute, I was in Boston, and the next thing I knew I was in a plane flying over the Atlantic Ocean, en

route to Barcelona via Paris. On top of what I already knew, I had read so much about Catalonia that I

was so excited I could barely stand it. Before I knew it I was in Paris Airport! Hearing people speaking so

many different languages was amazing. Because I am majoring in interdisciplinary studies, with

concentrations in English and Spanish, this meant a lot to me. I would absolutely love it if the United

States embraced multilingualism and I could hear multiple languages at once all the time like in Paris and

Barcelona. We got on the plane from Paris and landed in Barcelona an hour and a half later. Watching the

decent into Spain was amazing! The view was beautiful; on one side of the plane was the Mediterranean

Sea and on the other was the Pyrenees Mountains. Smack dab in the middle was Barcelona.

The first things I noticed about Barcelona were pretty sillypalm trees, black and yellow taxis

(all different car modelsincluding BMWs and Priuses!), yellow ambulances, and there were about six

motorcycles or mopeds in every direction that I looked (even the oceanjust kidding). Driving through

the city towards our hotel for the first time was amazing! My favorite part was getting to see La Sagrada

Familia. Ive loved that building for a few years now, so seeing it in person for the first time was

absolutely phenomenal! The hotel was very nice, and I was definitely surprised by the twin size beds in

the room instead of full size, as is usual in the United States. Once we were all set we headed downstairs

to go on the subway to bring us to the famous Las Ramblas. According to Eaude, Las Ramblas is the

aorta of the old city, (172). This was pretty obvious to me, as it was the most crowded place we went to

while in Spain. When we first arrived in Las Ramblas, Ral told us we had time for lunch, so we went to


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Fresco, which was this very cool salad bar and buffet. I ended up having frozen yogurt for desert. I was

expecting vanillait was a big shock when it tasted like plain yogurt.

Next we went on a walking tour of Las Ramblas. It was gorgeous. The architecture was

absolutely amazing; I couldnt get over how beautiful it was. I wish I had been able to stay in one of the

hotels on Las Ramblas that Eaude mentions in his Raval chapter. I would have loved to sit on one of those

wrought-iron fenced balconies and just watched all the people absorb the beauty of Barcelona. We walked

quickly through some side streets and stopped through the Boqueria. The Boqueria was so cool! Ive

never seen so many fish, fruits, vegetables, eggs, and other meats in one place. I love that there is a place

where people can buy fresh food (not from a supermarket) in Barcelona.

From there we walked to the Picasso Museum. I really liked how the museum was like a timeline

and it was clearly evident when different periods began, like his blue period and cubism. I also thought it

was very cool that they had paintings from when he was a child as welland they were better than

anything I could do now. PicassosMeninas series was very interesting to me because I instantly

recognized the painting it was modeled after.

We then headed back to the hotel for some supper and some much needed sleep.

March 15, 2009

This day was my favorite day during our trip. We started the day off with the Park Gell. It was

absolutely amazing. Gaud is undoubtedly my favorite architect of all time. Everything about the Park

Gell was wonderful; I cant imagine how the bourgeoisie chose not to live there. I thought it was very

cool that Gaud chose to live in his model house for several years before he became obsessed with La

Sagrada Familia. The town center in Park Gell was beautiful. The benches around the center were

amazingly designed. They fit my body perfectly and the broken ceramic designs on them were gorgeous.

The area under the center was amazing as well. Gauds design for the plumbing system was so cool, and

I loved how Carmen pointed out that it still works today. Everything else about the Park Gell was


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amazing as well; theres just too much to write about! The view was spectacular, the lizard was cool, the

fountains and walls and buildings were amazing, and it was just all wonderful! I was sad when we had to

leave, but so excited to go see La Sagrada Familia.

La Sagrada Familia was everything Id ever dreamed of. It was spectacular and breathtaking. I

could have stood outside that church and taken pictures for hours. It is a work of true genius, and the story

of its development is so interesting. I had no idea that Gaud was not the only architect behind this project

before this class. It is very unfortunate that he died before he finished his designs and that his designs

were later destroyed in a fire. I love that they are trying to design the new towers how they think Gaud

would have. I wish Subirachs had designed the Death side of the temple in a more Gaud-like fashion. I

was amazed by the temple; I plan to go back once it is finished.

Next we headed off to Mont Juic, where the 1992 Olympics were held. The buildings were very

cool. The stadium was the first Olympic stadium Ive seen. The view was spectacular. After taking a few

pictures, we went and got lunch. I had my first tapas. They were delicious! I love Spanish food. American

food comes in gigantic portions that only keep you full for a little while, but I was full for several hours

just from two little tapas.

Then we got on the bus and headed for Montserrat! The ride up the mountain was terrifying, but

totally worth it. The mountain was amazing, the view was wonderful, the monastery itself was awesome,

and the food venders were friendly and had delicious cheese. The monastery was so beautiful and

powerful I couldnt help being touched by it and by the rows of hundreds of candles left for loved ones.

The top of the mountain was gorgeous. I loved that we could see houses of the hermits who are the food

venders near the monastery.

Later that night we went to a flamenco show. It was very cool but not what I expected at all. I

thought flamenco was the apple picking dance that Ral described, but it was completely different. The


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show was amazing. It was full of emotion and energy and the outfits as well as the stories portrayed

through the dances and songs were beautiful.

After that I had a fun experiencing some differences between Spain and the United States. Several

of us sat out on a bench in front of the hotel and had fun until the wee hours of the morning. It was very

cool. Later I had a Twix bar from the vending machine and it tasted different from American Twix bars. It

had an almost coffee taste, which was strange.

March 16, 2009

On this day we went to Tarragona and Sitges. Both cities were amazing and beautiful. We visited

Tarragona first. Tarragona is where the traditional Colles Castelleres (Human Tower) competition occurs.

During this competition, teams build several people high towers using only human strength. Once the

tower is high enough, a child climbs to the top. It is a great honor for the child chosen. Naturally, there is

a large group of people standing around the tower in case anyone falls. Sadly, this event wasnt happening

when we visited, but we did see a statue that depicted the competition. It was very cool. Then we went to

the wall of the Old City. It was built by the Romans and it is still standing today. The Romans really knew

how to build their structures to last. There were multiple layers in the wall from the different periods in

which it was built. The area inside the wall was very cool. The streets were tiny and cobblestone, but cars

still managed to squeeze their way down them. The church we visited was very pretty and had a very cool

faade depicting the hierarchy of the people and who goes to heaven or hell. When we left the walled city,

we saw the ruins of a Roman chariot race track and (from a distance) the ruins of a Roman coliseum. Both

were very cool and I wish I could have gotten closer to them or actually been on them. We also went to

the end of Tarragonas Ramblas, which had a fence that was supposed to be lucky if you touched it (so I

did). While we were there I noticed several stray cats, which was very sad. I hate that there are poor stray

animals all over the world.


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While we were in Tarragona, my friends and I discovered a big cultural differencethere were

hardly any overweight people in Catalonia. It really showed just how bad the obesity epidemic has gotten

in the United States.

Next we headed off to Sitges. We saw the famed Sin Street, which we read about in our book.

The book described it as a depraved place with sex shows and all this terribleness, but it really did not

seem bad to me at all. It reminded me a lot of P-town, Massachusetts. There were very cool streets and

restaurants. I also noticed that there was a Dunkin Coffee. I thought this was really funny because they

changed the name for some reason. Maybe donuts are a lot less popular in Spain or something. We had

lunch there, which was delicious, of course. I played translator between the waiter and my friends. After

lunch we headed off to the Mediterranean Sea! I had brought my bathing suit, but I only stuck my feet in

at first. It was freezing. Then more people showed up and they were swimming, so I changed and jumped

right in as well. It was a lot of fun. Unfortunately after that we saw a dog fight and a woman was bitten,

but Ral saved the day and helped her because he is a superhero. Then we went on a walking tour of

Sitges. Everything was very beautiful, including the sand sculptures on the beach. I thought it was very

interesting that people actually made a living off of that there. The sculptures were so intricate I couldnt

even understand how someone could make them. The streets in Sitges were very cool. They were twisting

and small and the buildings around them were very tall. It was reminiscent of a labyrinth. I loved the

architecture in Sitges. It was very similar to the architecture of the hotels on Las Ramblas.

After dinner back in Barcelona, we went to the Sagrada Familia while it was all lit up at night. It

was, again, absolutely breathtaking. I loved how the Nativity side had different areas lit up with different

colors like blue and green. It added such life to the faade. It was beautiful. These colors were in contrast

to the death side, which had no color added to it. This was done to intensify the difference between the

Nativity and Jesus death.

March 17, 2009.


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This day we visited La Pedrera, the Arc De Triomf, and a few other places. La Pedrera was

beautiful. It was definitely the coolest apartment complex ever built. Everything about it was so

interesting. I loved how Carmen told us that George Lucas used the spires on top of the building as

inspiration for the storm trooper masks in Star Wars. Everything on top of the roof was gorgeous. The

view was excellent as well. I loved the attic (which used to be the laundry room). The handprints on the

bricks were very cool and a little creepy at the same time. I loved that Carmen pointed them out because it

was a very cool way to show the bricks were handmade (also, Ive been looking for handprints on all the

bricks I seeI havent seen any yet). I loved Gauds perfect arch and his little model (the mirror one)

which showed how the arches come together to make the attic. The apartment set up to look like an

apartment from the turn of the century was very interesting as well.

We continued on our way and passed another building which Gaud redesigned. The building was

already standing and its owner paid Gaud to renovate it so it looked nicer. Needless to say, he did an

excellent job. Then we stopped by Chocolate Amatller. I got a hot chocolate because I figured it would be

delicious and it was completely different from any hot chocolate I had ever had. It was like someone just

melted down bars of chocolate and added a little bit of milk. It was too hot to drink, but when it cooled it

started hardening. It was still very good though.

Then we went to the Quatre Gats. It was so cool being in such a historical place, especially since

it was so off the beaten path. I was just blindly following Ral, having no idea where we were going, and

suddenly we were in front of the 4 Gats! Naturally, I had a sip of the famed anis del mono, which smelled

much stronger than it tasted. I had a very good time at the 4 Gats.

We then stopped by the Boqueria for lunch. I had a quesadilla from an organic stand. It was so

delicious and well prepared and yummy. I wish I had one right now. After that we went to the Arc De

Triomf. Ral explained to us that it was built as the entrance to the 1888 World Exposition. I thought it

was very large, but when I came home and showed pictures to friends they were expecting it to be much


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larger because of the Arc De Triomf in Paris. I still really enjoyed seeing it. I enjoyed all the little details

in the arc that Ral pointed out to us, like the coat of arms and the bat at the top of the arc, which is the

symbol of Barcelona.

We walked through the arc, down a street to a very nice park. It led us to the Catalonian

Parliament building which had a very pretty sculpture near it. The sculpture was of a naked woman crying

on some steps. She represents Catalonia and the struggles it has gone through trying to maintain itself as

an independent area. We then visited a gorgeous cathedral. It was enormous. It had beautiful stained glass

windows and a gigantic ceiling. Outside the cathedral was a memorial to the soldiers who lost their lives

defending Catalonia. The soldiers were buried underneath the memorial.

March 18, 2009

On this day we went to Girona and Figueres to see the museum of my favorite artist, Dal. Girona

was a beautiful city 10 miles from the France border. Ral said it was the entryway into Catalonia, and

because of this it was often under attack from the French. Because of this, there was a wonderful fort

within the city which we visited. But first we walked around the city. We encountered a lion statue which

was originally used as a scare tactic, but nowadays is very worn and not scary. It is good luck to kiss the

lions bum, so several of us didmyself included. Then we walked through the streets, which were very

similar to those of Old City Tarragona. We then went to a beautiful church with many steps in front of it.

We were told to count the steps. I got 91 or 92I cant remember. The legend goes that if you ever count

the same number of steps twice in a row then you will get married in the church. Also, on this church

there was a sculpture of a head that had a striking resemblance to Dal. Because of this, Dal said he was

prophesized to be famous. Then we continued on to the fort. It was very cool. We went to the highest

point. To get there we had to go up this spiral staircase which smelled like a porta-potty which hadnt

been cleaned in months. It was very gross, but worth it, because the view from the top of the fort was

amazing. I could see all of Girona, so clearly it was a good lookout spot when it needed to be to defend


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Girona and Catalonia. After investigating the fort for a while, we went to the main square and got some

lunch. My friends and I decided to go to a sandwich place. The sandwich was like no sandwich Id had in

America. It was on flat bread, and it was so delicious. I was almost full after half of it, but I finished the

whole thing anyway. Unlike many American sandwiches, I did not feel sick after, I felt pleasantly full and

content.

Then we continued our adventure onto Figueres and the Dal museum. We were lucky enough to

go to Dals jewelry collection, which was amazing. I cant even comprehend how someone could think to

design the beautiful objects he made. My personal favorite was the blue eye watch (picture at the end). I

also really enjoyed the beating heart. All of his pieces were brilliant, and his painting in response to his

friends saying he sold out was amusing. I loved reading about that in the book and it was even better

when I got to see it in person. Soon we continued on to the actual Dal museum. Wow. I could barely

contain how excited I was, especially since we were going to see The Persistence of Memory. The

details in Dals paintings were brilliant and I loved his games throughout the museum, like the 3-D

mirror paintings. His paintings all mesmerized me. Ral showed us some details in one painting which

basically turned it into two paintings in one. Some of the paintings were so large; I expected The

Persistence of Memory to be gigantic. I almost fell overfrom shock when I entered the room and saw the

huge curtains surrounding the tiny little painting. It was amazing nonetheless. It is so insane how a

painting so small and seemingly insignificant can become so famous and loved. This is especially

interesting when considering that Dals favorite painting he created is nowhere near as famous and he

used to carry it with him wherever he went (picture of bread loaf at end). Did I mention that I love Dal?

March 19, 2009

On this day we visited a beautiful monastery, walked through University of Barcelona campus,

ate Paella, and enjoyed free time. The monastery was absolutely gorgeous. It had works of art that were


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centuries old. The monastery itself was centuries old. There were several doors that were exactly my

height (54). It was very cool being in a place that old. There isnt anything like that in the United States,

other than old Native American burial grounds and such. The garden in the middle of the monastery was

beautiful. The monks took impeccable care of it. There were orange trees, which I had never seen before.

In the center was a beautiful fountain with dozens of coy fish.

From there, we walked to the campus of the University of Barcelona. It was such a gorgeous

campus. I absolutely loved the kissing area designed by Gaud (using his perfect arch again). The

fountains and greenery around the campus were beautiful as well. I cannot imagine going to school in a

place so beautifulI would never get any work done. We then took the subway to the shoreline for some

authentic paella. Unfortunately, I do not like sea food. I really wish I did, because I would have loved

every minute of Catalonian food without hesitation. But I ordered the vegetarian paella and it was

absolutely delicious. It was my first experience with paella, and it was a good one. We sat out, practically

in the sand on the beach, eating delicious food and drinking wine. What a good meal. Then, of course, we

had our delicious desserts as well. I got flan, another traditional Spanish food. It was delicious. I love

Spanish food!

After lunch we were given free time to do whatever we pleased. My friends and I decided to sit

on the beach for a while and then head for Las Ramblas for some shopping. Being on the beach in Spain

was very different from the beach in the United States. First of all, I had just barely sat down when I

glanced around and a woman near us had taken her top off and was just laying there, full chest exposed. It

was very strange. Then after a while different people were approaching us and trying to sell us things.

They offered beer, chips, and massages. We said no to all of these, but they continued to come. They

could definitely tell we were tourists.

After a couple hours we walked off and found a metro station and went to Las Ramblas. It was

very cool being on our own in the city during the day. We went to many shops and stopped by the little


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kiosks throughout Las Ramblas. I was both enamored with an appalled by the pet kiosks. The animals

were absolutely adorable and I wanted to buy all of them, but the conditions they were stuck in were

terrible. At one kiosk I saw a cage with about 30 ducklings in it. They were all squished up on top of each

other and looked miserable. It was very sad.

March 20, 2009

This day began with free time followed by the Mir museum and the fountain on Mont Juic. At

the beginning of free time, Ral brought us to this very cool local marketplace. They sold everything

thereclothes, jewelry, couches, bathtubs. My friends and I stayed there and shopped for about an hour,

and then we headed off to the Harley Davidson store in some remote location. Ral told us the directions

via the subway, and lo and behold we had no trouble getting there! Ral told us at the beginning of the

week that we would fully understand how to get around Barcelona by the end of the week, and he was

right. From there we went back to Las Ramblas for more shoppingand gelato. Yum.

After a few hours we met to go to the Joan Mir museum on Mont Juic. The museum was pretty

cool, but I do not particularly care for Mirswork. Its funny, because he has the same birthday as me

and I dont really care for him. I liked some of the paintings, but most of his works just made me say

wowa six year old could draw this.

After the Mir museum we went to see Mont Juics famous fountain show. It was beautiful. The

colors in the fountain were absolutely amazing. The pinks and reds and yellows and oranges reminded me

of a sunset. The music that accompanied it was excellent as well. Everything about it was gorgeous,

especially when we got down to the bottom closer to the fountain.

Then we headed off for some authentic local tapas with Ral. It was the most delicious food ever,

basically. I couldnt get enough of the little roasted peppers and the potato pieces with the delicious sauce

on them. Ooh! The bombas were amazingly delicious as well. I stuffed my face and absolutely loved it.


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Then we came back to the hotel and had the sad realization that we were leaving Spain in just a

few hours! I had a wonderful experience while in Catalonia. I loved every minute of it, despite the fact

that I was rather sleep deprived. Saying goodbye to Barcelona and Ral was very sad, but at the same

time I was happy to go home. This week was a wonderful, life-changing experience that I will never

forget. What I learned about the culture of Catalonia will stay with me for the rest of my life. Barcelona

has left a spot in my heart, and I definitely plan on returning there at some point (or multiple points) in

my life.

Here are some of my favorite pictures!!


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