Barcelona is one of the world’s most beautiful cities and I
am so thankful that I got to experience it with a group of my closest mates!
The boys simply tore it up in Barcelona, we were on the go constantly, we saw
the sights, sampled the delicacies and most of all created the memories!
Barcelona is a city which has an unbelievably lively street culture, and I am loved
living a simple 5 minute walk from La Rambla, a promenade which never fails to
disappoint with an array of street performers, annoying Indian men attempting
to sell you an annoying voice changing device as well as some nice restaurants
and shops. The architecture is absolutely out of this world, some of it needs
to be seen to be believed, notably the Sagrada Familia which is without doubt
the most impressive piece of human architectural construction to which I have
ever bore witness. As well as enjoying great times with mates in a wonderful
city, I also managed to learn something and feel as though I have come out of
my time in Barcelona with an increased knowledge of its social, cultural,
economic and political climate.
Arriving in Barcelona in the middle of the world cup is
usually something special…. However with Spain’s dismal group stage exit we
were privy to only showings of German and Argentian national pride in
Catalyunya’s capital. We often headed to various bars to watch the games, and
were continually shocked by the results as well as the ability of football to
spark a conversation and bring people together. At one point we headed to El Raval
(a neaby suburb) with our football to have a kick around and soon found
ourselves engaged in a match with some local kids, it is simply amazing what a
ball can do!
As a 19 year old in Barcelona I felt an obligation to head
out and sample the nightlife, and boy did it not disappoint! I managed to get
to Europe’s second biggest club, known as Razmatazz, twice and saw performances
by Pendulum and Lil’ Jon both which yielded nights which I will remember for a
long time. I also sampled a club known as shoko, a name which harked me back to
my favourite Israeli drink. In addition to this, we spent an awesome night in a
bar which specialised in various interesting shots, some of which were
delicious, some strong and some downright ridiculous. It was one of the most
memorable nights I have had since my departure from Australia!
We simply went to too many sights in Barca for me to mention
all of them in depth, so I will endeavour to pick a few in order to prevent
this blog post from hitting multiple pages. We had one particularly spontaneous
and memorable day spent in a country club with a membership fee of 2000 euro
which we gained entry to by simply waltzing through the front gate with
confidence. It truly was a gapyear triumph, we used the gym, the pool, the
football pitch and dined at their magnificent restaurant. It will be a tale
written in gapyear folklore forever. We took the cable car up to Montjuic and
took in its remarkable views of the rest of the city, the same can be said of
the summit of Parc Guell. Guy and myself visited the stunning Palau Guell,
another Gaudi masterpiece which yielded even further opportunity to utilise my
new camera/phone. We visited the food markets on the Rambla on numerous
occasions, with Sam managing to find a new love - one euro fruit juice.
We undertook two different walking tours, the regular introduction
to the Gothic Quarter as well as the alternate tour through El Raval which
showcased the plethora of street art which can be found all over the city, both
were hugely educational and entertaining. I headed out on a Tapas Tour with
Aviv girls Lucy and Sarah where we sampled the three different ways tapas is
prepared in various parts of Spain. We visited Blai Street twice, the home of our
favourite pinchos establishment. There is simply not enough room to document
everything we did during our time in Spain’s most famous city.
I wish to apologise to myself as well as anyone who follows
my blog closely about the lack of posts as of late but I am simply too flat
out! I no longer have the time to blog frequently, but I promise to do
everything in my power to keep up my blogging regularity during my time in
Europe!
Barcelona was amazing, and I now head to Mykonos via Vienna!
49 days till I return to Sydney!
Thanks for reading,
Jake
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