No Time for Siestas in Spain!

Since we had an early flight, Pauline's friend Emelie let us stay over at her place in Paris. Ironically, her other friend was stranded in Paris because of a strike (not too surprising in France) and it was one big sleepover!

Tip: Taking RyanAir from Paris to Barcelona is NOT worth it! Paris Beauvais is one hour outside of Paris and Gerona is an hour and a half outside of Barcelona. With the time you lose plus the fees for ground transportation to the each city, it is NOT worth it!

As opposed to the rain and gloom of Paris, Barcelona was beautiful and sunny! First stop was to La Padera by Antoni Gaudi. Amongst the most talented architects of the Art Nouveau style, Gaudi's unique buildings lie apart of Barcelona's culture as much as flamenco shows and tapas. The building was designed for Rosario Segimon and Pere Milà, thus, the building is also referred to as Casa Milà. The apartment complex was very interesting with its inside arches; however, it was the rooftop that was utterly breathtaking!

The gorgeous rooftop of La Pedrera

It was appropriately time for another photoshoot. We also came to the conclusion that I also like to climb everything that I see.

Typical picture of me in Europe

Next on our stop was Casa Batllo. Upon instant viewing, the building has quite a complex arrangement resembling a skeleton. Hence, the locals refer to it as Casa dels Ossos, translating into House of Bones. This time, the INSIDE of the building was a dream! If only somehow, La Padera's roof could be put onto Casa Batllo!

The inside of Casa Batllo - notice there are rarely any straight lines!

On the way to the Picasso Museum, Jessica and I found FB Barcelona futbol jerseys for only $25euros! We were all set for the game later that night! Unlike other countries, shops and attractions in Spain stay open until 8PM (due to siestas and the later lifestyle), thus, making life for a tourist convenient! The Picasso Museum houses over 3,500 of Pablo Picasso's works in its permanent collection. As one looks at Picasso's early works, bits and pieces of abstract can be found. It was interesting to see his progression and it was in his "Blue Period" that Picasso developed himself to the painter that we know today. A talented man, he even made linoleum into art!

Tip: The Barcelona Card is only 25euros for unlimited travel and discounts and is well worth the purchase! However, a student may not necessary need one as there are already great discounts in the city!

Pauline took us to her favorite paella restaurant and although tasty, I was not too much of a fan! We then tried going to the Magic Fountain, a grandiose display of water, lights, and music! Unfortunately, it was off (and empty dry) because it was wintertime...sigh.

Back at the Hostel Windsor, we got ready for our night out! First things first, take a siesta! Although we planned to sleep from 11PM-12AM, we ended up sleeping until 2AM! Our friend, Borja, a native Catalonian called us as they were "drinking in the streets before going to the club." We grabbed a cheap taxi and met Borja and his friends at the Razzmatazz Nightclub. The girls definitely saw the love from the Spanish boys as they just love to hug and put their arms around you!

The Americans and the Catalonians

At 3AMish, we entered the club (wow, what a fantastic nightlife already!) and danced, danced, danced! Xavi, the futbol coach, and I took a break from dancing and walked around the city a bit. Back at the club, the others hit the 6AM mark and decided to go home. By the time I hit my bed, it was 7AM! Oh, goodness, Barcelona!