I have recently learnt something that anyone who travels to Barcelona will be able to tell you: there is simply too much to do. I write this with just three days left in this wonderful city and time just seems to have escaped me!
I've been so so lazy with the blog recently but am happy knowing that it's because I've been so so busy enjoying my last few weeks here. I wrote a bucket list a while ago and have actually been quite successful in ticking things off it - mainly because most of them were food-related, but ho hum, my stomach rules my life.
My first stop was another Gaudí creation: La Pedrera. It was an apartment block that was designed for an aristocratic couple and is a stand-out building on Passeig de Gracia - very distinctly Gaudí. It was fascinating to wander around admiring the wacky design as well as learning about the engineering/architecture-y aspect of it from Daria's ever so knowledgeable sister.
The Parc del Laberint d'Horta was our next stop. The grounds of a former Catalan family's house, it consists of winding paths and various gardens with a sweet little maze in the middle of it. It was so nice to be amongst lots of greenery, as it's quite rare in the city.
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| I thought it looked like a really shocked house, so I made Daria look really shocked too... |
I then had my final visitor, my wonderful (honorary) big sis, Sarah, who has recently SMASHED her degree with an incredible grade so we had lots to celebrate.
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| We celebrated with food... |
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| ...and cocktails of course. |
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| Oh hello breakfast. |
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| Freshly-squeezed orange juice, so thick that the straw stood up on it's own. And hello, who's that looker in the background? |
One weekend, Daria and I travelled up the coast a little so that we could see what Catalunya was hiding outside of the city. We found a charming little town called Sant Pol de Mar.
And came home to sample the delights of Escriba, a renowned bakery on La Rambla.
I sometimes think BCN should be known as "Barcelona: city of wandering around and finding random stuff going on". It almost seems like they're allergic to schedules and advertising because we never know what's happening in the city but always manage to find something! Free performances in the Palau de la Música for instance...
Or traditional Catalan dancing...
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| What a babe. Having the time of his life. |
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| Enraptured. |
We also visited the Chocolate Museum, which took us a grand total of around 10 minutes to walk around. But hey, the ticket was chocolate, I ain't complaining.
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| Crazy happy? Or driven crazy by the tormenting birds? |
I'm making the most of the beach for my last few days here. If there's one thing I've got to bring back from this year, it's a damn good tan.
It really is difficult to comprehend that my year abroad is coming to a close. I can't believe how quickly the year has gone, how much I've done and seen. I am obscenely excited to come home and see Ma and Pa, all my friends and enjoy the great British summer but still, it'll be such a wrench to leave Barca; it is just such a fascinating city that I could never, ever tire of.
Barcelona, te voy a echar de menos. Inglaterra, ya vengo.
