Viva Barcelona + The French Riviera

view of Barcelona where you can see the Sagrada Familia

I am in Villefranche-Sur-Mer in the South of France – but first, here’s a update about my last day in Barcelona, Spain.

I decided to do a walking tour about Antonio Gaudi – a famous architect with an eccentric mind. I saw a lot of his most recognizable commissions and then the tour ended at the Sagrada Familia – which you should look up because it is amazing! After the tour, I went to Park Guell (another area he designed). It has the world’s largest park bench which is intricately tiled. Very beautiful! After all that walking, I decided to visit the Barcelona beach one last time. Pure bliss.

Barcelona, Spain

Flamenco show in Barcelona

Despite having a rocky start to Barcelona, I am having an amazing time in the city. The weather has been beautiful – sunny skies and a nice breeze.

Barcelonetta

I arrived in Barcelona on the 14th, but after the pickpocketing incident I didn’t really feel like doing anything that day. I had an early night and then woke up the next day and decided to cruise along La Rambla – a long pedestrian throughway with tons of restaurants and random vendors selling everything from your average souvenir and artisan craft to small rodents and flowers. After I walked the length of it, I wandered through the narrow alleys in the Bario Gotic – part of the old city – and then made my way to Barcelonetta, the beach. Even though it was a bit chilly, there were tons of people on the beach tanning. I can’t imagine how busy it is in August, if it was that packed in May. Tons of people come up to you selling sunglasses, coconuts, water, beer, tattoos, massages, etc. It is a little annoying, when all you want to do is relax.

Pick pocketed in Spain

Bad news:

I was pick pocketed today on the metro in Barcelona. I had just got off a sleeper train, taken a regional train into the city and switched onto the metro. While I was boarding the metro (with my backpack and everything), three younger women(girls?) rushed and squeezed past the three of us. I thought it was a little unnecessary and rude, but I didn’t think too much about it and then once on, they rushed past me again and something fell out of my purse. The three girls jumped off at the next subway and I whispered to Jessie how weird it was that they just took the metro one stop down. I didn’t realize what had happened until we reached our stop. Stupid.

Death by credit card.

I booked my Eurail pass. Wait, let me rephrase…. I booked the MOST expensive Eurail pass.

The craziest thing is that my train pass cost more than my flight to Europe! I’ve spent over one third of my Europe budget and I haven’t even landed. Oh well, that’s traveling for you.

This week has been a roller coaster of sorts. Jessie had a freak out and almost canceled her flight. She was paranoid that we’d be abducted into the sex trafficking industry. I am not even joking. She was seriously freaked out. Don’t get me wrong, there are always dangers while traveling, especially for three young women …. BUT I think her paranoia stemmed from talking with people who have never traveled before and basing their assertions on Hollywood movies (Does anyone remember ‘Taken’?). Eventually, she calmed down and is feeling excited again.

My itinerary also changed. Now, I’m traveling to Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, South of France, Cinque Terre, Florence, Rome, Venice, Interlaken, Grindlewald, Prague and Berlin! I’m sure this isn’t the final draft, and I sort of like that. Sometimes, it’s just about going with the flow. Viva Europe!

On a roll…

Wow. Life has been extremely busy for yours truly, but there is light at the end of the tunnel…

Despite my jam-packed schedule, I’ve managed to draw up a pretty decent itinerary. There’s a few kinks of course, but Stefanie, Jessie and I are getting together  this Thursday to get down to business. Our planning fiestas haven’t been so successful. We end up watching silly Youtube videos and making nachos. Last week, we managed to book two nights in Amsterdam. The fact that we’re staying in the marijuana capital of the world during the weekend forced us to book early. It was just the push we needed!

I’m ordering my Eurail train pass soon and fine tuning the itinerary some more. As of right now, I’m visiting Frankfurt – Amsterdam – Paris – Barcelona – South of France – Cinque Terre (Italy) – Florence – Rome – Venice ?????? That’s all I know until Jessie picks her number one destination. Will it be Switzerland? More Germany, France or Spain? Who knows, but I’m eager to find out. Traveling in a group of three and seeing everything on your personal list is hard. So, we agreed to start by each person choosing their number one destination and then go down the list from there. Mine was the South of France. I’ll admit, Stef and I did try to casually persuade Jessie into some places. We’ll see if it worked!

6 weeks to go!! I can’t wait!