I love a challenge, and I must say, being a young tourist in Barcelona is truly a challenge. You want to do all of the cultural and important sites, you want to eat everything in sight, and you want to party long into the night, yet there are only so many hours in the day. One night, we met an Aussie geologist who we encountered again the next night. He remarks: “I haven’t slept since the last time I saw you girls” – that is Barcelona in a nutshell.
La Barceloneta
A beach day was high on our
priority list for Barcelona, and luckily, la Barceloneta was only a 20 minute walk
away. I was mentally prepared for extreme heat and crowds, and crowds there
were, but we did manage to score an open umbrella so that was nice (€8. Don’t
hide, the umbrella man WILL find you). We had stuffed our faces prior to the beach,
so I keen on passing out for a solid two hours, except I forgot to pack my headphones. Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue as I can
sleep through pretty much anything… but not la Barceloneta. For whatever
reason, this beach is a haven for foreigners hawking services: Southeast Asian
men, yelling “Mojito! Ice cold mojitos!”; African women, swinging threads and
crying out “Hair braiding! Hair braiding for you!”; and Asian women who seem to
pop out of thin air, offering, “Massage? Massage?” It’s the epitome of a global
economy.
I understand, everyone’s gotta make a living, so we did our best to
not make eye contact (although I did inform one persistent mojito man that he
had some false advertising since his mojitos did not have any ice in them…). The
sad thing is, I really DID want a mojito… I’m all for convenience, but there’s
something about taking pre-mixed drinks from a strange man who’s been carrying
them around his neck since who knows when that doesn’t quite sit with me. The
couple next to us took the plunge, and to this moment I am genuinely interested
to know how that turned out for them… Ultimately, la Barceloneta met our need
for a beach; however, if I were to go back, I’d take the plunge and try to find
a farther but less touristy beach.
Gaudi
The works of Antoni Gaudi
are a significant part of Barcelona’s culture, so we made a point to see a few
of them. We bought late tickets for Park Guell, and planned to end our evening
explorations there. Unfortunately, we set out a little later than anticipated,
so time was on our brains. Our first stop was Casa Batlló, a house that Gaudi remodeled
into an eclectic masterpiece.
Finally, we headed to Park
Guell, in a race against time. You have 30 minutes from the time of your
reservation to get there as they only let a set number of people into the
mosaic area hour. We made it there just a few minutes past our cutoff, panting
and sweaty from the hike up the hill. The park was packed with tourists even
late into the day, but we were so happy to be let it we figured we’d just take
our time and enjoy the beauty of it.
Opium
Upon hearing I was going to
Barcelona, everyone and their mom insisted “You NEED to go to Opium!!! It’s so
fun”. Barcelona party culture is not for the weak – the pregame starts at 11,
the bar-game starts at 12, and then everyone makes a mad dash to the clubs to
avoid covers that start at 2… am. We managed to get to Opium twice in our time
there (once intentionally, once unintentionally), and it really was a good
time. Yes, it’s full of foreign tourists, and yes, drinks are pricey; but if
you’re looking for a solid night out with good music and dancing, you can’t go
wrong with Opium.
The only thing I will strong
advise is to be wary of pickpockets, no matter where you are. It’s almost
ironic because early into our last full day in Barca, L and I remarked that it’s
a blessing we all were going to make it of Barcelona in one piece, with all of
our stuff. Later, we were waiting in line for Opium, and J must’ve felt a tug
on her bag and realized her phone was missing. She noticed two men standing
near us, clearly not dressed to be at a club, and confronts them. The one
insists that she’s crazy, and the other starts to back away from the scene. At
this point, L goes after him, J is following them, calling out “He took my
phone!!” and I’m yelling at the first guy for taking her phone. People gradually became aware of the situation, and the crowds prevented the thief from
getting away so L was able to retrieve J’s phone. We REALLY lucked out, and by then, we were super riled up and ready to dance.
The moral of the story is
have fun, but always be aware of your surroundings. Also if you’re a girl, make
sure your purse is close to your body and has some kind of zipper or secure
closure.
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