Barcelona

Barcelona was probably my favorite city of the whole trip.  It might have been because I could actually speak to people but really, it's just a beautiful place.  The first day we were there we basically went on a Antoni Gaudi tour.  We started off on a tour of Casa Mila. It was definitely worth the wait to go in.  My favorite part was the terrace with the Star Wars like chimneys. After that we took a nice walk to the Sagrada Familia, the most famous building of Gaudi.  It is still unfinished and is projected to be done in 2026. Last time I was in Barcelona, I was with a friend and since neither one of us wanted to spend that much money to go into the church so we just looked at it from outside. Well, this time, since I was with my parents I got to go in.  If I could do my first trip to Barcelona again, I would have paid the money to go in.  I honestly think it is much prettier on the inside than it is on the outside.  We also got to go into a chapel attached to the main church and that is where Gaudi is buried.  It will be really interesting to see it when it's done.  Maybe I'll have to make another trip to Barcelona in about 20 years.  Our last stop of the day was the Picasso Museum.  I had already been there but I liked it so much the first time that I thought it was something my parents should see. I love the way the museum is organized.  It's all in chronological order so it starts out with his painting as a child, when he had a really good, realistic style and you can see how his technique slowly gets weirder and weirder through out his life.

The next day, we spent pretty much the whole day outside, starting in Mont Juic where we walked to the Olympic Stadium.  In December, the stadium was closed so we had to peek through gates to see anything inside.  This time it was open!!! Being at the stadium got me really excited for the London Olympics this year. We also took a sky lift up to a castle on top of the hill.  I personally think the coolest part of the castle is the view of the city and the sea.  After that, we had lunch on the beach and then went to Park Guell, another Gaudi creation.  I was a little disappointed with how overcrowded the park was.  I think I probably overheard at least ten different people saying that Gaudi most likely wouldn't be too happy if he knew his park was this overcrowded. 

And that was the end of my trip.  The next day, we went back to Granada and I had to go back to school.  I had a great time traveling with my parents, but I was glad to be back in my town.