Travel | Seeing Barcelona in an Afternoon

As my flight home from Spain left Barcelona, I thought I'd go to the city where I heard so many wonderful things a day early, and see as much as I can before heading home. 

I was welcomed so warmly at my hostel, I think this was one of the reasons why my (short) stay in Barcelona was so great. So I arrived, and I was sat down and asked what I would like to do with my time and was shown all of the best places to go. I only had 3 main things I wanted to see: Las Ramblas, the Sagrada Familia and the beach. (as someone who lives on the island of Great Britain, and never being more than an hour away from a beach, living in the actual centre of Europe is a little terrifying and claustrophobic being so land-locked.)

Right, so after I settled in, I headed out to the wind and rain. I was armed with my camera, and had my Nashville soundtrack to keep me company on my walk. I headed to the direction of the beach. I saw the sea, but didn't manage to get to the beach. (Mainly because I couldn't find it...) but hey, sea! check. 

Luckily, the little sea-place I was stood was directly at the end of Las Ramblas. Completely going against my morals of not looking like a tourist, I wandered up the street with all the other flaming tourists, with a map in one hand a camera in the other. I walked past the opera house, and some of the architecture of the buildings is phenomenal. As it was autumn, the trees that arch over the street were magnificent colours of orange and yellow. I also got the impression that it was not as busy as is probably is during the high peak seasons. So I walked all the way up, past the waiters calling you to eat some food, and past the tourist tat shops up to Placa de Catalunya. Las Ramblas? Check.

Opera house

Las Ramblas

From here, I decided not to get public transport, to put the map away, and to figure out a way to the Sagrada Familia. I knew the vague direction, so I picked a street and hoped for the best. While being super observant, I noticed a lot of signs for the Arc de Triomf. Obviously, I had the amusing thought of "well, I know I've been walking a while, but I didn't realise I'd made it to Paris." ha ha ha. I found it, and it's what I expected: a slightly less grand Arc de Triomphe. Oh, and it's red. 

Hello, this is me taking a self-timed tourist shot looking very uncomfortable.

Here, I figured that if I wanted to see the Sagrada Familia before nightfall, I should swallow my pride and look at the map. 40 minutes later, I arrived! It truly is an amazing piece of architecture. I didn't realise that it was still being built! I joined the end of the queue, and stood in line for 30 minutes behind a noisy French family and in front of a pushy Spanish matriarch-type woman who kept trying to get ahead of me. With my ISIC (International Student Identity Card) entry to the Basilica was a little over €12. I don't really agree to paying for entrance into a place of worship, but I figured that there must have been a reason.

To be completely honest, I was very very disappointed with the cathedral. Usually when I enter a place of worship with that amount of grandeur, I can feel...something. I don't know what, but I can feel that it is a sacred place. Not here. The atmosphere was ruined by all the tourists using their selfie sticks, and taking photos of literally everything. (WHY DO PEOPLE NEED PHOTOS OF A SIGN EXPLAINING WHATS ON THE STAINED WINDOWS? JUST READ THE SIGN!) I wandered around, didn't take many pictures, and had to leave. I felt quite uncomfortable in there with the lack of respect these people had for this amazing building that has been being built for almost 100 years. However, Sagrada - check.

When I came out of the cathedral, the sun was beginning to set, so I sat on a bench and watched the Sagrada Familia catch the colours of the sunset. That was pretty magical. 

By this time, it was time to head back to the hostel for dinner. All in all, I was walking for around 4 hours. 

I would like the chance to go back to Barcelona, simply because I know there is so much to see and do in a big, bustling city like that. However, I am proud of myself for exploring my first city solo, and not managing to get lost or resorting to using public transport. 

To be honest, visiting Spain for a few days did not calm my wanderlust. Every time I go somewhere new, my wanderlust is fed, but yet the more I feed it the stronger it gets.