Barcelona. Party, beach and football. For some reason, it was not on the list of cities I was dying to visit. But due to some fan girl-ism and the search for new adventures I volunteered for the 15th Fina World Aquatic Championships which was held in (surprise surprise), Barcelona!
I was there for a whole two weeks and worked in the diving segment. It was amazing. I have to say, I had a preconception about the Chinese divers thinking that they would be pretty stuck up since they practically dominate the sport. However they were so humble and only know of working hard that I ended my week cheering for them above others. Also, google Sascha Klein. I think I am in love. Go team Germany!
Swimming started once we ended our work at the diving segment. My friend and I went into stalker mode, she for Nathan Adrian and I for James Magnussen. I did not actually expect to get to see him but there he was walking by and I was like I need a picture with you. And I got it, him in speedos and all... He is one beautiful man.
Of course we left a few days to tour around Barcelona. The one thing that always comes up googling the city is its notoriety if pickpocketers. We were extra careful all the time and it did become tiring but hey, we survived two week with all our belongings intact. Achievement unlock!
We did not go crazy tourist sightseeing just because we were pretty tired. Also, I did not think it was possible for any part of Europe to get so hot. Barcelona certainly did! We went to the common places such as Sagrada Familia, Casa BaTtlo, Park Guell and Barcelonata Beach. It was more personal to me as two years ago I did an architecture project on Gaudi the architect and studied Casa BaTtlo really closely. So it was great!
One thing my friend and I took away from our trip is that Barcelona is full if life. The El Born and Las Ramblas areas are bustling well into the night and you can get lovely food even after 9pm, something you would not be able to so back here in Durham. The people were extremely nice and goodness gracious, do sit yourself down along one of the restaurants in Las Ramblas and order a litre of Sangria and drink if yourself happy. It's alriiight (inside joke, Anthony Ervin thing. I just had to).
Some tips for visiting the city, if you stay in the more central areas, you can practically walk to most of the attractions. The walk itself is pretty enjoyable and you'll be able to discover little bakery type shops which actually sell really inexpensive pastries (I was surprised as people always tell me how expensive Barceloba is). We were given the T10 metro ticket by Fina and it was extremely useful, but if your destination is in walking distance you could for go it. Another thing my friend and I fell in love with was this strip of boutiques in El Raval (I think) that sold the cutest dresses and accessories. I ended up buying a bag and she a dress. We walked through it from La Ramblas to the beach. We absolutely loved this froyo natural juice place in El Born which was amazing. 5 euros for a gigantic cup of juice and frozen yoghurt plus any toppings you wanted. We would have gone every single day if not for the fact that it was a little far from our place. Another thing I loved and hated at the same time was the abundance of ice creams in the city. If you managed to hold off temptation from one shop, many more will pop up sooner or later and you're better off just getting a scoop or two rather than fighting off the urge. The Nutella flavoured ice creams... Every single olace in earth should have them.
And of course, get yourself some Paella and Tapas. The Spanish certainly know their way around food.
I loved Barcelona and would definitely go back again. If I could choose one place to have a holiday home, at the moment, I would choose Barcelona for its life and warmth. I'm glad Fina decided to hold their World Championships there because believe it or not, the idiot that I am may not have visited Barcelona in my three uni/travel years (it's common knowledge that we come to the UK to study so we can travel around Europe, no?). It is a city with the perfect blend of old and new. I hope those of you planning trips there will enjoy your time as much as I did. I will certainly make my way back one day in the future.
Here are some pictures :)
Make sure you stop by La Boquera. I went crazy in there!
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