Going back to my Summer Rundown blog, I want to share the first third of my Europe trip. I will be sharing my experience in Spain. Spain was an incredible trip and I would 10/10 recommend taking a vacation there sometime in the future. I got to visit many historical sites and I got to learn more about the history and the culture in Spain. It was such an eye opening experience for me and I got to learn more about the lifestyle in different foreign countries.

When we first landed, the scenery was so beautiful and it seemed very calm and relaxed. The airport was very different from the airports in the US, but they were easy to maneuver in. It was a little hard to speak to the native people because of the language barrier, but since I take Spanish four I was able to understand most of the questions and conversations that we had to hold with others during our trip. When we got into our taxi we asked the driver to take us to our hotel, but it took us a few times to get the Spanish speaking right for him to understand us. This happened many times over the span of our trip, but we were still able to make it to the correct destinations.

The architectural aspect of Barcelona was beautiful. The buildings were so unique from what I have seen and the streets were so interesting to me. the streets of Barcelona were all different sizes. Some were small, some were wide, and some were very long. I loved visiting the little side vendors on the streets and I thoroughly enjoyed visiting the fresh farmers markets. There were many different exotic food choices there and there were various fruits, vegetables, meats, and flavored drinks that you could sample or buy. I loved visiting the street Las Ramblas (the oldest street and considered the city central) because the buildings were different compared to the more modern ones throughout the city. It was so cool to visit and walk down the street because of the history that it holds.

During our trip, we got to visit the major historical structures. We got to visit the Sagrada Familia which is the tallest  cathedral in Barcelona and is still in the making. It was absolutely amazing because it was so vibrant with beautiful colors and it shows the main stages in the birth of Jesus. The outside of the building had many statues and complex details to show the hard work and quality time spent in making this beautiful cathedral. Next, we visited the Picasso museum. It was so intriguing because it had most of his famous art work and many of his other pieces that should have more credit due to how amazing they were. I enjoy looking at past art because it shows so much depth and meaning. The next excursion that we went on was a chocolate tour around the heart of Barcelona. We had a small group of people which held my family and another family of five. The tour took about two hours, but we were able to visit the most well known chocolate shops in Barcelona. The chocolate was simple and tasted amazing. We also had the opportunity to try homemade churros which were delicious! Lastly, we visited to local beach in Barcelona. The sea water was so clear and so shimmery. The sand was soft, but had many intricate shells. The water was somewhat cold, but it was easy to get used to. I love the beach and I believe that this beach was one of my favorites that I have been to.

The lifestyle in Barcelona is so different from the lifestyle here. Everything is so relaxed and calm there, but here it seems that we rush around more. The main transportation used in Barcelona was either biking or walking. It was interesting to see the amount of people walking the streets during the day because you do not usually see that here in Virginia. It was interesting to see how people live in Spain and it was cool to be a part of their lifestyle for a few days.

To conclude my trip, I would 10/10 recommend taking a trip to Barcelona. It is such an amazing and beautiful country to visit. I would recommend taking lots of pictures and exploring all around the city. It was such an amazing experience and I learned so much from this trip!