My First Week in Barcelona!

It has been a little over a week since I landed in Barcelona Spain.  I have experienced so much within the first few days that I feel I have already learned tons about this incredible city.  When Hunter and I arrived at the airport, we met up with our study abroad program (ISA) who then took us to our designated buses that would drop us off at our apartments.  When we first made it outside, it was not the bright and sunny Barcelona that I was anticipating. It was actually raining and overcast. Thankfully, this was no indication of how the weather was going to be for the rest of the week.

On the bus ride, I still had the comfort of sitting next to Hunter while surrounded by new and unfamiliar faces. I felt safe having him with me, however I knew our time was limited since we were heading to separate apartments. After about ten minutes, a girl behind me introduced herself as Mel which ended up to be one of my four roommates. Later, I met another one of my roommates who’s name is Hannah (she goes to the University of Denver).  Turns out the other two roommates Dani P. and Dani C. (how ironic), who I met later in the afternoon, are best friends with Mel and they all go to University of Tampa together.

Over the next few days, we had hours of meetings and a few site seeing tours that were organized through ISA. I felt like I was constantly absorbing information about my new city, which I absolutely love.  There is so much to do and see that I never once felt bored.  In fact, this is when I discovered how useful siestas (afternoon nap) are and how crucial they can be to a busy day in Barcelona (which are now apart of my everyday schedule). Walking down the bustling plazas, stoned streets, and crowded squares I discovered more about my new home.  After a few days of building up my confidence, I started going on afternoon walks in different directions and would try to figure out how to get back home. This city is not only bursting with Catalonian spirit but also has so much distinct personality.  From the food to the people to the architecture and everything in between. It just seems to be constantly displaying pride for its city.

Something that I initially noticed and had a hard time understanding is that local people do not smile to strangers.  I catch myself smiling at anyone I make eye contact with so for me I felt like I was constantly being judged.  Maybe I was, however when I started school, one of my teachers brought this up during her lecture and said it’s just part of their culture. She even went as far as to say that Americans are known for being overly polite and apologize for everything, which I found very interesting.

Anyways, the Saturday before school started, ISA organized a trip to go cava tasting and then visit a small beach town right outside Barcelona called Sitges. If you’ve never heard of the word cava, it’s basically Spain’s version of Champagne.  We went to a winery called Codoniu.  They were the first producers of cava in Spain.  Through our guided tour, we were able to see how it was originally made and all the original machinery they used.  We went down into the cellar below ground and got to explore part of the 19 miles of cava caves by way of an entertaining tram ride.  It reminded me of a Disneyland attraction with all of its maze-like turns.  After about 10 minutes of seeing endless cava bottles, we made it to the tasting room.  There we were able to test two different varieties.  At the end of our tour, I even bought myself a bottle as a souvenir to save for a special occasion.

Harvesting Season

Vineyards

Codorniu

Codorniu

Codorniu

Two Cava Varieties

Sampling

Cava Samples

Tasting Room

Barrels

Giant Cava Bottles!

Cava Cellars

Cava comes in all shapes and sizes

Old Machinery for Manufacturing Cava

Cava Tasting

Cava Tasting

We then boarded our bus and traveled another 30 minutes reaching the town of Sitges.  Besides being known for its connecting sandy beaches, Sitges is filled with small boutiques and authentic eateries.  At one point, my friends and I climbed up to a beautiful church that sat above town, protecting over the rest of the city and the Mediterranean Sea. Hunter, our new friends and I walked the boardwalk lining the coast and finished our day roaming the back streets of town.

Sitges welcome sign

One of the Many Stretches of Sand

Our group of Friends from our program

My Roommate Hannah and I

Church

View from the Church

Church above the sea

Church

Jetty

Back Streets of Sitges

Back Streets of Sitges

Back Streets of Sitges

After this excursion, we had one more full day before we actually had to start school (almost forgot that’s why I was here in the first place).  Then the real work began, however so far I love my classes! The teachers seem so passionate and experienced in the field they teach and with the small class sizes, the lessons are a lot more interactive.  I like that.  My favorite class so far would have to be photography because every class we get about 45 minutes to go where ever we want in the city and practice what we learned in that days lesson.

What surprised me the most about this first week? Surprisingly, it had nothing to do with Spain at all.  It actually had to do with where I’m originally from.  Every single student that I’ve talked to, whether international or from across the United States, has told me I am incredibly lucky to be living in California, especially Orange County. I always took this for granted and never realized this until now.  I was so surprised when people from everywhere would tell me how badly they wanted to see California. From this alone, it made me appreciate my home so much more than I had ever expected.

So far I have had a great experience in my new city! I can not wait to uncover more hidden treasures throughout Barcelona and to fall in love with my next travel destinations.