New Friends in Warm Places

Barcelona: 4 Day Trip

The last time I wrote this blog, I was absolutely exhausted in Barcelona. That could be an explanation for the short description of all the amazing things I did in Berlin and Austria. On the night of April 30th, I left for the Manchester Airport around 10:50 PM after realizing that my flight for Barcelona was early in the morning and that Northern England does not have trains early in the morning on Sundays. I walked through the rain and barely made it to the train station to get to the airport. When there, I had to wait for 2 hours for the Ryanair check-in to open. After some trouble with security (which is very characteristic of the Manchester Airport), I made it to my gate and waited there until my flight around 8 in the morning. When arriving, I planned on taking a train to Camp Nou, but my large luggage impeded my journey. Due to this, I decided to take a taxi instead. It was nice to not worry about watching my bags for one minute. I got to Camp Nou and walked for about 15 minutes to leave my luggage in a somewhat-sketchy grocery store with a back room. I took my computer with me and headed to the US Haven abroad- Starbucks. Yes, my first experience with Spanish food was in Starbucks. Still, the pastries were far superior compared to the US. I worked on finishing my last papers for the University of Chester while battling the urge to fall asleep. I did that thing I did in church when I was young, when your head bobs up and down because you are falling asleep but actively fighting it. I finished at Starbucks around 4:00 and went back to the grocery store to drop off my computer. I grabbed some food from a stand near Camp Nou, called Connor (my best friend from VWU), and waited for the game to start. I waited by my gate for about 20 minutes before going into the stadium. Shockingly, I was seated in the very first row and was amazed when watching my favorite team play. I did not pay for a ticket in the front, only in the corner near the 'Home' goal. I definitely got lucky. Barca won the game 2-0 and the crowd was cheering the entire time. Those who say English football compares to Spanish football stadium atmosphere are liars. It was much more electric in Spain. After the game, I flooded out of the stadium with the other viewers and tried to find my friend Dana. I met her through Connor, who has known her for many years and connected us while abroad. I had never met her in person and was nervous because I did not know what she looked like. We eventually found each other, picked up my luggage, and went to her apartment she shares with some of her friends (which was very close to Camp Nou). We talked throughout the night, getting to know each other, before going to bed. I slept in the next morning because I had been wiped out from the previous day, spending more than 24 hours awake. Dana and I grabbed a coffee and pastry in the morning before heading to Montjuic, a now-art museum in Barcelona. We spend a few hours around that area, seeing the Olympic stadium built for the 1992 Olympics. After this, we caught a train to the Sagrada Familia, but did not stay long there because it was extremely crowded. When we finished there, we headed back to Dana's apartment where I met her roommate and best friend Julia before they went to their psychology classes at the University of Barcelona. I finished most of my work for the University of Chester during that time before going to dinner. At dinner ( I forget the restaurant) I had the best food I have had in Europe. The tapas were excellent and I could have eaten there my entire time in Barcelona. The next morning, Julia, Dana, and I went to Port Vell where it was raining and we all squeezed under my umbrella for about 2 hours. We left the coast to go to the Cathedral de Barcelona and walked around the streets. The three of us also saw St. Josep's Market, which was packed but looked like a nice area. We also saw Casa Batllo before heading to a viewing point in which we could see the entire city of Barcelona. It was sunny up there and we stayed for a while before heading back to the apartment. Dana and Julia made me Tortilla de Patatas, which is basically eggs and potatoes. It was very delicious. Then, we ate yogurt for dessert and I introduced them to Stranger Things before going to bed. On May 4, we planned to go to Park Guell before deciding against it to save money. Instead, we went to see the L'Arc de Triomf (which I compared to the arc in France for fun). Julia, Dana, and I also went into Citadel Park and wandered around the Jardins del Laberint d'Horta where we did a maze. Finally, we went to a large mall in Barcelona that is popular before returning to their apartment again, eating dinner, and watching Stranger Things before I went to bed. I woke up the next morning around 3:55 A.M. to head to the Barcelona airport. I had a truly amazing time with Dana and Julia and loved Barcelona, one of the European cities of my dreams. I was truly amazing at Dana's hospitality and kindness, which made the trip one of the best I have been on so far. The food and atmosphere lived up to my high expectations for the city and I felt like I got an authentic experience by staying with locals.

---

Sicily: 3 Day Trip with Yeji

I arrived in Palermo, the capital of Sicily, for my first day in Italy. The airport was small and I had a little trouble ordering a coffee until I made it to my hostel in the city center. The roads were filled with trash and the hostel I stayed in for the night was the dirties I have yet to experience. I walked around by myself for a while and honestly felt the most unsafe I have ever felt in my months abroad in Europe. I settled on a nice, cheap restaurant where I called my parents, another one of my closest friends from VWU Amruta, and just enjoyed the warm weather in Palermo. I got laughed at trying to order a Canolli (with an o in Italian) and went back to my hostel where a nice man from Turkey made me a coffee. The next day, I walked around Palermo to explore the city a little before Yeji arrived. Unfortunately, she was delayed in coming to Sicily due to her flight being pushed back. I saw the Piazza Pretoria, Chiesa di Santa Caterina, Piazza Bellini, Prima Circoscrizione, a garden, the coast, the Palermo Cathedral, and the Villa Bonanno before I was satisfied with my sightseeing. During the day I got catcalled many times, which was a little jarring because I was by myself. I settled in a local store called Alcolisti per Passione where I ate the most amazing Sicilian street food to exist: Stigghiola. It is basically lamb intestine wrapped around a vegetable. It is one of my favorite foods in Europe and I scoured Sicily the rest of the trip looking for the food. Finally, Yeji arrived and we went to our AirBNB, which was a major improvement compared to my hostel. I took Yeji to eat some street food before showing her some of the close sights I saw, then we went to bed. We traveled to the Island of Favignana the next day, an even smaller island off the Island of Sicily itself. It was slightly rainy, but nothing as bad as the forecast predicted, which warned of thunderstorms. We rented bikes for the day and headed to our first destination, a rocky beach popular with locals. Yeji and I found these steps to get down to the water and also some creepy, ancient-looking carvings in a cave before biking away. We went into the center of Favignana and had a delicious meal. I ate squid, which was fresh due to the location of the island. After lunch, I had the (somewhat stupid) idea to climb up to the Castello di Santa Caterina. The hike was brutal and I swear I lost five pounds along the way. I would recommend the hike for only the truly athletic and young. We made it up to the abandoned castle and saw a view of the entire island of Favignana. The hike down was much easier and we ran into some cows on the road. As a reward, we grabbed some gelato and headed to one of the only sandy beaches on the island before returning our bikes and traveling back to Palermo to sleep. Our final full day in Sicily was spent going to Cefalu, which was absolutely the right choice. Yeji and I enjoyed this small town of Sicily the most. We ate some more street food before touring the cathedral in Cefalu with an interesting back story. We saw a medieval laundry washing station, walked along the harbor, and grabbed some pasta at a local place. The two of us wandered around the charming city for the rest of the day before deciding on a small pizza shop for a take-away dinner to eat on the train. The owner gave us the pizza for free (which melted our hearts) and we made our way back to Palermo. I packed my belongings to travel to Naples, where I am currently volunteering and will write about it at the end of my time here. Traveling with Yeji was the best, as she is such a kind person. Although Palermo may win the award for my least-favorite city in Europe, the rest of the things I saw in Sicily were beautiful and I was glad to enjoy it with excellent company.

Picture Descriptions

Top Left: Me in the Cefalu Cathedral

Top Middle: View Above Barcelona

Top Right: Arc de Triomphe in Barcelona

2nd Left: El Peto

2nd Middle: Casa Batllo

2nd Right: Streets of Barcelona Gothic Quarter

3rd Left: Barcelona Beach

3rd Middle: Sicilian House (Historical)

3rd Right: Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya

4th Left: Tapas!

4th Middle: Tapas!

4th Right: Dana and I in front of the La Sagrada Familia

5th Left: Me in front of the Art Museum

5th Middle: Dani Alves warming up

5th Right: Dana, Julia, and I in front of the El Peto mural

Bottom Left: Barcelona Game!

My time in Barcelona and Sicily was an excellent way to set me up for the rest of my time in May. I got to see many sights with some amazing people and honestly, have gotten a little tired of traveling. Currently, I am volunteering in Naples with some children's football (soccer) teams in Scampia. I also have a Psyc 101 class and am studying for the MCAT again as I would like to increase my score for better medical school applications. My time in Europe is almost up. I would like to stay forever, but I feel that I am ready to go home and work hard on my last year of university.