Final Thoughts on Barca

What started out as a month in Barcelona turned into a month and a half. I experienced it quite differently than most people do as a leg in their longer Euro trip or passing through on their way somewhere else. Let me break down my overall take on how I experienced Barcelona. Keep note that just because someone has a good experience in one place doesn't mean you will to because most good times depend on the people you meet and the unique experiences you have with them.

When you stay in a place for a month or longer, your priorities are very different than someone who is only there for a few days. You're more interested in going out and making friends that are also there longer term so that you can hang out during the day or go out at night for that time that you're there. You're not nearly as concerned with going to sightsee or get blitzed every night for the sake of it (though the latter does end up happening quite often). The month I spent there, I hung out almost everyday with the crew that I made the first day that I got there and it felt like college on steroids. Videogames, drinking, dinners, and more drinking. It was an absolute blast and the second most fun I've had in a country where I stayed long term (behind Argentina) but I'm glad to have left and see something new.

Surprising positive about Barca:

- Great transportation and waste management

As a tourist Mecca, with a large proportion being drunk holiday-goers on weekend trips from somewhere else in Europe, you'd expect to see a lot more litter everywhere. That's not the case. It's so clean you could probably eat off the floor, though I wouldn't recommend. And transportation is incredibly convenient not only in terms of getting from point A to point B anywhere in the city but they also take card/apple pay on the bus/metro so you don't have to go to the hassle of trying to read Spanish instructions on how to buy a ticket or a loadable transit card.

Things they don't tell you on google about Barca:

- The water sucks

Google tells you the water is drinkable which is true, but does anyone drink the water? No. It tastes like a**, especially if you're coming from a place that is fortunate to have super high water safety measures like Canada.

- The air quality is even worse

I mentioned in one of my earlier posts that I had a sore throat from hell in the first week I got here. I thought it was strep or tonsilitis. I found out a few weeks later it was most likely from the air. The day that I am writing this, the air there is moderate. But when I checked most days it was deep in "Wear a Gas Mask" territory. This is a problem more unique to Barcelona. Other cities in Spain aren't nearly as bad. There's an asthma epidemic in Barcelona because of this  so if you have any lung/breathing problems they'll probably be amplified if you visit. 

A little about my past week as well:

This was my last week in Barcelona and I wasn't going to let it go to waste. That is until Daan walked into my room and said he found a monitor that we can hook up to the PS4 and play Fortnite with one person on the monitor, and one on the TV (on their Xbox console). From then, we played everyday.

I also made it over to Park Guell which for those who haven't been, is that place that every chick that ever goes to Barcelona puts on her IG with a caption like "Te Amo España <3". It's kind of a letdown because that's the only part of the park that everyone posts so you walk in thinking the whole park is going to look like it was designed by Willy Wonka. But then you realize that it's only that part that looks like that and it's so crowded with tourists you have to wait to take a picture in front of the two Candyland buildings.

The last exciting part of the week was the weekend of course. The fellas knew it was my last weekend so they wanted to go big (as if we weren't going big every weekend till now). It was a Thursday, Friday, Saturday combo followed by a raging hangover on Sunday and a flight on Monday. The highlights included going to a bar called Coco Vail that was so Red White and Blue I felt a sudden urge to buy a gun just walking in. The chicken wings were bomb though. Close to St. Louis level, for my Canadian homies who appreciate quality cuisine.

Another highlight was a festival that was in town called San Juan where everyone gathered on the beach and lit up fireworks.

The last highlight that I can reasonably write about without being questioned by family members who read this is a karaoke bar we hit up on my last night where Brendan and his friend Jamie (from US) that is visiting for two weeks, did a terrible rendition of Miley Cyrus' Party in the USA and Elton John's Saturday Nights Alright.

After a lazy Sunday I headed off to Romania on Monday where I am now writing this from at a restaurant. Bucharest is the most touristy city in Romania but it's still not somewhere you'd probably want to visit unless you speak Romanian or are going with someone who does, in which case it's one of the best places you can go in Europe. The first day I got here I was absolutely wrecked because I think my body realized that it is not in Spain anymore so it can begin to try to make up for all the sleep I lost in the past month and a half. On Tuesday I toured the parts of the city that I frequented when I did a summer internship here in 2018.

Today was the most interesting day and quite a trip down memory lane. I visited the neighborhood, building and kindergarten that I went to right before I moved to Canada in 2003. Yes, there was a time when the only words I knew in English were "Yes" and "No". I haven't been back since then so it was pretty emotional seeing how far my parents came to give me a better life. Shout out to Mom and Dad. 

Since this Monday I took time off from work for two weeks and was planning on spending the whole two weeks in Romania at the beach in the south east of the country. I brought my sword and shield in case Putin decides to move the war west. But alas, I decided that I would be bored two weeks here so tomorrow I am off to find the lost city of Atlantis in Greece.

I'm hoping to have a cheeky night out tonight so I'll wrap this up.

Cheers

- MS