Waking up at 5:30am may seem like a struggle to some but when you have a flight to catch all of a sudden it's effortless. I got a taxi to the train station because I wasn’t going to force any of my friends to wake up that early. Unfortunately it does take 3 and a half hours on the train to even get to Gatwick airport from here. My connecting train was late (of course), putting me in a rush to get to my flight. After rushing through security and hoping for the best I found out that my flight had been delayed. All that trouble for nothing. However, this gave me plenty of time for food and duty-free shopping of course.
My first impression when stepping off the plane into Barcelona was the wave of heat that hit me. It created an instant sweat on my face. I got through security quickly, and there were trains/buses running directly into the city centre. I arrived at my hostel at around 4pm and spent the rest of my afternoon getting ready and chatting to the people in my hostel. Even though I have already made so many friends while travelling I still get so nervous when going to a hostel by myself. And it's completely normal to feel that way.
I met up with my friends for dinner that night and we proceeded to their hostel (which had a beautiful rooftop bar). The next few days we had a similar pattern: going to the beach, sightseeing and then going to get dinner/drinks at the hostel. On the first day I was sitting on the beach with my friends, drinking a Mojito, reading my book, and very much was experiencing a “I can’t believe this is my life” moment. The water was so warm and clear. On the third night we also went to a boat party organised by our travel company. We weren’t allowed to swim (which was probably a good thing) and it was only for two hours. However, it was quite a bit of fun and surprisingly hard to stand up without falling
The main thing I found interesting about the city was that nothing opened until after 10am. Since it is such a nightlife focused area there was no need for supermarkets, cafes or chemists to be open until later in the day. This made it very difficult for a hungry Amy at 8am. I learned to just buy the hostel breakfast, even if it was overpriced. Additionally, this was the first country I had been to that doesn’t speak English as their first language. But surprisingly I found myself picking up phrases and greetings, even after a week. Funny thing is when I got back I kept saying “hola” and “gracias” when talking to people. In McDonalds I accidentally said gracias to someone of colour when collecting my order and lets just say he was not impressed.
My friends left four days into the trip to head to Palma on a Spanish island, so I was alone once again. Honestly, it was lovely to spend a few days by myself. I did a hop on hop off bus tour around the city, seeing more than I could have imagined. I stopped at the Palace of Montjuic for what I thought would be a quick 5 minutes but then ended up staying for over an hour. I was even on facetime to one of my closest friends at this time so she experienced it all with me (virtually obviously). It was just stunning, surrounded by fountains and insane views. It's interesting that the places you don’t expect to love end up being your favourite. Whilst near Mount Montjuic I also took a cable car up to the top which was one of my highlights. I also got so much sleep those last few nights yay!
The only thing I would have changed about the trip is probably going to multiple cities. I loved Barcelona, but it would have made more sense to go to Madrid as well. Everytime I go somewhere I learn something about how I can travel better. Overall, I had an amazing time and am excited for my next adventures.
Thank you, love Amy ♡
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