Our Barcelona Break

3 canceled flights

9 extra days
280 dollars
Experiences in Barcelona..

If I was to be completely honest, I would reveal that we weren't exactly thrilled when we found out our vacation got extended. Each time our flight got canceled, which happened 3 times, we were disappointed to not be going home and to be "stuck" spending more money on a vacation we hadn't planned on. At the time, it was hard to justify spending the money in Barcelona when we were hoping to use it to go to other places like Edinburgh. We also missed a whole week of classes which stressed us out even more since it meant we would have even more coursework to make up.

But when I look back on the extra time we spent in Barcelona I can come up with many reasons why I am glad we had that time.

First, we met so many amazing people that we never would have met if we had left Barcelona on the 16th like we were supposed to. Even if we would have gotten on the second or third flight we would have missed out on meeting some of the people we did. We met another Massachusetts Sean who helped to keep our Belfast Sean company since he had been amongst girls for 3 weeks. We had to start referring to Belfast Sean as Sean 1 and Manchester Sean as Sean 2 just to make it less confusing since Sean 2 became an integral part of our group. He stayed with us up until the end, when we parted ways for the airport. We met Aaron and Brian who were two missionaries that we had many talks about life and the need for the church to change its approach towards faith in the youth generations. Ben was a guy from California who graduated early and used the month from his last semester to transverse Europe. The 3 Brit boys never failed to amuse us. You would think Brits and Americans would be very similar. But nope, we could never agree on the rules for card games, even UNO!

Second, we got to truly know Barcelona. The first two days we were there we did as much as we could because we thought that was all we were going to see of Barcelona. Because of this we didnt really have much touristy things left to do for the following 9 days that we were in Barcelona. This meant that we explored areas of Barcelona that tourists might never have found. One example is the second hand English book store that we spent a good hour in one day. We also got to see the Magic Fountain which is truly spectacular. The shows are only on Friday and Saturday nights so we only got to see them since the flight was canceled. The show synchronizes the fountain with lights and music. It is definitely a must see in Barcelona. The Park Guell is also another must see in the city! It was like a real life Candy Land or Hansel and Gretel Candy Cottage!

Third, we got to see Montserrat. Montserrat is a monastery built in the mountains of Spain about an hour away from Barcelona. The view from the monastery was breathtaking! I could have sat on the mountaintop for hours just taking in the scenery. It was interesting to think of all the monks who used to climb all the way up the hillside to get to the monastery. Once you go up, I doubt you came back down. But just the shear dedication to get to the top is impressive.

Fourth, we got to experience Barcelona during Sant Jordi. It is like a Catalone Valentines Day in Barcelona. The men get their significant other a rose and the women get the men a book. Ironically that was the day we went to the second hand book store. I jokingly took Sean 2's book and gave it to him so that he was "given" a book on that day. One interesting observation that we made was that people seemed to expect the gift and it didn't really even seem like an act of love but an expected act. But on the other hand we decided it made it easier on the guys. All they had to do was get a single rose for their woman and not have to worry about coming up with something creative and original that beat the previous year.

Fifth, I already miss the relaxation of not having anything to do. Last night when I was lying in bed with the list of things I had to do running through my mind, I wished I could go back to the peace of Barcelona. It is amazing how relaxing it is knowing you have nothing to do the next day except for read a book and maybe wander around the city.

Sixth, I got to make tons of memories and spend extra time with my American friends. I figured this paragraph would be best done in a bullet format.

• We had Tinto de Verano and Principe cookies almost every night because it was cheap and soo good.
• We watched around 6 movies while in Barcelona, which served as good bonding time.
• We relaxed on the beach a few days and I soaked up the sound of waves since I don't get to hear that as often as all the others since I am in the Midwest.
• We learned a little more about each other.
• The memories and experiences we now have..
  

Priceless