It´s official! I have become a Barcelonian! I have landed myself a flat in the Raval district of the city, minutes walking from the city's heart and only one block away from the Museu d'Art Contemporani di Barcelona (MacBa). Things are absolutely gorgeous here. Perhaps my first encounters with the city were inevitably going to be positive since I left three feet of snow behind in my hometown of Washington, DC but it has already been forgotten and I am living life in the 65ºF sunshine.
It began with my flight being delayed approximately three times due to inclement weather keeping vehicles and pedestrians, alike, off the street. Eventually when roads became driveable things looked up and I was (slowly) en route to Washing-Dulles International Airport in a neighbors four wheel drive SUV since my poor little VW Jetta certainly would not have survived the trek. And before I knew it, it was cheers, goodbyes and goodlucks from Mom and Dad and I was in line for security.
It was quite a rush of emotion, memory, and keeping my chin up and head faced forward realizing that I had gotten through security and was sitting on a plane to Barcelona, alone. Quite a process indeed. After a restless plane ride in the third to last row (no complaints thanks to Bose noise cancelling headphoens!) I arrived in London's Heathrow airport to mentally stabilize and prepare myself for a nine hour layover during which I gained a self-induced coffee addiction as well as the realization of "No Stephen, just because you are London does not mean buying that Burberry trench coat in the store window is a good idea."
Problem number 1 of Stephen White venturing through Europe alone: Fashion addiction, heavy shopper.
Status thus far: Succesful in both spending AND avoiding!
Eventually, I was on flight number two, on my way to my final destination (for the time being). I ended up meeting a woman from Australia who I sat next to on my flight, Natalia. She had been living in Barcelona for a few years and offered to help me get to my hotel so we shared a taxi and off I went. I arrived at my hotel only to receive a message from a friend of mine, Juancho, who lives here in the city. It was his friends birthday and I was invited to come out and celebrate and though I had no idea where I was in the relation to the city center or how to go about getting there I told myself "Well, you're here. You might as well have some fun!"
Before I knew it I was out the door, -26 hours of sleep under my belt, but up for the challenge. I grabbed a quick bite (proudly ordered in Spanish!) and headed out to find El Congrejo, a popular bar (for the locals!).
First night in Spain and I danced until 6am with Juancho and his incredible group of friends who I am happily still hanging out with today.
It began with my flight being delayed approximately three times due to inclement weather keeping vehicles and pedestrians, alike, off the street. Eventually when roads became driveable things looked up and I was (slowly) en route to Washing-Dulles International Airport in a neighbors four wheel drive SUV since my poor little VW Jetta certainly would not have survived the trek. And before I knew it, it was cheers, goodbyes and goodlucks from Mom and Dad and I was in line for security.
It was quite a rush of emotion, memory, and keeping my chin up and head faced forward realizing that I had gotten through security and was sitting on a plane to Barcelona, alone. Quite a process indeed. After a restless plane ride in the third to last row (no complaints thanks to Bose noise cancelling headphoens!) I arrived in London's Heathrow airport to mentally stabilize and prepare myself for a nine hour layover during which I gained a self-induced coffee addiction as well as the realization of "No Stephen, just because you are London does not mean buying that Burberry trench coat in the store window is a good idea."
Problem number 1 of Stephen White venturing through Europe alone: Fashion addiction, heavy shopper.
Status thus far: Succesful in both spending AND avoiding!
Eventually, I was on flight number two, on my way to my final destination (for the time being). I ended up meeting a woman from Australia who I sat next to on my flight, Natalia. She had been living in Barcelona for a few years and offered to help me get to my hotel so we shared a taxi and off I went. I arrived at my hotel only to receive a message from a friend of mine, Juancho, who lives here in the city. It was his friends birthday and I was invited to come out and celebrate and though I had no idea where I was in the relation to the city center or how to go about getting there I told myself "Well, you're here. You might as well have some fun!"
Before I knew it I was out the door, -26 hours of sleep under my belt, but up for the challenge. I grabbed a quick bite (proudly ordered in Spanish!) and headed out to find El Congrejo, a popular bar (for the locals!).
First night in Spain and I danced until 6am with Juancho and his incredible group of friends who I am happily still hanging out with today.
at El Parc Zoologic!
Second day in Spain I slept until 5pm on account of the jetlag and night of dancing but alas, the relax and rest was well deserved. And although I may have woken up somewhat late, I got out of bed and was out the door to explore Parc Zoologic and Parc de la Ciutat, which were both absolutely gorgeous.
