To be young and living in Europe - Barcelona y La Vida Bonita

It’s beautiful here today. I sat outside on our humble, little terrace overlooking the courtyard between the neighboring apartment buildings. In the distance, you can see the enormous, brick dome of the Duomo and the peaks of cypress trees. Since I’ve been back in from Midterm Break I’ve tried to do this in the spare time I have between class and traveling. I’ve dedicated November to traveling Italy as much as I can before I leave in a few weeks because it holds such a special place in Europe and I haven’t seen nearly enough of it. This probably explains why I’ve been so inattentive to writing, but I’m sure you’d understand if you were sitting here with me. The weather has been incredibly mild and soft here. The warm, Tuscan sun illuminates everything around us with the same golden glow which makes you feel like you are living in the countryside even when you are very much a part of the city.

This is a huge part of the Italian lifestyle; take moments each day where you simply don’t do anything at all in order to realize you are living. It’s amazing how in just a few moments of doing this, you are able to feel more alive than you have in past weeks or months. It’s hard not to get caught up in the lifestyle that so many of us carry on, living from one event to the next; one class to the next class, one day at work to the next. Having worked in a profession that requires me to plan 8 hours a day 5 days a week, it is hard not to live in a constant state of “future.” This trip has been a wonderful reminder that while that is important to me and a skill that I am good at, living for now is indispensable and that there is no more perfect time than now to do just that.

Since we’re on the topic of enjoying life, I’ve found that the trend isn’t just exclusive to Italy. My friends and I spent the first half of our midterm break in Spain and fell in love with yet another European destination all over again. I’m not sure if it was the Sangria or the welcoming, warm weather that made me feel at home with this incredible, Mediterranean gem but I’ll never forget the Latin heat of Barcelona for as long as I live. One of my favorite moments was our trip on the second day to Mount Tibidabo. After a long and balmy walk up to the funicular stop, we could see in the distance that it was not just an amazing observation point but a theme park too. When we got to the top, our sights were confirmed and a large, twinkling Ferris wheel sat just beside the edge of the jagged cliffs leading back to the base of the mountain. A mix of families, tourists, and couples flocked to this place on the same night to relax with some popcorn or cotton candy in the presence of a view that was glowing with perfection. What I saw was a city which is a perfect mix between sea and urbanism. The furthest point was of course the Mediterranean cast in a periwinkle haze due to the setting sun and the purple sea. The enormity of the city lit up by the elegant lights from churches, buildings, street lights, and cars added to its luminosity. I loved that we were so far removed from the sounds that accompany all these elements of a city so that we could enjoy all of the unadulterated Barcelona in one single view. What happened next was less peaceful.

In order to get to all the sights of the city, we decided earlier in the day to take an open-air bus which dropped us at each point. The last pick up at each stop was at 8:15 and since we lost track of time, we essentially had to find our way down the mountain, down the hill that led us there in the first place, and to the bus stop all in 15 minutes. Some how we made it but it almost cost Sara her blackberry and me my shoes (which were not equipped for running the mile and ½ down the windy hills and streets.) Ay ay ay! Once we finally were on the bus, we exploded into laughter at how our time there had gone from being so peaceful to a near disaster since we would have faced an hour walk had we been 2 minutes later. It was time for some Sangria.
Part of the beauty of Barcelona stems from the love of architecture and the fusion of color and modern design which makes this city unique from any other. Since I began studying interior design, my professors have exposed me to a great deal of perspective on architecture in and of Europe. Gaudi’s artistic and architectural influences are evident all over the city from the warm splashes of mosaic found on city benches and fountains to the rich colors of store facades and monuments. The look and feel to modernism was welcoming after living in such a renaissance city for a few months.

We spent one afternoon exploring yet another one of Gaudi’s masterpieces, Park Guell, for a full immersion into real Catalonian culture. Locals and tourists lined the sleek and rather abundant benches, which Gaudi formed around the famous park, to enjoy the view of the setting sun. Once again, we made sure to snap oodles of pictures of the brightly-painted, tiled walls, columns, and statues sprinkled throughout. It reminded me a lot of the explosion of color you might witness from walking into a candy store or the sorts of colors only Crayola would dream up. My favorite memory during our time here and a perfect way to capture the time I spent in Spain was climbing to the top of the park where a vivacious band was playing the Spanish guitar and sorts of wooden drums. The music they created was what you’d imagine when Spain and Flamenco come to mind. Like I had experienced in so many places I’ve traveled in Europe, time was suspended all around me: people were dancing all around us, some were laughing, and others just sat in infatuation – all in love with the same beautiful sounds that filled the space around them. Like all that we had experienced over the 4 days we were there, the music was fierce, warm, seductive, and left us with an unadulterated feeling of happiness. !Viva espana!