Barcelona July 2018

Barcelona was like coming home. I took a quick two hour plane from London to Barcelona Prat airport and arrived extremely sad. I had just moved away from my boyfriend and I had no idea when I was to see him again. That uncertainty about long distance relationships is the hardest aspect to it. So of course, I'm sat on the plane next to the most affectionate, loving couple heading on a spontaneous trip for the mans birthday. I only teared up twice on the plane. Luckily,  the journey from the airport to my air-bnb in the neighborhood of Gracia was flawless. I was greeted by a lovely woman that showed me up the staircase. I was literarily exhausted at this point, emotionally and physically. But carrying up my suitcase to the third floor of this beautiful, old building made me fueled empowered and grateful. I was still upset at this point. I was showed around this beautiful apartment and met another young couple from Berlin. I thought my love luck was just wearing me down. I didn't go out that night but I watched Netflix and tried to remain calm about the sadness I was feeling from never seeing Simone again. Somehow that night I conjured up the idea that I could either have a miserable time in Barcelona and just count the week down until I head home or I could feel good. I decided I would feel good and that is what I did. 

The next morning, I headed out with an apple and coffee and walked. The goal was to go to the beach but around every corner there is something to see. While residing in Gracia, many shops were at my disposal. I peeked my head in a few shops with cute dresses but I decided not to buy. Instead I went further down the hill to see impressive, gothic architecture. At this point, I fully embraced the notion of enjoying myself. The sun was out, I was alone, I had one week to see my mom again and I was in my favorite city in the world. I wanted Simone with me so bad though. Continuing my adventure down I ended up on a street looking at more niche art. I was going in and out of tattoo stores, souvenir shops and looking at the people. A little later in the day, I found myself at the Museum of Contemporary art. The best thing was happening, a spectacle of young indian girls getting ready for a performance as well as skateboarders using the clean lines of the museums walkway to skate on. It was a sight to be seen because I had never seen such opposite groups together to enjoy a space. I decided to sit and watch for a bit but I ended up walking some more and at this point I didn't feel lost anymore.  A store called "Holala" had the coolest apparel I easily could have taken everything home but didn't because i didn't have any more luggage space. they had these white, athletic shorts that looked really cute with a black blouse. I would send pictures to simon saying he should buy these clothes. I always find better clothes for my friends than for myself. I moved air bnb's twice. It wasn't too much of a hassle and it was actually a nice change because I was able to see a different neighborhood. This place was a bit closer to the beach and to the Rambla but with more stairs to climb. I met with the owner of the apartment and i eventually found out he was a porn director. I was like "oh cool... so.. what is it like?" He goes, "its challenging and a difficult job. " On the one and only rainy day i decided to walk to the Picasso museum and wait in the line (which is so unlike me). I sped through the museum because there were thousands of Picasso's pieces. It was lovely to see the exhibit related to food but I was not about to look at every single art piece of his. After this, I ate a quiche and was told by two people that i should be more careful of my fanny pack which was slung around my chest. I thought it was protected but people really look out for you here. I adventured to the water again on another day and found myself at the harbor. It was around 6 in the evening and I sat on the ground watching the Pirate ship filled with a group of tourist with a glass of wine in hand and the sunset ahead. I had missed Simone. But, I kept it all together (my emotions) and I continued walking. This night I decided to have tapas. I did't have many euros left but I did my best to spread it out. I wanted to leave Europe with no Euros in my hand and I accomplished that. I could have done seen many more historical things of Barcelona but I enjoy going about my day on vacation with little to no plans.  Adventuring alone is a once in a lifetime experience and I have been doing so much of it. At some point in the lonesome adventure, I became well adjusted to not having someone by my side inputting their thoughts. It's just me, doing what I like. I am a team player and this is proven in the next week when I went on a trip to Iceland with my mom! 

Writing this has proven to be such a therapeutic thing to do. Crazy how powerful the memory is and transporting yourself back somewhere just through a few words. I will upload pictures once I retrieve my passcode to my android phone -____-