...In Barcelona

Instead of staying down south during our day off for Dia de Andalusia, Maggie, Claire, and I decided to head to Catalonia instead. Claire and I got into Barcelona Thursday night and made a beeline to the taco place across the street from the Generator hostel. After some disappointing Mexican food in Sevilla, it was a much-needed meal. Our tour to Montserrat Monastery the next day was promptly canceled, so we figured we'd find our own way to it the next day once Maggie arrived. Little did we realize what we were taking on...

After brunch (Eat My Trip is delicious by the way) we were off around 11, ready to find our own way to Montserrat Monastery in the mountains outside of Barcelona. We got on a couple of buses and were almost on our way when we missed our last bus connection. Suddenly we were on a freeway heading straight for the countryside, unaware of where the line would

take us. Lost and confused and about an hour away from where we wanted to be, a university student who wanted to practice her English stepped in. She felt so bad she didn't say anything when we missed our stop, and she quickly made up for it by riding with us past her stop and walking us to the train station in the random town we were stuck at. After an extra hour added to our journey, we had finally gotten on the right path.

It was about 2 when we got to the monastery, just in time for siesta. No one at the tourist information center, few food options available...At a site geared towards tourists, they sure didn't seem to like visitors. Not a monk in sight (there are about 80 that live at the abbey today). We wandered into the basilica and made friends with a woman who works in customer service for United airlines, so the four of us found the only food we could and decided to walk on one of the many paths overlooking the

dramatic mountain landscape. In hindsight, a planned hike would have

been the best way to spend our time up there. However, the views were still amazing.

Our trip home was much easier, but we were still exhausted once we got back. We met up with Aniela (my friend who is studying in Barcelona this semester) for some Indian food tapas and checked out the bar Ovella Negra before heading to bed. Wake-up time the next day was 6 am to catch our 7 am bus to Andorra! The morning of, my mindset was that if we missed our bus, then oh well. What does Andorra have to offer anyway? Thankfully, we made it just in time. I slept most of the way there, and woke up towards the end of our journey, immediately grateful we toughed out the early morning–the views were incredible!

The capital city of Andorra La Vella felt like Whoville in a way. Steep mountains plummet down to the valley, with little villages of vacation houses dotting the mountainside...

Andorra La Vella often gets a bad rap due to its modernity. According to an information sign, the country grew from about 8,000 to 80,000 within the 20th century. It's easy to see how a large portion of the city is made up of newer buildings. However, walk outside the city center to the streets nestled up against the hillside, and you'll find quite the opposite. There lies a church with origins in the 8th century, countless stray (or loosely cared for) cats, and many stairways leading up to a panoramic trail. Take one of those stairways up, and you might just find a quainter Andorra than previously imagined, filled with plentiful gardens and grassy hills. This day was by far my favorite of the trip.

We took the bus home at 7 and used our exhaustion from the day as an excuse to get tacos again! Maggie's first time since she missed Thursday night. I was a little bummed to not go out that night, but in the end I'm glad I stuck with the group so we were all on the same page for the next morning. I'll have plenty of time in the near future to strike out on my own (see next week's blog post about my lengthy travels to meet Nomi in Cinque Terre!). We woke up and headed straight for Barcelona's Gothic quarter. We started the day off strong by witnessing a traditional dance with live music that the Catalan elderly enjoys doing every Sunday in front of the cathedral.

After that, Sunday was a bit disappointing as most shops were closed. We witnessed an anti-Putin protest in support of Ukraine, then found a seaside mall to buy sweatshirts at. We were hoping to do a catamaran tour we booked, but I ended up leading us to the wrong location. It was a bummer, but we instead walked to the Sagrada Familia, meandered our way back to the hostel, and you guessed it– got more tacos! We hung out in the hostel bar that night and made friends with some Brits, Belgians, Malagueños (the word for people from Málaga), and an American! We rallied the next morning to see Park Guell, then got to the airport to relax and recover from the night before.

It was chaotic and I'm exhausted, but I'm hoping to pick myself back up and head to Cinque Terre on Thursday. Nomi will be taking the train from Rome with some friends. I'm starting to feel a little homesick, and I think seeing a familiar face could be just what I need!