Champangeria, Sagrada Familia, FC Barcelona game

Saturday morning Margaret and I slept really late. We didn't get up until around 3pm whoops! I guess you can still say we had a bit of jetlag. We really wanted to try out this bar/restaurant place someone had told us about. It is called the Champagneria. You can get a bottle of champagne and 2 tapas for around 8 euros. We arrived at the champagneria and plunged into the crowd. It is truly a hole in the wall spot. Once I fought my way up to the counter I order a bottle of champagne and 2 bacon and cheese sandwiches for Margaret and I. They gave us two dainty looking glass and just placed an open bottle of the champagne on the counter. We got our sandwiches which were huge and delicious. We have come to found that the sandwiches here are usually pretty small and cold, but this were hot and soo good. The whole experience was so interesting. Here we are drinking champagne in a small dive bar, standing up and eating, and shouting over the crowd. Everytime you order a bottle of glass of champagne they require you to order food as well. Most likely to soak up everything you are drinking, but the food is just as good as the champagne so its a great deal.

                                           Margaret, Maggie, Kate, and me at the Champagneria!

We took it easy the rest of the evening Saturday and Margaret and I headed home to eat with out host family and go to bed. We wanted to wake up at a decent hour and do some tourist things in the morning. Sunday we visited the Sagrada Familia. This is a catholic church that was partly designed by Gaudi. We were just walking down and normal street in Barcelona and all of the sudden the Sagrada Familia just seemed to appear. It is huge! The design looks like something right out of candy land or Disney World. Needless to say, it really stands out and just draws your attention immediately. We went on a tour of the inside and it was just as impressive as the outside. Huge stain glass windows and a very intricate ceiling were the main features of the inside. We also rode to the top of one of the towers and could look out over Barcelona. It was such a pretty view! The Sagrada Familia still isn't finished which is why there is constant construction going on around. It really is like nothing I've ever seen before so it is must-see when in Barcelona.

                                                     One of the views from the outside

Ceiling on the inside

Kate, me, and Margaret on the other side of the Sagrada Familia

 

After the Sagrada Familia we had plans to visit Park Guell, but because the light was fading fast we decided to save it for a sunny day so we could take pictures. The day didn't end there, we had tickets to go and watch Barcelona's soccer game that night! Barcelona has the best team in the world right now and they have won countless championships. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to take in a professional soccer game with the added bonus of the home team being #1. We got to the area where the stadium was and there were HUGE crowds of people just waiting at the gate. Everyone had scarves of their favorite team tied around their neck so of course I had to buy one to show my support for Barcelona. Once we were able to get inside we set off to look for our seats. Camp Nou (the name of the soccer stadium) is probably the biggest stadium I have ever been in. It makes Williams Brice Stadium look tiny, I won't even go there with Wofford...Maggie and I had seats in the nose bleed section, while Kate and Margaret got tickets a little lower. I think if there had been clouds in the sky that night we would have been in them. It wasn't bad though, we were able to see the entire field and what was going on the whole time. Luckily though, Margaret and Kate called to say they had empty seats near them so we eventually moved down and got a closer look. Barcelona played Real Betis which is in Sevilla. Barca won 4-2, but it was an exciting game because it was tied for awhile. I really enjoyed the songs and cheers during the game, I just wish I knew what was being said. Once the game was over we had to rush to the metro station to get on before it closed at 12. The way we wanted to go outside the stadium was not an option because it was like a tidal wave of people were going in the opposite direction. We had no choice but to go with the crowd. It would have been a disaster trying to fight it in the opposite direction. There were people and mopeds everywhere. We tried to cross the street and I think all over our lives flashed before our eyes because it seemed like mopeds were headed for us and they do not slow down for anything! Much to our relief we made it out of the herd of people in one piece. The soccer game was soo much fun, I can't wait for when Barcelona plays Real Madrid here in the spring. The match will be the equivalent to our Superbowl because they are the best two teams in the world. Tickets are way too expensive to come by, but I'm sure we will be watching and cheering with the rest of Spain.

Me and Maggie in our extremely high seats

Barcelona players warming up. #10 Lionel Messi is one of the most famous/best players in the world!

Waiting for the gates to open!

Tomorrow is my first official day of school for the semester. I only have 2 classes tomorrow, but I am really interested to see how they turn out. It is weird to finally begin school, but I just have to remember that is why I am here. Hopefully we will begin to plan some trips soon!

Adios!

-Langley