Barcelona 2

          The next day started early and our first stop was of course, a Starbucks. Caffeine was definitely needed for our full day! After our breakfast, we met up with Ashley and Gretchen at their dorm and then we walked to Parc Güell, which is the outdoor park that was designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí. It is absolutely beautiful and is the style of Art Nouveau, so all the architecture imitates nature. For example, there aren't any hard lines, but instead, curves to mimic the natural movement of the world. Another great example is the wave tunnel, which literally looks like a crashing wave. There are also mosaics all throughout the park, which I think are gorgeous! Take a look at some the photos to see them!
            We had lunch in a picnic part of the park (whoa, alliteration), which was really nice because the weather was really nice. We bought lunch supplies the night before after settling into the hostel, so it was mortadella and salami sandwiches on whole wheat bread with cheese and guacamole. Yum!  After this nice break, we left the park and went to the Picasso Museum. Now, I don't like Picasso, but I went anyway because we were there. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be because the exhibits were focused on his early works and inspirations for cubism, so most of the paintings were realist. The Blue Period was cool to see too, but my favorite work was the Woman in a Mantilla because it was reminiscent of Seurat's pointillism.
             After the Museum, we went to La Rambla, the famous mile long street with shops, restaurants, and so much more. We visited Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria or La Boqueria, which is a famous outdoor market (that has been covered so it can be open during rain). It has everything there--eggs, meat, fruit, and sweets to name a few, and we all tried a fruit smoothie. I had the blackberry-banana one and it was great and I also tried the "Catalunya on a Stick" which was a kebab of different dried meats. 
             For dinner we went to La Fonda for paella mixta, which is paella with meat and seafood.  It was interesting because they gave us the whole shrimp (head and all) so it was difficult to eat. But the rice itself have a rich flavor and had an almost risotto-like creamy texture. We went back to the room and got ready for a fun night on the town! The dance club was on the beach, so after we left, we walked along the water, but then hurried home because we knew we still had a full day ahead of us.