Departure time from Newark International Airport was 4:45PM, Christmas night. With a small layover in Amsterdam, we were to arrive in Barcelona at 9:05AM, December 26. We took a "detour" to Paris, and somehow ended up in Barcelona at 8:20PM. And our luggage was lost. And we were soaking wet by a torrential downpour in Barcelona.

They said it hardly rains in Barcelona.

The rain continued and our clothes were still wet. With our bags floating somewhere between Amsterdam and Paris, we left the hostel soaked, hungry, and smelly. To brighten our mood we went to Casa Batlló by Antoni Gaudí, a small apartment complex around the corner from the hostel. The rain lifted in time for us to climb to the roof, yet the dull gray clouds loomed over the city the entire day.

The L'Eixample district held many amazing façades as well as a sneak peak at La Sagrada Família, also by Antoni Gaudí. Our stomachs, growling, told us to try paella for the first time. We did, and we thought it was mediocre.

We woke up early to attend mass at La Sagrada Família, which had one unfamiliarity. It was in Spanish. At least I could understand when he said Jesus. The mass itself was not in the main nave of La Sagrada Família, instead in a side aisle. Being that the church has been under construction since it began in 1882, it's hard to have mass in a part of the church that won't be done until 2026.

Later that day I headed off alone to explore the Barri Gòtic district which was the same area our apartment was in. Through the twisted streets I suddenly stumbled upon Santa María del Mar, a large Catalan Gothic church built between 1329 and 1383.

Ignoring Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's famous saying of "less is more," we decided to see as much as possible that could be squeezed into one day. First, we hit up Casa Milà, or La Pedrera, also by Antoni Gaudí. Thankfully we weren't sick of Gaudí yet, as we still had plenty more of his buildings to see before the trip ended.

Next was Mies himself, the Barcelona Pavilion, or the rebuilt German Pavilion for the 1929 International Exposition. It was exactly what they said it would be. Pure bliss. Next to the pavilion and up the hill was the Palau Nacional, which held the closed Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. From there we could view the entire city of Barcelona, including the storm clouds that we were beginning to suspect were a normal feature of Barcelona.

Finally we ended the day with the Fundació Joan Miró. Albeit we didn't go inside after viewing the admission price. But we checked it off our list regardless.

In the early AM, walking the streets around La Rambla, there are many strange men offering many strange items, such as "cooke," or "hasheesh," or even "mareewanna." Avoid at all costs.

More roaming of the Barri Gòtic district. Specifically Museu Picasso de Barcelona, the Arc de Triomf, Parc de la Ciutadella, Mercat Santa Caterina by Enric Miralles, the Barcelona Cathedral, and Museu d'Història de Catalunya.

We headed back to La Sagrada Família to cash in on our rain check ticket to ride the lift to the top of the spires, which was the highlight of the entire church. Good thing the rain was slowing down.

Today was a lone exploration of the entire Montjuïc hill. Took the funicular at 7AM to Castell de Montjuïc to see views of the city and port as well as a visit to the Museo Militar. After wandering the hill, I stumbled upon Cementiri del Sud-Oest, a cemetery containing many rich and elite from Spain, including Joan Miró himself. Next was the Estadi Olímpic, home of the 1992 Summer Olympics, and the telecommunications tower by Santiago Calatrava. Finally, a trip to El Poble Espanyol, which proved to be a disappointing outdoor shopping mall disguised as a "quant" Spanish town.

We brought in the new year with cheap cava and bad flan. The Pakistani pushers were out in full force to sell Barcelona's cheap beer, Estrella Damm, to anyone on the street wanting to bring in the new year with intoxication.

Palau Güell was closed. The stores around the Barcelona Cathedral and Santa María del Mar were closed. Even the museum at Park Güell was closed.

It really was the New Year's holiday in Barcelona.

We took a train to one of the last stops outside of Barcelona and took a cable car lift up to Montserrat, and the cathedral built in the mountain. We decided on a whim to walk a trail through the peaks and valleys, not knowing we would end up on a four hour journey to the summit, an awe-inspiring, sublime place. On the way we got lost from each other, left rocks in the formation of arrows and notes attached to branches, saw a desolate locked church, and hardly another soul in sight.

On the way down, we took the wrong trail, causing us to almost miss the last cable car off the mountain by a few seconds. But the sight of the sun setting over the towns below was a captured memory worth being stranded for.

Not a very active day. Went to the Palau Güell, which was completely under restoration, meaning I could only see the basement. Bummer.

In my journal I wrote that this day was exceptionally cold.

The last stop on the Barcelona train took us to a small town, Igualada, where on a Sunday morning it was completely empty. A short walk through the dead industrial section led to the Igualada Cemetery, or Cemetery Nou, designed by Enric Miralles and Carme Pinós.

They say it's regarded as one of the most poetic works of twentieth century Catalan architecture, and it definitely lived up to its title. Albeit the quite town, unfinished structures, and the Spanish deceased did add to the eerie, yet poetic, feeling. It was an inspiring, private interaction with architecture that hardly compared to anything else on the entire trip.

The day's entry in my journal reads simply, and minimally:

"Church of Colònia Güell,
packed, washed clothes,
went to dinner @ La Fonda"

Not much happened today.

20 minute subway ride, 1€. Flight from Barcelona Airport to Madrid airport, 65€.

Vs.

2 hour bus ride to Girona from Barcelona, 15€. Flight from Girona airport to Madrid airport, 5€ through RyanAir. Checked luggage fee, 40€. 2 hour delay, no reserved seats, ads, ads, ads.

Was saving 6€ really worth it?

Less than 24 hours were spent in Madrid. We slept for eight, walked for one, spent six in the Museo del Prado, five in the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, one at McDonald's, and the rest at the bus station.

Along the way I saw Fra Angelico, Hieronymus Bosch, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Albrecht Dürer, Titan, Caravaggio, Nicolas Poussin, Diego Velázquez, Peter Paul Rubens, Francisco de Goya, and Pablo Picasso's Guernica.

We arrived in Sevilla after an overnight bus trip and got to experience the sun rise over the entire city, with hardly a soul around, as the city began to wake up and go about its daily activities. With only a dew days to spend, we had to hit everything right away. First was the Catedral de Sevilla, the largest cubic area of any gothic church the entire world. Then, the Real Alcazar, with a student admission fee of 0€. The last main sight of the say was the Plaza de España, a huge half-circle building displaying large tiled mosaics of each providence in Spain.

We were introduced to four things today. Slaying bulls is sometimes seen as entertainment worth dedicating money and lifestyles to. Tapas are these amazing inventions that allow poor students to try many different kinds of food all in one sitting. Cerveza, unlike beer in the states, tastes good in Europe. Flamenco in Sevilla is unbelievable.

We awoke way too early and took another bus trip to Córdoba, almost completing our circular journey through the Southeast regions of Spain.

There is a unique, sublime feeling when you enter the spaces that your Architecture History professor showed you brief slides of. Today I think experienced that feeling for the first time, as I entered the Mezquita Catedral (Mosque Cathedral). Besides the tourists who overran the entire place and the hefty admission price, the mosque turned cathedral was an experience like no other. However, one can't quite understand the audacity of Catholics who selfishly insert a cathedral directly into the center of an architecturally renowned mosque.

Today was a calm departure from Córdoba, and a pleasant bus ride to Granada. Our immersion into the city of Granada entailed us getting lost and finally having to sacrifice pride for a taxi ride, a hostel unlike no other in the world, interestingly shaped street lights, and the recommended stroll down a tourist section of town full of nothing but street vendors trying to push the same pillow covers and change purses.

We were only gathering energy for the adventure that was to come the next day.

Today was the Alhambra and Generalife. As with a lot of other architecture this trip, parts were under restoration, namely the Court of the Lions, the center piece of the palace. Despite that set back, the grounds were large enough and amazing enough to occupy most of our day. Although, we found some more time to roam the tiny, graffiti filled streets of Granada during our last night in the last city we'd explore this trip.

Last morning in Granada. Before we left the city to head back to Barcelona, I stopped over at the cathedral to experience its insane Baroque-ian spaces. We said goodbye to Granada, hopped on another miserable Ryanair flight, and took another miserable bus ride from Girona to Barcelona.

At night we met up with some friends form school also traveling Europe. We went back to La Fonda, then out to the Bar Marsella where Hemingway would drink absinthe, then out to the streets to take in the "experience" of Barcelona at 3AM.

Last day in Barcelona, last day in Spain. We went out in style, by renting a bike and riding all day long through the entire city. One last glimpse of the Barcelona Pavilion, the beach, Form Park, the sun (which was a new sight for us in Barcelona), and we were complete.

The next morning we flew home, to our quiet New York apartment, reflecting on the last three weeks of amazement.