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| Yo quieroooo, Barcelonaaaaa |
I finally have the strength to chronicle my impressions of that most wonderful city, Barcelona, after arriving back in Paris on Wednesday with what morphed into an epically wicked cold. Isabelle F. (Not to be confused with Isabel E.) and I flew from Paris on Friday to celebrate our spring break in Barcelona. I still remember sitting in front of my laptop on a gloomy Paris winter's evening and checking my phone to see a text from Isabelle: "wanna go to Spain for spring break?" I had thought about going to cities in Spain, London, Berlin, Vienna..even cities in France. The ideas never stuck though, in large part due to the precariousness of my living situation in Paris... never knowing when the housing agency was going to tell me that they had found me a new homestay and that I would be expected to, once again, pack up all my belongings and go to some random apartment in Paris.
In a typical Zee-impulsive fashion, I said, "sure, let's do it". I just knew that I desperately needed to get out of Paris. The weather was awful and some of the attitudes I was getting from Parisians were even more awful.I desperately tried to cling to pleasant things and to enjoy the experience...but it was getting more and more difficult as pleasant things about Paris were starting to get fewer and farther between. In particularly low moments while I was waiting for the metro after being unceremoniously jostled by Parisian worker drones in fashionable black wool coats, I fanticized about stepping off the platform in front of the oncoming train (just kiddingggg)
Did I know Spanish? No. Did I know Catalan? Heck no. Could I even find Barcelona on a map? No. I had, however, seen the Woody Allen movie Vicki Cristina Barcelona, which had ever since left me with a burning desire to visit the city. Research could be done after I booked the flight, I figured. From the moment that we landed I knew that it was going to be a great spring break, simply because I saw something beautiful that I hadn't seen in a very long time: the sun. Oh beautiful ball of burning gasses, how I had missed you! The landscape, the plants, the weather, all reminded me of my beloved Los Angeles. Both have a mediterranean climate, both are surrounded by both mountains and beach. Both are urban but still chill and laid back. The hostel we stayed in was small and clean and in a cute residential area near a church, whose bell you could hear through the windows in the morning.
Isabelle and I packed in all the major attractions Barcelona had to offer in about 6 days: The beach, Las Ramblas, Sagrada Familia, Parc Güell, Pueblo Espanya, The "Magic Fountain", The Picasso Museum,The Gaudí houses of Casa Vicens, La Pedrera and Casa Botillo, and the awesome nightlife scene. As we moved about the city, I realized that I actually knew a lot more Spanish than I thought I did, and a lot of what I had been teaching myself over the summer a year ago came back. I found that I actually wanted to learn Spanish because the people were much more pleasant to talk to, and I wanted to talk to them, rather than avoid them (cough*Parisians*cough). Isabelle graciously translated on my behalf as well. It was a great learning experience as well, I got to try a lot of cool spanish foods like patatas bravas, bocadillos and paella verduras (paella for vegetarians!). Spain is now my new favorite place on earth, and it's more of a matter of when rather than if I plan on returning.
It was the perfect trip at the perfect time...my only impression of Europe had been of Paris, and I was beginning to think that perhaps Europe was no place for someone like me. It really helped me put things in perspective, and to try to come back to Paris with a fresh approach. When I returned to Paris-surprise, surprise- it was sunny! Almost as if the city was coming to me like an ex-boyfriend:
I'm sorry, I know things didn't work out earlier, can we try again? See, i'm not so bad...i can change. As I sit next to my window in the student dorms, I look out onto the park on top of the viaduct and see-can it be?- yellow and pink buds on the bushes lining the walkway. Yes, Paris, I think I am ready to give "us" another try...
