End of my 11 day Break: Barcelona
This journal entry concludes my fall break adventures. I think the journal entries from this fall break are the most detailed because every new experience stuck to my brain. It was like I was this huge sponge just soaking up all the amazing surroundings, cuisine, people, and cultures around me. Sorry if any of it seemed boring at times. I just can not stop praising God for this amazing opportunity!
10/30/04
Halloween eve. Today was a pretty tiring day. Began around 8:00 to get ready for my train which departed at 9:45 am for Barcelona. After showering, I finished packing my stuff and said goodbye to the sweet old Spanish lady (named Ana Maria) who gave me a room and hospitality for 3 nights in Madrid. Did the whole kiss on both cheeks thing (which I wish would be instituted in America!) I headed out at about 8:40.. I picked up a few postcards at this little stand by the metro station and then headed out on the metro.
The train departed at 9:45. I arrived at Barcelona at 2:30 and then the run around began. By about 3:45 I had reservations for my train back to Salzburg and also had directions to the metro. Got off at the Liceu exit, and proceeded to look for a hostal with hardly any luck. I checked well over a dozen places only to find out that they were all completo or full. Gracefully, by Gods gracious hands, I found a hostel with exactly one bed left. It was called the “new hostel” with a couple rooms and a labtop set up to check in people. Pretty sketchtastic. I met this guy from Canada in Alberta. I was finally situatated around 6 pm. By this time, most sites were closed, and plus I was crazy hungry. So I went to this restaurant in the square. I had stew and chicken. It was very very good. I remember seeing the accordian players outside and also being very thankful for food.
Once finished with my meal,, I headed towards the coast. God totally showed up with a GLORIOUS sunset! I look at the pictures now and I am like holy cow that was amazing. I listened to the Ipod as I like to do when I am surrounded with beauty, and then headed over the bridge to the aquarium (which is the largest aquarium in Europe). Once finished exploring I then headed back to my hostel.
At this point in the day, I was feeling like it was going to be a boring night if I was by myself. At the exact point in time I thought that, who shows up but Tom, Hollie, Jaq, and Cara from my program here in Salzburg! I was so happy to see them, as they were to see me. I then went out to dinner with Tom where we had a great time chilling At the end of the meal, I noticed a familiar face across the room. Would you believe that there was a fellow Pennsylvania governor’s school of the arts friend in that very Pita House in Barcelona, Spain!! I had met her in 11th grade and here we were both in Spain. I went over and asked if she was from Pennsylvania, and she said yes. So I was like holy cow and sat down. I proceeded to tell her that I was a govie and she was ecstatic, as was I. It was so cool to get to talk to Jasmine after these several years of not being in contact with her.
Afterwards, I chilled with the gang back at their crazy hostel which was blaring music. We then went out for the night where we met lots of people who also were traveling. Many from Australia and Canada. It was a great night.
10/31/04
First, let me thank God once more for guiding me safely through everything. No matter what gets thrown my way, the Lord has provided in abundance. May I rejoice in you every single time I journal and may this journal act as a testimony to your great love for your people. I love you Lord.
Today began around 8:40. I was very happy because I received an extra hour of sleep due to the fact that the clocks fell back one hour last night. My body definitely appreciated it. Once my day was mapped out, I headed towards the Iglesia la Santa Ana, an amazing cathedral in the middle of town. After exploring the inside of it, which was plastered in scaffolding, and also realizing what a weird thing it was to ban sightseers from taking part in the mass, I headed on out towards the Picasso museum. The line was ridiculus so I decided to head back to my hostel to check out.
I then headed back to the Cathedral again to catch a performance of this awesome Spanish ensemble. This is where Spain hit home for me. I just stood there watching the old people dance in circles and the band playing in the background and was just in total awe that I was actually here in Spain. It was amazing. Afterwards, I lugged everything to the La Sagrada Familia and witnessed one of the most amazing pieces of architecture I have ever seen. It was STUNNING and the weird thing is…it was never completed. Craziness. After running around outside and realizing that going in would take way too much time and would probably stink anyways because of the scaffolding, I headed to McDonalds for lunch. I got two bacon double cheeseburgers and a McFlurry and stuff. I have tried my best to not eat at chain restaurants while in Europe, but I was on the run.
Once out of Mckey d’s, I headed towards the Picasso museum to see if it was possible to do in an hour. While walking there, I witnessed a theft. A guy walking right in front of me snatched this womans teal blue purse. Before you knew it, he was down a corner street and gone. He ran so jauntily like a hyena or something. It happened so fast, and I felt really bad afterwards cause I had all my crap in my hands and made it hard to run after him. Even if I had caught up with him, Tom told me that many of thieves and gypsies carry knives, so I don’t know what would have happened.
After praying for the people who just had stuff stolen from them, I headed to Picasso. There was absolutely no line. It was great. I really really enjoyed reading about this great artist. And seeing his works really concreted everything. I liked his blue period.
I really enjoyed the next part of the day, because I finally just breathed, chilled, and talked to people online. I got to send random IM messages to my friends, and got to chat with Amy, Haley, Becca, and the like. After the time in the Inet, I got some souvenirs at this cool shop which was going out of business. After the store shopping, I headed towards the coast (which I fell in love with the night before).
The time at the dock was the culmination of this 11 day voyage. God chose that time for me to focus on my relationship with Him. It was so beautiful to watch the sunset that I was overcome with his Love for us. After just feeling like a new person, and revived, I headed to the metro. I arrived at the train station pretty early and grabbed some tapas. The mom kept looking at me and laughing when the kids did something funny. It was a nice trip.
And then in the train station in Cerbere, I met up with a bunch of people from a program in Florence, Italy. I met Mike and Nick (from Pennsylvania (Scranton and Philly) and also Jessie and Darcy. It was cool talking to these guys. I wish them the best in their travels. I then took the train ride home from Barcelona to Salzburg (which took 24 hours in total and went very smoothly)
God….I am speechless after this 11 day voyage. Tonight while I sleep, I pray that I may remember all the amazing things that happened over this trip. I pray that I would learn from my experiences to become more like your Son. How I am going to miss traveling! Be with me while I travel, and in all things I will give you the praise and the glory forever, amen and amen.
Sad to see this fall break leave,
Kyle Kekai
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