May 29, 2008

Today was both a busy and fun day. After a music lecture we were riding the bus to a spot that was deemed “the most beautiful spot in the world.” our lecture had let out late so unfortunately 5 people got let behind and didn’t get to see it. However, I was fortunate to get on the bus extra early (cause the maid was cleaning my room so I went down to the lobby to use the restroom when a professor hurried me to the bus. I was very upset cause he said “the bus is waiting on you!” I asked if I had time to use the restroom and he replied no. I ran to the bus, only to find out that I was the first one on and sat there alone for 5 minutes before the next people started getting there. They still wouldn’t let me go and use the restroom though!)

Our bus dropped us off at the bottom of one of the steepest hills of my life! After walking up the hill to the park designed by Gaudi, we got a chance to sit at the park for a little while. We had about 30 minutes before we started to go on the “hike.” this hike, was pretty a very steep rock and dirt path. It was a rough climb that seemed to take forever. There were a lot of parts where I was literally using my hands to pull myself over rocks and large boulders! But it was worth it. The view was incredible! We ended up staying up there for about an hour before finally heading down.

We grabbed lunch in the park and hung out at the café for a bit. We then started out trek back down the hill. We were going to go straight to the casa Mila apartments where our group was meeting several hours later to kind of scope it out before we headed elsewhere. However, the person leading did not do the greatest job and the walk took us about 5 times longer than expected. When we finally got there, we were exhausted. But, we had just enough time to stop for some ice-cream! Yay! I got a very delicious chocolate and fruit gelatio that was so good.

We then went to the Casa Mila apartments, another famous design by Gaudi. These apartments were amazing! The building is very different than anything you might see in the united states. We got to walk around the courtyard, see a sample apartment, and also hand out on the roof terrace. After sunbathing for a while, it was time to leave to go to I think my favorite part of the trip so far, the Sangrada Familia.

We thought that we were giving ourselves plenty of time to walk to the church because our professor was still at the apartments talking to students. However, about halfway there, the professor ran by us saying “your not going to make it if you keep up that pace!” our whole class was running behind him. Apparently, we all stood there and talked about the apartments for so long, he had lost track of time. We ended up getting there in plenty of time though! And it was so worth it!

The Sangrada Familia started being built in 1882, and is still being built today. The estimated completion date is in 2028, a full 146 years after it was started! This place was just so tall and so amazing. It was probably the coolest looking thing that I have ever seen! After walking around the church, we were able to take an elevator to go to the top tower of the structure. The elevator wait was about 45 minutes and 2 euros, but it was so worth it! It was one of the coolest views ever! We were so high up, at times it felt like the wind would just suck you right out of the windows!

After walking down the like 49403854032020 stairs we grabbed some dinner before heading back to the hotel. After talking to my parents and doing some more homework, I got to go to bed at a relatively decent hour of 1:30! Yay!