Day 27 Thursday we left early in the morning to head to Spain on our usual bus. Before we made it Barcelona we went to Olot, Spain where we met some architects from a well-known firm, RCR. They showed us around there office which was once a factory for statues and bells. The architects transformed the space into a beautiful restoration with pieces that were modern but the building very much still spoke of the previous functions and history.
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| A Donkey we spotted on our hike to lunch. |
In Spain lunch is eaten at 2pm and dinner at around 9pm which would explain why the nightlife goes on till about 6am, put more on that later. We ate lunch in a public park that takes a good amount of hiking to get to so we were the only ones there, it didn't feel to public. The food we indulged in was interesting, it consisted of tried sausage, pickled cold chicken, bread, oranges, a weird salad, and we still are not sure if the last thing was cheese or tofu or neither... It had no taste and was not identifiable.
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| French people say this is what poor people eat |
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| What is this? |
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| I love how you can see mountains behind many landscapes in Europe. |
After lunch we visited what would be our last stop before we reached Barcelona, a preschool by RCR. We were given a tour by a lady who spoke mainly spanish but also a little french and English. It was much easier to understand then French thanks to my 10 years of Spanish. Taking Spanish since i was 5 had to pay off at some point in my life. We made friends with some of the children and got to play with them it was a great space and experience. As we walked through the outdoor courtyards the children would watch us from inside and press their hands against the glass, it made me miss home and all my little cousins. I hope they all get the chance to travel one day and I hope they can learn from my experiences.
Once we reached Barcelona on our first day all of us agreed to have a relaxed night where we got food at a nice restaurant and explored the city a little. On our way home of course was not so relaxed. One of the boys in our group was being harassed by a men trying to hand out fliers to a dance club. They would come from behind guys and put their leg around them and try and distract the guys so they could get to their wallets. The first guy would feel where the wallet was and the second guy would take it. It happened to one of out friends but my friend nick and i noticed what they did so he immediately turned around and grabbed it from the guy. Unfortunately when we went to go get gelato our friend Kevin realized that when he checked his wallet after the guy took it he didn't see that his credit card was taken. Fortunately we went back to the hotel and canceled the card before any charges were made.
Day 28 We started out day on a huge pedestrian walkway that leads to the sea. Off of the passage way are many public places that we went and studied for our urban studies class. The amount of activity was amazing but the way that everything flowed so easily was what puzzled me. You have this huge pedestrian walk way separating the street into two pieces with buildings on each side making a frame for the Ramblas(the name of the walkway). On the pedestrian walkway there was another layer of enclosure with trees lining the walkway and temporary vendors and cafes in-between the trees. The street very much favors pedestrians and supports all movement by people on feet. The most amazing part of the Ramblas was the fact that it was continuous and no intersecting streets pierced the walkway, pedestrians did not need to cross any streets or come into contact with cars.
Off of Las Ramblas is one of the most famous and romantic squares in Barcelona La Placa Reial (Royal Square). The Royal Square has a main entrance off las ramblas but inside the arcades their are 6 different hidden exits and entrances to smaller more private streets. Another major attraction off of las ramblas was the market. The market was the most crowded area of las ramblas and when we entered we could all tell why. The amounts of food and color in the market are enough to keep your taste-buds watering for days. My favorite part of the market was when an older women dropped her bad and I picked it up for her and handed it to her and see said, "gracias bonita". First of all I understood her and second that does not happen in France, I once offered my seat to a women at the tram stop and she said no and started talking to me and had no idea what she was saying but I am pretty sure it was bad judging from her facial expression.
We went to a second market after we left las ramblas. We had learned about this market in class, it has a unique roof that has abstract colored tiles. The architect took an image of different fruits and vegetables and enlarged and distorted it to make the roof image. The structure of the roof is also unique, it uses metal trusses and bracing and wood detail work, it is attached to an older stone building below.
After a very busy first half of the day we had lunch and the headed to the newer part of the city to another building by RCR architects. The building was a library and a public courtyard space where a lot of children gathered after school to play. Inside this library is where the trip got interesting for me. Everyone was not in the best of spirits after a long and tiring day of much sketching and walking but once I ripped my pants in the middle of a public library everyone cheered up a little. Once my teacher found out he chuckled a little and said that we could go back to change before we hit our last stop, the Picasso museum.
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| The RCR Library Courtyard |
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| Inside the Library |
I walked half way across Barcelona trying to cover my backside and finally reached the apartments threw on a new pair of jeans and headed to the museum. The museum was incredibly, the progression of his work caught my interest. When you think of Picasso you think of a crazy abstract painter that cut off his ear but his earlier work was completely normal and as he grew older he became more bold and in the end he became crazy.
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| Picasso Museum |
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| Shopping |
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| The club |
At the end of the day we all went shopping to get new outfits for the night ahead of us. We had plenty of time because in Spain the party doesn't get good until 2am. But anything the important part is we made it home safe and it was a great night.
Day 27 Thursday we left early in the morning to head to Spain on our usual bus. Before we made it Barcelona we went to Olot, Spain where we met some architects from a well-known firm, RCR. They showed us around there office which was once a factory for statues and bells. The architects transformed the space into a beautiful restoration with pieces that were modern but the building very much still spoke of the previous functions and history.
Day 28 We started out day on a huge pedestrian walkway that leads to the sea. Off of the passage way are many public places that we went and studied for our urban studies class. The amount of activity was amazing but the way that everything flowed so easily was what puzzled me. You have this huge pedestrian walk way separating the street into two pieces with buildings on each side making a frame for the Ramblas(the name of the walkway). On the pedestrian walkway there was another layer of enclosure with trees lining the walkway and temporary vendors and cafes in-between the trees. The street very much favors pedestrians and supports all movement by people on feet. The most amazing part of the Ramblas was the fact that it was continuous and no intersecting streets pierced the walkway, pedestrians did not need to cross any streets or come into contact with cars. 
Off of Las Ramblas is one of the most famous and romantic squares in Barcelona La Placa Reial (Royal Square). The Royal Square has a main entrance off las ramblas but inside the arcades their are 6 different hidden exits and entrances to smaller more private streets. Another major attraction off of las ramblas was the market. The market was the most crowded area of las ramblas and when we entered we could all tell why. The amounts of food and color in the market are enough to keep your taste-buds watering for days. My favorite part of the market was when an older women dropped her bad and I picked it up for her and handed it to her and see said, "gracias bonita". First of all I understood her and second that does not happen in France, I once offered my seat to a women at the tram stop and she said no and started talking to me and had no idea what she was saying but I am pretty sure it was bad judging from her facial expression.
We went to a second market after we left las ramblas. We had learned about this market in class, it has a unique roof that has abstract colored tiles. The architect took an image of different fruits and vegetables and enlarged and distorted it to make the roof image. The structure of the roof is also unique, it uses metal trusses and bracing and wood detail work, it is attached to an older stone building below.
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