Drunk in Spain - Barcelona

La Boqueria (aka Heaven on Earth) - Barcelona, Spain

Like the rest of my time in Spain I don't remember much and am lacking in photographic evidence of most of what happened, but I do remember that Barcelona was absolutely amazing. We stayed at a hostel right off of La Ramblas which gave me quick access to La Boqueria, a market filled with treats and meats and other amazing things. I could walk around this place for hours, and actually came back later in the summer because I loved it so much here. La Ramblas is a street lined with touristy eating spots and stalls selling all and any souvenir you could imagine, but it is in central Barcelona and close to a lot of great things. The Gothic Quarter starts here and really exemplifies Barcelona's past even though it is mixed in with new, developing parts of the city. The nightlife here is my favorite part, there is something about wandering the dark, narrow alley ways that had me hooked. 

Treats on Treats on Treats

Bar hopping in the Gothic Quarter - Barcelona, Spain

A great place to go if you are looking to have a really gnarly hangover is Chupitos. Now this place, this place is wild. There are hundreds of shots plastered across the wall, and you don't know what any of them are. You. Just. Order. The red ones involve fire and they are all 2 Euro, except for about 5 of them. And those ones are SERIOUS. The Monica Lewinsky shot can be found here - be warned, it's vulgar. My personal favorite is the Boy Scout shot. They give you a marshmallow on a stick and light your shot on fire. You roast the mallow over it before taking she shot. The only downfall to this place is they use their own "branded" alcohol - it's all really cheap and every shot is mixed with loads of sugar. If anyone has ever partied here and NOT woke up the next morning feeling like they were hit by a bus, it would be a miracle. 

        

You also shouldn't leave Barcelona without visiting La Champaneria. You have to go early, because they close by 10pm-ish (if I remember correctly). This is VERY uncharacteristic of Spain, but that's their thing. It's a great pregamming spot. It will undoubtedly be packed, you will have no room to stand or sit or breath but delicious Cava (Catalonian champagne) and even more delicious tapas. Manchego quickly became my favorite cheese. Writing this blog has me drooling. 

La Champagneria - Barcelona, Spain

My time in Barcelona wouldn't be complete without visiting a park. Not just any park, but the most amazing park ever in the world. I wonder how many parks that I have been to I have considered "the most amazing". Probably every one I've been to, because dammit I LOVE PARKS. Park Guell was designed bu Gadui, which is pretty self explanatory and I don't even need to go into details about how beautiful it was. It, however, isn't your typical park. It's situated on a hill, and a lot of the walking is up. 

We spent some time at the beach, which was so incredibly beautiful and had such good vibes. We were desperate for flotation devices and spent the afternoon in the water with drinks, enjoying each others company. We didn't do too many "touristy" sightseeing things, which was fine. I'm not big on that anyways. We did walk past The Sacred Family cathedral. I'm also not big on lines. The view from outside was unreal. One day I will go back, maybe when it's finished :)

The trip ended in chaos. One member of the party lost his green card. And by lost I mean that a hooker stole his wallet. Him and another guy had to go back to Madrid to visit the consulate to ensure that he would be able to get back to America with no problems. The last night in Barcelona I decided to stay in because we had an early flight the next morning. The majority of what was left of the rest of the group went to a stock market bar, where the prices of drinks fluctuate based on what people are drinking the most of. They were supposed to have an early night. PSSSH. Please. I woke up at 6am and most of them weren't back, and the ones who were back had brought new friends with them ;) Our flight was at 8:45 and by the time we left the hostel one of them hadn't even returned. We had no idea where he was. We left without him. WE LEFT WITHOUT HIM. When we finally arrived at the airport around 8:15, they wouldn't let us through because no one had checked in online for the flight. Before we could get to Mallorca we were stationary in the airport for many, many hours. I tried messaging our fallen solider, Conner, but the attempts were unsuccessful.