Barcelona (In picture: Mason from the concrete barrack overlooking the city) It’s Friday, December 11th, and after a near full 24 hours of planes, trains, and a maze of metro lines, I arrive at Nick, Mason, Jordan, Sam, and Bryce’s apartment in Barcelona (for the sake of concision, their apartment is now “the apartment”). I have time to throw my backpack on the floor in Nick‘s room, and as my brain function is about to completely cease and I‘m going to fall into a small coma, Jordan informs me that we’re going to go climb a hill that over looks much of the city. After a couple metro transfers and solid twenty minutes of up hill climbing we arrive at an abandoned concrete barrack. It looks a bit like a small bomb had been dropped near by, leaving a marred and crumbling concrete structure. Slightly sketchy. But the view atop of it all was mesmerizing—the scene made me forget that I hadn’t slept in about 26 hours. When we arrive back to the apartment my brain remembers that it hasn’t shutdown in awhile and I sleep for a good hour before waking up in Nick’s bed with a small puddle of drool on his pillow (sorry Nick). The pillow would end up being mine for the rest of my stay. Despite my internal clock being momentarily flipped on its head, the promise of partying in Barcelona accompanied with the city’s new sights, sounds and smells quickly gives me the energy to take full advantage of the weekend. With the help of Nick’s espresso and my Advil, I manage to hang with the best of ‘em throughout my stay—though, I did hit my occasional whitecap. One such mild whitecap: After prepartying at the apartment, we head to a club located adjacent to the coastline of the Mediterranean called Opium. When we arrive I notice that we’re going to be standing in line for awhile before we get into the club. To kill the time and maintain the buzz I buy a can of beer from a somewhat shady looking vendor on the street. (I found out he actually was shady after he quietly said, “Anything else? Hasheesh? Cocaine?” “No thanks, man” I reply, “the beer will do fine.”) Having finished the beer and realizing there isn’t a trashcan within sight I decide to crush the can in my hand and throw it away once we get inside. Despite clearly having finished the beer, the bouncer flips out when he sees the can in my hand and almost literally tosses me out of line. I comply with his wishes. Nick notices that I didn’t get in and leaves the club to come figure out what had happened. After waiting around, trying to get in the club from the downstairs entrance, unsuccessfully doing so, then trying to hop the small wall without the bouncer noticing and ending up getting yelled at by some large man on the street in spanish, I give up. Nick and I accept defeat, get a cab and go back to his place to catch some much needed Z‘s. Barcelona wasn’t all partying. Through the week I spend most of my time wandering around the city and absorbing its art, architecture, and atmosphere. While the guys spend their finals week studying and taking tests, I venture around the town and stop at every major landmark I could, including the various Gaudi buildings, the Picasso Museum and Barcelona’s Contemporary Art Museum. My time in Barcelona concludes by spending Friday’s early afternoon at La Champagneria, an amazing and amazingly crowded bar/eatery—virtually no one sits down and the patrons are forced to juggle champagne glasses, bottles, plates of food, and conversation while rubbing shoulders with strangers. After a few bottles of champagne and food plates, we (Jordan, Mason, Nick, Christina, Erica, and their friend Katie) buy a few more bottles and head down to the beach next to The W Hotel to say goodbye. The guys and I hop over a fence to gain access to a jetty comprised of a mess of huge concrete cubes. Graffiti, some very tastefully done, covers the sides of the cubes. I push my luck a little attempting to jump gaps that my sober brain probably would refrain from. We climb, jump and traverse around the massive cubes as Mason, Nick and Jordan share emotional and nostalgic moments. I think about the city—the amazing and beautiful experiences I had in the previous six days and get a bit nostalgic myself. After about a half hour, we climb from the jetty of concrete cubes and go into The W Hotel where we meet up with the girls. All of us get into the elevator at take it to the 24th floor. The elevator doors open, we turn to our left and I’m immediately struck by a high flying Mediterranean sea gull’s view of Barcelona. We get comfortable next to the couches against the massive windows and stare across the city’s immensely dense development. The rest of the group continue the trip down memory lane as they overlook the various parts of the city and share stories pointing to different areas. Tears are shed. The sadness is contagious, and I feel a part of what they will soon be missing. However, my trip is only beginning as their trip is coming to a mournful end, and my mind begins to wander to where I‘ll be in 24 hours: Paris. Song of Barcelona: M83 - We Own the Sky

Barcelona (In picture: Mason from the concrete barrack overlooking the city)

It’s Friday, December 11th, and after a near full 24 hours of planes, trains, and a maze of metro lines, I arrive at Nick, Mason, Jordan, Sam, and Bryce’s apartment in Barcelona (for the sake of concision, their apartment is now “the apartment”). I have time to throw my backpack on the floor in Nick‘s room, and as my brain function is about to completely cease and I‘m going to fall into a small coma, Jordan informs me that we’re going to go climb a hill that over looks much of the city. After a couple metro transfers and solid twenty minutes of up hill climbing we arrive at an abandoned concrete barrack. It looks a bit like a small bomb had been dropped near by, leaving a marred and crumbling concrete structure. Slightly sketchy. But the view atop of it all was mesmerizing—the scene made me forget that I hadn’t slept in about 26 hours. When we arrive back to the apartment my brain remembers that it hasn’t shutdown in awhile and I sleep for a good hour before waking up in Nick’s bed with a small puddle of drool on his pillow (sorry Nick). The pillow would end up being mine for the rest of my stay.

Despite my internal clock being momentarily flipped on its head, the promise of partying in Barcelona accompanied with the city’s new sights, sounds and smells quickly gives me the energy to take full advantage of the weekend. With the help of Nick’s espresso and my Advil, I manage to hang with the best of ‘em throughout my stay—though, I did hit my occasional whitecap.

One such mild whitecap: After prepartying at the apartment, we head to a club located adjacent to the coastline of the Mediterranean called Opium. When we arrive I notice that we’re going to be standing in line for awhile before we get into the club. To kill the time and maintain the buzz I buy a can of beer from a somewhat shady looking vendor on the street. (I found out he actually was shady after he quietly said, “Anything else? Hasheesh? Cocaine?” “No thanks, man” I reply, “the beer will do fine.”) Having finished the beer and realizing there isn’t a trashcan within sight I decide to crush the can in my hand and throw it away once we get inside. Despite clearly having finished the beer, the bouncer flips out when he sees the can in my hand and almost literally tosses me out of line. I comply with his wishes. Nick notices that I didn’t get in and leaves the club to come figure out what had happened. After waiting around, trying to get in the club from the downstairs entrance, unsuccessfully doing so, then trying to hop the small wall without the bouncer noticing and ending up getting yelled at by some large man on the street in spanish, I give up. Nick and I accept defeat, get a cab and go back to his place to catch some much needed Z‘s.

Barcelona wasn’t all partying. Through the week I spend most of my time wandering around the city and absorbing its art, architecture, and atmosphere. While the guys spend their finals week studying and taking tests, I venture around the town and stop at every major landmark I could, including the various Gaudi buildings, the Picasso Museum and Barcelona’s Contemporary Art Museum.

My time in Barcelona concludes by spending Friday’s early afternoon at La Champagneria, an amazing and amazingly crowded bar/eatery—virtually no one sits down and the patrons are forced to juggle champagne glasses, bottles, plates of food, and conversation while rubbing shoulders with strangers. After a few bottles of champagne and food plates, we (Jordan, Mason, Nick, Christina, Erica, and their friend Katie) buy a few more bottles and head down to the beach next to The W Hotel to say goodbye. The guys and I hop over a fence to gain access to a jetty comprised of a mess of huge concrete cubes. Graffiti, some very tastefully done, covers the sides of the cubes. I push my luck a little attempting to jump gaps that my sober brain probably would refrain from. We climb, jump and traverse around the massive cubes as Mason, Nick and Jordan share emotional and nostalgic moments. I think about the city—the amazing and beautiful experiences I had in the previous six days and get a bit nostalgic myself.

After about a half hour, we climb from the jetty of concrete cubes and go into The W Hotel where we meet up with the girls. All of us get into the elevator at take it to the 24th floor. The elevator doors open, we turn to our left and I’m immediately struck by a high flying Mediterranean sea gull’s view of Barcelona. We get comfortable next to the couches against the massive windows and stare across the city’s immensely dense development. The rest of the group continue the trip down memory lane as they overlook the various parts of the city and share stories pointing to different areas. Tears are shed. The sadness is contagious, and I feel a part of what they will soon be missing. However, my trip is only beginning as their trip is coming to a mournful end, and my mind begins to wander to where I‘ll be in 24 hours: Paris.

Song of Barcelona: M83 - We Own the Sky

  • December 22, 2009, 4:06pm

          2 notes

Notes

  1. matamatics posted this