Barcelona

English Only...


As I mentioned I visited Barcelona in the last post, yes, I escape dark, raining and windy city Manchester for Barcelona.

I had thought heading for the south of UK, for instance, Southampton and Bath. However, just one week before the deadline of the strategy essay, I purchased a flight ticket to Barcelona. It was because I was a bit depressed by this weather and missed the sun...

On 21st, I ran away to Manchester Airport and embarked on the flight. It was the first time to land on the city. While it's around 8 degree in Manchester, it was 15-20 degree in the city in Spain. I was able to spend a whole time with just wearing a jacket.

Since my arrival was in evening at 7pm, it was dark. But, it didn't rain. This tiny thing made me happy. Moreover, it hasn't rained all the time during my trip. I heard that during almost a year, it's sunny. It was a surprising fact that while it's just 2 hour and half from Manchester, the weather between these cities are totally opposite.

From the 2nd day, I moved around. First destination was, for sure, La Sagrada Familia designed by Gaudi! First of all, the church was decorated with uncountable arts, and I was already attracted. However, the beauty of the interior captured my mind. I lost words. The pillars of the church are like plants. Literally, I felt that I was suddenly into the different world. Also, the colourful stained glasses absorb the sun light and change it into tropical colour.

It seems like it is worth visiting to just see the world heritage. However, not only Sagrada Familia, but also others are awesome. After that, I went to Palau de la Musica Catalana which was designed by the master of Gaudi, Montaner. He shows also creativity to insert colourful and cheerful sunlight into inside of the hall. You can imagine why Gaudi was able to design buildings with the effect of sunlight.

I cannot forget mentioning not only how beautiful the artworks are, but also how convenient moving around is. Basically, metro and bus in Barcelona take us everywhere. It's not complicated to ride on these compared to Tokyo.  Although I stayed at Pl Espanya, it takes just around 20 min to an area of Sagrada Familia, and 15 min to old gothic area that includes Picaso museum, markets, and the Cathedral.

Also, the safety of visiting the city is important to say. I heard that all of us need to pay attention to keep our own belongings from thieves. But, I haven't experienced any trouble. If you hold your bag in your front side, it would be fine. Compared to Manchester, it seemed that serious troubles like rape and burglar are much much less. A time when I left accommodation there was at 3am. However, I've never faced any insecure situation.

All in all, Barcelona is one of the best city among all the cities that I've ever been to. If you have a chance to bring you to Barcelona, I would say that you could make a great memory and recharge yourself.