i think that barcelona will be remembered by me as a place of mixed emotions and experiences. there is part A of day 1- a broken lens and a panicked spirit.

but then there is part B of day 1- a beautiful session, somehow redeemed.

 

i think it’s amazing what can be accomplished in a tough situation. it was incredibly stressful, and tears were surely had. but truly i feel like it contributed to my growth as both a photographer and a traveler.

this session and these people were none other than lovely. i especially loved how amor (the bride) was able to change her look from 50s, to 20s, and then to a modern vintage spanish mix. she is a rockstar. and i need to be her.

 

 

it was hard to choose which images to preview, and i had to restrain myself from editing more so that i could enjoy dinner here in lyon, france.

a very special thanks goes to eva from La Boda de tus Sueños who helped style this shoot and planned out every detail. not only that, but when i arrived to spain, she picked me up, offered me a gift, took me where i needed to go, and created a travel plan with maps and everything for my time in barcelona. simply put, i love her! i wish i could speak better spanish and tell every bride to hire her. she’s a true gem that one.

but with the preview all said and done, its time to move on to the barcelona experience!

 

 

everyone i talk to is absolutely in love with barcelona. the people who live there, visit there, or have visited there. the word magical has even been thrown out a few times.

and don’t get me wrong, i seriously enjoyed it. but i think i must have missed something. i had a wonderful time, but it’s not my favorite city i’ve ever been to- and i think i have honestly liked munich and the places i’ve been in france more than barcelona. i feel a little bit like a loser!

anyway.

i stayed in probably one of the nicest hostels around. it was the barcelona central garden hostel and i definitely recommend it. especially if you are traveling alone. the majority of the people i hung out with were also traveling alone so it was really easy to make friends.

my first full day in spain was definitely not my favorite. i spent the morning hours in complete anxiety over my lens and what would happen. thankfully, it was able to be fixed, though it cost me all the money i made while i was there.

one thing i have to give barcelona is that the design is incredible. both interior and exterior. i found myself just wandering, in awe, gawking over the  20th century genius of antoni gaudí, and the modern genius of the interior designers.

 

 

 

a church that literally brought tears to my eyes. named La Sagrada Familia, it was the masterpiece of Gaudí’s life. it’s still under construction so he never saw the finished project. though he did life very detailed designs and plans. i think they will make him proud. one thing i kept hearing over and over was that it was meant to inspire prayer. as far as i’m concerned, no church i’ve ever been in has done a better job of that. don’t take these meager photographs at their word- you must see it. i also don’t really want to post too many photos of it- its just one of those things you have to see for yourself.

 

 

 

and another one of gaudí’s most famous works, parc güell.  definitely one of the coolest parks i’ve ever been to in my life. i think it competes with central park to vie for the top position in my heart. the first half of my morning there was really nice- it was peaceful and i was able to walk around and just enjoy the weather and the views.  but once i descended to the main part of the park that includes a house that gaudí lived in and some other really cool houses and benches, it was pretty miserable. the entire park was overcome with middle school students on field trips. i’m pretty sure they were the only ones enjoying the park. running around, screaming, smashing into people, singing loud annoying songs. and i’m talking about hundreds of them. definitely ruined the experience.

 

my final day in barcelona was probably the best. after the park, i pretty much avoided tourists and meandered through the city. my favorite neighborhood is El Gotíc. it felt like being in the spain i had always imagined as opposed to the tourist trap that most of the main attractions felt like. i enjoyed lunch in an open plaza. walked through all the gothic-era-designed buildings, helped some french people find their way, and finally ended up sitting on the steps of the port as the sun went down listening to a pretty decent acoustic musician. and then there was the food!

 

 

 

 

tapas tapas tapas!

i think i only had one meal in barcelona that wasn’t made up of a bunch of different tapas. it’s a pretty interesting way to eat i think. i like the variety and i like how natural it is to just get a bunch of different things and share a meal with someone. unfortunately i failed to really get photos of any, i was always with someone or a group and distracted from the task at hand. : )

 

 

paëlla! it was very seafoody tasting, but that’s probably because we got the seafood mix. you can get other meats too but i felt like seafood was the most barcelonian kind to get. so i liked it, but definitely didn’t love it.

 

yeah, i ate that little guy. kinda freaked me out. and i learned that australians call shrimp prawns. what?!

then there was the fresh fruit juice at the Boqueria market. which is another experience you have to have in barcelona. apparently it’s the biggest fresh market in europe? or something? either way, i enjoyed my kiwi coconut banana fruit juice.

 

 

my last night in barcelona i hung out with some hostel friends in true barcelona fashion. we went out for tapas at 10 pm, then moved over to this really cool place called Moritz. someone told us it was the oldest brewery in barcelona and it was so cool! kind of like being in a cave or some old ruins. and that’s where i had my experience with spanish sangria. so so delicious.

by the time we were finished with all that, we completed the night by going dancing. over here people don’t go out dancing until around 2 and they stay out until 7! we left at 5 because i had a plane to catch the next morning to lyon. it was rough getting up but really fun to be part of a truly barcelonian experience.

 

 

side note- dogs are so well behaved there! they are rarely on leashes and manage to not get run over, lost, or hurt in any way. it was so crazy to see!

anyway, hopefully it won’t take as long before i get to my next update, and it won’t include a photo session, but it will be about lyon and aix-en-provence. : )

 

*if the photos in the black boxes seem poor-ish quality, it’s because they were taken on my iphone. : )