On Sunday, we were split into groups to go on a scavenger hunt around the city. They staggered our departure times as to not have us all end up in one big group. Well, my group was supposed to leave at 12:35 and meet in the lobby. At that time, however, no one showed up. So I waited. And I knocked on doors. My group was gone. So I found our instructors and they were like, "Oh, we though everyone had gone. No one's here." But they couldn't just send me out into the city by myself. I was starting to fear that I would be stuck inside the dorm all day. Then they told me that one girl had overslept and could be my partner. So a groggy and embarrassed Libby and I started for the streets of Barcelona. We ran into Catherine and Marit, another group of two, and teamed up. After figuring out the metro system (which Libby kept commenting was so much better than the L in Chicago, where she is from), we rode to different locations around the city. We first emerged into beautiful Placa Catalunya. It was bustling with tourist and filled with beautiful architecture, fountains, and statues.
We walked around taking in the sites and sounds and people of the city. I am constantly surprised of the diversity of the people living in this city. I am also surprised by how friendly and helpful they are. Whoever you ask for directions on the street will stop and try to help as best they can considering the language barrier.
We ate a small lunch at a quaint cafe and then walked through a shopping district. We found the marina, filled with boats form all over the world docked in the port. Knowing we were seeing the Mediterranean, we asked directions to the beach. We then spent a few hours sitting on the beach. People constantly bombarded us asking us to buy things, such as sarongs, henna tattoos, massages, and coconut. Marit and Libby went swimming in the water and loved it, while Catherine and I sat in the sand watching people.
When we left the beach, we took a bus to the nearest underground Metro location and got on the train. Through a lot of riding and getting off and realizing we had no idea where we were, Libby finally got us set straight. We got off at our stop and tried to find our way back to our dorm. We must have been walking in circles, however, and we were constantly asking people directions. Yet nobody knew where we were talking about. So we hailed a cab, knowing we were close but not knowing how to get there (and considering it was 11pm, we just wanted to be home). Our cab driver didn't even know where to take us and had to look on his map for a while before he even knew where to go. We were finally dropped off, and I went back to my room. When I was unpacking my bag, I realized my camera, which I know I had a half hour ago, wasn't in my bag. I started freaking out, thinking of all the pictures I had taken that day and how I would need a camera for the rest of the trip. Also, I was so upset at myself that I had lost such a prized possession. I think now that I either dropped it in the cab, or the more likely case, it was pick pocketed when we were asking directions.
After a much needed talk from my mom, I went to bed, hoping for a better day tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment