I left Friday morning to catch a 7:00 am train to Barcelona. I much prefer trains over planes, and it gave me a good 6 hours to sleep and relax. I slept on and off for about 4 hours, which was a beautiful treat, but each time I woke up I would try to stay awake once I looked out the window. The scenery of the southern French countryside was amazing!! Another upside to train rides. I was finally able to stay awake right around the border of France and Spain. It was so cool because no one announced that we crossed the border, but I could start to tell we were in another country by the change of architecture. Pretty cool. Also, I had no idea northern Spain was so mountainous! It was gorgeous.
I met up with two of my best friends from school, Laura and Stephanie, at the hostel. It was my first time staying in a hostel, and I couldn't have asked for a better first experience. We stayed in Casa Gracia, located on what I would call Barcelona's equivalent to the Champs-Elysees. It was a really nice and clean area, which is always a relief to see when you book a hostel online. We were originally booked to stay in a 15 bed mixed dorm room, but the receptionist told us we could switch to a 3 bed private room for no charge just because "it'd probably be more convenient for us". ?!? You don't come across that kind of kindness every day. After we checked in, we spent the night wandering the area and enjoying the hostel's happy hour specials (1 euro sangria!) before meeting up with more friends to go to a club on the beach. Not a half bad 21st birthday celebration!
Saturday morning (my birthday), I had just gotten out the shower when my friend Laura walked back into our hostel room... followed by one of my other best friends Jess! I was supposed to meet up with Jess on the next leg of my break in Belgium, but she flew to Barcelona on Saturday morning to surprise me for my birthday. My friends are so amazing. They had been planning the surprise since September and they couldn't believe that they had pulled it off. I couldn't believe it either!!! Proof that I have the greatest friends ever.
The rest of the day was spent exploring Barcelona. Even though I was in a new city, I was more concerned about catching up with my friends than making sure we saw every monument or tourist attraction. It was really relaxing and a nice change from running from place to place. I'm finally learning that it's okay to relax every once and awhile! We decided on just seeing the La Sagrada Familia (a giant Basilica by Gaudi) and Park Guell (a park made by Gaudi). Both were so unique!
After a long day of walking around the city, we came back to the hostel to find a tray on my bed with a bottle of wine, wine glasses, a bar of chocolate, a balloon, and a page-long letter from the hostel wishing me a happy birthday. How nice!!! They noticed my birthday on my passport when I checked into the hostel. I am definitely leaving them a good review on every travel website ever made. If you are ever in need of a hostel in Barcelona- Casa Gracia!!!
Overall thoughts on Barcelona: I really loved it. The whole city has a great vibe. Tapas are the best thing to ever be invented. And I really want to come back some day. Thankful I got to spend my birthday in such a beautiful place.
The train ride to Ghent was breathtaking. Belgium is so green and luscious with lots of farm land. We made it to Ghent in about an hour. Then it was time to figure out the Ghent tram system. We took pretty much every mode of transportation you can think of that day, totaling 9 hours of travel time. We crashed right when we got to the hostel. The exploring would have to be left to the next day. A movie night in comfy pajamas is exactly what we needed.
We hit another home run with our hostel in Ghent. It was a really clean, fun place with lots of amenities. But, we were spoiled with the private room in Barcelona, and the transition to the 10 bed mixed dorm was not easy. Jess and I had the top bunks and we felt like we were risking our lives climbing up that thing, but I knew we'd be okay because I got assigned bed #7, my lucky number :)
We got started on our sightseeing Monday morning. We didn't really have a plan; we just wandered around the city and saw all beautiful sites and interesting Medieval architecture. The nice ladies at the hostel gave us some suggestions of places to go which was helpful. Naturally we got AMAZING Belgian waffles. It was a religious experience. We also had Belgian chocolates, Belgian fries (I had no idea that that was a thing), and gross Belgian candies that someone convinced us we had to try but actually tasted like cough syrup. I'm still full just thinking about everything we ate, but it was (mostly) all delicious.
Though Ghent is not very big, it has a TON of charm. I kept singing "I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here" or whatever it's called from Annie. I am not really sure why, but I felt really comfortable and at home in Ghent. If I had to live in a European city, I think I'd choose Ghent. I'm hesitant to say it was my favorite place I've visited, because I literally say that about every new place I visit, but I think it might be. Ghent has my heart!
Thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday on Saturday! I really appreciated it.
Bisous,
Claire