Barcelona - Spain

Between 26th March and 1st April I have been in Barcelona on a University field trip. It was a core module for my Geography degree where we looked into human and physical issues found in and around the city. Here's a run down on what I got up to:

Thursday - Arrived in Barcelona at 10.30ish and was at the Agora University halls by 11.30. Unpacked and went for a wander to find some food. Weather was gorgeous and ended up having a picnic in a little park. Nap in the afternoon after having no sleep the night before. After a briefing with the lecturers we went into the city and had dinner in a little cafe/diner of traditional Spanish cuisine.

Friday - Visited Tibidabo which is the highest point of the Collserola Hills over looking Barcelona. The weather was so good I got burnt. Here was the Sagrat Cor church muddled with the oldest theme park in Spain. Such a clash! Moved onto Parc de Vallvivrera, a natural park where we visited the Vistor Centre and had lunch. Lastly we went to the Agbar Water Museum and investigated the water problems in Barcelona.

Saturday - This was the start of the group project we had designed where we looked into the use of the bike as a way of travelling around Barcelona to see the sights. The weather took a turn for the worst and rained horrifically. Saw so much of the city, the water front, Diagonal, Sagrada Familia, Casa Batllo, Casa Milo, Las Ramblas... Was a really good day with some note taking.

Sunday - The lecturers took us on a City Walking Tour where we went around the Gothic Quater, El Raval, Las Ramblas, some beautiful squares, random museums and the new water front shopping area. All very interesting and it didn't rain!

Monday - A coach tour up to Palleja to see the Llobregat River, Vilafrance de Penedes for the vineyards and lunch, the Llobregat Delta Nature Reserve and then a tour through the Zona Franca industrial estate, the Port, lower Barcelona and past Montjuic.

Tuesday - The 2nd day of our group project where the weather was reasonable for the morning. We went to Montjuic which is the hill near to the coast where a castle/fort sits overlooking Barcelona. The views were amazing, though it was a bit hazy and we also saw the Olympic stadiums. Some lunch and then to the Bicing office to be told that we couldn't use the local bike scheme so went back to Mirador de Colum to hire some bikes and then the weather turned awful again. In the evening we had an eventful trip to a bar called Raim in the Gracia district with the whole group plus lecturers moving on to have dinner in a Lebanese restaurant at 11pm. What a funny evening.

Wednesday - Follow up session getting a presentation sorted and then heading down into town for a wander, some shopping, a trip to the market on Las Ramblas again and then eventually having dinner about 4pm where I finally had my Paella :-) Back to the halls for 7pm then head to El Prat airport for our 10.25pm flight back to Liverpool.

All in all, I learnt alot about Barcelona and could probably pass myself off as a tour guide now, for some poor tourists. It was quite stressful at times like when we had to give a 5-10 minute talk on a subject we were given before we fly out. Talking out aloud isn't the easiest for me when I know I'm being assessed but it went ok. Funniest thing was some awards were given out by the lecturers at the end of the trip and I won the 'Female with the Most Potential'. Not quite sure how to interpretate that, but it sounds good to me.

Thanks to Janet, Louise and Janet for organising the field trip!