Long weekend
I am going to warn you up front it was a very eventful weekend, so this is about to be the longest post to date.
To begin my four day weekend we had a scheduled trip to Calpe and Altea, which are two small villages up the coast from Alicante. After a two hour tram ride followed by a short bus ride we arrived in Altea first. We wandered lazily through the sunny streets of the small village lined with white houses to contrast the deep blue water. We climbed up to the top of the town where the blue roofed cathedral sits as a beacon. Staci, Lauren, and I stumbled upon a wonderful little cafe with homemade cakes and pastries and of course had to stop to enjoy them. We were enjoying the shade and the quaint sleepiness of Altea when we were suddenly jerked out of our dream state by Sergio announcing that it was time to head back to the train to go to Calpe. Staci, Lauren, Amanda and myself all had plans to head to Barcelona so we knew that we would not have much time in Calpe, but could not resist after hearing a rumor that there may be a cliff jumping opportunity. So against our better judgement we headed off to Calpe after missing the first train and spending an extra hour in Altea. Calpe is another small sleepy beach town, but in a much different way than Alicante. The beaches are rocky, but the water is crystal blue. Amanda, Lauren and I ran for the rocks while Staci stayed on the beach to soak in a few rays. We were pleased to find a very large rock, about 20 feet high, with younger teenage Spanish kids jumping off of it. We climbed up, and after asking how deep it was to make sure we wouldn't break our legs, we went for it! It was so exhilarating. Lauren and I both were shaking after the first jump from all of the adrenaline. Unfortunately we had to basically sprint back to the bus to get back to the tram to get back to Alicante to go to the airport. So after getting off at the wrong stop, having to literally sprint home and inhale a pizza, not shower, and get in a taxi to the airport, we made it. However Amanda found out that she did not have a ticket so she had to go back to the city and buy a train ticket. We finally arrived in Barcelona, and after navigating to a train, switching on the metro, and finding the apartment, we got in the door and basically just crashed.
Saturday we woke rejuvenated ready to take on the city. First things first: breakfast. We stopped at the cute little cafe just a block away and sat and had a nice Spanish breakfast of pastries and coffee. Fueled up and enjoying the overcast day, which doesn't exist in Alicante, we headed to the Sagrada Familia. If you do not know what that is please click here and look at it and be blown away. Ok now that your jaw is on the floor, the Sagrada Familia is a cathedral that has been under construction since 1882 and is still not finished. Half of it is a tradition Gothic style cathedral, which is extremely beautiful, while the other half, my personal favorite, is Gaudi's shining masterpiece. Gaudi was an architect in the late 1800s who had basically the complete opposite style of all the others of his day. He believe in allowing nature to express itself and reach its fullest potential in its natural beauty. He translated this into his architecture which can be seen in the many curves and colors, much like nature, neither contain any right angles. I honestly could have just wondered around and around that same block all day. It is so beautiful and so huge. Each time we went around it I saw something new or different. After peeling ourselves away from the Sagrada Familia we got ourselves nicely lost in the city. Not a bad lost, but (for risk of a cliche) more intoxicated by the enchanting architecture and charm of the city. It seemed as though everywhere we turned we were surrounded by the most beautiful buildings we had ever seen, and then we would move on and feel the exact same way all over again. I can honestly say I think it is the most beautiful city I have ever been in. We didn't have much else planed for the day so we wandered into the old part of town that is a maze of tiny streets and special little shops. We found a cupcake shop, ice cream, a bike shop, and of course lots of shopping (it was five girls). We took the rest of the afternoon to just wonder and ended up finding a huge beautiful arch which conveniently let to a huge park. We spent some time just laying in the grass and enjoying life. I decided to explore for a bit and found a huge fountain, a mammoth statue, and a pond with row boats. After grabbing dinner we headed home because we were exhausted.
Sunday was my favorite day by far. Because we so conveniently stumbled upon the bike shop on Saturday we reserved bikes for Sunday and headed up to Park Guell. It was a long ride, but my favorite part of the day. Barcelona is a very bike friendly city with most main roads having an entirely separate lane in the center of the road just for bikes. There was a moment when I looked up and really drank in my surroundings and was overcome with so many emotions: grateful for the opportunity, sad at the fact that I will probably never do that again, and mostly just blown away by the fact that I was riding my bike through the most beautiful city I have ever seen on a perfect day. Ok so because I will never be able to even begin to explain how amazing the bike ride was, I will move on to Park Guell. If you aren't getting the hint, Gaudi basically owns Barcelona. Park Guell is another one of his designes, and like true Gaudi style, it is extremely original and incorporated into nature. One of the most famous parts of the park is a large wavy shaped bench covered in hand laid shards of tile to create a beautiful mosaic. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint. The even better part of it though besides the bench, is under the bench. It is a huge sort of hollowed out part of the mountain with around 200 convex circular arches supported by pillars with absolutely amazing mosaics, many of which are made using broken bottles. There is another similar design just up the mountain a few steps that is made from the rocks in the area and blends in quite well. These hollowed out arches are a musician's acoustic dream. The amplify the sound perfectly, and as a result visitors are graced with beautiful music. On my trip for example I heard a woman singing opera, saw two men playing a violin and a bass, and saw a very impressive one man band. We slowly strolled through the park with many Spaniards and other tourist alike until we reached the highest point of the park which overlooks the entire city all the way to the water. It was something I will not soon forget. We eventually got back on our bikes and took the easy downhill coast back to our little bike shop. With not much else planned and being extremely exhausted, we got ice cream and headed home. I made spaghetti for everyone and we plugged in a movie until Staci's friend called. He is the son of her dentist and he is currently active duty serving in Quetar, but he was on leave. This was a really cool thing for me because I don't often interact with people that are currently in the military and it gives me a good check on my points of view. He was extremely nice and we had a great time just talking.
Alright hang in there not too much more.
Monday we didn't have much planned so we headed out to search for a few of Gaudi's houses and were successful. The first one had the very stereotypical arches and curves of Gaudi. The second one however was my favorite. I think Staci put it well when she said some of it looks like Dr. Suis designed his world after Gaudi. The second house has such a whimsical design covered in beautiful mosaic right in the center of the city. One of the things that I think made it so cool was the stark contrast between the house and the building next to it which has very rigid lines. We then headed down the famous "La Rambla" of Barcelona which was completely swarmed with people. This was not my favorite part, but we did go to the central market which was very cool. I only wish there were less people. We then took a break in the grass, and that's when things went a bit down hill. We had a bit of drama, and I think it just struck a lot of chords for a lot of us, not to mention we were all extremely tired from traveling.
I said some things that really hurt one of my friends, and to be honest I hate myself for it. I hate that I even have the capability to hurt someone in that way, and I have really been struggling trying to believe that I have been made new and that I am forgiven through Christ. I feel like the person that I hurt was the one Satan felt the most threatened by the possibility of our friendship, and I feel like I gave into sin and he won. I hate it. So for the rest of the day there was a lot of silence, and we walked for a long time until we finally found the little boutique where Staci could buy her skirt. We headed to the airport finally and sat down for a meal of real food. I was very quiet and very pensive all day just really thinking about my sinfulness and how much I needed grace, but how hard it was for me to accept it. I am honestly still struggling with it. I have just been being reminded of my past and who I feel I used to be and Satan is trying to convince me that I am not different and it really scares me. If you could just pray that I do know that I am different, and that I don't have to live in shame or guilt, I would love that.
Overall Barcelona was an amazing trip, and I would love to go back some day. It is a city of artists, freedom, and beauty, and it truly did sweep me off my feet if only for a short time.
Standing if awe of my desperate dependence on the Lord,
Sigourney
To begin my four day weekend we had a scheduled trip to Calpe and Altea, which are two small villages up the coast from Alicante. After a two hour tram ride followed by a short bus ride we arrived in Altea first. We wandered lazily through the sunny streets of the small village lined with white houses to contrast the deep blue water. We climbed up to the top of the town where the blue roofed cathedral sits as a beacon. Staci, Lauren, and I stumbled upon a wonderful little cafe with homemade cakes and pastries and of course had to stop to enjoy them. We were enjoying the shade and the quaint sleepiness of Altea when we were suddenly jerked out of our dream state by Sergio announcing that it was time to head back to the train to go to Calpe. Staci, Lauren, Amanda and myself all had plans to head to Barcelona so we knew that we would not have much time in Calpe, but could not resist after hearing a rumor that there may be a cliff jumping opportunity. So against our better judgement we headed off to Calpe after missing the first train and spending an extra hour in Altea. Calpe is another small sleepy beach town, but in a much different way than Alicante. The beaches are rocky, but the water is crystal blue. Amanda, Lauren and I ran for the rocks while Staci stayed on the beach to soak in a few rays. We were pleased to find a very large rock, about 20 feet high, with younger teenage Spanish kids jumping off of it. We climbed up, and after asking how deep it was to make sure we wouldn't break our legs, we went for it! It was so exhilarating. Lauren and I both were shaking after the first jump from all of the adrenaline. Unfortunately we had to basically sprint back to the bus to get back to the tram to get back to Alicante to go to the airport. So after getting off at the wrong stop, having to literally sprint home and inhale a pizza, not shower, and get in a taxi to the airport, we made it. However Amanda found out that she did not have a ticket so she had to go back to the city and buy a train ticket. We finally arrived in Barcelona, and after navigating to a train, switching on the metro, and finding the apartment, we got in the door and basically just crashed.
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| Yes the water is that blue. |
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| The Sagrada Familia |
Sunday was my favorite day by far. Because we so conveniently stumbled upon the bike shop on Saturday we reserved bikes for Sunday and headed up to Park Guell. It was a long ride, but my favorite part of the day. Barcelona is a very bike friendly city with most main roads having an entirely separate lane in the center of the road just for bikes. There was a moment when I looked up and really drank in my surroundings and was overcome with so many emotions: grateful for the opportunity, sad at the fact that I will probably never do that again, and mostly just blown away by the fact that I was riding my bike through the most beautiful city I have ever seen on a perfect day. Ok so because I will never be able to even begin to explain how amazing the bike ride was, I will move on to Park Guell. If you aren't getting the hint, Gaudi basically owns Barcelona. Park Guell is another one of his designes, and like true Gaudi style, it is extremely original and incorporated into nature. One of the most famous parts of the park is a large wavy shaped bench covered in hand laid shards of tile to create a beautiful mosaic. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint. The even better part of it though besides the bench, is under the bench. It is a huge sort of hollowed out part of the mountain with around 200 convex circular arches supported by pillars with absolutely amazing mosaics, many of which are made using broken bottles. There is another similar design just up the mountain a few steps that is made from the rocks in the area and blends in quite well. These hollowed out arches are a musician's acoustic dream. The amplify the sound perfectly, and as a result visitors are graced with beautiful music. On my trip for example I heard a woman singing opera, saw two men playing a violin and a bass, and saw a very impressive one man band. We slowly strolled through the park with many Spaniards and other tourist alike until we reached the highest point of the park which overlooks the entire city all the way to the water. It was something I will not soon forget. We eventually got back on our bikes and took the easy downhill coast back to our little bike shop. With not much else planned and being extremely exhausted, we got ice cream and headed home. I made spaghetti for everyone and we plugged in a movie until Staci's friend called. He is the son of her dentist and he is currently active duty serving in Quetar, but he was on leave. This was a really cool thing for me because I don't often interact with people that are currently in the military and it gives me a good check on my points of view. He was extremely nice and we had a great time just talking.
 |
Monday we didn't have much planned so we headed out to search for a few of Gaudi's houses and were successful. The first one had the very stereotypical arches and curves of Gaudi. The second one however was my favorite. I think Staci put it well when she said some of it looks like Dr. Suis designed his world after Gaudi. The second house has such a whimsical design covered in beautiful mosaic right in the center of the city. One of the things that I think made it so cool was the stark contrast between the house and the building next to it which has very rigid lines. We then headed down the famous "La Rambla" of Barcelona which was completely swarmed with people. This was not my favorite part, but we did go to the central market which was very cool. I only wish there were less people. We then took a break in the grass, and that's when things went a bit down hill. We had a bit of drama, and I think it just struck a lot of chords for a lot of us, not to mention we were all extremely tired from traveling.
I said some things that really hurt one of my friends, and to be honest I hate myself for it. I hate that I even have the capability to hurt someone in that way, and I have really been struggling trying to believe that I have been made new and that I am forgiven through Christ. I feel like the person that I hurt was the one Satan felt the most threatened by the possibility of our friendship, and I feel like I gave into sin and he won. I hate it. So for the rest of the day there was a lot of silence, and we walked for a long time until we finally found the little boutique where Staci could buy her skirt. We headed to the airport finally and sat down for a meal of real food. I was very quiet and very pensive all day just really thinking about my sinfulness and how much I needed grace, but how hard it was for me to accept it. I am honestly still struggling with it. I have just been being reminded of my past and who I feel I used to be and Satan is trying to convince me that I am not different and it really scares me. If you could just pray that I do know that I am different, and that I don't have to live in shame or guilt, I would love that.
Overall Barcelona was an amazing trip, and I would love to go back some day. It is a city of artists, freedom, and beauty, and it truly did sweep me off my feet if only for a short time.
Standing if awe of my desperate dependence on the Lord,
Sigourney
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