Day 26: Camp Nou and the Magic Fountain

Inside Camp Nou

With a couple of other interns, I finally got to go take a tour of Camp Nou – a very famous futbol/soccer stadium. It was really cool to get to sit in the stands as if I was there to watch a game and also to see the locker rooms and press room. My favorite part was definitely sitting in the stands, though it was an incredibly warm day, which leads to my least favorite part – taking several sets of stairs to go from the bottom floor of the stadium back to the top near the end of the tour, though it was worth it to get to sit in the press box section of the stadium afterwards.

Picture of video of fans singing the FC Barcelona Anthem/Fight Song

After we went through Camp Nou and the Megastore beside it (Very large gift shop!), we went to the Gracia area to walk up and build our appetites for lunch which we had at the same buffet place I occasionally eat at near my work. It was definitely nice to go with some company for once.

After all the walking and the fact that day was very warm, we all went to our respectable homes to relax for a few hours before we went about our night plans. For me, my plan was to accompany some other members of my program and watch the Magic Fountain at Monjuic for a bit. While I was waiting for others in my group,

Montjuic with Gay Pride festival flags up

I noticed that they had set up many rainbow, Gay pride flags in front of the fountain area and I later learned that there is some form of a Gay Pride festival going on here this weekend. I wonder if I’ll get to see some of it.

Anyway, I ended up staying for almost its entire duration of the fountain show although I had previously watched it a week ago. It’s definitely something I find myself going back to maybe once more before I go back home. I also went to the top of Las Arenas for the first time at night. I must say, it’s even more incredible to see the city lights from the top as well as seeing the building itself lit up at night.

Las Arenas at night

On my way home, I ended up walking to far past my house when I was walking down the street, but the bar my host mom likes to go to, La Nena, is just down the street and my host mom was there as usual eating dinner. When she saw me, she invited me to sit down and order a drink so I did to enjoy the nice breeze with her for a little bit before we both headed home and went to bed.

Day 20: Park Guell, Barcelona Zoo and the Festival de San Juan

Park Guell

Day 20 of my experience was definitely the most packed and nonstop thus far. I had a blast!

At the top of Park Guell

First, I met with my friends who were visiting Barcelona from Madrid and we went to Park Guell. Getting to the park is an uphill walk, but once we got to the park, we knew it was fully worth it. The park was beautiful with its Gaudi architecture and pathways. I took lots of pictures and even some videos of myself going to the top of the building which can be found at this link. It was really cool to see all of the little structures and even musicians playing throughout the area. The view from the top was absolutely breathtaking and it was an amazing way to see the city of Barcelona.

Afterwards, we ventured to Jaume I to walk around the Gothic district of Barcelona a

A fountain in the Gothic district

bit and so that my friends could check out the Chocolate Museum (Yes, it was my third time being there, though I didn’t actually go through the exhibits this time and just stayed in the café).

Lion’s at the Barcelona Zoo

We also went to the Barcelona Zoo, which in my opinion was much better than the Aquarium I visited previously. I got to see a wide variety of animals and learned a lot about ones I never heard of before as well as ones I already knew about. Unfortunately, my camera battery died halfway through the Zoo and I didn’t get a picture of my favorite animal: the giraffe, but I can definitely say that I had an incredible experience there and it was worth every penny of the ticket to enter.

My friends and I literally went through every single animal area and saw each and every animal we possibly could. We even caught the end of the dolphin show! It was all really fun. We saw a total of 74 different animals including several different types of monkeys, lions, tigers, bears (oh, my!), and even some African Elephants. We also saw animals I didn’t know existed but was definitely fascinated by like the Patagonian Mara. I will also never forget the number of peacocks I saw in random places yesterday. Very amusing creatures.

Afterwards, our feet were in a lot of pain from all of the walking we had done thus far so we went in search of a late lunch/early dinner to allow us a short rest break.

This day was the Festival de San Juan which is basically all about celebrating the Summer Solstice. Part of the festivities included fireworks and we began to hear them quite early on in the day. Some were incredibly loud. People also had snappers/poppers and sparklers. So much noise! It was a little frightening at times when we heard it come out of nowhere or from unexpected places.

Magic Fountain in Montjuic

I wanted to show my visiting friends Las Arenas since I thought it was an amazing view of the city I had seen in the past, so we went to the Espanya area so they could see it. We went all the way to the top as I had previously done and took in the incredibly evening view, which was also different than the last time I had gone. In Espanya, there is this thing called “La Font Magica de Montjuic” or the Magic Fountain. Every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening from 9-11:30 a really beautiful fountain/light show occurs. This was my first time to finally get to see this spectacle. My camera came back to life shortly so I could snap a few pictures and then died again, but here is a video of the Fountain Show via YouTube. It’s absolutely marvelous. It was even more magical with all of the fireworks people were launching in celebration of the festival, definitely an amazing experience.

Afterwards, we headed back to the hostel my friends were staying at so we could drop off our things and go to the beach to take part in the festival’s main festivities. We went to the Port Olimpico beach area to participate since we knew the Barceloneta (major tourist area) would be the most crowded.

If I only had one word to describe the festivities, I would say they were loud. It was expected with all of the fireworks, but there were thousands of people as well. We found an area to sit on the beach overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and watched fireworks for about an hour or more while eating sandwiches. It was a once in a lifetime experience for sure. My friend really wanted to touch the sea before she left Spain and so we walked to the water, took off our shoes, and enjoyed the sand and sea. It was a really wonderful experience especially since our feet ached from all of the walking we had done all day through Barcelona.

Overall, this was an unforgettable day. Even if I didn’t have a working camera for half of it, I know I will always remember Saturday, June 23, 2012.