I began my tour of Europe in Barcelona and quickly assimilated with the lifestyle. Although I'm not a fan of the Catalan language, I enjoyed resting in the middle of the day along with everyone else during the siesta and then going out to enjoy the night somewhere in the bustling city.

Barceloneta

After I landed, we immediately hit the beach which was packed. The iconic W hotel sits at the end of the beach and there are vendors selling blankets, beer, and mojitos.

The Box

Vicky, Paris, Tori, Pat and I stopped to eat at this restaurant which makes its own house-made rums. On the wall they have on display all their flavors, many of which have fruits marinading inside the alcohol; the pineapple flavor was delicious.

After we took a nap, all of us made moves to hike up to the Bunquer Del Carmel which sits above the city of Barcelona. It gives you such a great view of the sunset and the vastness of the city itself. Unfortunately the day we went up, it was extremely cloudy and we did not see the sunset, but we enjoyed the view and the wine. This didn't stop me from getting some great shots.

The next day we woke up and decided to go to Mont Serrat, which is a town about an hour outside of the city. After almost missing the train and almost getting fined 100 Euro for not buying the correct ticket, we reached the cable car that would bring us up the mountain.

We squeezed into the cable car and rode up to a mountain village that was not very populated but offered great views of the valley below. Unfortunately, I didn't find out that there was a huge monastery at the top of the mountain until after we had returned to the apartment and I completely missed it.