Barcelona

Barcelona is my favorite place that I've visited so far. The weather was nice, the city wasn't too big and it was pretty easy to get around either by walking or by metro, and there were plenty of things to see and do during my four day stay.

They speak Catalan in Barcelona, which is like mix of French and Spanish. But since there are so many tourists, the locals seem to know every kind of language. All the restaurants and souvenir shops try to lure in customers by posting signs by the entrance: We speak English, French, Spanish, German, Italian. A lot of the people that I've met while traveling know many languages and have traveled to many different places. It is quite impressive. I guess traveling in Europe is pretty easy and accessible to those who want to travel.

Here are some of the stories of the people I've met so far (Most of them I've met on the free walking tours of the city):

• I met a Canadian girl who is studying abroad in Vienna. She and her friend, who is also from Canada and moved to London a month ago to find work, were visiting Paris for a few days.

• There was another Canadian girl, who moved to Switzerland and is studying German and working as a nanny, was visiting Paris for the weekend with her Swiss boyfriend, who speaks English, Swiss German, French, and Romansh. Come on now--I've never even heard of Romansh.

• Our walking tour guide for Paris was a girl from New York. She studied graphic design and worked in the magazine industry for five years. After one particularly bad day at work, she bought a one way ticket to Paris. She didn't have a job, she didn't know anybody in the city and she didn't speak French. Seriously? That takes some guts. She said fell in love with Paris after her first visit to the city a few years before when she was on a family vacation. (It was also her first time out of the country). She's a photographer now and has been in Paris for two years. Her work shown will be showcased in a gallery exhibition this May.

• The walking tour guide for Barcelona was an Australian chef, only 26 years old and he's already traveled to over 40 countries and has lived in Barcelona for two years. He moved back to Australia but returned to Barcelona six months ago because he loves this city.

• I also met a girl of Bosnian descent from Slovenia, getting her masters in Media Culture in Germany. She was visiting another friend from Slovenia who moved to Barcelona six months ago and is currently working as an English teacher. Through her I met two doctors who were in Barcelona for a fellowship. One doctor from Slovenia and the other from Greece.

• On the same walking tour, I met another Canadian who was visiting Barcelona with his girlfriend. They both live in Polland and he moved there six years ago to study medicine.

• There were also three American girls from North Carolina and South Carolina studying abroad in Florence. They've visited so many countries during their semester abroad and it sounded like they were having so much fun.

Anyway, it was just really fun to hear all their stories. And this is the website of the photographer from New York if you're interested. http://sophiapagan.squarespace.com/