Sr. Peeper en España: Back in Barcelona!

As I walked out of the metro station and got my first glimpse of Barcelona this morning, all I could do was stop, smile, look around and keep smiling. For an instant, I felt like I was 16 years old again and seeing this city of 1.6 million for the first time. Even though I've been in Spain for almost a month, there was just something special about making it to Barcelona again for the first time in more than a decade. Had I not come here as a teenager, I probably wouldn't be writing this blog tonight because I probably would have never continued to study Spanish. But my high school Spanish class trip to this stunning city left such an impact on me. It was that defining moment that set the stage for my career and so much more. When I left here in June 1997, I promised myself that once I became fluent in Spanish I would return to Barcelona so I could better understand the culture and the language.

And here I am after all of these years! My 24-day odyssey around Spain so far has helped me better understand the country's history and culture better than I could have ever imagined, and I'm absolutely loving immersing myself in the language again. It's so much easier to talk with people and understand them than it was 14 years ago! Well, almost. There was this one store clerk I met today who thought I was French and it took me about two minutes to get a word in so I could tell him to please speak Spanish, as I had no clue what he was saying. Speaking of funny events, I wrote earlier on Facebook about my check in at the hostel this morning. I told the receptionist my name and her first response was, "Oh, like Justin Bieber!" I just smiled. She then said, "Wait until I tell my daughters who is staying at the hostel!"

Speaking of the hostel ... I'm staying in the same hostel in which we stayed when I traveled here with my Spanish class from Bluffton High School. In fact, my room is just two doors down from where two of my classmates and I stayed.

　
It's a beautiful night in Barcelona. I have the two doors open that lead to the small balcony outside my room, which overlooks the Rambla de Catalunya. La Rambla is Barcelona's most famous street. It is lined with restaurants, cafes, stores and more, and it is always filled with pedestrians.

I spent most of the day exploring the area and trying to remember my way around. My memory wasn't as good as I had hoped, as it took me a little while to recall my sense of direction for this part of the city. But as the day went on and I saw more places, it all began to come back. I recalled a lot of good memories from my first trip here as I walked around. I came across the Haagen Dazs my friends and I walked to nearly every night during our 12-day Barcelona trip. I also found this pasta place called Pastafiore that we ate at many times. It had moved locations but I just happened to stumble across it and later went back for dinner. It was as good as I remember it from 14 years ago!

I walked from one end of the Ramblas to the other and was surprised at how crowed the sidewalks were today. It seemed much busier than I recalled ... but that was 1997! The weather was absolutely perfect (upper 70s), so I guess everyone wanted to be out and about.

I didn't do much more this afternoon besides walk around the area, as my friends will arrive tomorrow and we'll begin our sightseeing then. I'll upload some pictures below to show you a little bit of Barcelona ... but many more will be coming over the next few days.

Hasta luego,
--Justin Bieber

Casa Milà in Barcelona. Modernist-style architect Antoni Gaudí decorated this city with his extraordinary edifices, including this one.

Gaudí's Casa Battló, located very close to my hostel.

Las Ramblas, Barcelona's most famous street. I took this picture near the port.

Columbus Monument (197 feet tall) located at the end of Las Ramblas near the port. Columbus returned to the Barcelona port after his first trip to the Americas.