Alone in Barcelona

Yes! It happened finally!

postcards from Barcelona:)

Barcelona has been always at the top of my travel list since I came here. I made plans, searched for the hostels with friends several, several and several times but everytime something came up and we couldn't manage to synchronize our "willingness". I'm totally being political here:)

So, I decided not to wait for nothing anymore. That moment you say yourself "Go find a place and buy your tickets, girl!" It's that simple. We're the ones making everything complicated. Anyway...

I stayed 3 nights at a hostel which is quite the opposite the one I stayed in Paris. Very close to the tourist attractions, full with people who like partying haha The hostel itself organizes dinners, walking tours and pubcrawls! Not surprisingly I made some friends and had fuuuuun (the title is a lie:P) Also (surprisingly) I met so many turkish people and even shared my room with some of them. They were a group of teachers who used to send volunteers abroad and now doing another project with high school students. So, they knew all about EVS and they wanted me to talk to their students about my experience and to give some advices, to encourage them etc. I felt so proud and responsible! I don't know about them-because they are so young to be aware of everything, we're talking about 17-year olds- but for me it felt great! I wasn't just talking about volunteering or living abroad. It's like I had the chance to talk to my teenager self. I told them (and myself) "Don't ever say I can't do it! If they can do, you can do it, too."

Also, I met a very cool Argentinean girl and we visited Casa Batllo and Parque Güell together. Actually it was so coincidental. We were pubcrawling with the hostel group the night before, and in the morning we came across in a cafe and found out that both of us had the same plans for that day! She was also a solo traveler -more of an adventurous kind- (I find hiking adventurous, so what? :d)

Oh and I took a free walking tour as always but this one was just about Gaudi and his works. Isn't it enough?

I'm in love with Casa Batlló...

there was always a line but it moves so quickly so there's no need to buy the tickets in advance

inspired by turtles

the audio guide included

it's a mushroom!!!

the garden...

the roof...

I think my only disappointment was not being able to visit any museums:/ By the time I was done visiting Gaudi's buildings it was already Monday and all the museums were closed. I did try to find Fundació Joan Miró on Saturday, though. and failed haaha

some "not so tasty" paella with vegetables and codfish

plaza real (the meeting point for the walking tours)

I can recommend Runner Bean 

those are ice cream cones at the top and of course by Gaudi

Casa Mila aka La Pedrera

I didn't go inside because everything's freaking expensive so I had to choose Casa Batllo over this

I bought the ticket for La Sagrada Familia online but if you're on a tight budget you can just see the outside. You won't miss much!

and lastly Parque Güell...

it was so peaceful so you may want to save this park for the end of your tour and have some rest enjoying the view;)

That's all folks! 

What's going on?

Recently we had some extra activities outside Illescas! First we attended a school fair in Madrid like a few weeks ago. Well, actually it's really far from the centre. So, Helena's sister Marina drove us to this school where both she and Helena used to be students.

We had a stand where people could buy books and get information about our activities and EVS. The students were too young to do an EVS but we met some 16-year olds who were interested in participating in a youth exchange, or maybe in the future doing an EVS. I told one of them about my experience, hoping that it would be encouraging. And I'm so happy to find out that some teenagers are not just worrying about celebrities, football or taking the perfect selfie. She wants to be a volunteer and study abroad. And I want to believe that there are so many like her. It's a private school and those students are so lucky to have way more opportunities than the rest. And I believe big dreams, kind hearts and perfect opportunities will make a good future both for them and the world.

And on Monday we went to a primary school in Humanes de Madrid to make a short presentation about our countries and traditions. I must say that I felt like a celebrity:p Signing papers, getting hugs and being called the best "Turkey teacher"... haha well, probably because there's no such thing:P

Well, those kids are so smart! They asked me so many questions so they were highly interested. Turkish lira, Istanbul, Atatürk, turkish delight, turkish coffee, mosques, Turkish names, Karagöz and Hacivat (a traditional shadow play) and henna night... We even talked about religion!

It was surprising to see that some of them already knew the capital city, or the football teams (actually just one, Galatasaray:) At the end I wanted them to draw something they liked about Turkey and took them as souvenirs:)

and we ate so many rosquillos!!! these things are so delicious nom nom