Spring break was great! Marseille, Nice, and Barcelona were beautiful places and I got to meet so many people! However, it’s GREAT to be home! I missed you Salamanca!
Marseille wasn’t really what we expected it to be. The area where we stayed at was a bit dirty. By dirty I mean the buildings were super old and not taken care of. There were a lot of Arab men everywhere. It was a bit uncomfortable walking down the street because they would stare at us (especially Cait and I since we were women dressed in “beach” clothes) and say stuff to us. There were hardly any women walking down the street or sitting down in the restaurants. Don’t get me wrong, the beaches were beautiful and there were many more women there. But the place in general wasn’t very touristy so it wasn’t well preserved.
I have to say Nice was my favorite place. I’d definitely consider living there someday. The beach is beautiful and the city is gorgeous. In fact, Monaco was a close ride. Our hostel was smack in the center of the city so that was very convenient. When we walked to the Roman Cathedral was when we encountered an ugly part of the city, it was old and it felt dangerous. The transportation system is great, there were trams and buses for 1 Euro. The vibe of the city was splendid.
Barcelona was a great place as well. The thing that made our stay in Barcelona 100 times better was our hostel. Saint Jordi Diagonal had the BEST staff. They were mostly all Portuguese and they were very kind, considerate, and attentive people. They definitely cared about their customers and it was a very clean place. The way the hostel was set up allowed you to feel at home and to interact more with the other guests, so we all became kind of like a family. They took us out every night to a different bar and then to a different club. The first night we were there they took us to a DJ event in a club called Bling Bling, which had a cost of approximately 25 Euros but since we were with the hostel it was free of cost. The next night they took everyone out to another bar and a club by the beach, but we were all too tired to go out so we didn’t join them. The last night we were there we went to another bar that had a clubby vibe and then they took us to a club by the beach called Sotavento, free of charge once again. It was an incredible location, since it was along the beach. You could go out to the lounge and then walk out to the beach. I recommend anyone going to Barcelona to stay in any of the Sant Jordi Hostels, since they have several in Barcelona. The one we stayed in was Sant Jordi Diagonal. Anyway, in Barcelona I got to see the Sagrada Familia, which was designed by Antoni Gaudí, as well as La Pedrera and La Casa Batlló, by the same architect. I walked up to Park Guell and then to Plaza de España, where the magic fountain was located. That area was probably my favorite.
All in all, my spring break was amazing! The French Riviera is beautiful and Barcelona is amazing. I look forward to return to both places in the near future. :)
