In case you cannot tell by the title, yes I actually made it somewhere in Europe that is not Italy. I know we’re all flabbergasted, but truthfully we have to thank little one for studying abroad in Spain and forcing me to get out of my comfort zone.

I will be the first to admit that I made absolutely NO plans for this trip. The first stop on my trip is Barcelona. On the morning that I arrived (at 6:30 am because my flight came in early…how does that even happened?) I realized that all I had with me was a piece of paper with written directions on how to get to the hostel. No map. No phone number. Nothing. Amazingly, I had absolutely no issues finding the hostel at all.

Upon my arrival, the hostel staff pulled out a map and gave me suggestions for where I should go and what I should see. I immediately headed out to a free walking tour which was an amazing decision. Our tour guide, Leon, was fantastic.

The British-born, Barcelona-converted guide was energetic, funny and, most importantly, super knowledgeable. Bare with me as I go through some of the interesting things that I learned (please forgive me is something is factually incorrect…it’s hard to walk, listen and take pictures at the same time haha).

Fun Facts That I Learned From Leon:

1. Being a Public Executioner might be the worst job ever.

In the medieval times, Barcelona had their own public executioner whose sole job was, as you might guess, to kill people that broke the law according to the kingdom. The public executioner lived in a house (more like a room) on the edge of the square where these executions were held, currently known as Placa del Rei.

This public executioner could not be seen by the public. If he were to leave his house he had to completely cover himself in a cloak to not be seen. The only upside to his job? He was allowed to keep the body parts of his victims. He would then sell these body parts to make money.

…..

Is no one else concerned about this right now?!? Why would you want to sell human body parts and WHY would anyone want to buy them? I think the scariest part of this is realizing the Criminal Minds actually existed back in the medieval times. Not okay.

2. Children are still human sacrifices today.

Take a look at this picture by Picasso.

Yes, it looks similar to elemtenary school doodling, but it is in fact one of Picasso’s only public exhibits. Now, let’s talk for a second about what this picture is actually depicting.

Every year in Barcelona, there is a huge festival to celebrate one of the two female patron saints. The two tall figures that look remotely like a queen and king are pretty much exactly that. As I was casually standing in the square, these two enormous figures walked by. Turns out, those two figures are what Picasso was referring to in his drawing.

I still haven’t figured out what the figures were doing in the square, but if I find out I will pass along the info.

Now see the figures that look like they are holding branches in between the king and queen looking figures? That is the catalan version of a human pyramid. Except it’s more like a human pyramid on steroid and acid combined. The whole idea is to have layer on layer on layer of people until you get to 8 or 9 levels of people. Then what? Oh wait, and then a child climbs up ALLL those people and stands on the top. With no safety gear or anything. PEOPLE DIE FROM THIS.

I kid you not.

Please google Castell.

3. There is a fire that never goes out.

No Andy, I’m not talking about THAT kind of fire. This is the actual burning kind of fire. 🙂

Barcelona has a Cemetery of Mulberry Trees. It used to be the cemetery of the church. In 1714 thousands of martyrs fell trying to defend their choice of the throne. I think I am missing a couple of the pieces, but now it is considered a place of celebration. There is a crescent-shaped arc with a torch of fire on the top. The fire never stops burning to symbolize that the Catalans will never give up.

Another fun fact: During every Barcelona game, all of the fans will shout “Indepence” at 17 minutes and 14 seconds. Listen for it next time you happen to be watching a Barcelona game.

There were tons more fun facts that Leon shared with us, but I don’t want to give them all away, otherwise you might not make it to Barcelona yourself!

After the walking tour, I went to lunch with one of the guys that I met in the group. Ronaldo is from Brazil and one of his friends had recommended a Japanese restaurant to try. Let me tell you that how WEIRD some of the food on his plate was.

Ronaldo and I walked around the streets a bit and saw the Arc de Trionf. (Paris definitely is much better haha).

Also: Some food for thought…
How do we feel about her hair? Are we thinking it is a wig? Or computer-enhanced? Also, I don’t care if that man has a wedding ring – the way he is holding that woman is slightly creeeeepy.

I’m just not so sure about this H&M advertisement…just saying.