I am coming from the small mountainous collage town of Missoula, Montana.  Nestled in the mountains with a population of 72,000, it’s a spunky little town that I absolutely love.

Now I am halfway across the world. Barcelona is like another planet. The city is massive and people are constantly moving, weaving, buying, drinking, talking, laughing, and making their way through the day. Walking down Las Ramblas, there are small pop up carts selling fun touristy trinkets for as far as the eye can see.  The buildings aren’t skyscrapers, like I thought. Instead they stand five to fifteen stories high with beautiful sand colored exteriors, and large framed windows.

A building by the famous 1900’s architect, Antoni Gaudi. 

Perhaps one of the most well known staples of Barcelona, The Sagrada Familia.  This magnificent church was planned by Gaudi, but it wasn’t built until after his death, and is still being built today. 

Branching from different squares throughout Barcelona, long, narrow alleys connect, creating a massive, ominous maze. 

A square near Barcelona’s city center. Palm trees and other vivid greenery is everywhere. 

 The Bunkers del Carmel sit atop on of the higher hills in Barcelona. After a short uphill walk, these abandoned anti aircraft ruins offer a spectacular view of Barcelona. 

Throughout the city, there seems to be a theme of yellow. Yellow ribbons gently wave in the wind from a fourth story balcony.  The Catalonia flag is everywhere. In the same folded shape as the breast cancer awareness symbol, I can sometimes spot a small yellow ribbon pinned to a passerby’s jacket. Barcelona is part of a north eastern region of Spain called Catalonia. This yellow propaganda symbolizes support for Catalonia’s independence from Spain, among other things. I strongly recommend reading about the political happenings between Spain and Catalonia. More on this later.

A protest gathers on an intersection in Barcelona. Yellow is everywhere. People make noise by talking, yelling, banging pots, ringing bells, or blowing whistles. Police cars, blue lights spinning, redirect traffic by blocking the streets that lead to the protest. 

These first two weeks in Barcelona have shown me how much the world has to offer. I thought I could be content forever, nestled in the  mountains of the northwestern United Sates. This city has shown me how small I am. The world is teeming with people, culture, food, history, and every place offers an exquisite taste of humanity.