Spain is my last country in Europe before heading south to Africa. Here in sunny Barcelona, I am having a throwback to the college days: Staying in college dorm.
During the summer, University of Barcelona turns their dorm building into a backpacker hostel – This way they can keep their dorm occupied while their students are out on summer break; I stayed in a 3-bed dorm room with two young roommates: One guy is an Israeli-American, born and raised in New York. He has been back to Israel many times and knows a lot about Israel; the other guy is from Turkmenistan, about to finish college in Belarus and is spending his last semester doing foreign exchange in Spain. He is quadrilingual (Turkmen, Russian, Spanish, and English) and is about to go back to Turkmenistan in a few days to serve his mandatory 1-year military time to fight ISIS.
What is the best part of staying in hostel (beside the cost)? The opportunity to meet people from all walks of life. Where else can you have an Israeli and a Turkmen in the same room telling you stories about their home countries? Experience like this is the essence of travel – It opens your eyes and gives you perspective. The way you look at the world isn’t necessarily the same as how everybody else does. Travel pushes your horizon and challenges you to learn-and-unlearn things. As much as I prefer traveling solo and doing my own things, I try to expose myself in some social situations every now and then.
My time as a nomad for the past four months has given me a glimpse of majority of the European countries. Next stop: Africa.
La Pedrera (Casa Mila), one of the many buildings in Barcelona designed by Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi. A wavy building with sculptures at the roof terrace.
@Barcelona
Gothic Quarter.
@Barcelona
Sagrada Familia, a Catholic church designed by Antoni Gaudi.
@Barcelona
Toledo, surrounded by Tagus River.
@Toledo
Plaza de Toros, home of modern day bullfighting.
@Ronda
La Pedrera (Casa Mila), one of the many buildings in Barcelona designed by Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi. A wavy building with sculptures at the roof terrace.
@Barcelona
Park Guell, the famous public park designed by Antoni Gaudi.
@Barcelona
La Pedrera (Casa Mila), one of the many buildings in Barcelona designed by Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi. A wavy building with sculptures at the roof terrace.
@Barcelona
Casa Batllo, another building designed by Antoni Gaudi.
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In recent years, especially in the startup world of Silicon Valley, we oftentimes hear the terms VR (virtual reality = virtual world) and AR (augmented reality = real world with virtual add-ons). Casa Batllo makes good use of the AR technology to display Gaudi’s imaginations on a mobile device.
@Barcelona
Casa Batllo, another building designed by Antoni Gaudi.
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In recent years, especially in the startup world of Silicon Valley, we oftentimes hear the terms VR (virtual reality = virtual world) and AR (augmented reality = real world with virtual add-ons). Casa Batllo makes good use of the AR technology to display Gaudi’s imaginations on a mobile device.
@Barcelona
Park Guell, the famous public park designed by Antoni Gaudi.
@Barcelona
During the summer, University of Barcelona turns their dorm building into a backpacker hostel – This way they can keep their dorm occupied while their students are out on summer break; I stayed in a 3-bed dorm room with two young roommates: One guy is an Israeli-American, born and raised in New York. He has been back to Israel many times and knows a lot about Isreal; the other guy is from Turkmenistan, about to finish college in Belarus and is spending his last semester doing foreign exchange in Spain. He is quadrilingual (Turkmen, Russian, Spanish, and English) and is about to go back to Turkmenistan in a few days to serve his mandatory 1-year military time to fight ISIS.
@Barcelona
A $2 breakfast. I came here mainly for the gazpacho (cold tomato soup).
@Algeciras
The renovated back side of Sagrada Familia.
@Barcelona
Toledo, surrounded by Tagus River.
@Toledo
Toledo, surrounded by Tagus River.
@Toledo
Spanish seafood paella.
@Barcelona
Spanish potatas bravas, served with tomato sauce and aioli sauce.
@Barcelona
Plaza de Toros, home of modern day bullfighting.
@Ronda
