My Arrival in Barcelona: My Beautiful Apartment

My Arrival in Barcelona, Spain

"From Rags to Riches... kind of"

June 2014

Straying away from my typical blog posts of things to do in the different cities I've visited, I thought it would be nice to share my story of my entry into Barcelona, Spain after a semester abroad in Vichy, France.

June 7th, 2014: I flew from Charles De Gaule Airport in Paris, France to the beautiful city of Barcelona, Spain in about 2 hours. Upon landing, I decided with all of my luggage that it would be easiest to take a taxi to my apartment. Luckily, my new roommate had mentioned that our program had sent a type in our address and sent me the correct address. I was thankful for her trial and error before I arrived, although I felt for her having to find it out the hard way.

Once the taxi let me out in front of my apartment, I immediately realized I was no longer going to be living in a tiny room with a single eye burner to cook on and a fridge that never worked. I was moving into a "Big Girl" apartment that was actually made for people to live in. The apartment building had an intercom, where I was able to ring my roommate 7 floors up to let her know I was there and needed let in. There was a beautiful entry way with mailboxes that led to an elevator (one that didn't look and feel like it was going to break at any moment). Stepping out of the elevator onto the seventh floor, our apartment was right in front of us. When she opened the door, there was a long entryway with a coat rack on the side leading to a fully stocked with utensils kitchen on the right. I honestly couldn't believe it. There was a microwave, oven, stove with 4 burners (3 of which actually work... but still), a ginormous fridge and SEPARATE freezer (not the kind that is a small box inside of the fridge that doesn't fit or freeze anything), a DOUBLE sink, and to top it all off, that led to a laundry room! Our own personal washer!!! I was amazed already and I had only seen the kitchen.

Moving further down the walk way, I stepped out into a fully furnished huge living space with a kitchen table with FOUR chairs AND it led out to a balcony! Whoa! Not to mention, we have an air conditioner that we can adjust?! We have a couch that even pulls out into a bed... I'm speechless!

Moving out to the balcony.... there was ANOTHER table!!! Someone pinch me, I think I'm dreaming! We can roll the blinds down to block the sun on our balcony! We also have a place where we can plant flowers... this is just so unreal! 

Did I also tell you that we have quite the view?! I'm no longer looking at a wall, but an entire complex of apartments and over the top I can see mountains in the distance! This is just craziness!

Still in disbelief, I decided to move on to my OWN PERSONAL BATHROOM! It had a shower/tub, toilet, and sink with a mirror and SHELVES!! I would no longer be putting my toothpaste on my sink or my shower stuff on the floor of the shower! I could even take a bath if I wanted to relax!

Finally, it was time to see my room. There was a window, and ANOTHER table with a chair that I could use for a desk, a bedside table with shelves, a lamp, and more closet space than I know what to do with and it was fully stocked with sheets, blankets, pillows and towels! I almost started crying! This was a dream come true! I could not have asked for a better place to live for the entire summer! 

Also, we have the PERFECT location in the city! We are just on the outskirts of the city and are able to avoid the tourists. We are right next door to a grocery store and a "euro store." We are a 2 minute walk from the metro line that takes both of us to our internships. Two blocks away are as many malls as a girl could dream. A block behind our house is the Camp Nou Football Stadium (Barcelona's soccer stadium). This is just unreal!

I'm still living this wonderful fairy tail and feel beyond blessed to have been given this wonderful opportunity. I am working in the center of the city and enjoying ever single moment of it. My roommate is the best roommate I could have ever asked for; she is kind, caring, intelligent, fun and we get along so well! I'm living my dream to the fullest and I hope I am helping others realize that they can do anything they put their minds too! I never imagined I'd be working in a foreign country in a million years, but I worked hard at finding a way to get here and was blessed with an incredible support system through my family and friends. I now know I can do anything I put my mind too through hard work and effort!

PS: If you're wondering why I'm so obsessed with this apartment and want to know what my old apartment in France looked like, check out my friend Allie's blog about our apartments! =]
Click here to Read Allie's Blog