July 27 - Unfortunately I am a Pokémon Nerd

As the title suggest, yes I am a nerd and yes I redownloaded Pokémon Go. I typically don’t give into peer pressure but when half of my classmates started playing I wanted to join in on the fun. Catching animated creatures on an augmented reality mobile game may not seem interesting but it has certainly given me even more motivation to walk and explore the area. So, when it came time to get up at seven to explore a new city, many of us whipped out our phones and started catching ‘em all.

We left the hotel bright and early to catch a train from Barcelona to Figueres. The plan for the day was to stay there for a little while, go to a museum, and then head back. We arrived to the train station half an hour early to ensure we would be there on time. While waiting, we of course played some more Pokémon. It truly does help the time fly by. Once our train arrived, we boarded and set course for the little town an hour away. On the train ride, we once again all spent time playing Pokémon. Finally, we arrived in Figueres and walked half an hour to our destination. Unfortunately, our original plan did not come to fruition. We were at the Salvador Dali museum two hours earlier than our tickets were scheduled for. To remedy this, I went off with some friends to grab a snack and explore the area.

In the area around the museum, I stopped at a tourist trap and picked up some new sunglasses and then went off to find something to snack on. I had shockingly not had churros up to this point and they were definitely on my mind. My friend Mia and I found a place and sat for a while. We got some churros and I got a hot chocolate to pair with mine. They were quite delicious and certainly gave the ones from Costco a run for their money. They were not overly sweet and not super fried which made them a great pick me up. We savored the churros before walking around the area some more (and of course catching more Pokémon).

We toured the area before finally making it to our timeslot for the Dali museum. The short wait in the sun and humidity was brutal but we all excitedly entered the building. On the outside, the building has a giant glass dome, large egg statues, and bizarre molding in the shape of popcorn kernels. The inside was just as intriguing. The main entrance took you strait to an outdoor plaza with a vintage car topped with a statue of a naked woman. Around this inner circle of the museum, there were numerous plants and numerous other statues of naked women (because Dali was very into Freud and his psychosexual theories). Inside the numerous floors of the museum, there were many exhibits from the famous painter, ranging from tapestries to sculptures to mesmerizing paintings. It was all quite interesting but very much fit the mold of a surrealist artist. My favorite painting was one called Lincoln in Dalivision that from afar looked like Abraham Lincoln but up close revealed the nude backside of a woman. These optical illusions in his work created a memorable yet strange ambiance to the whole space.

Since the museum is not that big and did not contain some of his most famous pieces, most of us finished our tour in less than two hours. So, while we waited for others to finish up at the museum, many of us worked together to play Pokémon and take out a big boss nearby. We looked like total tourists at bests but mainly we looked like complete nerds. That being said, those of us who played had a blast and we peer pressured some more classmates into getting the game.

Once our group was back together, we all discussed the museum and Dali as a person. He definitely had some questionable beliefs (antisemite, Nazi sympathizer, etc.) but understanding them and scrutinizing them through a retrospective lens allowed us to engage with his work in a unique way. We discussed the artist some more before making our way out of the museum to explore Figueres some more. Our train back to Barcelona was still two hours away so we had time to continue eating, shopping, and of course playing Pokémon.

Two classmates and I went off for some fun excursions before settling in at an Italian restaurant nearby. We discussed the museum and had a great lunch to recover from the day. While sitting in the restaurant, we of course also discussed Pokémon and I even shared with them a picture of me in a Pokémon costume from a few years ago. Although it seems nerdy (because it is), I am so glad that I have found a group of people I am so comfortable with and who can enjoy wandering around Europe while playing a mobile game that was popular in 2016.

After lunch, we walked around some more and grabbed snacks for the train ride back to Barcelona. I tried some Spanish horchata and was shocked at how different it was from the Mexican horchata I am used to. I also tried a Catalonian treat called a Chucho that I can only describe as a sweet chimichanga. It was sweet and contained a delicious cream filling on the inside. I ate my snacks, played some more, and then met up with the group to head towards the train station.

The twenty-ish minute walk back to the train station was a challenge with the high humidity and the UV rays beating down on us. By the time we made it to our destination, we were drenched in sweat and ready to get into air conditioning. I am used to the heat I am not used to any form of moisture in the air. We found our train, boarded, and headed back to the hotel. I spent my time on the train napping and enjoying the calming motion from the locomotive. My much-needed nap ended right as we made it to the station in Barcelona. We all got off and walked back to the hotel. At least by this point the sun was setting and there was a bit of a breeze to cool us down.

Most of my classmates went to their rooms but a few of us decided to walk directly across from our hotel for a light dinner. Once again, I was a bit disappointed by the tacos I had. Maybe I am just a taco snob but Spanish tacos have nothing on the tacos back at home. I will admit that the Fanta is better here and I am sure I will drink more soda in two weeks here than I have in the past year. I ate my tacos and then some friends came back to my room to eat some delicious chocolate filled cookies called Principe. As we ate, more classmates came into our room for drinks and snacks and soon we were the party room. We all laughed and told stories about our pre-college lives and talked about our plans for the future. This was truly the best way to end out on a busy day of traveling and catching animated creatures on a silly game. Exploring the city has been incredible but these small things mean just as much to me as well.

♡ Katie