Vicky and Cristina decided to spend the summer in Barcelona. Vicky was completing her...

[first lines] Narrator: Vicky and Cristina decided to spend the summer in Barcelona. Vicky was completing her master's in Catalan Identity, which she had become interested in through her great affection for the architecture of Gaudí. Cristina, who spent the last six months writing, directing, and acting in a 12-minute film which she then hated, had just broken up with yet another boyfriend and longed for a change of scenery. Everything fell into place when a distant relative of Vicky's family who lived in Barcelona offered to put both girls up for July and August. The two best friends had been close since college and shared the same tastes and opinions on most matters, yet when it came to the subject of love, it would be hard to find two more dissimilar viewpoints. Vicky had no tolerance for pain and no lust for combat. She was grounded and realistic. Her requirements in a man were seriousness and stability. She had become engaged to Doug because he was decent and successful and understood the beauty of commitment. Vicky: [while talking on her cellphone to Doug] Yeah, I miss you, too. Narrator: Cristina, on the other hand, expected something very different out of love. She had reluctantly accepted suffering as an inevitable component of deep passion, and was resigned to putting her feelings at risk. If you asked her what it was she was gambling her emotions on to win, she would not have been able to say. She knew what she didn't want, however, and that was exactly what Vicky valued above all else.

Vicky and Cristina decided to spend the summer in Barcelona. Vicky was completing her master's in Catalan Identity... ...which she had become interested in through her great affection for the architecture of Gaudi. Cristina, who spent the last six months writing, directing and acting in... ...a 12-minute film which she then hated... ...had just broken up with yet another boyfriend, and longed for a change of scenery. Everything fell into place when a distant relative of Vicky's family who lived in Barcelona... ...offered to put both girls up for July and August. The two best friends had been close since college and shared the same tastes and opinions on most matters. Yet when it came to the subject of love, it would be hard to find two more dissimilar viewpoints. Vicky had no tolerance for pain and no lust for combat. She was grounded and realistic. Her requirements in a man were seriousness and stability. She had become engaged to Doug because he was decent and successful... ...and understood the beauty of commitment. Yeah, I miss you, too. Cristina, on the other hand, expected something very different out of love. She reluctantly accepted suffering as an inevitable component of deep passion... ...and was resigned to putting her feelings at risk. If you asked what she was gambling her emotions on to win, she would have been unable to say. She knew what she didn't want, however. And that was exactly what Vicky valued above all else. - You're Vicky. - Yes, yes. You're so grown up. It's been a while. It's great to see you. Welcome to Barcelona. Cristina, I'm Judy. This is your room. I put you together. Judy, thank you so much for having me here. ..because I know..I know..It was so last-minute and you don't know me at all. To include me is so sweet of you. It's so nice to have a little action around here. It's been so quiet since Arthur went off to college. After the girls unpacked and Judy's husband, Mark, got home from the golf course, lunch was served on the terrace. We have a beautiful home. We've really come to love it. He makes friends with anybody and he speaks the language, so he was like, "Whee!" You learned just fine. So what do you do, Cristina? I am currently at liberty. Come on. She made a film. - How exciting. - It was 12 minutes. What was it about? About? It was about why love is so hard to define. That's a mighty big subject to handle in 12 minutes. Vicky, you're getting your master's in... Yeah, my master's in Catalan Identity. What do you plan on doing with that? I don't know. Maybe teaching, maybe curating. You don't have to do something. She's marrying this wonderful man in the fall and all her conflicts will be resolved... ...when he makes her pregnant. Now that Judy's decided your future... To your summer in Barcelona. Welcome. Salud. In the days that followed, Vicky and Cristina drank in the artistic treasures of the city. They particularly enjoyed the works of Gaudi and Miro. Once, Mark and Judy invited Vicky and Cristina to go sailing with them on Mark's boat. With Cristina in mind, Mark and Judy asked along the son of one of his business partners... ...an eligible young man Mark thought she might like. My dream is to accumulate enough wealth, sail off to an island and spend the rest of my days snorkeling. I'm actually a snorkeling nut. Have you ever snorkeled before? Unfortunately, Charles and Cristina were not a match made in heaven. Vicky, meanwhile, researched every aspect of Catalan life... ...even getting a tour of the market and a local restaurant, to delve into Catalan cooking. On balmy summer nights, the girls would sometimes go to hear Spanish guitar music... ...which never failed to move Vicky in some magical way. One evening, Mark and Judy took them to the opening of a friend's art gallery. Many local artists and a number of collectors attended.