¨Summer in the City¨ -Regina Spektor

BARCELONA

After a horribly long night on the airplane (8 hours leaving at 5:40 pm and getting in at 2 am or 8 spain´s time) I was ready to see Eilis! I grabbed my bags from a surpisingly quiet baggage claim (quiet as in the actually belt was silent) and meandered through the very innovative airport. After a bus and a train and a metro I was walking towards the hostel! I walk in the door and Eilis is there waiting for me. Unfortunatly the hostel is full, but Eilis being the way more productive one has booked another so off we go back on the metro for Equity hostel! It was a great hostel and we had our bags dropped off and I look at my watch and it´s 1015! What on earth am I going to do all day when I am this tired? So off to La Ramba to explore! We went to the market, saw tons of food - candy, legs of meat, fish, pigs heads, cow noses, bread, fruit, and mysterious things that we´re still not sure of. We got some mango strawberries and kiwi to snack on and it was delicious.


Then we wandered around till lunch and had Paella - a traditional spanish rice dish and some tapas (very big here). And of course a sangria (most popular drink here)! Then I couldn´t make it so we went to nap at the hostel (I know erin but I had to). We got up a couple hours later talked strategy then walked down to the peir and had dinner - tapas and a big jar of beer and watched the sun set over the water.


Friday we explored Barcelona and went to the beach and had our first dips in the Mediteranean! People aren´t kidding about the lack of bathing suits in Barcelona, Meu Deus! But we had fun and then headed to Mt Jeyuic for great views of the city. Then headed to the market and bought little sandwiches delicious looking olives and these mini red peppers filled with cheese floating in olive oil (yes they were even better than they sound)! We bought a bottle of wine then headed back to the hostel to eat on our rooftop terrace. We found out we weren´t allowed to drink on the terrace, but that just made us plan... we got cups from the bar and my backpack and enjoyed our meal - wine and all- in the corner of the terrace watching the sun set over the mountains. Great day!

Saturday we slept in and headed to view all things Gaudi that we heard we ¨had to see¨from multiple friends, and man they were right! Of course I forgot my camera but Eilis shared the love. The church that has been in construction for over 100 years and supposidly 50 more is the La Sagrada Familia and it is the single most creative structure I have ever seen! The outside alone is so unique with the pillars leaning in to create a cave look from trees and the all different size steeples and the four armed cross, amazing. The front had images of the birth of Jesus carved into the wall including the shepards, kings and so on. The inside was to die for, the windows are phnemoinal. The colors that they made on the walls were breath taking shades of red, blue, green, orange, everywhere . Up in the top of the church were windows all with white stain glass because Gaudi always said he wanted his church to be one of light because life in heaven is bright (something like that but more well put). It was just the coolest thing how beautiful clear stain glass could be with all different textures. We went out to the back of the church where it has the death and scenes of Jesus falling and being put in the tomb a giant tree of life, turtles holding the pillars on their backs ect. Just all the detail and creativity and different way its built, so amazing! I decided I must go back when its finished!

Well at this point we have to go see the park Gaudi created, Park Guill, because we love him! So we metro and then walk for 15 minutes till we see this huge hill and then stairs, and decided that must be it so onward and upward! We had beautiful views of Barcelona as we made our way towards the main part of the park. It was beautiful these houses looked like gingerbreak houses and bridges looked like I was walking through the drippy castles we make at the beach! It was the coolest. There was this plaza with mosaic benches that we loved and this pyramid with a cross we saw off in the distance and knew we had to climb it! We made our way there, climbed probably 30 feet to the top which was a little nerve wracking with so many people and no hand rails up the roughly shaped stone steps (especially when its on the top of a mountain so you feel 200 ft in the air). Mom, I can feel you cringe. It was awesome! Great photos ensued! Then we headed home, exhausted, had dinner at the market again because it was so good. Unfortunatly it was closing and our olive and pepper man was gone so we got them from another place which was not as good, but still delicious! Then off to the hostal to pack and go to bed. The next day we were heading to Valencia!

Things I learned:
Barcelona only believes in escaladors up not down which works except when you have to go down stairs with giant backpacks...
People in Spain don´t all speak spanish, OH no, they have 5 languages: Catalan, Valencian, Spainish, Galician, and Euskera! Yep