ESPANA Part Two

Barcelona was a whirlwind.  We arrived at the train station at 8am, took a taxi to our hostel where we showered and then left because our room wasn't ready.  We had breakfast at McDonalds where they serve caramel or chocolate on top of their pancakes.  The caramel was delicious and I used the extra to put on sliced apples.  We then met Laura at our hostel.  Her sister is in Jake's YSA ward and when she heard we were going to Barcelona, she put us in touch with Laura to take us on a tour.  We bean our tour at La Sagrada Familia - Gaudi's masterpiece.  This massive Catholic cathedral which is privately owned has been under construction since 1882 and isn't scheduled to be finished until 2026.  However, Laura told us that in the past 10 years of living in Barcelona, the date has been moved back significantly each year as they get more funding and ideas for ornamentation.  This cathedral was very ornate and to be honest I didn't think it was very attractive.  This structure is more about the artistic elements and skill of the craftsmen rather than place where people will be able to worship.  After the cathedral we took the metro to Parque Guell; also a work done by Gaudi.  The various structures here were quite gaudy (haha, Gaudi is gaudy) but teh view from teh top was spectacular.  This park is located at a top of a hill which overlooks the city and coast.  There were a lot of musicians in various areas of the park entertaining hundreds of tourists.  It was a nice break from the grime of the city and the sunshine felt so great on my face.  We really did luck out with weather on this trip.  In only rained once in Madrid and in Barcelona there were clear blue skies.  Apparently the days leading up to the day we arrived had been pouring down rain.

After the park, we walked back down the hill and took the bus back into the city center.  There we walked down La Rambla - the main road through the city which leads to the port.  Along this road there are street performers and tourist stands.  Along this road there is a great food market called La Boqueria where we bought pineapple and fresh juice.  At the end of this road is a statue of Christopher Columbus pointing to the Americas.  At this point we took another break and watched the birds and fish fight over food that other tourists were tossing in the blue Mediterranean.

At this point in the tour we wandered through the Gothic Quarter and saw a lot of great architecture and enjoyed the sunshine.

 

We had been walking through Barcelona from 10am to 3pm at which point we checked into our hostel and took a much needed two hour nap.  Then we got dinner and wandered the streets, shopped, enjoyed the nightlife, and hunted down a haagan Dazs.  Unfortunately, we did find anything to buy and we couldn't find a Haagan Dazs.  What city doesn't have a Haagan Dazs?  We saw them all over Madrid and we were disappointed we couldn't find genuine ice cream.  So, to cure ourselves, we found a grocery store, bought a pint and headed back to the hostel exhausted.  The next morning we got up, took an hour long bus ride to the airport and flew back to London where I arrived back at the centre at about 5pm.  That night, Jake, Morgan, Angus, Caitlin and I met for ice cream at the Haagan Dazs cafe to enjoy good company and even better ice cream in Piccadilly Circus.  We loved Spain but it felt so good to be back in London.