I got in at 2 something to the Barcelona airport and guess who was sitting on his luggage waiting for me? Alex, what a nice guy to come and meet me. So stared into each other's eyes for a couple of minutes and then headed toward L'Eixample where our rental apartment was; instead of staying in a 16 person to a room hostel we got a much nicer pad for the same price. It was a really nice set up, though I had to get ear plugs after being woken up by several ambulances that drove by in the middle of the night. We decided to do a little dinner in the apartment; it was really because our key didn't really work in the lock and we had to wait for the guy with the keys to come back so we could actually adventure. It turns out the key did work, it was just the most temperamental thing ever.
Day 1 adventure: So we got off to a great start considering there was a bakery right under our apartment building and a fresh muffin is a really good start to the day. (And of course, I found the nearest Starbucks, like every other American in the place, to get an iced coffee, because I haven't had one in so long).We ventured towards Las Ramblas. On our way we hit the Pl. de Catalunya,it was amazing and so open. After that we got a bit lost trying to find Las Ramblas, aka I probably went in the wrong direction buttt we found this awesome little open area/kids play area/statue/OLD MEN PLAYING BOCCE BALL AREA! It was so cute, a huge group of men in their 70's and 80's maybe playing al together with a couple of women watching close. So freaking cute. Then we got to Las Ramblas and had the most amazing time. We went to the market and got freshly squeezed juice (thanks Lindsay and Mary) and CANDY and not the fresh fish, though they had it there too, oh and goats head which are disgusting. We decided to wander down to the coast and sit around in the sun because I dearly needed some arm tan. Then we got really really lost trying to find Les Quinze Nits, it went super duper recommended and so we had to find it. However, our guide books maps were not so detailed and finding it from where we were on the coast proved difficult. I was probably also difficult, I was super stubborn about thinking I was going in the right direction and well I wasn't. Butt we found it and got some super delicious soup and got serenaded by some guys with accordions and just loved the little square. We took some pictures and decided to head back tot he guesthouse for some rest before dinner. We trekked back tot he apartment and showered and got dressed for a proper dinner at this awesome tapas place not too far from out place. We went to Cerveceria Catalana, which was this super Spanish , we even had to wait 40 minutes for our table, at 10 pm! So crazy, but so worth it, the best tapas ever and of course a pitcher of Sangria, it was amazing.
Pl. de Catalunya
The market!
Candy! (We also bought fruit, promise)
Huge, really tall McDonald's
Square where we had lunch
Lunch
Gaudi Palace
Day 2: We decided to make the trip up to Park Guel and see Gaudi's crazy weird art first hand. After walking around the first day and seeing some, we had to have more. We spent the majority of the morning haning out in the park, it's big and sitting listening to a guitarist while sitting in the shade is sometimes nice to do, I don't think I've ever done it before, but it's nice to do, when in Spain, in the Parc Guell. After our park adventure, we decided to turn to the guidebook once more and do lunch at a little Mexican place close-ish by, well at least in on the same map square int he book. The place was so good, the food was so tasty, if you're going to do Mexican food in Spain you have to go here. Anyway, we then decided to shower and rest until dinner, poor Alex was super jetlagged, but we made it out to a bar for a bit of a Barcelona game and a burger! I have been craving burgers and well this is not the best one I've ever had but it hit the spot for at least another week!
Parc Guell
In the park
Weird Singing man, played the same chord on his guitar the whole time.
View from the park
Amazing lunch!
Day 3: We had to go to Gaudi's Sagrade Familia, which is the amazing unfinished super duper cathedral of Spain. We were told the top is an awesome view so we did it. And got several pictures at the top and ran into a Boston Red Sox loving couple, so Alex was pleased too. We decided to do the Montjuic park and strolled around forever. I was told we had to see the fountain so we walked forever trying to find it, seeing the stadium and everything before I got super grouchy about not finding it, well it was turned off so there was nothing to see, so we didn't miss it, it was just super anti-climatic. We then got lunch at this little place on the side of Parallel Ave. and had the tastiest lunch. I got a pear, avocado, cherry, pepper, lettuce, with balsamic salad and Alex got gnocchi, and it was so tasty. I was pleasantly surprised consider it didn't look like a real fancy place, but the food was so fancy. We then went back to Las Ramblas, needing some more fresh fruit drank to sit and enjoy the our last afternoon in Spain. We decided it would also be awesome to tour the inside of one of Gaudi's crazy masterpieces, the Casa Batllo. It cost a fortune, sort of, but was well worth it to see the inside. The outside is just the beginning, there's a weird light tunnel in the center of the building and an awesome patio/courtyard. I also got a really awesome mug from the museum shop, I cannot wait to drink my tea next year from it, though I've become quite the coffee drinker these days. After the tour we got dinner at this bar near the apartment on accident because we didn't see the restaurant right around the corner. So silly, but we had the most amazing bar food tapas and just go desserts at the restaurant, a perfect solution.
It still needs a bit of work
The final plans
The view from the top
And the stairs going down.
Amazing interior
Olympic Stadium
Gaudi Gaudi Gaudi
Casa Batllo
The inner light hall
Back view
Chimneys
The attic.
Then today we hopped on a plane and came back to the awesome CPH for a couple of days until I leave this amazing semester behind me. We have some fun plans for tomorrow, going to Tivoli, the theme park/gardens in the city center.
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