Barcelona T.G.

Day 24. Ugh, zombie face. I wasn’t a real human until after I took a shower I was so exhausted, but then I was back and refreshed and ready to take on the day…ish. Today was the first day it rained on my trip so far when I was in new city wanting to explore, but it was a very light rain and felt so refreshing in the warm air. After getting ready and setting out form the hostel the girls and I made a quick stop at Starbucks. It was so funny to be sitting in Starbucks with friends talking over coffee and juice while it was raining outside, I thought I was for sure in Seattle; talk about dejavu! Feeling a little more alive we set out to see the magic fountain and more of Barcelona! After getting off the metro we went into a mall that used to be a bull fighting arena and climbed to the top for a 360 wrap around view of Barcelona. It was a stunning view and similar to the Eiffel tower it also showed all the major buildings and what they were called (but it didn’t have any explanations or history - one point France). From the mall’s rooftop view we saw Barcelona’s main art museum and the direction of the magic fountain. The museum is this massive almost Tibetan-like building set up on a huge hill and the magic fountain is right at its footsteps. I also got my first look at the Sagrada Familia way off in the distance, but I couldn’t really see it quite yet. We climbed the many stairs to get to the art museum, and before we went in I ran off (literally) and explored a little whilst the girls got a churro. After climbing more and more stairs I found myself off the beaten path and stumbled upon what I deemed to be Barcelona’s Space Needle wanna be. Haha, failblog and point for Seattle. However, even cooler than that is as I was walking back to the girls I heard a crazy noise coming from a palm tree. I went to investigate and I found these awesome big green birds. Not only was a stoked to see these birds in the wild, but they FOLLOWED me and WHISTLED with me!!! GAh!! So cool! I met back up with the girls and we went inside the art museum to check out the inside of the building. We didn’t have enough time to see the exhibits as we still needed to get lunch and go to the Gothic area for our next free walking tour. The magic fountain is cool…but it’s not so magical until Friday or Saturday evenings from 7 – 9, so I would have to come back tomorrow night. We went out to lunch and split tapas (lots of smaller plates of food that everyone at the table shares)! While the tapas were very delicious the service was incredible awful and our server was nothing but rude to us. So we paid in mostly coins. Get some. Had I been able to speak any Spanish I would have talked to someone about it, but I don’t, so oh well; we just had a good laugh about it. After lunch we went on a Gaudi free walking tour and got to see some of the mad geniuses architecture and artwork. It was amazing, especially for the time period he was in; he was so far ahead of his times! Even for our times it is impressive and so cool to gaze upon. A phoenix, masks, storm troopers, a tale of dragons, rocks or water, colored tiles, gingerbread houses, and always god, Gaudi is quite the 'not-so gentleman'. His most impressive and daunting work of architecture by far is the Sagrada Familia. Wow. Just holy wow (literally holy, haha). This building is still in construction and has been for 126 years. It is an expiatory church that can only be funded by sinner’s (aka the tourists who pay 13 euros to go inside or by anonymous donations). The church depicts the life of Jesus Christ in every possible facet. It is 100m high right now but will be 170m when it’s finished (1m short of the highest mountain in Spain). I cannot even begin to describe how amazing and impressive and massive it is, there is just so much detail!! Everywhere you look there is something new to notice and attempt to understand. I was lucky to have a tour guide explaining everything to me and even I pointed out something new to her, and it’s still unfinished! Such a cool building with so much detail (you would have loved it Mom)!! After the tour the girls had to catch a train so we said our goodbyes and I promised to visit them sometime in Australia (I’m already planning my next trip, haha). It was so fantastic sharing some of my Barcelona experience with them, they will be missed! I was so sad to see them go and was looking forward to a quiet evening to catch up on lost sleep… when… well, you know me. After saying goodbye to Lucy, Sophie and Anna, I met some new girls from the states and a guy from New York/ Paris who had just checked in - Carolyn, Emma, and Paul. We had a VERY fun night together!! From the sangria, to kart wheels, to uncontrollable laughter, to card games, to mumbling, to the light rain, to an awesome jacket, to losing things, to making new friends, to good food, and finally to staying up until ridiculous hours in the morning yet again and loving every minute of it - Barcelona is just so much fun!! We had an epic night and became instant friends, deciding to explore more of Barcelona together tomorrow. I have been meeting the most amazing people in my travels!

Day 25. After sleeping in a bit again (10:30 am) and packing up all my stuff, Paul, Caroline, Emma and I set out to see Guell Park. I was dubbed T.G. by Carolyn (tour guide) as I knew the city a bit having been here for a couple days and was showing them around and giving them advice and such ("mind your pockets"). Guell Park was designed by Gaudi that was going to be an area for rich people to by plots of land and build homes on, but no one wanted to live next to Gaudi so it eventually became a park. It is beautiful. The park is set on a big hill with outside escalator to get to the park. There is a winding path that leads to another impressive view of the city, with a rocky mound with crosses and stairs leading to its top. It’s not your typical green grass open fields park, but a thoughtfully designed park with stone bridges and a big room filled with columns, a gorgeous water fountain set, impressive tile work, and of course, Gaudi’s homes (although they much rather looked like gingerbread houses).  I also did some haggling at a souvenir shop and got a great price on some gifts for the family - go lawyer skills go! Having seen the park we made our way to the city centre and walked along La Rambla, always taking care to mind our pockets and bags on the metro and in the streets of course. We found a nice place with an outside dining area for lunch and enjoyed sharing another delicious meal in the sun. I am starting to LOVE Spanish food, it's all so good! Then we continued to walk down La Rambla to get to the outside market, which was crazy. There were so many fish and live seafood, meats, nuts, veggies, fruit, candy, etc. We each got some tasty natural fruit juice and saw some cool street performers as we walked towards the waterfront (one guy was a crazy gargoyle demon man statue who made lots of people scream when they put money in his bucket). Paul went to go meet up with some friends and we agreed to meet back up at the magic fountain around 7. Carolyn, Emma and I bought a bottle of white wine for the beach and walked the remainder of the way down La Rambla to get to the water. We found a nice place and talked whilst sharing the wine and then went to the mall that was right on the dock. I helped Caroline find some nice shoes and they helped me decide to get a sparkling pair of silver earrings (I have already lost two sets so far on my trip. Sad face). We enjoyed the sun and some window shopping for a bit and then caught the metro to see the magic fountain dance and sing. It was pretty awesome. The fountain is huge and the speakers seemed to be IN the fountain, a medley of songs would play and the fountain would shoot up water in crazy patterns and in different heights and light up and change along with the beat – very cool. After enjoying the experience I had to figure out my train situation to get down to Granada. I wanted to catch the overnight train and at the train station there was one 2^nd class bed left, lucky!! Carolyn and I saw this huge dragon slide that we couldn’t resist going down (Yes, I know I am a 3 year old). But at this point I had to go back to the hostel to get all my stuff and my eurail pass so I could actually purchase the ticket, and then book it back to catch my train if I was going to leave tonight. After some more sad goodbyes to Paul, Carolyn and Emma, (Ugh, I meet such cool people and then have to leave them or they leave me so soon) and promises to meet back up with the girls in Geneva where they are working as Au pair's, I was on my way. And by on my way I mean that I was sprinting with ALL my stuff on my back while I was wearing my coat so I was burning up and I only barely caught my train (I even had to go through security). I maybe had 98 seconds to spare and I was beat red and sweating as I literally hurdled into the train (not an easy task with all your stuff weighing you down). After a couple mix ups with the room I was staying in I finally was able to calm down and breathe. The hallways are far too small on the trains and I am on the top bunk that is far too skinny a bed. Let’s hope I don’t fall off in my sleep and that I will be able to get some sleep! Barcelona was an incredible city that if not for me being paranoid about the pickpockets I might have never left! But I am very excited to see southern Spain and have my adventure continue.