Barcelona

After a mad dash to the airport (well not really that mad, but still) we flew to Barcelona and began the Spanish leg of our European tour. We even managed to make a friend immediately after exiting the metro station. This sweet man asked us how to get to La Sagrada Familia but all we could was tell him that he was close. He ended up chatting with us and giving us his hostel info and email. Too sweet. It was a bit off putting. After that we got to our hostel despite the fact that a police officer told us that it was in the opposite direction. And as soon as we went out to wander around, we ran into our new friend again. So much for never seeing him again.

Also that day the Supreme Court ruled on DOMA/Prop 8 so we headed out to get a celebratory drink with this girl from our hostel. Unfortunately the drinks didn't happen, but we did get to see the beach at night and enjoy a spectacular moon. 

The next day was our beach day and we had been looking forward to it for a long ass time. We had a bit of trouble getting there, but no one else did 'cause it was packed. The beach was full of people, but we wormed our way in. Oh, and I didn't get sunburned! 

We also "snuck in" to the W Hotel and wandered around a bit. We even stole fruit from a tray that someone had placed outside of their door. I mean who gets rid of perfectly good fruit?! We also stole a napkin and an apple just 'cause we could. Guess we didn't get it out of our systems in Venice. 

After our beach day we actually saw some of the sights. We explored La Sagrada Familia (buy your tickets in advance) and I ran into a girl I went to high school with. It was pretty weird. I mean I don't even run into high school people back home, but somehow I managed to do it in Barcelona. At least it was someone I like. So definitely go to La Sagrada Familia. Technically it isn't completed yet, but it looks like a giant sand drip castle. It's pretty bizarre. Then we explored the city on a Sandleman's free walking tour and like always it was amazing. Turns out all of the sand on the beach was brought in from Egypt before the 1992 Olympics. Also bull fighting has recently become illegal in the area. 

And to celebrate our fabulously productive day we had a romantic picnic next to the harbor, but with paella instead of currywurst.

Saturday was just as busy. We went on this free biking tour of Gaudi's works (bike rentals were 5 euros) and had a blast. It was a lot less stressful than biking in Amsterdam and this time we didn't really have to worry about where we were going. And no one got hit by a car. Also our tour guide, Rudy, kind of looked like Gaudi and was a really cool guy. Definitely do this and at the end they give you cheap beer and sangria. Then to celebrate your not dying, hangout on the beach and watch the sailboats or go to the market on Las Ramblas and get some fruit or do both.

On our free walking tour our guide told us about some traditional Catalonian dancing that takes place early Sunday mornings (like 11:00) next to Picasso's public mural so we had to check that out. It was definitely worth it. There is a band and a huge crowd and a bunch of circles of older people doing this specific dance. It looks beautiful and they all seemed to be having a blast. Then to spice things up a bit we watched some break dancers and I accepted the fact that I will never be able to do that. Rats! 

Once the dancing had ended we walked through winding streets and unfortunately got followed by a drunken man. We even had to pop into a store to get away and when that didn't work the store owner helped us out. Thank goodness for her. Oh, and then we went to the beach again.

Originally we were supposed to leave on Monday, but we were just having too much fun so we extended our stay by a day and went hiking at Monserrat. It is beautiful up there and if you climb all the way to the top of the mountain (after taking the train and the tram) then you get a 360 degree view of Barcelona and the surrounding area. It's a steep hike but it didn't take us long. But after that we were wiped and we had to stand the entire train ride back because it was so full. My poor legs.

Basically I love Barcelona, but it's only the beginning of Spain for us.