1 - 6 July 2013
Day 1: Arrival
This is actually a continuation of day 7 of Nice, tricky eh? Not much happened today, I just navigated the metro and found my hostel, which took longer than it should've because no maps ever have a rose on them. I chatted to a few people and watched a movie; taking it easy so I'm ready for tomorrow.
Day 2: Beach
The consensus was to hit the beach, which was fine with me because it was hot as. We didn't go to the popular, man-made Barceloneta beach because we heard it's always packed and swarming with hawkers so instead we went to a quieter beach. Turns out it was a nude beach and not the type with lots of pretty girls (there were a few) :( Still, it wasn't that busy and we were feeling lazy so we stayed there although we didn't embrace the nude spirit. This beach was so much better than Nice's; it was bigger, the water was perfect and it had SAND!
Exploring
After the beach we hit up a supermarket for lunch supplies and then headed on to Le Rambla, one of the main streets of the city. We also had a look in the market where all the fruit looked so good. I grabbed a banana and strawberry juice, made from real fruit, and wandered around the rest of the market sipping it like a kid.
Home cooked dinner
This hostel had a kitchen, the supermarkets were cheap and there were enough of us to eat all the food; a perfect combination to make something ourselves. We made burritos and it was so good to have something home cooked rather than take away.
Razzmatazz
I've met a few Aussies on my travels, as you'd expect but this hostel definitely had a concentration of them. We rounded up a group of 8 people to go clubbing and 7 of them were Aussies. We went to a club called Razzmatazz and apparently this place is huge (lots of stages) but we ended up in an upstairs RnB room for the night. The music was good and there was a decent crowd but it was so hot.
Day 3: Walking tour
I had a bit of a slow start to the day and missed everyone else so I headed out for a walking tour; a good way to see some of the city and make friends. I grabbed lunch before the tour started; what the Spanish (or maybe the Catalunyans) call a tortilla, which is an omelette with potato and some other bits in it and it was fantastic. The walking tour was alright; we cruised around the old town and saw various buildings and sites of importance. The funniest bit was the houses that got cut in half because the government literally taxed half of everything that people had.
Hanging out with a Montanan (someone from Montana)
I went with a girl I met on the tour to get a beer and tapas before tackling Montjuic (a hill) to go see the castle at the top. The hill wasn't that big but there wasn't really a walking path up there so we made our own trail for part of the way. The castle was free, yay, and had a decent view in all directions so we did the touristy thing and took a few photos. We also wandered over and had a look at the Olympic stadium, which was full of stray cats, but it was closed so we could only peek through the gates.
Durum time
Dinner was a Durum. It's what other places call a kebab but they also had a kebab and that was different. Anyway, this thing was fantastic! Definitely in my top 5 kebab experiences (along with the place opposite Le Mans train station and some joint in the Gold Coast). Needless to say (but I will), I went back for a few more of these during my stay.
Clubbing again
We decided to go out again but this time we had some German girls join us. We wanted to go somewhere different so we headed for a place called Apollo but we had ID troubles so we couldn't get in. The only safe move was to head back to what we knew: Razzmatazz. We went to a different stage this time where there was a DJ who looked like Rob Schneider playing all sorts and dancing behind the decks like he was in a 70s work out video, it was hilarious. It was just as hot as last night but totally worth it because it was a great night out.
Day 4: Sagrada Familia
I headed out with a New Yorker to see Sagrada Familia today. We booked online to avoid the huge queue but because I'm an idiot we had an extra hour and a half to kill that we hadn't planned on so, we went for a walk to see La Pedrera, which Gaudi also designed. We had the audio guide for Sagrada Fimilia and also a tower climb. We did the tower climb first and the view over Barcelona is amazing but the fun part is walking back down the seemingly endless spiral stairs to get back down; you definitely get dizzy spells part way down. Everything about this building is so detailed and well done. I'd definitely recommend going there and if you remember me raving about the Sheik Zayeed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi then I'd rate this right up there too. I won't ramble anymore but Gaudi was right to dedicate a big part of his life to this awesome building.
Drinking games
We didn't go out this time but instead played some drinking games with "milk wine", that's wine that comes in a 1L tetra pack, and went for a walk to the local park.
Day 5: Big Bus
I had a bit of a hangover today, that milk wine is dangerous, but once I got going I jumped on a big bus tour of the city because I didn't have any friends :( I did all three routes and jumped off at Park Guell, another of Gaudi's famous works, to have a look around. I found a great lookout point atop a pile of rocks but it was pretty packed so I didn't get any good photos. The park is really nice and because it's a decent way up a hill, it gives decent views out over the city. I had plans to go see Tibidabo and Barceloneta Beach but I was too tired so I headed back to the hostel where I played cards with my Irish friend who shared that evil milk wine with me the previous night.
Day 6: Off to Madrid
I didn't do much today except go buy a fluoro yellow hat (you'll see it in photos) and grab a last durum. Then I walked down to Sants train station and headed off to Madrid.
Thoughts on Barcelona
I love it! I've enjoyed all the other cities I've been to but I haven't wanted to go back to any of them however I could easily go back to Barcelona. I could even live there... maybe. It might be because it feels similar to Australia but I really like it there. It's cheap, it's big but doesn't feel crowded, the weather is awesome, the beach is awesome, I could get used to siestas and the public transport system rocks. You can't forget that I made some great friends too.
Day 1: Arrival
This is actually a continuation of day 7 of Nice, tricky eh? Not much happened today, I just navigated the metro and found my hostel, which took longer than it should've because no maps ever have a rose on them. I chatted to a few people and watched a movie; taking it easy so I'm ready for tomorrow.
Day 2: Beach
The consensus was to hit the beach, which was fine with me because it was hot as. We didn't go to the popular, man-made Barceloneta beach because we heard it's always packed and swarming with hawkers so instead we went to a quieter beach. Turns out it was a nude beach and not the type with lots of pretty girls (there were a few) :( Still, it wasn't that busy and we were feeling lazy so we stayed there although we didn't embrace the nude spirit. This beach was so much better than Nice's; it was bigger, the water was perfect and it had SAND!
Exploring
After the beach we hit up a supermarket for lunch supplies and then headed on to Le Rambla, one of the main streets of the city. We also had a look in the market where all the fruit looked so good. I grabbed a banana and strawberry juice, made from real fruit, and wandered around the rest of the market sipping it like a kid.
Home cooked dinner
This hostel had a kitchen, the supermarkets were cheap and there were enough of us to eat all the food; a perfect combination to make something ourselves. We made burritos and it was so good to have something home cooked rather than take away.
Razzmatazz
I've met a few Aussies on my travels, as you'd expect but this hostel definitely had a concentration of them. We rounded up a group of 8 people to go clubbing and 7 of them were Aussies. We went to a club called Razzmatazz and apparently this place is huge (lots of stages) but we ended up in an upstairs RnB room for the night. The music was good and there was a decent crowd but it was so hot.
Day 3: Walking tour
I had a bit of a slow start to the day and missed everyone else so I headed out for a walking tour; a good way to see some of the city and make friends. I grabbed lunch before the tour started; what the Spanish (or maybe the Catalunyans) call a tortilla, which is an omelette with potato and some other bits in it and it was fantastic. The walking tour was alright; we cruised around the old town and saw various buildings and sites of importance. The funniest bit was the houses that got cut in half because the government literally taxed half of everything that people had.
Hanging out with a Montanan (someone from Montana)
I went with a girl I met on the tour to get a beer and tapas before tackling Montjuic (a hill) to go see the castle at the top. The hill wasn't that big but there wasn't really a walking path up there so we made our own trail for part of the way. The castle was free, yay, and had a decent view in all directions so we did the touristy thing and took a few photos. We also wandered over and had a look at the Olympic stadium, which was full of stray cats, but it was closed so we could only peek through the gates.
Durum time
Dinner was a Durum. It's what other places call a kebab but they also had a kebab and that was different. Anyway, this thing was fantastic! Definitely in my top 5 kebab experiences (along with the place opposite Le Mans train station and some joint in the Gold Coast). Needless to say (but I will), I went back for a few more of these during my stay.
Clubbing again
We decided to go out again but this time we had some German girls join us. We wanted to go somewhere different so we headed for a place called Apollo but we had ID troubles so we couldn't get in. The only safe move was to head back to what we knew: Razzmatazz. We went to a different stage this time where there was a DJ who looked like Rob Schneider playing all sorts and dancing behind the decks like he was in a 70s work out video, it was hilarious. It was just as hot as last night but totally worth it because it was a great night out.
Day 4: Sagrada Familia
I headed out with a New Yorker to see Sagrada Familia today. We booked online to avoid the huge queue but because I'm an idiot we had an extra hour and a half to kill that we hadn't planned on so, we went for a walk to see La Pedrera, which Gaudi also designed. We had the audio guide for Sagrada Fimilia and also a tower climb. We did the tower climb first and the view over Barcelona is amazing but the fun part is walking back down the seemingly endless spiral stairs to get back down; you definitely get dizzy spells part way down. Everything about this building is so detailed and well done. I'd definitely recommend going there and if you remember me raving about the Sheik Zayeed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi then I'd rate this right up there too. I won't ramble anymore but Gaudi was right to dedicate a big part of his life to this awesome building.
Drinking games
We didn't go out this time but instead played some drinking games with "milk wine", that's wine that comes in a 1L tetra pack, and went for a walk to the local park.
Day 5: Big Bus
I had a bit of a hangover today, that milk wine is dangerous, but once I got going I jumped on a big bus tour of the city because I didn't have any friends :( I did all three routes and jumped off at Park Guell, another of Gaudi's famous works, to have a look around. I found a great lookout point atop a pile of rocks but it was pretty packed so I didn't get any good photos. The park is really nice and because it's a decent way up a hill, it gives decent views out over the city. I had plans to go see Tibidabo and Barceloneta Beach but I was too tired so I headed back to the hostel where I played cards with my Irish friend who shared that evil milk wine with me the previous night.
Day 6: Off to Madrid
I didn't do much today except go buy a fluoro yellow hat (you'll see it in photos) and grab a last durum. Then I walked down to Sants train station and headed off to Madrid.
Thoughts on Barcelona
I love it! I've enjoyed all the other cities I've been to but I haven't wanted to go back to any of them however I could easily go back to Barcelona. I could even live there... maybe. It might be because it feels similar to Australia but I really like it there. It's cheap, it's big but doesn't feel crowded, the weather is awesome, the beach is awesome, I could get used to siestas and the public transport system rocks. You can't forget that I made some great friends too.
 |
| Lions at the base of the Columbus monument, Barcelona |
 |
| Sipping my banana and strawberry juice in La Rambla market |
 |
| Flowers! at Montjuic, Barcelona |
 |
| Pretty flowers at Montjuic Castle, Barcelona |
 |
| Montjuic Castle, Barcelona |
 |
| Light poles that're ribbed for their pleasure outside the Olympic Stadium, Barcelona |
 |
| Sagrada Familia, Barcelona. I'm excited! |
 |
| La Pedrera, Barcelona |
 |
| My New Yorker friend on a balcony of a tower in Sagrada Familia |
 |
| Me being responsible on a Sagrada Familia balcony |
 |
| Nativity Facade of Sagrada Familia, Barcelona |
 |
| What I'm carrying at the moment. The green thing is a pop up tent. |
 |
| Looking out over Barcelona from Park Guell |
No comments:
Post a Comment