My train from Granada arrived in Barcelona in the evening and I was anxious to explore the city. I had the hostel booked for two people for the weekend, which was a first for me being used to always booking solo. It happened that my moms trapeze/aerial arts instructor, Juan Pablo, had been in Spain for the last few months and had the weekend free and was able to visit me in Barcelona.
I arrived at the hostel about an hour or two before Juan arrived so I figured I would wander around the city by myself. When I was about to turn around and head back I came across the breath taking sagrada familia ( so your on the same page its a cathedral designed by Gaudi). After taking lots of pictures of it all lit up, I was really looking forward to seeing it during the day and going inside.
About the same time i arrived back at the hostel Juan arrived as well. It was really crazy that I was meeting up with a guy that I meet for about 45 minutes a few months ago. And never the less that was thousands and thousands of miles away. That night we did a little pre-gaming in the hostel with two other people from brazil. That night we heading to the beach and the clubs. As much as i like traveling alone it is always nice to have a companion every once in awhile. Especially if they can speak Spanish :-). Instead of me pointing to locations on a map for a taxi driver , Juan just jumped in the co pilot seat and took care of everything. When we got to the beach it was a zoo. Drunk people everywhere and locals wandering the beach trying to sell you everything from beers to wallets to marijuana. Unfortunately we didn't get to the clubs till late so everything was packed and it reminded me quickly it was a weekend. Lucky enough I was in Barcelona for a few more days so I would be able to go on a weekday. We were able to get into a less crowded club and get a drink or two. It didn't take me long to realize that you don't buy drinks at a nightclub in Barcelona. I asked for two rum and cokes and handed the bar tender 20 euros. All I got back was a receipt.. . . that's about 13 us dollars for one drink. Lesson learned! After having a great night we all got in the taxi and headed home. It was getting a little chilly outside so I decided to roll up my window. And right when I had my window rolled all the way up some guy threw a beer can at the taxi and it splattered all over the window I just rolled up. I guess the taxi driver was honking his horn at someone and apparently that someone didn't approve. Definitely a close call that I won't forget haha.
The next day was my first full day in Barcelona. The hostel was not the best hostel I have stayed at but they had all you can eat breakfast all day everyday. So muffins, croissants , yogurt, and juice for breakfast lunch and dinner I guess! Juan was able to get a hold of a lady he meet a few months back that was a local to the area and could show us around the Gracia area in the evening. Until then we walked around the city and the beach. At the beach people were playing volleyball, doing crazy tricks on pull up bars, playing soccer, and off course sun bathing. It was quite a sight and although we didn't go swimming, it was still quite a sight to see.
So of course I had to get the perfect picture of the people, beach, and mountain range in the foreground. So unfortunately I didn't have my fancy pants DSLR camera with me but I did buy a decent point and shoot before I came over. So I'm on the beach trying to zoom in and out and get a good photo with this dim camera screen when I see this lady a few meters from me in the LCD screen turning and glaring at me something fierce. So I take my eyes off the camera for a second and look up and come to learn that the French Riviera isn't the only place with topless beaches. . . after my face getting red and an awkward moment or two I just turned and walked away. And for all you that are wondering, I never did get the picture.
We later meet up with Juan's friend who was very nice and showed us around and took us to an awesome place to eat. It was a little more expensive but was probably in my top 3 meals so far. It was this really spicy curry meal that was just amazing. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. After, we heading back to the hostel and happened to run into our two other room mates that said they just bought tickets to a Barcelona game.. . . we were confused at first and then it clicked. The very last Barcelona game was that evening. We both completely forgot. So after contemplating on going or not, we decided to fork out the cash and see the number one team in all the lands. When in Rome right :-)
And I was absolutely glad I went. People over 60 to little kids screaming out, "Barca Barca Barca". Unfortunately all the chants were in Catalan so I didn't quite know how to say them but I had a good time trying. Unfortunately it was the very last game and Barcelona already knew they seized number 1 so I don't think the crowd was as wild as they always are (but it did allow us to get tickets last minute). I think a college football student section or an american hockey game has them beat.
After the game everyone in the stadium filled the streets and the line to get into the metro was outrageous. We decided to walk back to the hostel which was awesome at first. After about 40 minutes of walking we were definitely ready to get back. A long day of excitement and sun made us both ready for bed.
No comments:
Post a Comment