Barcelona!

It was night when we checked in to Hostel One Sants. Caio, the receptionist, was among the best we met. He was so helpful and welcoming; he even took our bags up to the room for us, did our laundry, and went over the map to show us the most important sights as well as what he would recommend. Our first night we decided to lay low and catch up on our blog. The hostel was very comfortable for us, and apart from the tiny room, the motif was fun and colorful, making it a pleasant place to be.

Our only full day in Barcelona, we mapped out what we wanted to see. It was an ambitious load considering how tired we still were, but were wanted to make the most of our very limited time there. We went to the train station to book our ticket to Valencia. Although it took longer than expected (it always does), it went relatively smoothly. We´re getting good at the whole ticket-buying process.

Following the recommendation of the two Canadian girls we met back in Paris during our first stay there, we decided to visit Park Guell. It´s a park designed by Antoni Gaudi, a very interesting Spanish architect and artist. Click here for information about the park itself. As far as our experience there, we didn´t really know what to expect...and upon entering the park, it was a good thing we didn´t waste our time coming up with expectations because they would have been wrong. Let´s face it - the guy was weird...but intriguing at the same time.

We walked through oddly columned paths made of what looked like chunks of rock and cement glued together in distinctly bizarre shapes. We made our way up and down, maybe up again?? and down?? to the center of the park, which housed structures that looked like they belonged in a children´s playground...very Dr. Seuss-like. The wall along the stairway was tiled in very detailed mosaic square patterns. The same mosaic technique was applied to the lizard/dragon/sea serpent adorning the stairway and other accents within the park. On the terrace, there was a nice view of the city, and we were able to see the entire construction sight that is La Sagrada Familia: our next stop.

You have to know, the interesting thing about La Sagrada Familia (designed by Gaudi as well) is that the design for the church was so intricate and detailed that even though they began construction 126 years ago, it is not said to be completed until at least 2026.

Walking up to this site, we could understand why. Aside from the design of the structure itself, it had alcoves complete with statues, mini pointed towers that were either tiled or sculpted into crazy shapes (some had baskets of fruit on top), and there was a lot of religious-affiliated names written on the building as well. You will get a small idea of this from the pictures, but like so many other things that we post, you can´t capture the essence of the structure. Looking at it, we couldn´t take it all in at once, we had to look at it piece by piece so we could fully appreciate the beauty. Well, like we said, it´s still under construction...but the beauty still comes through, even contrasted with what seems like an over-abundance of scaffolding and construction equipment. And this is the way it has looked for over a hundred years (and will look the same way for at least another 17 years).

Next, we tucked into a cute little place for some tapas. After our feet were rested and our bellies were full, we got moving again. Too much to do, too little time.

When we got to Las Ramblas - a tree-lined pedestrian street with shops, restaurants and bars on either side - our goal was to find Font de Caneletes. Legend says, if you taste the water from this fountain, you will return to Barcelona. Turns out, we thought it was going to be a different kind of fountain and never really found it. Instead, we tasted what was probably disgusting water from a fountain elsewhere. A typical mistake when one is too overtired to really care. Still turned out to be quite an experience.

Next on our list was to walk down La Rambla to find Casa Mila and Casa Batllo, two buildings designed by Gaudi. It´s so neat to see because everything is normal city buildings until you stumble upon a Gaudiesque building and it sure stands out. Gaudi uses a style referred to as biomorphist art, which focuses on the power of natural life and uses organic shapes, with shapeless and vaguely spherical hints of the forms of biology - in other words, it´s very abstract. It took us a long time to find them, not because they´re subtle, but because the streets don´t just criss-cross in perpendicular lines, but are rather slanted in every which way, causing a lot of doubt when trying to find the right location. Finally we did, witnessed these strangely beautiful structures, then decided our bodies wouldn´t be able to carry us to the Olympic Stadium, our next stop on the agenda.

Instead, we went back to the hostel and got some much-needed rest. On the way, we picked up some food from the grocery store (we´re trying to do this as much as possible when our hostels have kitchens so we can cut down on costs) for dinner. After a make-shift Italian dinner and some cleaning up, we decided to follow Caio´s recommendation and go to a fountain show nearby at Montjuic (according to Caio, a very authentic Barcelonean activity on the weekends). We had picked up a cheap bottle of champaigne at the store earlier and grabbed some plastic mugs from the hostel to take with us.

We were unaware that this show was going to truly make Barcelona for us. The area was very clean and beautiful, and though crowded with people, our trip along the fountain-lined pathway leading us to the main fountain was relaxing. We got to the main fountain and found a place to sit on the grass beside it. We didn´t care that we were constantly getting sprayed with mist and the ground was damp beneath us. The show was incredible. It was unlike any fountain we´d seen before...the water came up from the fountain in numerous shapes, directions, currents simultaneously. Added to this was this beautiful instrumental music and different colored lights to accent the mood. We were so enthralled with this event that an hour came and went in the blink of an eye.

Our evening came to a close with an interesting encounter with four Sicilian men, who approached us (???) looking for a good place to hang out. We learned a lot about the culture and a few words to help get us by in our next country. We didn´t expect that Pietro was actually a musician, and asked a nearby couple to use their guitar for a few minutes. Next thing we knew, the men were serenading us with a beautiful Sicilian folksong. Two roses each in our hands, gifts from the gentlemen, we called it a night and went back to the hostel to prepare for our early train ride.

Everything went according to plan the next morning...surprise, surprise. Now we´re here in Valencia. We will most likely fill you in on Valencia once we get to Seville in a few days. We´ve started missing the comforts of being home since we aren´t in one place long enough to really settle down and get that comfortable feeling...not to mention, we´re thousands of miles away, and you guys are all across the Atlantic. We are having the time of our lives, but know that we still think of you often, and love every contact we are able to have with you. Hasta luego!